Professor Simon Kaner
Sainsbury Institute and Centre for Japanese Studies

We are pleased to announce that this month's Third Thursday Lecture will be presented online via Zoom. You can enjoy the lecture live from the comfort of your own home, complete with slides and an audience Q&A. We look forward to seeing you there virtually, and we particularly welcome new attendees.

About the Talk
In advance of the 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Disaster of 11 March 2011, we look back at the legacy of the Bunkazai (Cultural Properties) Rescue initiative implemented in the aftermath of the triple disaster that struck the Pacific coast of northeast Japan: the largest earthquake in 1000 years, the subsequent massive tsunami wave, and the melt-down of the Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Station – leaving over 22,000 people dead and devastation on an unprecedented scale in recent Japanese history. The Sainsbury Institute responded with a series of projects through which we tried to gauge the impact on art and archaeology, and the communities involved in the production and curation of what are termed ‘Cultural Properties’. One of the strongest messages of the time was ‘we must never forget’: drawing on a range of sources, including interviews with some key players in Japan, this online event will provide a snapshot of the role of this rescued heritage has played in the recovery of the Tohoku region, and what is happening ten years on to ensure that the memories are not lost.

For this special event, Professor Simon Kaner, Executive Director of the Sainsbury Institute and Director of the Centre for Japanese Studies at the University of East Anglia will introduce a selection of projects chosen by the Sainsbury Institute, and will be joined by Dr Kouzuma Yousei of the newly formed 文化財防災センター (culture properties disaster risk mitigation centre) at the Nara National Institute for Cultural Properties and other colleagues in Japan, with comments by Dr Andrew Littlejohn, Assistant Professor in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology at Leiden University in the Netherlands, whose recent publications include “Dividing Worlds: Tsunamis, Seawalls, and Ontological Politics in Northeast Japan.” Social Analysis 64 (1): 24–43, and“Museums of Themselves: Disaster, Heritage, and Disaster Heritage in Tohoku.” Japan Forum, May, 1–21.  

About the Speaker
Simon Kaner MA Cantab, PhD (2004) is an archaeologist specialising in the prehistory of Japan. As well as being Executive Director since 2018, he is Head of the Centre for Archaeology and Heritage at the Sainsbury Institute. Simon is also is Director of the Centre for Japanese Studies and Chair of the Japan Dialogue Group at the University of East Anglia.

A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London since 2005, he has taught and published on many aspects of East Asian and European archaeology. He has undertaken archaeological research in Japan, the UK and elsewhere and worked for several years in archaeological heritage management in the UK. His research interests include: Japanese prehistory and the history of archaeology in Japan; the urban historic environment in Japan in comparative perspective; Japanese cultural heritage and the international role of Japanese heritage management. He is director of the Shinano River project, investigating the development of historic landscapes along the longest river system in the Japanese archipelago.

He is currently co-editing the Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Korea and Japan (with Gary Crawford and Gyoung-Ah Lee) and a new volume on the Origins of Agriculture in Japan in Global Perspective (with Liliana Janik and Kenichi Yano), both planned for publication in 2021. He is Co-Editor of the Japanese Journal of Archaeology (www.jjarchaeology.jp), and Series Editor of Comparative Studies in Japanese Archaeology and Heritage (Archaeopress) and The Science of the History of Humanity in Asia and the Pacific (Springer). His online projects include Global Perspectives on British Archaeology (www.global-britisharchaeology.org) and the Online Resource in Japanese Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (www.orjach.org). In partnership with the Centre for Heritage Studies at the University of Cambridge he directs the Online Jomon Matsuri.

How to book

This event is free to attend, and open to all. Booking is essential. Please use our Zoom registration form or email us.

An email will be sent to you when you register, containing a Zoom link and instructions for joining the event. To view the lecture or participate in the Q&A, please click on the link provided and enter your details when prompted.

Cancellations

If after booking you can no longer attend join the event, you can either cancel via the link on your registration email, or by email us at the address provided.

If you have any questions or concerns about this event, please contact us.

The Third Thursday Lecture series is funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and Yakult UK.