COMMUNICATIONS

In July, Nichibunken hosted an international symposium examining “Global Perspectives on Japanese Media and Popular Culture History: Critical Lessons from a Century of Broadcasting.” The event built upon Nichibunken’s ongoing “Japanese Popular Culture Research Project” and expanded the scope of international research on Japan.

The symposium was organized by Ōta Nanako of Nichibunken and Carolyn Birdsall of the University of Amsterdam, which co-hosted the event. I am sincerely grateful that I was able to participate in the event, and I would like to take this opportunity to personally reflect on the three days of discussion. Full details of the symposium’s schedule may be found elsewhere.

On day 1, Emeritus Professor Yoshimi Shunya (University of Tokyo, Kokugakuin University) delivered a keynote lecture. On 12 and 13 July respectively, the keynote talks were delivered by Professors Jung Ji Hee of Seoul National University and Henry Laurence of Bowdoin College. These were followed by talks from seventeen scholars, active in different countries and with various areas of expertise. I heard from many participants that they were impressed by the great diversity of lectures and presentations, and the genuine internationalism on display, which I was also struck by. All of the participants approached the discussions with a sense of freedom and openness, and I am sure this was precisely what the two scholars who worked so hard to make this event happen had hoped for.

The Japanese subtitle of the symposium contains the keywords “knowledge” ( chi ) and “challenges” ( kadai ). I wonder what new knowledge the participants garnered, and what challenges they took home with them. For my part, I was reminded, through participation in discussions at multiple sessions, of the importance of issues of “materiality” for media studies.

Thanks to the insights I received and the precious contacts I made at the symposium, I am now able to approach my research on nineteenth century Japanese photography with renewed enthusiasm.

This is the welcome message hand-made by a member of the Nichibunken administrative staff. It was a celebration of the three-day symposium. The photo was taken by author on Day 1 of the symposium.