Third Thursday Lecture: Preserving Culture on the Margins: Toyama Prefecture in the Postwar Era

Dr Peter Siegenthaler

Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow 2013
Senior Lecturer, Department of History, Texas State University, San Marcos

 

ABOUT THE LECTURE

The populist tone that has characterized recent Japanese elections recalls a time more than fifty years in the past when people on the margins of society were seen, as never before, to hold a key to the future of the nation. This talk looks primarily at articles, editorials, and special issues of writings by young people drawn from Toyama-based newspapers from the 1940s and 1950s to explore firsthand the roles played by local residents in the definition of heritage in the early postwar era. By focusing on the negotiation of cultural preservation in Toyama in the early 1950s, specifically the definition of what objects and places should be considered fundamental to the marking of local and national identity, we might gain perspective on what was at stake for the whole of Japan by way of dynamics taking place apparently far from the centre.

 

Admission is free and all are welcome. Booking essential.

 

To avoid disappointment you are advised to reserve a seat by contacting the Institute, stating your name, the number of seats required and a contact telephone number or e-mail address.

 

ENTRY CANNOT BE GUARANTEED AFTER 6.00PM. We regret that there is no parking available in The Close.

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.