Toyo Eiwa University Repository / 東洋英和女学院大学学術リポジトリ
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Demon Slayer and Modern Japanese Views of the Afterlife
Get PDFThis paper attempts to discuss the views of life and death of modern Japanese people by taking up Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon slayer). Kimetsu no Yaiba, which gained a large following mainly from young people, depicts “death” and the “afterlife.” Humans and demons don’t just die, but frequently appear afterwards and have a relationship with the living. The relationship between the dead and the living includes “rebuke and encouragement,”“affirmation,” and “praise.” These relationships are different from the relations of the living with ancestors or other relationships with the dead that are traditionally seen among Japanese people. We can see that Japanese views of “death” and “relationships with the dead,” as found among young people today, are represented in this work of pop culture.departmental bulletin pape
Technology to Meet the Dead Again Digitally : Considerations on Artificial Intelligence of the Dead and its Problems
Get PDFArtificial intelligence that represents the dead (dead AI) has developed rapidly in recent years. This technology is unique in that it “creates” new behavior of those who are dead by learning from big data of those who have died. Its uniqueness consists of three characteristics: the possibility that the dead can change, the interactions between the dead and us, and the high transferability of the technology from the public to the private sphere. Recently, in Japan and in other countries, some experimental dead AIs were featured in TV programs and have caused a number of problems. Some of these problems derive from the conflict between emotional needs or expectations for dead AI and ethical resistances to it. These ethical resistances include the following three points: first, this technology could harm us emotionally; secondly, it could change (images of) the past dead; thirdly, it could violate the right or dignity of the dead, though this right or dignity has not been legislated in ethical and academic discourse.departmental bulletin pape
Structural Challenges in the Coffee Supply Chain: Case Study of the EU Coffee Market
Get PDFThis paper aims to identify structural problems in the current coffee supply chain and propose possible solutions, using the EU coffee market as a case study. In particular, we focus on the relationship between economic and environmental policies in the European Green Deal and the coffee supply chain, and aim to propose a direction to solve the issue.
In Section 1, we identified problems in coffee production and consumption trends as an agricultural product. Specifically, we summarized basic data on the world coffee trade and showed that, with a few exceptions, producing and consuming countries are clearly separated, and trade interactivity has not been achieved. In Section 2, we analyzed the time sequences of international coffee price fluctuations and their drivers, and pointed out structural problems in the supply chain that put producers at economic risk. This highlighted the growing presence of specialty coffees in the coffee market, focusing on the characteristics of price fluctuations in today's coffee supply chain and the trends of major roasters. In Section 3, we analyzed the EU’s human rights and environmental due diligence and other policies to resolve structural economic disparities among actors in the coffee supply chain, and presented the possibility of a sustainable coffee supply chain.
The discussions showed that in order to solve the structural problems of the existing coffee supply chain, major roasters as buyers of coffee beans need to lead the development of a sustainable supply chain based on the Green Deal policies promoted by the EU. To do so, it is important not only to design a system targeting roasters, but also to build a system that appeals to consumers at the end of the supply chain. Another problem for producers is the development of an environmental system needed for them to work on adding value to their coffee beans. A typical example is the coffee certification system as a“ Voluntary Sustainability Standard” (VSS). A discussion of the effectiveness and role of the VSS is a subject for the next paper.departmental bulletin pape
Inter-brain synchronization in the client-therapist relationship during sandplay therapy: an exploratory study
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Experiential Process of Mindfulness Yoga and Focusing in Everyday Life : Focus on Bodily Sensory Awareness
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to examine the similarities and differences between mindfulness yoga and the focusing experience, which also emphasizes bodily sensations, from the perspective of bodily sensory awareness.
The subjects were 85 men and women （undergraduate and graduate students） in their teens to fifties, divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group was first asked to answer a questionnaire, then to perform mindfulness yoga and focusing at home daily for one week, and to write freely on a “reflection sheet” that was distributed for daily recording. Then, one week later, they were asked to respond again to the same questionnaire as the first time. The control group was asked to first answer the same questionnaire as the experimental group, and then to answer the same questionnaire one week later. The data obtained from the questionnaires of both groups were analyzed by quantitative analysis, and the data from the questionnaires obtained from the“ reflection sheet” were verified by text mining.
The quantitative analysis of the questionnaires showed that the scores in “Self-sense Distance,” on the Daily Focusing Manner Scale （DFMS）, were significantly higher after the session than those before the session. In addition, although there was no statistically significant difference in somatosensory acceptance, it appeared that one week of sessions had a positive effect on somatosensory acceptance. Text-mining analysis suggested that the commonalities were a strong awareness of“ body” and“ sensation”. In terms of differences, more positive words co-occurred in mindfulness yoga than in focusing. In mindfulness yoga, the participants were found to have developed an attitude of focusing on not being caught up in thoughts, while in focusing, the participants distanced themselves from internal events and were able to think about them.
The results of this study need to be further verified because of possible effects of sampling bias and the short duration of the experiment.departmental bulletin pape
Prevention of Abuse of Persons with Disabilities and Supported Decision Making: To achieve “high-quality support”
Get PDFOn August 22nd and 23rd, 2022, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified, and Japan’s review of the government report on the status of implementation of the Convention was conducted by the Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Geneva. On September 9, the “Concluding Observations (Recommendations)” were issued, strongly calling for transition to community from sychiatric hospitals and facilities for the disabled, and the promotion of inclusive education that truly realizes “learning together”. However, in Japan, severe abuse continues in hospitals and institutions, and children with disabilities are excluded from local schools. In order to realize the human rights model required by the Convention, it is important to provide “supported decision-making” that respects the will of the individual. Such “high-quality support” should lead to the prevention of abuse of persons with disabilities. Through the practice of supported decision-making for residents of Tsukui Yamayuri En, the residents live vibrant lives, the supporters and families become positive, and the people of the community change, creating a hopeful society. This was called the “empowerment chain,” but terms such as “empowerment cycle (positive circulation)” and “positive spiral” have also appeared. Taking the opportunity of the “Concluding Observations (Recommendations)”, we would like to bring together the collective strength of the community, centered on persons with disabilities, and aim to realize an inclusive society.departmental bulletin pape
The Biblical Motifs in the Grimm’s Fairy Tales: From the Perspective of Above and Below
Get PDFThere are multiple methods for interpreting the Grimm’s fairy tales. Historical criticism investigates the process of the reorganization of folklore. Literary criticism analyzes the symbolic expressions seen in the final form of the text while the dialogical effect emphasizes the impact on the reader. This paper adopts both the historical and literary methods.
The lore that makes up the Grimm’s fairy tales was collected through French Huguenot storytellers. Therefore, in composing the Brothers Grimm’s stories, biblical
motifs such as the hospitality to a stranger in Leviticus, the inheritance of sin in The Fall of Man, the dew miracle of Gideon’s story in Judges, the usage of magic by Jacob
in Genesis, and the white dove as the spirit of God, etc. are adopted.
On the other hand, many of the Grimm’s fairy tales contain plants that have symbolic significance. The hazel tree in “Ashputtel,” the red flowers in “Jorinde and Joringel,” and the lettuce in “Rapunzel” are part of the story’s problem-solving and happy endings, and are influenced by ancient Germanic tree worship.
Biblical belief, and nature worship which lead to idolatry, are fundamentally incompatible. However, they can co-exist in the Grimm’s fairy tales since the Grimm’s
stories are a mixture of Germanic and Huguenot tales.departmental bulletin pape