Meta-Japanology in Hong Kong: Anthropological Otherness in Performance and Display

This project is undertaken mainly in order to explore and test the boundaries of the historical-cultural formation of Japan as well as the disciplinary boundaries established and challenged by cultural anthropology with Japan as a field. The vantage point for this exploration will be offered by the strategic importance of Hong Kong as a rapidly developing hub in academic research, internationalized education and versatile consumption of Japanese culture. The main objectives of the project consist in 1) critically assessing a selection of influential and creative anthropological work on Japan, 2) mobilizing the various approaches of these ethnographies into an experimental compilation of a meta-ethnography, 3) coordinating the insights drawn from this meta-ethnography with the creation of a non-linear history of Japanese studies in Hong Kong universities and 4) argue for a distinct location, position and identity of Japanese studies (Japanology) in Hong Kong.