Thursday October 10th sees the start of our 2013-2014 lecture series, when we are delighted to welcome Professor Charles Schencking from the University of Hong Kong to speak on 'The Great Kantō Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan'.
Charles is Chairperson of the Department of History, University of Hong Kong and an active researcher who has published widely in the field of Japanese history, the history of natural disasters and the history of war, state, and society. Before publication of his 2013 work on the Great Kantō Earthquake, he completed numerous journal articles, book chapters, and a monograph on the social, political, and institutional history of the Imperial Japanese Navy between 1868 and 1922. Since beginning his career, Charles has secured major research grants to support his past and current research from the British Academy, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Australian Research Council and the Hong Kong Research Grants Council.
Summarizing his lecture, Charles writes:
'In September 1923, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake devastated eastern Japan, killing more than 120,000 people and leaving two million homeless. Using a rich array of source material, J. Charles Schencking tells a graphic tale of Tokyo’s destruction and rebirth. In this talk, he documents how the citizens of Tokyo experienced this unprecedented calamity and explores the ways in which it rattled people’s deep-seated anxieties about modernity. While explaining how and why the disaster compelled people to reflect on Japanese society, he also examines how reconstruction encouraged the capital’s inhabitants to entertain new types of urbanism as they rebuilt their world.
Some residents hoped that a grandiose metropolis, reflecting new values, would rise from the ashes of disaster-ravaged Tokyo. Many, however, desired a quick return of the city they once called home. Opportunistic elites advocated innovative state infrastructure to better manage the daily lives of Tokyo residents. Others focused on rejuvenating society—morally, economically, and spiritually—to combat the perceived degeneration of Japan. Schencking explores the inspiration behind these dreams and the extent to which they were realized. He investigates why Japanese citizens from all walks of life responded to overtures for renewal with varying degrees of acceptance, ambivalence, and resistance. His research not only sheds light on Japan’s experience with and interpretation of the earthquake but challenges widespread assumptions that disasters unite stricken societies, creating a “blank slate” for radical transformation. National reconstruction in the wake of the Great Kantō Earthquake, Schencking demonstrates, proved to be illusive. His findings provide important and illuminating historical contextualization to debates and discussions taking place in Japan today as it once again finds itself recovering from a catastrophic natural disaster.'
The lecture starts at 6pm and will be followed by a question and answer session and a drinks reception. It is a free event and all are welcome.