Fwd: seeking popular images of bureaucrats

[Ono Seiko and Aaron Gerow]

A cross-post from H-JAPAN.  People with suggestions should send them to 
the original sender with a copy to the list.

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From: Guven Peter Witteveen <wittevee at pilot.msu.edu>

To the readers of H-Japan and EASIANTH:

I am beginning an ethnographic study of the culture of city hall in a
regional Japanese town. In connection with the fieldwork I would like to
provide a wider context by drawing on images and expressions of (local)
government and bureaucracy found in the popular imagination. Things like
main characters of film, tv series, anime, literature are what I am 
looking
for. An example from the 1950's is Kurosawa's _Ikiru_.
   Another branch of popular culture regarding bureaucracy is folk
knowledge; things like proverbs, notorious incidents, stereotypic 
episodes,
or to the contrary, examples that go against common perceptions and
expectations of the way public matters are conducted.
   Finally, along with references to main characters and storylines from
popular entertainment and the arts, and leads on folk lore, I would 
welcome
any anecdotes readers wish to share --light or heavy stories. Since I am
after patterns and trends, there is no reason for names to appear.
Incidentally, anecdotes of bureaucratic and organizational culture outside
of Japan are welcome, too.

Please reply to me at wittevee at pilot.msu.edu

Guven Peter Witteveen
Visiting Research Fellow
National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka

*A draft of a paper on the subject of _shimin sanka_ (citizen 
participation)
I've posted to:
www.msu.edu/~wittevee/publications/ajj99

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