Precarious Japan

257 Pages·2013·0.94 MB·English

by  Anne Allison

P r e c a r i o u s J a Pa n
a n n e a l l i s o n
P r e c a r i o u s J a Pa n
Duke University Press Durham and London 2013
© 2013 Duke University Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper ♾
Designed by Courtney Leigh Baker. Typeset in Minion Pro by Tseng Information Systems, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Allison, Anne, 1950–
Precarious Japan / Anne Allison.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8223-5548-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8223-5562-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Japan—Economic conditions—1989– 2. Japan—Social conditions—1989– I. Title.
HC462.95.A45 2013
952.05′1—dc23 2013018903
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
one. Pain of Life
1
two. from LifeLong to Liquid JaPan
21
three. ordinary refugeeism:
Poverty, PreCarity, youth
43
four. home and hoPe
77
five. the soCiaL Body—in Life and death
122
six. CuLtivating fieLds from the edges
166
seven. in the mud
180
Notes 207  References 219  Index 231
aCknowLedgments
This book—on pain and precariousness, struggle and hope—has been as
hard as it has been soulful for me to write. I am particularly grateful there-
fore to those who have given me advice, support, and help along the way.
Ken Wissoker has been in dialogue with me about this project from its
inception. As my editor at Duke University Press and, more importantly,
as a friend, he has helped germinate and sustain the entire project. For
his guidance and belief in me, a deep thanks. Orin Starn has read every-
thing—multiple times—and advised, supported, and prodded as only he
can. I can’t imagine having completed this without him. David Slater has
been quite literally in the trenches with me in Japan, giving extraordinary
assistance and wisdom of every stripe and iteration. For his generosity
and smarts, I am deeply grateful. Yoshiko Kuga is a friend who has helped
me in every possible way during fieldtrips to Japan. She is savvy and kind,
resourceful and fun, and my debt to her runs deep. Keiko Nishimura has
been a wonderfully resourceful research assistant in both Tokyo and Dur-
ham. I thank her for helping me in so many ways.
I have learned much from the many with whom I have shared my work
or engaged in conversations on shared topics of interest. In particular, I
wish to thank: Brian Goldstone (for all those amazing chats and sugges-
tions), Claudia Koontz (for being my writing partner), Lauren Berlant (for
her stunning work and our conversations on attachment, precarity, and
sensing), Larry Grossberg (for his friendship and our ponderings about
affect, precarity, and the political), Kathy Rudy (for her support and our
wonderful talks about everything), Harry Harootunian (for being such
an inspiration and now friend for such a long time), Arne Kalleberg and
Joe Bongiovi (for the stimulation of our precarious reading group), Kathi
Weeks (for walking and talking about work, hope, and precarity), Ian Bau-
com (for his brilliant class on precarity), Tomiko Yoda (for our lovely out-
ings in Japan and for being such a good colleague), Michael Hardt (for
his advice about this project and the bounty of his work), Tomas Matza
(for all our delicious chats and for our class on “Anthropology of Precarity
and Affect”), and Beth Povinelli (for the utter rush of her work that has
been such an inspiration for my own). For their support in soliciting or
encouraging my work I also thank: Andrea Muehlebach, Nitzan Shosan,
Nick Long, Henrietta Moore, Shiho Satsuka, Clara Han, and Veena Das.
For involving me in the Meridian 180 network I thank Annelise Riles and
Hiro Miyazaki, and for their organization of the Possible Futures of Japan
project, Frank Baldwin and Tak Ozaki as well as all the participants. And
a very special thanks to the two reviewers of Precarious Japan. The atten-
tiveness and care they gave to their task was incredible, making the effort
to get what I was doing and to push me further in doing it better. One of
my reviewers revealed herself after writing what was the most extraordi-
nary review I have ever read in my life: a poetic re-r endering of the book.
To Katie Stewart, thank you for this gift.
I also wish to thank my colleagues in the Department of Cultural An-
thropology at Duke for their everyday collegiality, intellectual dynamism,
and support; and to our exceptional graduate students, and particularly
those who have shared interests and chats around precarity, temporality,
and hope: Lia Haro, Yakein Abdelmagid, Juni Kwon, Samuel Shearer, Yas-
min Cho, and Alyssa Miller. As at home, I have been grateful for those who
extended opportunities for me to speak elsewhere, and for the many en-
ACkNowledgmeNtS viii
gaged interactions I’ve received while there. These include (Departments
of Anthropology or Departments and Institutes of East Asian Studies at):
Middlebury College, Reishchauer Institute, Harvard University, William
and Mary College, University of Toronto, Tufts University, University of
Capetown, University of Pittsburgh, Cambridge University, New York Uni-
versity, Indiana University, Temple University of Japan, Sophia University
in Tokyo, University of North Carolina Pembroke, Chao Center at Rice
University, University of Alberta, University of Colorado at Boulder, Insti-
tute of Ethnology at Academia Sinica, National University of Singapore,
Brandeis University, University of California at Berkeley, and Università
Ca’Foscari.
Given the nature of my project—on precarity in daily struggles that can
lead to death but also friendship and hope—fieldwork was jagged in con-
stantly sniffing things out on the ground rather than following a systematic
grid or pre- ordained plan. I was seeking out “hardship in life”—something
people aren’t necessarily keen to share about their own lives or to have an
outsider poke her nose into. And yet many generously helped me, and those
who gave interviews, or invited me into their spheres of activity (of activ-
ism, protests, public speaking, everyday life), typically did so in the midst
of horrendously busy schedules. Particular thanks to Yuasa Makoto—who
allowed me into his NPo, Moyai, and made time for an extensive interview,
Kimura Naoki—who took me into the temporary shelters of Sumita and
opened up the world to me there, Suzuki Takayuki—for introducing me to
his NPo and youth support center in Nīgata and leading me to the chīki no
cha no ma scene, Kawada Keiko for her warmth at Uchi no jikka—Genda
Yūji, Uno Shigeki and to all the other participants of the “Hopology” re-
search group at Tokyo University for their wonderful work on hope, Dohi
Masato—for welcoming me into his activist design seminar and involve-
ment with the Setagaya Trust Fund, Tsukino Kōji and all the members of
the Kowaremono performance group, Ochi Toshi and Shikimura Yoshiko—
for their friendship and hospitality in Nīgata, Kyle Cleveland—for all his
help and support for multiple summers in Tokyo, Kuse Keiko—for her
continued friendship, Ueno Chizuko—for inviting me into her home, on
her birthday, for an interview. In addition I would like to thank: Amamiya
Karin, Miyamoto Michiko, Osawa Machiko, Tsurumi Wataru, Yoshimi
Shunya, Mori Yoshitoshi, Rebecca Jacobsen, Tsutomi Hiroshi, Numazaki
Chieko, Sugawara Yukie, Tamada Tomoko, and Kotani Mari.
Finally, in a book about a precariousness that extends to family and
ACkNowledgmeNtS ix