The next meeting of the Japanese History Group (JHG) at the Institute of Social Science (ISS), University of Tokyo, will be held on Thursday, April 21, at 6:00 PM in Conference Room 1 (Dai-ichi kaigishitsu) of the Institute of Social Science Building.

Presenter: Curtis GAYLE (Associate Professor, Japan Women's University)

Title: History-writing in 1950s Japan: from center to periphery
Discussant: Tadashi KARUBE (Professor, Graduate School of Law and Politics, University of Tokyo)

The writing of history in early postwar Japan was something innovative, radical and dynamic. Gone were the days when history had served the state and empire. In its place, historians, and in particular Marxist historians, devised the idea of history-writing as an existential activity through which ordinary people could find a new sense of self and community. It was perhaps the People's History Movement that best embodied this bold idea.

The paper will first look at the movement and those who sponsored it to find out what their expectations were for history-writing. It will show that history-writing was seen as a kind of "revolutionary praxis" to empower those on the margins of Japanese society such as farmers, women, factory-workers, students, and others. The focus will then turn to one particular area of Japan, Ehime Prefecture and in particular Matsuyama, to examine how the movement developed on the local level. This will include a close-up look at the Ehime Women's History-writing Circle, whose founders were clearly influenced by the People's History Movement and by several important Marxist historians, such as Inoue Kiyoshi. The Ehime group is noteworthy not simply for its ties to the PHM, but also because it became the prototype for the entire postwar local women's history movement. Connections and distinctions between the national movement and the local group in Ehime will be discussed, and the emergence of this group will be considered in light of the conception of history-writing as a revolutionary praxis during the 1950s.

6:00 P.M., Thursday, 21 April 2011.
University of Tokyo (Hongo Campus)
1st floor, Institute of Social Science Bldg.
Conference Room 1 (Dai-ichi kaigishitsu) For directions, please see:
http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/campusmap/cam01_12_03_e.html

The JHG is a a forum for scholars to present their research on topics related to Japanese history and culture in a bilingual English/Japanese environment. In the interest of promoting dialogue, the forum will provide a discussant chosen for his/her familiarity with the theme or approach of the presenter's research. The JHG is open to the public. For more information, please contact Michael Burtscher (at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia: mburtscher@ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp) or Naofumi Nakamura (naofumin@iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp)