ISHERWOOD

Currently I am doing research on forms of violence in postwar Japanese literature. My main areas of interest are structural, cultural, and ritual violence as it appears in the works of Nobel laureate Oe Kenzaburo. It is my contention that in its attempt to rapidly modernize/Westernize Japan mimicked the discourse of Western Imperialism, first by internally colonizing its territories, and then by turning the results of this outwards to its neighboring countries, such as Korea and China, colonizing them. Postwar Japan, the illegal US occupation, setting up of military bases, and the signing of the Japan-US Peace Treaty have turned Japan into an ambivalent and ambiguous country. Attempts to expose this history, resistance and dissent have met with fierce and often violent opposition. To look at this process of re-invention I mainly use postcolonial theory, world systems analysis, psychoanalysis, and historiography. Other areas of importance include the constitution (especially article 9) the history textbook scandal, reaction to the national flag and anthem, and minority groups such as the Ainu and Okinawans.