“The Japanese Colonial Past of the Northern Mariana Islands” is co-sponsored by the NMI Council for the Humanities and the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics of Tokyo, Japan.
It will feature presentations by local and visiting scholars and a panel discussion with local manamko’ who will talk about their personal experiences living under Japanese rule.
Scholars will present lectures covering linguistics, history, musicology, and sociology.
Linguistic presentations include “Archiving the Japanese Language Oral History of the NMI by Dr. Daniel Long; “The
Japanese Language in Taiwan and other former Japanese Colonies” by Dr. Shinji Sanada; and “Recording the Japanese Language on Sakhalin” by Dr. Yoshiyuki Asahi.
History presentations include “Sugar Cane, the War and the Camp in the memories of Japanese Repatriated from Saipan and Tinian” by Dr. Hideko Tsushima; “Reparation issues between the U.S. and Post-War Japan over the Mariana Islands” by Dr. Toyomi Asano; and “Japanese-Chamorro relations during the Mandate Years” by Don Farrell.
Other presentations include “Marching Dances with spread throughout Micronesia” by Dr. Junko Konishi, and “Saipan Town in Angaur Island, Palau: Contact between Micronesian Mine Workers” by Shingo Iitaka.
The symposium will also feature a panel discussion with several Japanese-speaking local residents who grew up on Saipan during the Japanese period. This discussion will be moderated by Long and will include questions from the audience.
The symposium will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is a part of the Humanities Council’s ongoing efforts to study and promote the history of the Northern Marianas.
Additional information about this upcoming event is available on the council’s Web site at www.nmihumanities.org.
