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Time zone: Europe/Warsaw
Between Life and Death: Emerging Perinatal Rituals in Contemporary Japan
Manami YASUI
International Research Center for Japanese Studies
When a woman experiences a miscarriage or stillbirth, it is a shock, and she and her family often experience a grief which can persist for years. Today, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare conducts surveys on grief care for bereaved women, and provides information on medical institutions equipped to offer them support.
Yet this stands in sharp contrast to earlier practice. When Japan transitioned from home births to hospital births in the 1960s, relatives of the pregnant woman, along with hospital nurses and midwives, would typically console those who had suffered such a loss by telling them that the baby would simply be reborn. This was to encourage them to put the experience behind them as quickly as possible. In the 1980s, mizuko kuyō — Buddhist memorial rituals — became widespread at temples across Japan, and fetuses lost to miscarriage or stillbirth came to be mourned through these rites.
In more recent years, a variety of new practices have emerged: hospitals have developed their own rituals to mourn fetuses lost in this way, and women and families have begun creating memorial objects as a tangible testimony to the "lives" these fetuses lived. This talk introduces recent examples of perinatal rituals in order to explore the space "between life and death" in contemporary Japan, and argues that these emerging practices reflect a profound shift in how Japanese society recognizes and mourns perinatal loss.
This Is a Kindergarten?!: Discovering Daichi 『大地との遭遇 こんな幼稚園ありかよ』
This book explores an alternative vision of education and family life through the author’s personal experience in rural Japan. After struggling with raising children in Tokyo, the author relocates to Obuse, a small town in Nagano, where he encounters the Waldorf kindergarten “Daichi.” There, children grow up immersed in nature—sledding down snowy mountains, camping under the stars, and gathering around bonfires for meaningful conversations. The book vividly recounts two transformative years spent alongside children, parents, and the founders of the school.
Blending memoir with educational reflection, the work presents a compelling model of “living well with children” in a time when such a life often feels difficult to achieve. With handmade facilities, organic farming, and a lifestyle that minimizes reliance on electricity and fossil fuels, the kindergarten embodies a philosophy centered on resilience, creativity, and the fundamental ability to sustain life. The book is also endorsed by Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki. It offers inspiration for educators, parents, and anyone seeking new ways of thinking about community, learning, and everyday life.
The talk will be held in conversation with Prof. SHIMIZU Yuichiro (Keio University), who is originally from Nagano, the region where the book is set.
Please note: The book talk will be conducted in Japanese.
Author
Atsuyoshi Saisho is an educator and social entrepreneur. At the age of 19, following a personal setback and inspired by a single book, he traveled to Bangladesh, where he founded e-Education, the country’s first video-based learning program. Starting from one of the poorest villages, Hamchar, the initiative supported students in gaining admission to the University of Dhaka, one of the nation’s top institutions.
He has since developed educational projects in diverse contexts, including Palestinian refugee camps in the Middle East and Somaliland in Africa. In 2021, he relocated to Obuse, Nagano, where he encountered the kindergarten “Daichi.” He is currently affiliated with the Graduate School of Saarland University in Germany. His publications include Forward! Forward! Forward!, Delivering the Best Education to the Ends of the World, Designing Schools of the Future, and I’d Like to Take Paternity Leave!. He is a father of three.
Nōmin [農民] or The Peasants
The unknown history of the Japanese translation of Władysław Reymont's novel (Tokyo, 1925-1926)
The upcoming meeting will feature a presentation of the research objectives and preliminary findings of The Nōmin project, conducted by Maria Strzelecka and Anna Ogawa, which aims to reconstruct the genesis and reception of the Japanese translation of Władysław Reymont’s novel, The Peasants, in Japan. A central focus of the analysis is a unique edition from 1925–1926, published in Tokyo shortly after the author was awarded the Nobel Prize. During the session, the authors will showcase this exceptional volume, a rara avis that serves as a century-old testimony to the work's Japanese publication history.
The research is grounded in previously unknown source texts, primarily correspondence that survived in the form of transcripts and copies from the destruction of World War II and the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. These materials allow for a initial reconstruction of the translation process undertaken by Asadori Katō in close collaboration with Stefan Łubieński in 1920s. A significant component of the event will be the reading of selected fragments of the novel in Japanese, intended to demonstrate the specific nature of the translation and the methods used to introduce Polish cultural realities to the Japanese public.
The results of these historical-literary inquiries have been presented in a pioneering open-access article, which is currently available for consultation: Nōmin [農民], czyli Chłopi. O japońskim wydaniu powieści Władysława Stanisława Reymonta (rekonesans) | Czytanie Literatury. Łódzkie Studia Literaturoznawcze This research addresses a significant scholarly gap in the history of Polish-Japanese cultural relations during the 1920s. The study not only elucidates the translators' methodology but also sheds new light on the presence of Polish literature within the Japanese cultural sphere, underscoring the importance of the authors' ongoing work in the coming years.
Authors
Anna Ogawa – has maintained a long-standing association with the Japanese Arakimunisairyu Iai school. Her professional expertise encompasses simultaneous interpreting from Japanese, as well as the translation of Japanese and Chinese poetry. Furthermore, she specializes in the scenic choreography of Kenbu, a performance art form originally developed by the samurai elite.
For many years, she served as a translator for Japanese radio and television networks. Her extensive pedagogical experience includes a long tenure in Japanese schools and preschools, alongside her role as a lecturer and instructor for the Japan Self-Defense Forces. As an active proponent of Japanese culture, she initiates numerous cultural events and has authored various articles and projects dedicated to its promotion. She also serves as a coordinator for Polish-Japanese development and cooperation.
Maria Strzelecka - Library Curator at the Special Collections Department of the University of Łódź Library and a PhD Candidate at the University’s Doctoral School of Humanities. She has authored and co-authored numerous articles, lectures, exhibitions, and projects dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Polish manuscript cultural heritage, the history of the Łódź region (specifically the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries), genealogy, and Japanese culture and art.
Beyond her academic and archival achievements, she is a passionate practitioner of traditional Japanese handicrafts, specializing in the intricate sakiori and zanshi ori weaving techniques. She shares her expertise and unique cultural insights through her acclaimed blog, Varia Iaponica, where she bridges the gap between historical scholarship and living tradition. A member of the International Group of Biographical Research (University of Łódź) and the Association of Polish Librarians.