Black Studies in Japan Focusing on Globalization and the Japanization of Black Studies

抄録

In Japan, some of the African Americans' novels and writings had been translated into Japanese even before the end of the War in the Pacific. Although we can see these historical facts, they could not become the cultural main stream. After the war, the Japanese people were eager for culture to liberate themselves, and they wanted to create a culture by themselves for peace. In this politico-cultural climate, The Japan Black Studies Association was founded in 1954 and was influenced by the awakening of Asia and Africa for independence. We can find the founding members' strong will to combine reseach with 'how to lead a human life' in the journal, Black Studies. The situation, in which the black studies in the world is located, is not the same as it used to be in the 1950s, but this strong will has been inherited. Through black culture in our times, we can understand the importance of indigenous cultures, communities and families, religions, solidarity movements and struggles for freedom. These concepts are inter-related, inter-woven with each other and based on people's real position in society. It's up to us whether we can contextualize these concepts through our reseach, inheriting the founding members' will and Asianising black studies.