License to Play: The Ludic in Japanese Culture [Hardcover ed.] 0824839404, 9780824839406

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License to Play

The Ludic in Japanese Culture

MICH AL DALIOT- B UL

License to Play

License to Play The Ludic in Japanese Culture

Michal Daliot-Bul

University of Hawai‘i Press Honolulu

© 2014 University of Hawai‘i Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 19 18 17 16 15 14

6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Daliot-Bul, Michal, author. License to play : the ludic in Japanese culture / Michal Daliot-Bul. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8248-3940-6 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Play—Japan—History. 2. Leisure—Japan—History. 3. Japan—Social life and customs. I. Title. GV125.D35 2014 306.4’810952—dc23 2014008619

University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources.

Designed by Josie Herr

Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc.

To the beloved men of my life, Gil, Nimrod, and Itamar

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Acknowledgments

ix

Note on Japanese Names and Terms

xi

Introduction: License to Play

xiii

1

The Linguistic Concept of “Play” in Japanese

2

Play as a Formative Element of Culture

15

3

The Otherness of Play

49

4

The Rules of the Game, or, How to Become the Best Player

75

5

Creativity in Play

99

6

Contested Meanings of Play

119

Epilogue: The Greatest Paradox of All

138

1

Notes

147

References

159

Index

179

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Over the years it took to write this book, the unfinished manuscript and I eyed each other critically and suspiciously whenever I opened my computer. Many more years of intellectual searching and many other research projects were completed before I was actually ready for it. The journey from conception to completion was a formidable quest. For encouraging and enabling this quest from its beginning, I need to thank first and foremost my adviser, Jacob Raz, who immediately thought the topic of asobi was a fabulous one, pointing as proof of his authentic enthusiasm to two shelves in his office loaded with relevant literature in Japanese. Jacob Raz, with his spirit of antiestablishmentism, child-like curiosity, and sense of adventure is always an inspiration to me. I need also to thank Ofra Goldstein-Gidoni, who has been offering me her smart and knowledgeable advice for so many years now, first as my professor, then as my sempai, and eventually as my dear friend. Ofra Goldstein-Gidoni is still the first to hear about my new ideas and to read everything I write without ever complaining about it. Every academic needs an Ofra Goldstein-Gidoni in her life. Trust me on this. My trips between Israel and Japan would not have been possible without the generous support of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology, the Japan Foundation, the NabukoEisenberg Chair for East-Asian Affairs at Tel Aviv University, the Porter School of Cultural Studies at Tel Aviv University, and the Israeli Science Foundation. In Japan I met many wonderful people who assisted me in so many ways. Among them I would like to thank Professor Inoue Fumio for his kindness of heart and scholarly dedication. I would also like to thank my research assistant in Japan, Alberto Fonseca-Sakai, who helped me greatly by collecting research material and by setting and conducting interviews we planned carefully together in lengthy e-mails. I wish to express my gratitude and deepest appreciation to Sato Chiyoko for her warm friendship and invaluable and resourceful assistance. For contributing the wonderful illustration for this book’s jacket I am very thankful to *\þEX ,SSHL D JUHDW DUWLVW LQGHHG ix

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Acknowledgments

I also spent two years as an associate in research at the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University. These were important, tough years of apprenticeship during which I learned, often the hard way, how to get published and how to present my research effectively. I would like to thank with all my heart Fransizka Seraphim, Merry White, and, all the way from the University of Michigan, Jennifer Robertson, for extending to me their friendship, hospitality, practical support, and advice during those years. Moving on to more recent times, I would like to thank my colleagues at the Department of Asian Studies of the University of Haifa, who follow my work with keen interest and true comradeship: Nimrod Baranovitch, Yoram Evron, Rotem Kowner, Arik Moran, Guy Podoler, Shakhar Rahav, and Ornit Shani, and, of course, our Japanese language teachers, who are always happy to give their advice on a Japanese language–related query: Sigal Schneider and Rika Takaki-Einy. I feel lucky to be working with good friends. As some of my all-time favorite books about Japan were published by the University of Hawai‘i Press, it was my first choice for this book. I am so grateful that this secret wish of mine has been fulfilled. I would like to thank deeply the anonymous reviewers of my manuscript for their invaluable comments and suggestions, which made my life harder but my manuscript much stronger. I would also like to thank my editor at the press, Patricia Crosby, for giving me some of the best uncompromising editorial guidance I have ever received. I am taking her wise guiding words with me wherever I go now. Last but not least, it is time to thank the people who are dearest to me for their support and unequivocal belief in me: my wonderful parents, Mitsi and Shaike Daliot, who gave me the best childhood ever, the bountiful love every child deserves, and the taste for faraway lands and new languages; and, of course, the three gorgeous men in my life who taught me how to play hard: my best friend and great love, Gil, and our two sons, Nimrod and Itamar. It is indeed a happy talent to know how to play!

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Japanese names are written following the Japanese practice: surname first, given name second. Japanese terms are transcribed with diacritics except in those cases of well-known place-names or terms (e.g., Tokyo, anime). 7KH ORQJ YRZHO LQ -DSDQHVH WHUPV LV GHQRWHG E\ D PDFURQ ì ð ö þ Ć

xi

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