塚部光貴（Koki Tsukabe）The University of Tokyo Caprivi’s trade policy and the making of the diplomatic relations in the early 1890s
髙瀬航平（Takase Kohei ）The University of Tokyo Secular but Sacred: Public Education, Christianity, and Freedom of Conscience in Late Nineteenth-Century Japan
エレナ ファッブレッティ（Elena Fabbretti）Tohoku University Meiji Society Criticism in Nagai Kafū’s 1909 Diary of a Neo-Returnee
シリクルラタナ ポーンパット (Pornpas Siricururatana) The University of Tokyo Negotiating standards, Improvising resources: Large-scale Construction Projects in Thailand, 1910s-1970s
内川隆文(Takafumi Uchikawa) Tokyo University of Foreign Studies The Unification of Electric Power Systems in 1930s Japan: The Ministry of Communications and its Policies
18:25-18:40 Break
18:40-19:55 Presentations
李談哲（Tanzhe Li）Tohoku University Censorship of Motion Pictures under the Allied Occupation of Japan: The Case of Tohoku University
韓相允 (Sang-yun Han) Tohoku University Reframing Tradition: Hirai Tatsumi and the Occult in Postwar Japan
上村大地（Daichi Kamimura）The University of Tokyo Jacques Monod and Biologism
奥村華子（Kanako Okumura）Nagoya University The Study of Coal Mine Representation on Modern Japanese Literature
石川華子（Hanako Ishikawa）Waseda University Winston Churchill in the British Media: National and Regional Perspectives during the Second World War
英文校閲ワークショップや Research Showcase、2018年に開催された第一回 Early Career Conferenceなど、歴史家ワークショップがこれまで実施してきた試みと同様に、SECCも「幅広い読み手・聞き手に対してどのように研究の核心や新規性、独自性をわかりやすく伝えるか」という点を特に重視しました。
スクリーチ先生は10名の発表に共通するテーマを「authority of Tokugawa」、「the way people looked back at history」、「notion of China」「emergence of modernity」としてまとめ、今後の研究展望として、江戸時代の全体像や「浮世」の捉え方を提起しました。
On June 7 and June 21, 2020, the Historians’ Workshop held workshops on the interpretation and translations of Japanese historical materials. We invited Paula R. Curtis (Yale University), a specialist in Japanese medieval social and economic history), as our lecturer.
In the first session, we discussed fourteenth-century documents related to Daigoji Temple. TACHIBANA Yuta (Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties) and HUANG Xiaolong (The University of Tokyo), who specialize in the history of medieval Japanese religion, prepared the medieval Japanese readings and modern Japanese interpretations, which were distributed to workshop participants. In the second session, we discussed the Kamakura period legal code Goseibai shikimoku. KINOSHITA Ryoma (Historiographical Institute, The University of Tokyo) and SATO Yuki (Rikkyo University), who specialize in the history of legal systems in medieval Japan, presented their readings, interpretations, and insights into the translations of some terms found in the documents.
The following is a brief summary of these sessions.
【A selection of Daigoji Materials】 ・Issues in the translation of premodern historical materials ・Documents discussed: Ashikaga Yoshimitsu Directive (1379), Ashikaga Tadayoshi Letter Facsimile (1347),High Priest Ryūkan Letter of Transmission (1427) .etc. ・Some points of interest: the translation of 護持 as “defense” or “protection、” how to capture the nuance of the term 道具 in religious settings (debating the terms “implement,” “tool” or “instrument”)、how to translate titles of documents provided by scholars that may be interpretative (based on style or function), etc.
【A selection of Goseibai shikimoku】 ・John Carey Hall’s 1906 translation and its influence on present-day research and teaching ・Documents discussed：Article 5 “Regarding land stewards (jitō) of various provinces withholding the annual tribute (nengu) and land taxes (shotō)”; Article 41 “Regarding bound servants (nuhi zōnin)”, etc. ・Some points of interest：considerations in the translation of core terms such as 年貢, 所領, 知行, 奴婢, etc.
We had about 27 participants in each session. Attendees included scholars of Western history and Eastern history, and discussions were held on the differences between land systems and legal systems in medieval Japan and Europe, and the complications that arise when dealing with Japanese terms such as “奴婢,” which is sometimes translated as “slave,” and sometimes as “bound servant.”
Participants also expressed their hopes that (1) by having Japanese and foreign researchers discuss translation together at the word/phrase level we will be able to find common issues that emerge when translating Japanese historical materials (as well as all the non-Western historical materials) into English, and that (2) we might be able to elevate these discussions to a historiographical perspective and reconsider their significance to both Japanese and foreign researchers.
We are still experimenting with the workshop’s format, but organizers are very pleased to know that it was meaningful for all the participants. We are also planning to hold Edo and modern sessions this fall and look forward to seeing you all next time!
For more information, please contact at HUANG Xiaolong (hxiaolong[at]e.u-tokyo.ac.jp).
Historians’ Workshop cordially invites proposals for the Virtual Early Career Conference. The conference will be held on 31st August, 2020. We seek for papers on any topics, periods, and regions from across the historical scholarship. Faced with the global pandemic of COVID-19, academia is currently undergoing dynamic changes. A number of annual conferences as well as small academic meetings have moved online. These transitions reflect a widespread conviction that numerous changes of these days are long-lasting transformations.
We believe that such online platforms enable us to communicate more easily beyond spatial boundaries. Accordingly, we propose to initiate an interaction among young scholars beyond both disciplinary and geographical borders.
We would like to invite young scholars from various fields of the historical scholarship, including art, gender, political, economic, social, cultural, and intellectual history. Thus far, early career researchers have often presented at discipline-specific conferences where audiences share background knowledge. But we find it harder to get opportunities to present our papers to fellow historians who do not necessarily share the expertise. This Virtual Early Career Conference fills this gap, and provides an avenue for sharing our research with broader audiences. To do this, we need to organize and arrange contents more concisely and effectively. And for this purpose, we invite an experienced scholar as a commentator.
In order to improve presentation techniques in online settings, which is another aim of this conference, speakers are warmly invited to attend an optional rehearsal session, held earlier on the conference. We hope that through this conference we could also build an international network among young historians.
Paper abstract up to 250 words in English and a 1-page CV should be sent to: inagaki-kentaro157[a]g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp (Kentaro Inagaki) by 26 July, 2020. The results will be noticed no later than on 31 July, 2020.
For questions and clarifications, please contact at inagaki-kentaro157[a]g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp (Kentaro Inagaki)
Details: Abstract Submission due: 26 July 2020 Eligibility: Postgraduates and anyone within 8 years of finishing a doctoral degree Venue: Zoom Date: 31 August 2020 (13: 00-18: 00 JST, full schedule TBC) Format: presentation (20minutes) + Q&A session (15 minutes) Registration Fee: Free Language: English
Research Showcase, one of the flagship events of Historians’ Workshop, provides a platform for Japan-based early career researchers to present their research in English in 8 minutes, followed by a 7 min Q&A. The coming 11th showcase will bring together 10 speakers from Japanese literature and history to start a platform for cross-discipline communication. Dr. Timon Screech (SOAS) and YAMAMOTO Yoshitaka (National Institute of Japanese Literature) will join as commentators!
* To secure better internet connections, participation is limited.
Place: Zoom Date & Time: 11 July (Saturday) 9:00～12:40（JST） Language: English Register now: https://forms.gle/HwTTHRkraqYyz1xn8 Deadline: Jul 9 (Thu) 5:00 pm (JST)
Organizers: IIkura Yoichi（Osaka University） Huang Xiaolong（The University of Tokyo） Ikeda Maho（Hokkai-Gakuen University） Yamamoto Koji（The University of Tokyo)
Contact: Huang Xiaolong hxiaolong[at]e.u-tokyo.ac.jp Download the program here.
