The next meeting of the Japanese History Group (JHG) at the Institute of Social Science (ISS), University of Tokyo, will be held on Thursday, October 11, at 6:00 PM in Conference Room 1 (Dai-ichi
kaigishitsu) of the Institute of Social Science Building.

Presenter: Timothy S. GEORGE (Professor, University of Rhode Island)

Title: 'Toroku: The Longue Durėe Environmental History of a Mountain Hamlet'

Discussant: SUGAI Masurō (Professor, Kokugakuin
University)

Abstract:

Professor George will introduce part of his project on the environmental history of Toroku, a hamlet in the mountains of Miyazaki Prefecture on Kyūshū that became known nationally in the early 1970s for the arsenic poisoning that was Japan’s fourth officially recognized postwar pollution disease. He will describe five key moments in the longue durée environmental history of Toroku, from neolithic times up to the early years of the arsenic mining that began there in 1920 and ended in 1962.

I. Introduction: Dreams and Border-Crossings II.
Hunters and Slash-and-Burn Farmers: Late Neolithic III.
Satō Dōgen: Toroku as Remote Refuge, ca. 1200 IV.
Morita San’ya: Toxic Wealth, ca. 1600 V. Moka-san: Late 19th Century Transformations VI. Tsuruno Kumi &
Seiichi: Chemicals, Local & Global VII. Postscript:
Postwar Struggles, Local, National, Global

6:00 P.M., Thursday, 11 October 2012
University of Tokyo (Hongo Campus)
1st floor, Institute of Social Science Bldg.
Conference Room 1 (Dai-ichi kaigishitsu) For directions, please see:

http://jww.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/guide/

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 Naofumi Nakamura (naofumin[at]iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp).
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Dr. Naofumi NAKAMURA
Professor of Business History
Institute of Social Science,
The University of Tokyo