2020 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Research on the Memory of Repatriation in Postwar Japanese Literature: With Special Emphasis on New Developments in English-Language Studies
| Project/Area Number |
19K23041
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| Research Institution | Osaka University |
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Principal Investigator |
ランブレクト ニコラス 大阪大学, 文学研究科, 助教 (60845981)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2019-08-30 – 2022-03-31
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| Keywords | 引揚げ / 戦後文学 / 脱植民地化 / 移動文学 / ポストコロニアル |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
This project continues to contribute to the development of an emerging academic field examining repatriation literature (hikiage bungaku) written by repatriates (hikiagesha) who returned to Japan after the Second World War. Overall awareness of the importance of exploring this topic has continued to increase over the period of the grant. In particular, the project has benefitted from a multilingual approach, and progress has been made in conveying the importance of Japanese-language repatriation literature to audiences in the English-speaking world. Results have been presented frequently at international and domestic conferences.
From the perspective of literary studies, the project has worked continuously to increase the number of significant postwar Japanese authors who receive attention in English-language scholarship. At the same time, efforts have been made to expand the scope of research on repatriation literature within Japan by stimulating debate and employing an inclusive definition of the genre. More broadly it has become clear that the results of studies on repatriation literature lend new insight into research on such important contemporary topics as immigration, exile, and international law. Further, a focus on the history of international migration has proven to be particularly timely in light of the widespread immobility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are continuing prospects for applying research outcomes to contemporary situations.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The pace of presenting research results at international academic conferences and a variety of domestic events has increased greatly in the past year. Most events that were forced to alter their schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic moved online, allowing fruitful participation to continue. At the same time, conditions for domestic and international travel have remained difficult. This has continued to delay access to essential documents in domestic archives. Because most preliminary research has already been completed, it will be possible to proceed with targeted travel to archives and conferences once travel restrictions have been relaxed.
Several book chapters and articles resulting from this project, written in both English and Japanese, are scheduled for publication in the coming year, including all previously delayed volumes.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Collection and analysis of documents and volumes related to repatriation will continue in order to complete the original research plan. In addition, all outstanding plans to visit domestic archives and museums are scheduled to be completed in the coming year as long as domestic travel is possible. These include previously delayed visits to repatriation museums in Nagano, Kyoto, Tokyo, and Fukuoka, as well as visits to literature museums with relevant archives in Kochi and Kanagawa.
Following up on online participation in international conferences over the past year, in-person attendance at international conferences will allow me to continue construction of an international research network focused upon topics related to postwar repatriation.
Plans have been made to meet with academic publishers concerning my book-length study of Japanese-language repatriation literature.
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| Causes of Carryover |
Significant travel to archives across Japan and to the annual Association for Asian Studies international conference in the United States was again delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I will reschedule the archive visits for this year. Although I was able to present online at this year's edition of the international conference, I plan to attend next year's conference in person to market my book proposal. In addition, new research documents and other volumes may prove to be necessary according to the results of visits to archives. In such cases, I will acquire additional printed materials.
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