Third Thursday Lecture:Midwife and Manga Heroine: Oine Siebold, Nagasaki and the Birth of Modern Japan

This lecture looks at the city of Nagasaki, once considered Japan's only window to the world during the 'closed' period of the Tokugawa era, through literary works and manga. Unraveling the historical importance of the city of Nagasaki on cultural exchanges between Japan and the West in the first half of the nineteenth century, Ulrich Heinze will refer to three key source materials: David Mitchell's exhilarating novel The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (2010), with its focus on life in Dejima from the perspective of a Dutch trader bearing a resemblance to Hendrik Doeff and including a depiction of the Phaeton-incident of 1808; Hendrik Doeff's (1764-1837) own Recollections of Japan, which is now available in English; and Masaki Maki's manga Oine Siebold, on the career of the first female physician and obstetrician in Japan.

Admission is free and all are welcome. Booking essential. To book a seat email us at sisjac@sainsbury-institute.org or fax 01603 625011 up to two days before the lecture stating your name, number of seats required and a contact number. Unless indicated otherwise the lectures are held at the Norwich Cathedral Hostry (Weston Room), Norwich NR1 4EH. The Third Thursday Lecture series is funded by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Charitable Trust.