Sharing in English about source materials essential for Japanese history studies, while integrating research methods from abroad

I have been a member of the International Graduate Program in Japanese Studies (GPJS) since March 2018, when we held symposiums at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy, and Ghent University, Belgium. In the following years, I have had multiple opportunities to exchange knowledge and experience with our foreign colleagues, for instance, as an instructor for the GPJS staff training program at Heidelberg University, Germany.

To give a more recent example, I presented at a mini-panel “The transmuting body of the long 1960s and its legacy: Art, Memories, Textbooks” during the 8th Annual Hasekura International Japanese Studies Symposium held at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. As a member of the Japanese Studies International Research Cluster, I was able to join forces with researchers from Sapienza University to conduct a comparative study of the 1960s in Italy and Japan.^* My panel paper, "Japan's 'Long 1960s' as Seen in High School Textbooks,” elaborated on our findings.

My conversations and collaborations with foreign, mostly European, scholars made it crystal clear that some changes are long due in our field, that is, the history of modern and contemporary Japan. We must gain a good understanding of the differences between the state of research and methodology in Japan and elsewhere and then combine and integrate those different research traditions. For instance, there is a problem of accessibility: source materials on Japanese history are within the reach of Japanese researchers but not their foreign colleagues. This is doubly true for materials related to the history of modern and contemporary Japan: since massive amounts of new documents get opened to the public every year, even updating the information on available sources is a daunting task.

This is exactly why Japanese scholars should introduce locally available materials in English and, furthermore, deliver empirical research based on them. At the same time, it is necessary for us to absorb unique analytical angles and theoretical frameworks that are the forte of foreign researchers. It is true that contemporary Japanese historians will utilize publicly available materials to explore even the minutest matters. But at some point they started to eschew a broad historical perspective so often displayed by their foreign colleagues. I have come to believe that in order to develop the study of Japanese history in the global research environment, we need to understand the pros and cons of research within and outside Japan, merge those differing strands through dialogue and exchange, and perfect them into an approach distinguished by a broader outlook and deep understanding. The above experience and ideas undergird the key policy of the Center of Integrated Japanese Studies established in October 2023. The Center aims to promote “the integration of research methods, combining those that emphasize precise empirical findings with others that emphasize originality in theory and conceptual understanding” (Center Director Yanagihara Toshiaki).

Unraveling the causes and realities of war to confront the problems of contemporary society

This research originates in my own family, whose lives were warped by the war. We never discussed this directly, but my grandmother’s son died from a disease while fighting at the front. My father volunteered into the Navy at the age of seventeen, while my mother had to work under the labor mobilization. Both later regretted not getting a proper education. Conversations with my Grandma and parents made me question the nature of war and its causes. I wondered if looking deep into those questions might help us prevent future wars. This personal project led me to study the history of modern and contemporary Japan in general and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere in particular.

My research was also greatly inspired by my school teachers. Our history teacher in junior high school was keenly interested in the exchange between Japan and Korea. I decided to study the modern history of Japan after taking his elective class on the Japanese rule of Korea. The other mentor who influenced me greatly taught an elective seminar course on modern novel for senior students. We would read writers such as Noma Hiroshi, Dazai Osamu, Ōe Kenzaburō, and Kaikō Takeshi, and summarize and discuss their works in class. Through such discussions, I grew interested in the historical background of those novels. I had always liked castles and was quite fascinated with the Sengoku period, but under the influence of those teachers, my interest gradually shifted towards the history of Japanese wars and post-war periods. They made me ask the major question, ‘What is war?”, which I have been trying to answer ever since.

The GPJS aims to “tackle and break through the complex challenges of modern society” (Program Director Ono Koji), which include wars and conflicts that keep flaring up in various parts of the world. If Japan is to contribute to war prevention, the first step is to utilize its historical experience with the Asia–Pacific War and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Japan once inflicted terrible calamities within and beyond its borders — as a researcher of its history, I am resolved to continue examining the fundamental nature of war and the driving forces behind it.