Objectives
This study aimed to investigate the impact of memory function and social capital on depressive symptoms during the COVID‐19 pandemic among older adults in rural Japan.
Methods
A ...retrospective study with longitudinal data was conducted during COVID‐19 from May 2021 to November 2021 (T2) in Kurogawa, Japan. The candidate population for this study was 145 with the following requirements: (1) older individuals aged 65 years or above who were registered in the Kurogawa study, and (2) those with previous data (from November 2016 to February 2020; T1 as pre‐pandemic). Memory function was assessed using the Wechsler Memory Scale‐Revised Logical Memory II delayed recall part A (LM II‐DR). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Japanese version of the 15‐item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS‐15). Social capital was evaluated through civic participation, social cohesion, and reciprocity. Fear of the COVID‐19 infection (FCV‐19S) was evaluated.
Results
The final analysis included 96 participants (mean age = 81.0 years, SD = 4.8) Multivariate analysis for GDS‐15 score by Mixed Model Repeated Measures (MMRM) revealed significant associations between LM II‐DR (β = −0.13, 95% CI: −0.21–0.05, p = 0.002) and FCV‐19S during COVID‐19 (β = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.01–0.15, p = 0.02) with GDS‐15 score. However, civic participation, social cohesion and reciprocity were not associated with GDS‐15 score.
Conclusions
Among older adults in rural Japan, memory function and fear of the COVID‐19 infection were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in MMRM analysis. However, social capital was not associated with depressive symptoms. This highlights the need to address memory function and fear of the COVID‐19 infection in interventions for older adults during crises like the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Key points
This study examined the impact of memory function and social capital on depressive symptoms during the COVID‐19 pandemic among older adults in rural Japan.
LM II‐DR and FCV‐19S were significantly associated with GDS‐15 scores, under considering within‐individual correlation and time points (before and during COVID‐19) in Mixed Model Repeated Measures (MMRM) analysis.
However, civic participation, social cohesion and reciprocity were not associated with depressive symptoms in MMRM analysis.
This highlights the need to address memory function and fear of the COVID‐19 infection in interventions for older adults during crises such as the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Background
The noradrenergic systems in the brain maintain cognitive functions including attention/concentration and establishment of long‐term memory. In addition, hypofunction of noradrenergic ...systems is supposed to be involved in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we tried to examine the possible associations of concentrations of basal salivary 3‐methoxy‐4‐hydroxyphenylglycol (sMHPG), a major metabolite of noradrenaline, and brain volume changes during 4 years in elderly people living in a rural community.
Methods
The survey was conducted twice in Kurokawa‐cho, Imari, Saga Prefecture, Japan, among people aged 65 years and older. We collected data from 226 residents. Measurements of sMHPG and brain MRIs were collected at Time 1 (2005–2007). Follow‐up brain MRIs were taken at Time 2 (2009–2011). A total of 70 participants (18 men, mean age 71.9 ± 4.8 years; 52 women, mean age 72.0 ± 4.3 years) completed this survey. Concentrations of sMHPG at baseline were divided into two groups using the mean value (12.83 ng/ml). We compared the brain volumes between groups with higher and lower sMHPG concentrations over time using voxel‐based morphometry implemented with statistical parametric mapping.
Results
In participants with higher sMHPG concentrations at baseline, brain volumes including right precuneus were significantly larger 4 years after baseline than those with lower sMHPG concentrations at baseline. No interaction between sMHPG concentration and MRI acquisition interval was found.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that higher sMHPG concentrations in elderly people might be associated with maintenance of brain volume, especially in brain regions closely related to cognitive function.
In Japan, the term waza is often used in the context of physical education, sports, and traditional performing arts. Often, the word does not refer to specific sport techniques but to a higher level ...of finesse, prowess, or the techniques and mindsets associated with the Japanese martial arts or the Japanese traditional performing arts. Kumiko Ikuta (1987) analyzed waza by revealing the learning processes of Japanese traditional performing arts such as kabuki, ka-do (flower arrangement art), ...
Image d’ouverture. Naginata donnée lors d’une rencontre sportive du semestre d’automne au lycée féminin de Hamamatsu (à la gloire de l’Empire japonais). 11 septembre 1911, département de Shizuoka, ...Hamamatsu, quartier de Matsushiro. Carte postale. DR Au Japon, le terme waza est souvent utilisé dans le contexte de l’éducation physique, des sports et des arts du spectacle traditionnels. Ce mot est généralement employé dans une perspective technique, associé à un savoir-faire et à des compétence...
Research about the diffusion of Japanese swordsmanship to Korea has recently been developing in Japan; however, as far as this author can see, there are no studies that address the interpretation of ...its meaning and impact on the terms Wae-geom (倭劒) and Wae-geom-sa (倭劒士) in Korean classical literature.In this study, the term Wae-geom was examined by looking for examples of its use in History of Goryeo and Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty. The usage of the term Wae-geom in the Korean martial arts book titled Muye chebo pǒnyǒk sokchip, which was published in 1610, is already well known by scholars; therefore, this author clarified the usage of Wea-geon from the establishment of the Goryeo dynasty to 1610 in the book Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty. The term Wae-geon-sa was examined through The Comprehensive Publication of Korean Literary Collections in Classical Chinese. This research mainly used Kourai-shi Nihon-den, published by Iwanami, the Database of Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, provided by the National Institute of Korean History, the Korean Classic Comprehensive Database, provided by the Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics, as resources and referred to the book Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, which was edited by the National Institute of Korean History.The results of this study are as follows:1. The term Wea-geom was found in the book History of Goryeo; therefore, the term was used before the Joseon Dynasty.2. Japanese swords were expressed as Wea-geom, Wea-do (倭刀), and Wea-hwan-do (倭環刀) during the period from the establishment of Goryeo dynasty to 1610 in the book Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty.3. The term Wea-geom had a double meaning as a Japanese sword and Japanese swordsmanship.4. The term Wea-geom-sa was only found in the story titled “Geom-gaeg-gi-mun" (劒客記聞) in the book Jeo-seo (自著) written by Yu Han-jun (1732-1811). The fact that the term Wea-geom-sa was used as a motif in Korean literary novels of the swordsmanship biography (劒俠傳) genre in the Korean Peninsula means that Japanese swordsmanship had spread to the Korean Peninsula and suggests that this practice may have influenced not only the development of martial arts such as Korean swordsmanship but also Korean literature as a spiritual culture.
Budo refers to Japanese traditional physical activities that have been developed under unique Japanese natural, cultural, and historical circumstances. It has characteristics as a cultural body that ...is able to pass traditions down to the next generations. In recent years, gender equality has become a common social attitude in the sporting world, even in Japan, and it influences the traditional budo world. National budo federations have tried to follow this trend; however, the kendo federations in particular struggle to find a proper balance between tradition and gender equality. To address this struggle, it would be helpful to clarify the traditional ideology toward women in kendo. The purpose of this research is to analyze the descriptions in modern kendo literature to reveal the traditional ideologies toward women. The descriptions were cited from 43 pieces of kendo literature that were published between 1884 and 1981 and that were involved in “Kindai kendo meicho taikei. " The descriptions were categorized into ten genres including Families or general women, Interpretation of “tae 妙, " Ethics of Confucianism and Buddhism, Ideal mother and wife, Strong-minded women, Rejection of women, Female budo practices, Women in PE and gymnastics, Promotion of kendo, and Promotion of kendo to women. Nakabayashi (1973) noted that the contents that were discussed in female budo studies were limited to two topics, such as Ideal wives or mothers at home and Self-protection, in his previous research; however, this present research reveals that there are broader discussions related to women in modern kendo literatures. Although most of the ten topics appeared as simple short descriptions in the modern kendo literature, Teru Kagawa (1862 – 1923) and Tadao Nawata (1895 – 1974) in particular encouraged women to practice kendo, devoting much space to the topic in their works. It is interesting to note that, even though both encouraged women to practice kendo, the foundations behind their ideas were completely different. Kagawa insisted that women should be independent through kendo, and Nawata insisted they should follow traditional ideologies through kendo.
As budo continues to develop internationally, questions of how practitioners abroad perceive budo and how budo-related terminology should be translated has become a pressing issue in recent years. ...This study focuses on the writings of Donn Draeger. Draeger contributed to the international understanding of budo and has exerted a major influence on non-Japanese practitioners. By investigating Draeger’s usage of the terms “bujutsu”, “budo”, “martial arts” and “martial ways”, all of which are used to indicate “budō”, we aim to clarify his views on Japanese martial arts. In his books Classical Bujutsu, Classical Budo and Modern Bujutsu & Budo, Draeger mainly used the words “bujutsu” and “budo” when describing the martial history, culture, and spiritual aspects he learnt in his study of martial arts. The terms “martial arts” and “martial ways” were introduced for the benefit of non-Japanese with no knowledge or experience of bujutsu or budo. These English terms do not have the same depth implied by “bujutsu” and “budo”. Draeger makes a distinction between “bujutsu” and “budo” in different periods, stating that the purpose differs between “classical bujutsu”, which was designed to kill, and “modern bujutsu”, which aims to subdue the opponent. On the other hand, Draeger considered “classical budo” with its strict sense of spirituality to be more ideal than “modern budo”, which has other objectives to spiritual training such as entertainment or sport. He also thought that classical bujutsu and budo have more value than its modern incarnations.
Many recent studies of bushido, such as Suzuki and Oleg, have stated that the bushido that flourished after the Meiji period was an “invented” tradition that is different from samurai ideology from ...before the Edo period. However, in order to re-examine the traditional nature of the martial arts and Japanese thought, it is necessary to investigate the continuity of samurai ideology, such as what bushido ideologies in the post-Meiji era were inherited from the pre-Meiji period, as well as the renewed samurai ideology and the ideological changes that occurred which were observed from the collapse of samurai society due to the Meiji Restoration.The aim of this paper was to discover from the bushido ideology of Inoue Tetsujiro, a leader in bushido theory from the Meiji period onwards, what kind of pre-Edo period ideology he tried to inherit, and what kind of ideological transition his ideas went through before he wrote his theory of bushido in 1901.First, with regard to what ideas were inherited from the pre-Edo period, Inoue, as pointed out in previous studies, traced the origin of bushido to a link with the Emperor. In that, he divided bushido into two parts: “form” and “spirit”. He stated that “spirit”, that had continued from long ago, should be passed on in the future through moral education.Furthermore, while previous studies have suggested that Inoue established bushido as an academic discipline and led it in a different direction from practical morality, he states that the “determination” to practically carry out bushido should be passed on in post-Meiji morality. This was confirmed as a different aspect of his work from what has been previously identified.Next, regarding the ideological changes that occurred up to the writing of Inoue’s bushido theories, there was a focus on related historical accounts. Previous studies have shown that, with regards to his views on history, Inoue’s position was critical of historical investigation and that history should be used in ethics and moral education. However, these views were not seen at all from 1891 to 1892, but from 1893 they gradually started to be seen in opposition to historical investigation and Christian teachings. From 1899 they were clearly seen to be discussed.Inoue said that bushido should be passed on in morality from the Meiji period onwards. This was thought to have been supported by the gradual formation of ideas on trying to apply history to ethical and moral education by 1901.
The purpose of this study is to clarify the characteristics of Shintō-like religious traits in Shintō-ryū kenjutsu.Exploring the myths found in the Heihō jikanshō scroll of the Shintō-ryū, we found ...that the religious influence of Shintō was immense. As a manifestation of Shintō religious traits, a unique mythological image was formed with the following characteristics:- The first thing that became clear was the existence of a magic tradition centred on the warrior god Takemikazuchi and the Futsunomitama-no-tsurugi (divine sword).- The Futsunomitama-no-tsurugi together with the Kusanagi-no-tsurugi are said to be the two great magical swords of ancient times. However, the Kusanagi-no-tsurugi is not mentioned in the Heihō jikanshō. This provides evidence of Futsunomitama-no-tsurugi's importance in the Shintō-ryū.- One of the most distinctive magic features in the Shintō-ryū not seen elsewhere is related to the Mitama-no tsurugi majifuru-no-tachi divine sword. This is also described as a “sword dance" and swinging the sword as an act purification was clearly a Shintō-like magical sword technique.- This can be understood as a direct link between the magical and martial arts.- A peculiarity of the Shintō-ryū is that it authorises a link between strategy in subduing the mythical serpent Yamata-no-Orochi, and military law, strategy, and tactics of the Kōshū-ryū military school and Sun Tzu's Art of War.- Notably, as already discussed in another paper, there was a modification made to the myth of “kuni-yuzuri" (transfer of the land from the earthly to heavenly gods). The creation of myths in medieval times has been pointed out in previous research, but this study shows that myths were known to be modified, and narratives mythologised in kenjutsu.In Shintō-ryū kenjutsu, there is no doubt that the Shintō-like religious characteristics discussed above were present from at least the time of Tsukahara Bokuden, who is acknowledged as the founder of the school. However, this study has shown that from the mid-modern period until the time of the Heihō jikanshō, these traits were imparted with their own unique, mythical imagery.
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