Wednesday 17 July, 2019
9:00am CEST - 1:00pm CEST
The 11th International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) is taking place in Leiden, the Netherlands, from 15th – 19th July 2019.
The Sainsbury Institute, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of East Anglia, has organised two panels which both take place on Wednesday 17th July, which looks at the physical and disciplinary boundaries of Japanese Studies.
Full conference schedule can be found here.
A New Framework for Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies I: Sea Change
Wednesday 17th July| 09:00 – 10:45
Location: Kamerlingh Onnes C0.06
Panel Convenor: Simon Kaner – Sainsbury Insitute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
Panel Chair: Simon Kaner – Sainsbury Insitute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
Presenter: Junzo Uchiyama – Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
“Pottery, Shellmounds, and Monuments: Landscape Management of the Jomon Hunter-Gatherer-Fishers”
Presenter: Sherzod Muminov – University of East Anglia
“Crossing the Sea of Change: Japanese Returnees from the Soviet Camps and their Journeys across the Sea of Japan, 1946-1956”
Presenter: Ryoko Matsuba – University of London
“A Wave of Emotion: ‘The Great Wave’ by Katsushika Hokusai”
More information on the panel can be found here.
A New Framework for Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies II: Incoming Tides
Wednesday 17th July| 11:15 – 13:00
Location: Kamerlingh Onnes C0.06
Panel Convenor: Jennifer Coates – Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
Panel Chair: Adrian Favell – University of Leeds
Panel Discussant: Adrian Favell – University of Leeds
Presenter: Jennifer Coates – Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
“Netflix as ‘Black Ship’: Sea Change in Media Consumption in Japan”
Presenter: Ra Mason – University of East Anglia
“Securing the Sea of Japan: How Tokyo has recalibrated risks and expanded military activities in response to North Korea”
Presenter: Simon Kaner – Sainsbury Insitute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
“Navigating the Seas of Japan: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from the North Sea”
More information on the panel can be found here.
The diverse disciplinary approaches and historical eras covered in this two-part session interrogate how best to advance knowledge about Japan and enrich teaching about the region at all levels. Recent scholarship has focused on borders and boundaries, from the incorporation of Border Studies into Japanese Film Studies and Philosophy, to the question of where the boundaries of the field lie, and how and to what end scholars may cross them. We argue that these divisive metaphors are not fit for interdisciplinary scholarship, nor for the emerging challenge of proving the importance of Area Studies within and outside academia.
We propose the sea as a concept-metaphor for engaging with Japan in truly interdisciplinary scholarship. From the bodies of water surrounding the shimaguni (Island Nation) to the historical impact of those arriving, setting out, or escaping, seas have formed Japanese Studies. Yet seas are not only demarcations or boundaries, they are also frontiers, bridges, and modes of connection. Sea travel was once the fastest means of getting to and from Japan, and trade facilitated by sea routes enrich Japanese material culture while posing political challenges. When conflicts escalate around ownership of sea bodies and islands, as well as the regulation of the missiles that can be fired over these seas, we would do well to remember that the sea connects as much as it divides. This first session demonstrates how we can understand change through the sea and its metaphors, revealing areas of commonality between disciplines and new possibilities for Japanese Studies.