2021 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Positioning Tokyo as Global City: Anglo-American Narratives of the New Japanese Capital, 1868 - 1922
| Project/Area Number |
18K12316
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| Research Institution | Sophia University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
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| Keywords | English literature / travel writing / Japan / tourism / Tokyo |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
This year I have continued editorial work on "Pacific Gateways", a volume of essays on British travel writing to Japan and other Pacific
countries in the long nineteenth century (co-edited with Tomoe Kumojima). We held regular meetings during the spring of 2022 to co-write the introduction. I also published an essay titled “Orientalising the British Class System: Exploring the ‘Chinese’ Landscapes of Sir William Chambers, 1740 - 1775”, in "Romantic Environmental Sensibility: Nature, Class and Empire" (Edinburgh University Press, 2022), edited by Ve-Yin Tee.
I have also become involved with the "Unknown Tongues" project on Romanticism's minor and marginal languages, led by Brecht de Groote (Ghent University), as part of which I participated in a panel on "Translating British Romanticism in East Asia", held over Zoom (29th April 2022), on "Lafcadio Hearn’s Translations of Japanese Insect Melody”. I am in talks with the organizers of this project about publishing this research in a volume of essays. I also acted as a manuscript reviewer for the University of South Carolina Press, and wrote a introduction of the painting “Two Boys with a Bladder”, by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-97), for the 私の一枚 series on the Tohoku Association for Romantic Studies website.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
4: Progress in research has been delayed.
Reason
As a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, I have had to cancel planned overseas research trips and conference attendance. Because of
restrictions on entrance to Japan, it has also not been possible to hold the international conference on representations of Tokyo since the
Meiji period that I had planned. Accordingly, I have applied to extend this JSPS award by one further year.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
This year I will oversee publication of the "Pacific Gateways" volume (this has been delayed but I hope to have it in print by the end of this award). I will also continue research into an ongoing monograph project on British travellers' responses to the modernizing infrastructure of Yokohama and Tokyo (including steamships and the rail network) from 1870 - 1920. I plan to present findings from this research at domestic and international conferences (in-person or via Zoom).
I have also been working on a side project on Lafcadio Hearn for the Ghent University "Unknown Tongues" project, which I plan to turn into a separate essay.
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| Causes of Carryover |
The reason that FY2021 balance has remained has been the coronavirus pandemic, which has restricted research travel and made it difficult to
organize conferences and visiting speakers. Funds will be used for essential computer equipment and office supplies, and for the purchase of books and e-books relating to the research topic. Funds will also be used for editorial costs relating to the publication of the "Pacific Gateways" volume. Funds will also be used to attend domestic and overseas conferences, either online or in-person (depending on the coronavirus situation), such as the JAER conference at Matsuyama University. I also hope to use funds to carry out overseas research trips, and to invite visiting speakers. However, this depends on the coronavirus situation, as currently (as of April 2022) foreign academics are still prevented from entering Japan. Funds which are unable to be spent for these purposes will be returned at the end of the award.
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Research Products
(1 results)
