anthropology – Contemporary Japanese Literature

Chris McMorran’s Ryokan: Mobilizing Hospitality in Rural Japan is an academic monograph about gender and society that’s surprisingly entertaining and enjoyable to read. McMorran is an anthropologist at the National University of Singapore who spent more than a year working at an onsen hotel in the idyllic town of Kurokawa on Japan’s southern island of Kyūshū. His account of how such resorts operate is informed by his own experience, as well as a decade of talking to people with fascinating life stories.

McMorran is discrete and never exploitative, but he uses a fair amount of behind-the-scenes drama to illustrate the conflicting views at play in the construction and maintenance of Kurokawa’s fantasy of “traditional Japan.” Not every aspect of these traditions is worth preserving, especially the pressure placed on firstborn sons (and their wives) to inherit the family business, often at the expense of the ambitions of a family’s daughters.

Despite stubbornly persistent gendered expectations, one aspect of these onsen hotels that seems almost utopian is their willingness to employ women who might otherwise be in danger of falling through the cracks of society, such as divorcées and single mothers with small children. Even though McMorran tackles serious social issues, his approach is always sympathetic and accessible, and his writing is so crisp and clear that this study often feels remarkably akin to a literary memoir.

Ryokan: Mobilizing Hospitality in Rural Japan has the potential to be an entertaining read for fans of Japanese pop culture interested in indulging in a bit of armchair tourism while gaining a deeper understanding of contemporary Japanese society. To enhance the experience, I’d also recommend the gorgeous travel guide Onsen of Japan: Japan’s Best Hot Springs and Bath Houses, which perhaps might be enjoyed alongside a viewing of the beautiful slice-of-life anime movie Okko’s Inn.

Being Dead Otherwise is an anthropological account of the shifting cultures of death and dying in contemporary Japan. Despite its seemingly grim topic, this is one of the most hopeful academic books I’ve read in recent years.

Anne Allison is primarily concerned with Japan’s aging population, who have begun to form communities surrounding their preparations for burial. Due to urbanization and an increase in nuclear family households, it’s no longer feasible to rely on one’s children or relatives for end-of-life arrangements. Still, older generations have been finding practical solutions.

I especially enjoyed the chapter about the social meetings of the future occupants of urban columbaria (repositories for burial urns), who call themselves “grave friends” and get together to make scrapbooks and other creative projects that will commemorate their lives for their children and grandchildren.

Allison argues that this type of self-care is often necessary to work around Japan’s outdated burial laws, in which only the formally registered Head of Household (who is almost always male) is allowed to make arrangements with a Buddhist temple. Thankfully, many temples are starting to ignore this law in order to serve the needs of older women who survive their husbands.

Without a doubt, many problems still exist in an increasingly fragmented society, but Allison is optimistic and respectful as she interviews death workers ranging from priests to city officials to entrepreneurs. Being Dead Otherwise is an academic book that achieves the highest standards of scholarship, but it’s also a fascinating read that’s easily accessible to a wide audience.

A word of warning, however: Being Dead Otherwise contains photos of human remains that may be disturbing to those who aren’t used to such things. Sensitive readers may want to skip Chapter 6 entirely.