Alexandra Mustățea, PhD, Lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies (Japanese Studies), Japan Women’s University (Japanese studies)
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Japanese Confucian philosophy, Tokugawa Confucianism, the intellectual history of bushidō, modern Japanese identity discourses, Japanese moral philosophy, Japanese modernity
LATEST PUBLICATIONS
- [book chapter] De la “Shōgun” citire, atunci și acum – Cuvînt introductiv la ediția în limba română [Learning from “Shōgun,” then and now – Introduction to the Romanian-language edition], in Henry Smith (ed.), the Romanian edition, De la “Shōgun” citire – Istoria Japoniei și fanteziile Occidentului, pp. 5-17, 2022
- [co-edited with Radu Leca] De la “Shōgun” citire – Istoria Japoniei și fanteziile Occidentului (the Romanian-language edition of Henry Smith’s Learning from “Shōgun”), Eikon Publishing House
- [translation] Henry Smith, The Paradoxes of the Japanese Samurai, De la “Shōgun” citire – Istoria Japoniei și fanteziile Occidentului, pp. 187-207, 2022
- Henry Smith, Postcript: the TV Transformation, De la “Shōgun” citire – Istoria Japoniei și fanteziile Occidentului, pp. 303-308, 2022
- [translation, co-translator: Takeshi Morisato] Yamakawa Kikue, Nazis and Women, European Journal of Japanese Philosophy vol. 7, pp. 447-449, 2022
- [translation, co-translator: Takeshi Morisato] Yamakawa Kikue, Gunshot in Manchuria, European Journal of Japanese Philosophy vol. 7, pp. 449-453, 2022
- [research article] Bushidō in Early English-language Japanology – a Comparison between F. Brinkley’s “Japan: Its History, Arts and Literature” and B.H. Chamberlain’s “Things Japanese,” in The Bulletin of the Research Institute for Japanese Studies, Kanda University of International Studies’ vol 14, 2022, pp. 246-231
- [research article] Confucian Reverberations in Watsuji Tetsurō’s Ethical Philosophy: Exploring the Dynamic of the Universal-in-Particular, in ‘The Bulletin of the Research Institute for Japanese Studies, Kanda University of International Studies’ vol 13, 2021
- [research article] On the Convolutions of Modernity and Confucianism in Japan: Loyalty from Yamaga Sokō’s Shidō to Pre-war Kokutai Ideology, in ‘European Journal of Japanese Philosophy’ vol. 4/2019
- [research article] Reading Yamaga Sokō’s Shidō today – a few considerations on the fundamentals of his moral philosophy, in Annals of Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University – Linguistics, Literature and Methodology of Teaching vol. XVIII Nr. 1/2019
- Book review: Confucianisms for a Changing World Cultural Order, R.T. Ames, P.D. Hershock (eds), in ‘European Journal of Japanese Philosophy’ vol. 3/2018
- [translation] Yamaga Sokō’s Way of the Samurai – a Translation into Romanian (Part II), in ‘European Journal of Japanese Philosophy’ vol. 3/2018
- [translation] Yamaga Sokō’s Way of the Samurai – a Translation into Romanian (Part I), in ‘Traditions in Dialogue’ vol. 6/2017
- [research article] The Politics of Confucianism in Contemporary Japan, in ‘New Ideas in East Asian Studies’ vol. I/2017 (open access)
RECENT CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS and SYMPOSIA
- Sexual Desire and the Long and Happy Life in Edo-period Confucianism – Kaibara Ekken’s “Yōjōkun,” Akita Philosophy Seminar (the 1st Iteration), Akita University, Japan, 2022
- Fantasizing about Japan in Romania, Then and Now – A Look at James Clavell’s “Shōgun” (co-presenter: Radu Leca), Japan: Literary and Cultural Representations in Communist Europe, Tokyo, Japan (online), 2o22
- Towards a (Japanese) Confucian Sexual Ethics – Sexual Desire in Kogaku Texts, Japan – Pre-modern, Modern, Contemporary, Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University (the 9th Iteration), Bucharest, 2022
- [public lecture] 明治期のジャパのロジーにおける「武士道」とは？ーフランシス・ブリンクリーの「Japan: Its History, Arts and Literature」を中心に, Kanda University of International Studies, The Research Centre for Japanese Studies, 2022
- Edo Philosophy – Confucian Thinkers and the World They Envisioned, Conversaciones de Filosofiá Japonesa, series of public (online) lectures organized by Revista Horizonte Independiente, European Network of Japanese Philosophy, and Asociación Latinoamericana de Filosofiá Intercultural, Colombia, 2022
- Searching for Lost Voices – Female Confucian Scholars of the Edo Period, The Annual Association for Asian Studies Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii (hybrid), 2022
- Thinking about Confucianism and Modernity in the Early Postwar Period – Watsuji Tetsurō’s “The History of Ethical Thought in Japan,” The 6th Conference of the European Network of Japanese Philosophy – (Counter)Influences, Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary, 2022
- [public lecture] 大衆文化からサブカルチャーへ：春本と乾板写真を中心にした近代日本のある物語, Kanda University of International Studies, The Research Centre for Japanese Studies, 2021
- “Invented Religion” or “Revered Tradition”? Early Japanologists on Bushidō and Modernity in Meiji Japan, The 15th Annual Conference on Asian Studies: Continuity and Change, Olomouc, Czechia (online), 2021
- What is ‘Ethics’? What is ‘ethics’? Some Reflections on Translating Watsuji Tetsurō’s Preface to “Nihon rinri shisōshi,” Asian Philosophical Texts vol. 3, Kanda University of International Studies, Chiba (online)
- The Down-and-Dirty Story of a Changing Visual Culture – Shunpon and Glass Dry-Plate Photography in Imperial Japan, Japan – Pre-modern, Modern, Contemporary, Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University, Bucharest (online), 2021
- Watsuji, the Confucian Ethicist?, The 16th Conference of the European Association of Japanese Studies (online), 2021
- Towards a Philosophical Translation of Yamaga Sokō’s Shidō, “Asian Philosophical Texts vol. 2,” Japan, Kanda University of International Studies (Chiba), 2019
- On the Elusive Equilibrium of Virtual Behaviour: A Dialogue between Yamaga Sokō and Aristotle, “The 5th Conference of the European Network of Japanese Philosophy – Philosophy and Beauty (美の哲学・哲学の美),” Japan, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture (Nagoya), 2019
- The case for Japanese Confucian philosophy – on Yamaga Sokō’s concept of loyalty (忠孝) and its modern (mis)interpretations, ‘The 4th Conference of the European Network of Japanese Philosophy (ENOJP)’, Germany, University of Hildesheim, 2018 (September 5-8)
- Yamaga Sokō’s moral philosophy and its modern-day implications, ‘Japan – premodern, modern and contemporary’, Romania, Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University, 2018 (September 3-5)
- Learning from Shōgun today (workshop), ‘Japan – premodern, modern and contemporary’, Romania, Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University (with Radu Leca), 2018 (September 3-5)
- The Politics of Confucianism in Contemporary Japan, ‘BAJS (Japan Chapter) Spring 2017 Mini-Conference’, Chiba, Chiba University, 2017 (May 28)
- The performed self – drag queens from the Osaka stage, ‘Japan – premodern, modern and contemporary’, Romania, Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University (with Carmen Tamaș), 2016 (September 2)
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- 2018~: European Network of Japanese Philosophy
- 2016~: European Association of Japanese Studies
- 2011~: お茶の水女子大学日本言語文化学学会
- 2010~: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Bucharest
- 2008~: European Association of Japanese Language Teachers
- 2005~: Romanian Association of Japanese Language Teachers