国立国会図書館 National Diet Library

 

One of the entryways.

This week I've been spending some quality time at one of my favorite Tokyo haunts- the Diet Library. I know many researchers are not excited about the library- photocopies are expensive and the process of obtaining them is bureaucratic (to say the least), many of the digitized collections are only available on site, and the rules of using the library are rather strict. Having said that, I always feel really productive when I spend time at NDL. The collections are extensive, and there is a certain excitement in seeing all the varieties of research being done- I love looking around and seeing people searching through biochemical journals, wartime magazines, publications on educational pedagogy, and any number of other topics that one could think of. I'm also fascinated to see reporters and politicians on the streets surrounding the Diet building as I leave in the evening. As my research year in Tokyo winds down, this is definitely one spot I will miss.

 

 

The main building.

 

 

Across from the Diet building.

 

 

Reporters gathered outside political party headquarters.

 

 

The subway back home.

 

発表 Research Talk

 

Well, folks, it is done. I completed a one hour talk on my research (in Japanese). It was hard, it was painful, but it is now over. I can't express what a huge relief it is to have this in the past! For weeks I've been writing and editing my text, about 12,000 characters total (I think about 30 pages if it were double-spaced English), which took me about an hour and ten minutes to read. I presented my work at the kenkyukai (research group) at the research institute, and received some really great and helpful feedback. For me, this was one of the most challenging tasks of my academic career thus far- I'm comfortable with speaking about my research in English, conducting research in Japanese, and speaking casually in Japanese, but having to present at a professional forum requires a different type of language, one which I don't often have to use. In any case, I had editing help from a few wonderful people, and in the end, it is finished! As is the standard for the monthly research forums, we all raised a glass for a congratulatory kampai when all was said and done. This beer tasted so fantastic. I'm sure it will take a few days to work all the stress out of my system, and as I always do, I keep thinking about the mistakes (why do we do this to ourselves?!?), but for now, a huge amount of pressure is off of my shoulders. Here's to a summer of feeling accomplished!

 

A day in the (research) life

 

 Changing trains at Shinjuku.

It's been a crazy few weeks around here. I finished another chapter draft (!), have been attending a string of lectures, am working on an upcoming research presentation, and have had a busy social calendar. Today was one of those days that makes research work more enjoyable- I got out and went to see some art. I headed out to the Fuchu City Museum for the morning to see the exhibition Modern Art of Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, and Changchun. The lovely museum is located out in the far-flung Musashino area of Tokyo- I had to take three trains and a bus to get there- but it was worth the trip. The exhibition featured works from the Bunten, a government-sponsored art exhibition which lasted from the early to mid twentieth century, and the later exhibitions in the Japanese colonies. Many of the works were lovely examples of modern painting; I especially enjoyed the architectural paintings and the images of women, as these seemingly expressed the most about the colonial era.

 

 

Entering the museum.

  

 

Museum lobby.

  

 

In the galleries.

  

 

The catalogue and flyer for the show.

  

After viewing the exhibition, I stopped for a quick lunch of seven vegetable soup and rice at Soup Stock Tokyo, a chain restaurant that is frequently found in train stations. It was perfect on this first day of rainy season.

 

Soupy.

  

 

Keio-sen back to central Tokyo.

After getting closer to home, I made a quick early afternoon stop for a latte, tiramisu, and some dissertation related reading.

  

 

Chocolate, coffee, and natural light make everything better.

  

Then it was back to the screen to work on my coming presentation for the remainder of the afternoon. 

 

 I should calculate how many hours a week I look at this screen.....

Dissertation days

 

 Well, here I am, procrastinating on my very quickly approaching writing deadline by posting a blog entry. Perhaps it is not procrastination so much as taking a break. Yeah, a break..... 

The last many days (and by that I mean weeks) have been spent in a push of research and writing, trying to pull together a draft of what has become a very large and complicated chapter of my dissertation. If we're Facebook friends, you know that I have dealt with this stress with cookies, jogging, and wine. I really do believe that the combination of exercise, sugar, and booze can cure almost any problem in life. No shame here, people. Perhaps not surprisingly for an art historian, I like to aestheticize my stress as well. Instagram is so great for that. Everything looks better through a nice filter, doesn't it? Pile of books almost falling over? Give it a nice composition and put a filter on it. Day after day of reading articles? Add a filter and a cute pencil, now it's romantic. Sitting at my computer typing for endless hours until I have carpal tunnel? Boom, filter it, add some nail polish, and suddenly it looks so hip. My other means for dealing with stress is music. In times like these I tend to revert to my personal classics of classical during long working stretches, jam bands during breaks and periods of relaxation, and upbeat EDM for short stretch/mini-exercise breaks. Ok, time for another cookie....