Author: UH Press Marketing

Gender and Law in the Japanese Imperium

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Gender and Law in the Japanese ImperiumArguing against the popular stereotype of Japan as a non-litigious society, an international group of contributors from Japan, Taiwan, Germany, and the U.S. explores how in Japan and its colonies, as elsewhere in the modern world, law became a fundamental means of creating and regulating gendered subjects and social norms in the period from the 1870s to the 1950s. In Gender and Law in the Japanese Imperium, the authors suggest that legal discourse was subject to negotiation, interpretation, and contestation at every level of their formulation and deployment.

With this as a shared starting point, they explore key issues such reproductive and human rights, sexuality, prostitution, gender and criminality, and the formation of the modern conceptions of family and conjugality, and use these issues to complicate our understanding of the impact of civil, criminal, and administrative laws upon the lives of both Japanese citizens and colonial subjects. The result is a powerful rethinking of not only gender and law, but also the relationships between the state and civil society, the metropole and the colonies, and Japan and the West.

Japanese Government Honors Dr. George Tanabe with Imperial Order of the Rising Sun

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Dr. George Tanabe (left) accepts the commendation from Consul General Toyoei Shigeeda.
Dr. George Tanabe (left, wearing medal) accepts the commendation from Consul General Toyoei Shigeeda.

On January 24 at a ceremony at the Honolulu Consulate General of Japan, University of Hawai‘i professor emeritus George J. Tanabe, Jr. was conferred with the Government of Japan’s Imperial Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, in honor of his contributions toward the strengthening of academic and cultural exchanges between the United States and Japan. The award recognizes his work in promoting Japanese culture and values through research and studies in Japanese religions.

Dr. Tanabe joined the faculty of the Department of Religion at UH Mānoa in 1977 and served as department chair from 1991 to 2001. Among his titles published by UH Press are Japanese Buddhist Temples in Hawai‘i: An Illustrated Guide, which he wrote and researched with his wife Dr. Willa Tanabe, and Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan, co-authored with Ian Reader. He is also general editor for the Topics in Contemporary Buddhism series.

For more information on Dr. Tanabe’s accomplishments, read the announcement on the award issued by the Consulate General.

Celebrating the Enduring Legacies of Queen Lili‘uokalani

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Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's QueenOn Sunday, January 26, at 3:30 p.m., UH Mānoa’s Hamilton Library will host “He Lei, He Aloha: This is a Lei of Love, The Legacies of Queen Lili‘uokalani,” a free program that celebrates the enduring legacies of Queen Lili‘uokalani, the last reigning monarch of the kingdom of Hawai‘i. The participatory program, which is presented by the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System, will be narrated by Meleanna Aluli Meyer, artist, educator, filmmaker, and descendant of Emma Nawahi, confidante of the Queen.

Part of the 45-minute program will feature readings from Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen, a new edition of which has just been published by Hui Hānai, an auxiliary organization to the Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center. UH Press is honored to be distributing this enhanced and annotated edition and will have copies available for purchase at the event.

For more information, click here.

The Hermit’s Hut: Architecture and Asceticism in India

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Ashraf-Hermit'sHutAlthough architecture continually responds to ascetic compulsions, as in its frequent encounter with the question of excess and less, it is typically considered separate from asceticism. In contrast, The Hermit’s Hut offers original insight and explores the rich and mutual ways in which asceticism and architecture are played out in each other’s practices. Relying primarily on Buddhist materials, author Kazi K. Ashraf provides a complex narrative that stems from the simple structure of the hermit’s hut, showing how the significance of the hut resonates widely and how the question of dwelling is central to ascetic imagination. In exploring the conjunctions of architecture and asceticism, he breaks new ground by presenting ascetic practice as fundamentally an architectural project, namely the fabrication of a “last” hut.

This innovative book weaves together the fields of architecture, anthropology, religion, and philosophy to offer multidisciplinary and historical insights. It will appeal to readers with diverse interests and in a variety of disciplines—whether one is interested in the history of ascetic architecture in India, the concept of “home” in ancient India, or the theme of the body as building.

November 2013 | 240 pages | 105 illustrations
ISBN: 978-0-8248-3583-5 | $50.00 | Cloth

Spatial Habitus: Making and Meaning in Asia’s Architecture

The Making of the First Korean President

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Lew-Making1stKoreanPresThe only full-scale history of Syngman Rhee’s early career in English was published nearly six decades ago. Now, Young Ick Lew uncovers little-known aspects of Rhee’s leadership roles prior to 1948, when he became the Republic of Korea’s first president. In The Making of the First Korean President: Syngman Rhee’s Quest for Independence, 1875–1948, Lew delves into Rhee’s background, investigates his abortive diplomatic missions, and explains how and why he was impeached as the head of the Korean Provisional Government in 1925. He analyzes the numerous personal conflicts between Rhee and other prominent Korean leaders, including some close friends and supporters who eventually denounced him as an autocrat.

Based on exhaustive research that incorporates archival records as well as secondary sources in Korean, English, and Japanese, The Making of the First Korean President meticulously lays out the key developments of Rhee’s pre-presidential career. This richly illustrated volume is essential reading for anyone with an interest in modern Korean history and will serve as a lasting portrait of one of the pivotal figures in the evolution of Korea as it journeyed from colonial suppression to freedom and security.

November 2013 | ISBN: 978-0-8248-3168-4 | $68.00 | Cloth

New Catalogs Available: Spring 2014 New Books and 2014 Hawai‘i & the Pacific

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2014Spr-HP-covers

Happy New Year! To kick off 2014, two new catalogs are now available for download as PDFs: our Spring 2014 catalog of new and forthcoming titles and our 2014 Hawai‘i and the Pacific complete list of new and in-print backlist books. Both include dozens of the latest titles from UH Press and the publishers we distribute. Click on the image above or go to: http://uhpress.wordpress.com/latest-catalogs/

Winter 2013 Holiday Schedule

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Sunset sky seen from the Press
Sunset sky seen from the Press

University of Hawai‘i Press will be closed from Tuesday, December 24, 2013 through Wednesday, January 1, 2014. Our website never sleeps, however, and orders received during this period will be processed and shipped after January 2.

Mahalo for your support and best wishes for the holidays!

UH Press Invites Applicants for Marketing Specialist Position

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University of Hawai‘i Press is seeking a capable, flexible individual with strong writing skills to fill an entry-level yet valuable position within our book marketing department. The position will involve a variety of duties, from copywriting to metadata collection to website maintenance.

Read a brief description of our Press by clicking the About tab at the top of this page. For detailed position duties, responsibilities, requirements, and application instructions, see position number 0077481T on the University of Hawai‘i job site (closing date: December 23).

N.B.: The State job classification is Temporary, annually renewable, however, UH Press has several employees whose positions are classified as Temporary, yet have worked at the Press for two or three decades.

“Voyagers of the Sky” Talk by Robert Shallenberger at Bishop Museum

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Shallenberger-TOTP-Bishop MuseumConservation biologist and wildlife photographer Robert Shallenberger will share his exceptional images and knowledge on the seabirds of Hawai‘i on Thursday, December 12, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Bishop Museum. The basis for his talk is Dr. Shallenberger’s UH Press book, Hawaiian Birds of the Sea: Nā Manu Kai, which showcases many of his photos accompanied by informative text on the natural history and behavior of Hawai‘i’s seabirds. His illustrated lecture is part in the museum’s Traditions of the Pacific educational program series. Click here for more information and to RSVP online.

Mutiny and Aftermath: James Morrison’s Account of the Mutiny on the Bounty and the Island of Tahiti

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Smith&Thomas-Mutiny-and-AftermathThe mutiny on the Bounty was one of the most controversial events of eighteenth-century maritime history. Mutiny and Aftermath publishes a full and absorbing narrative of the events by one of the participants, the boatswain’s mate James Morrison, who tells the story of the mounting tensions over the course of the voyage out to Tahiti, the fascinating encounter with Polynesian culture there, and the shocking drama of the event itself. It is based directly on a close study of Morrison’s original manuscript, one of the treasures of the Mitchell Library in Sydney, Australia.

The editors, Vanessa Smith and Nicholas Thomas, assess and explain Morrison’s observations of Islander culture and social relations, both on Tubuai in the Austral Islands and on Tahiti itself. The book fully identifies the Tahitian people and places that Morrison refers to and makes this remarkable text accessible for the first time to all those interested in an extraordinary chapter of early Pacific history.

“Morrison’s Account of the Mutiny on the Bounty has been known to scholars and students through Owen Rutter’s 1935 edition. Smith and Thomas draw on all the relevant scholarship in the seventy-five years since this edition, as well as their own distinguished research and expert understanding of Pacific cultures, to provide readers with an impeccable work of scholarship that will be an essential point of reference for all future writing on Tahiti at the time of first contact as well as on the Bounty mutiny itself.”—Rod Edmond, University of Kent

October 2013 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3676-4 / $45.00 cloth

Michael French Smith at the National Press Club’s Book Fair & Author Night

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NatlPressClub-bookfair&authorsOn Tuesday, November 19, 5:30-8:30 p.m., the National Press Club will hold its 36th Annual Book Fair & Author Night at the NPC headquarters in Washington, D.C. (529 14th Street NW). UH Press author Michael French Smith will sign copies of his latest book, A Faraway, Familiar Place: An Anthropologist Returns to Papua New Guinea, joining more than 90 other writers, including national luminaries Alice McDermott, Jim Lehrer, Mark Leibovich, Gov. Bill Richardson, David Wiesner, and many others, in this exciting literary event.

The book fair is open to the public with ticket purchase and is a fundraiser for the NPC’s Journalism Institute. Books will be sold in partnership with independent D.C. bookstore Politics & Prose. For more details, click here.

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