Nikkei Global Literature: Diaspora, Race, Identity & Belonging

2021 Fiscal Year Research-status Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K12957
• Research Institution: Kyoto Notre Dame University
• Principal Investigator: DeSouza Lyle 京都ノートルダム女子大学, 国際言語文化学部, 講師 (00879687)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: Nikkei / diaspora / race / identity / belonging

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

The first phase of the project (data collection and literature review) was successfully completed in the first year of the project. The principal investigator gathered primary source materials relating to the project from around the world. The corpus of Nikkei diaspora literature for this project has a particular focus on Australia and the United Kingdom. Prolonged attention was given to the entire works of Kazuo Ishiguro especially his first two novels "A Pale View of Hills" (1982) and "An Artist of the Floating World" (1986) which are both set in Japan. In addition to Cory Taylor's "My Beautiful Enemy" (2014) the principal investigator decided to add Masako Fukui's novella "When Blossoms Fall" for its relevance to the themes of (Australian) Nikkei identity and belonging. The materials were read then digitally processed ready for the second phase of the project (data analysis) which uses a methodology combining close reading and CAQDAS analysis. The literature review was completed building upon the principal investigator’s prior knowledge with the latest research relating to race, diaspora, identity, and belonging. After the completion of the data collection and literature review, the research questions relating to the project were clarified and a draft structure mapped for the monograph.

Current Status of Research Progress

2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.

Reason

The data collection, literature review, and draft plan of the monograph have all progressed according to schedule. There have been no unanticipated issues or problems to delay the project, except the timing of the fieldwork has been slightly adjusted in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions.

Strategy for Future Research Activity

The second phase of the project to be conducted in the second year of the project consists mainly of data analysis and interviews. Building upon the data entry performed in the first phase, the Nikkei literature will be closely read and also analysed using CAQDAS software. This methodical yet creative process will provide the raw materials for the third and final phase (writing the monograph) in the third year of the project. Once the data analysis has been completed, interviews will be held with scholars and authors related to the project in Japan, the United Kingdom, and Australia. A public lecture to disseminate some of the preliminary findings of the project will be held at Kyoto Notre Dame University on 1 October 2022.

Causes of Carryover

Money was set aside to pay a research assistant in March 2022, however, the research assistant did not come to work therefore leaving these leftover funds. The usage plan is for the research assistant to make up the missed work in the following fiscal year.