New: Dutch online magazine on Japan

Japan has interested the Western world for many years: from the tea ceremony to popular cartoons. But reliable information about these subjects is hard to come by. Leiden Japan scholars have started a new magazine aimed at filling the gap between academic publications and popular books.  

This so-called actor's print by Toyokuni III (1786-1864) decorates the front cover of the first edition. Title:  Shichi henge no uchi (dance with seven changes of costume), actor Arashi Kichisaburō III (1810-1864) as Watōnai fighting with a tiger. This print was chosen because of the motif of the tiger. In the Chinese calender, that is traditionally used in Japan, the year of the tiger started officially in February. 

Dual language

The popularity of Japanese culture varies from such traditional subjects as the tea ceremony, flower-arranging (ikebana), folding paper (origami), growing miniature trees (bonsai) and the samurai culture, to subjects that combine the modern with the traditional, such as Japanese cuisine and manga and anime that are particularly popular among young people. Even though many people find Japan a fascinating country, there was no magazine in the Netherlands specialising in things Japanese. The Netherlands-Japan Review is a digital dual-language (Dutch and English) publication initiated in co-operation with Siebold House.  The magazine was launched on 19 February by the Japanese ambassador, M. Shibuya.

Quarterly

The complex, academic works on Japan that have appeared so far are hardly accessible for non-academics. The same is true in reverse for very general descriptions and books that could be regarded as an introduction to Japanese culture. The Netherlands-Japan Review is intended to fill this gap. It will appear once every quarter in electronic form, and will contain contributions from eminent Japanologists, a political column and caligraphy. The articles may be written in English or Dutch. The magazine will appear in two different media: as a website and as a downloadable downloadable pdf. Every edition can be saved on your own computer and eventually printed out.

The logo of an 日蘭評論 (Nichiran hyōron) The Netherlands-Japan Review. The long tail of the 'j' is a reference to the the character 命 inochi (life ), of which the central, vertical brushstroke can also be extended in Japanese caligraphy.   

Sound and video clips

As the magazine is electronic, it also offers the opportunity to include sound and video clips. An article on music, for example, might be accompanied by a film, or clips from a film about a Shintō ceremony, and a discussion on anime might be illustrated by an extract from a cartoon. The first two editions are free; thereafater a subscription will cost € 25 per year. Subscribers will receive an email as soon as a new edition becomes available.

Link

The Netherlands-Japan Review

(22 February 2010/SH)