NEWThe 207th Asian Forum "Tanka and the Japanese Language: The Representation of the Empire in Avant-Garde Tanka"

The Institute of Asian Cultural Studies will hold the 207th Asian Forum  "Tanka and the Japanese Language: The Representation of the Empire in Avant-Garde Tanka", as follows.

Lecturer:  Masashi SEGUCHI (Doctoral Program in Japanese Literature, Graduate School of Arts, Rikkyo University)

Date: 10 December, 2025 (Wed) 16:00-17:30 (Japan time)

Language: Japanese

Venue: International Christian University *Applicants will be notified of the venue by email prior to the day.

Summary of lecture:

In the tanka expression (a form called "avant-garde tanka") from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s, how were Japan's "former colonies" represented? Taking as examples the phrase "sokoku" (homeland) in Shuji Terayama's tanka Matchi suru tsukanoma umi ni kiri fukashi mi sutsuru hodo no sokoku wa ariya (from Sora ni wa hon, 1958) and the metaphor suggesting Emperor Showa in Kunio Tsukamoto's tanka Nihon dasshutsu shitashi kotei pengin mo kotei pengin shiiku gakari mo (from Nihonjin reika, 1958), we will examine the unavoidable issue of the relationship between postwar tanka (or the Japanese language itself) and East Asia.

Application: Please register in advance via the link below. The deadline for applications is 12:00 on 10 December, 2025 (Wednesday).

https://forms.office.com/r/pF09r1feEN

We look forward to your participation.