Indigenous languages are important agents of the Indigenous Decolonization Process with the potential to heal the deep wounds of colonization. Yet, few connections have been made on how Indigenous lexicography and Indigenous language dictionaries can assist these processes. By examining the literature on language, Indigenous linguistics and lexicography, and decolonization I demonstrate how the connections among these concepts can be applied to a viable process for decolonizing an Indigenous language dictionary. As a white male who has spent the past 16 years living, working with, and learning how language can heal from citizens of the Shipibo-Konibo Nation of the central Peruvian Amazon, I present my auto-ethnographical account of a nascent collaborative project working to decolonize the Shipibo-Konibo dictionary. This project is actively applying Indigenous linguistic wisdom to support events and processes of decolonization. The powers inherent in language are integral to maintaining well-being and can promote and support Indigenous decolonization efforts. A key approach to using Indigenous languages to assist decolonization can be found by recognizing colonial residues within the archaeo-linguistic record by examining pre- and post-colonized elements of languages. Careful, community-based decolonization of linguistic resources can strengthen revitalization objectives and support the regeneration of Indigenous language and culture. Such thinking underlies the proposed project to decolonize the Shipibo-Konibo Dictionary through its revision and regeneration, a process which has opened local discourses on Decolonization─a concept that was notably absent in the region─and has spurred the creation of a Shipibo-Konibo radio program and other activities focused on linguistic and cultural regeneration.

The 1904 World’s Fair, held in St. Louis, Missouri, was an important turning point for Japan both internationally as well as within the United States. The 1903 Domestic Industrial Exhibition held in Osaka impacted the timeline and the scale of the 1904 Fair as well as the foreign exhibits therein. By studying Japan’s relations with the world in 1903 and the impact that the country had on the World’s Fair in 1904, a better understanding of Japan’s place as a global power can be formed, including their simultaneous involvement in the Russo-Japanese War. The “Japan made for America” was a curated view of Japan designed specifically to appeal to an American audience and leave an impression of a Japan that was heavily influenced by Meiji ideology but maintained a traditional appearance harkening back to the Tokugawa Era and before. This image of Japan left both subtle and obvious impressions on the people who attended, from the casual fairgoer to the other foreign countries that attended the fair.

The Japanese family/firm analogy has been utilized in the past by anthropological and business scholars for the purposes of better understanding the traditional Japanese family household (the ie) and the modern-day firm. The purpose of this study is to determine the appropriateness and utility of this analogy. To accomplish this, the study reconstructs the analogy by describing the models and theories upon which it is based and then examines it from a critical viewpoint. The conclusions are mixed. The study finds that the family/firm analogy is applicable, but only within the narrow limits defined by the specific ie and modern firm models. The analogy suffers further from its misrepresentation of Japanese families and firms, internal contradictions, and a disregard for social, economic, and political contexts. What is ultimately lost through the use of the analogy is the great complexity and diversity of Japanese society.

This paper discusses the Romaji Movement and its role in the reform of the Japanese written language during the Allied Occupation of Japan (1945-1952). Past analyses concerning the Romaji Movement have suggested that romanization failed due to conspiracies against it and have neglected to consider other alternatives being pursued by the Japanese government. This paper will take a closer look at the Americans who supported romanization, their motivations for doing so, and the development of SCAP policy towards language reform. Since simplification, not romanization, was the preferred objective of both the American and the Japanese governments, this paper goes on to examine alternative methods to simplification which, in the end, proved to be highly successful.