The Minidoka Pilgrimage 2003, a bus trip visiting one of 10 Japanese American WWII interment camps after 60 years, was an opportunity for representing collective memories in Japanese Americans communities of northwestern coast of the US. The camp site, now farm land, is a symbolic place of the past passion of Japanese Americans, and is now designated as a National Historical Monument. Participants in the Pilgrimage consisted of former internees, their descendants and others who intended to understand the community's past and share their narrated stories of lived experiences. I examine the Pilgrimage from Pierre Nora's perspective as 'Les lieux de memoire' and oral stories narrated by young part Japanese Americans who actively contributed to organize the pilgrimage, discussing their identities, asking why they sought to have the opportunity where lived experiences were told and collective memories were represented, how they construct their identities as Japanese American by sharing these stories, which could not be heard in their families, in the community.

View full abstract

Oral history approaches have been developed within historical studies, and the methods can be categorized into three types: for the first type of oral history, oral evidence is used for reconstructing historical facts; the second type of oral history analyses subjective voices or subjective views in making history; and the final type of oral history, that is oral life history, is doing research on or interviewing a life story teller. This paper explores the meaning of the third type of oral history, oral life history, which has been developed as life history studies in Japan. Firstly, the definition of life-history and the methodology of oral history are discussed. For this purpose, the paper illustrates "the configuration of life-history" and explains derivative concepts, for example "social history," "life story," "biography" and "ethnography". Secondly, the author discusses details of research or interview techniques and the relationships between the interviewer and the interviewee, expounding on the meaning of "dialogue," and the bias or contradiction in the research process. Finally, I bring up ethical problems in oral life-history approaches.

View full abstract

The objectives of this paper are twofold: They are to introduce how the 2005 Advanced Oral History Summer Institute, sponsored by the Regional Oral History Office of the University of California at Berkeley, was conducted and to share observations as to how the institute planned its program to ensure that it catered to the current needs of oral historians and practitioners. Based on such observations, an attempt is made to include suggestions for possible future training programs in oral history in Japan.

View full abstract

Interdisciplinary studies based on orality have now started to flourish among sociologists, historians, anthropologists, and so on in Japan. In order to anticipate the potential of oral history in Japan, this paper examines historiography of British oral history since the 1970s. For this purpose, the author categories British oral history, partly adopting Michael Frisch's classification, into four: oral history as 'more history', as 'anti-history', as 'how history' and as 'public history'. Tracing the development and diversity of oral history in Britain since the 1970s, the author attempts to find the characteristics of British oral history such as the emphasis of individual narratives and subjectivity that have formed the agency for social change. Compared to Britain, positivism in history is still strongly believed in Japan and individuals' subjective views of the past are often neglected. The author, therefore hopes that oral historians in Japan will pursue non-hegemonic individual memories of the past, accepting the diversified potential of oral history in Japan.

View full abstract

In this article I discuss the life of Hibakusha (victims of the Hiroshima or Nagasaki atomic bombing), analyzing narratives Atomic Bomb survivors' experiences. Their narratives have been for a long time intended to be heard in the context of political movements against atomic and hydrogen bomb, for claiming compensation, or for other peace movements. By ascribing these purposes to their stories, Hibakusha have commemorated the dead and longed for peace. I do not deny this, but I think, having long repeated the narratives, Hibakusha have given another meaning to the narration. How have Hibakusha in their lives, regarded their own narration? Examining their narratives, we will be able to see his/her life in part of Hibakusha.

View full abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore potentialities for self-help groups of mental health service consumers and mental illness survivors interviewing them and examining their own stories. I think that such consumers and survivors can become the agents for promoting their independent lives. The paper first illustrates the historical development of self-help groups of mental health service consumers and mental illness survivors in Japan and Canada, which shows the long-term challenges of promoting their own independent living. Second, the paper examines life histories of mental health consumers and survivors in Canada, and the author search for potentialities of those in Canada. Finally, reflecting the Canadian experiences, I search for the potentiality of my 'Self' as an activist of a self help group called Choral Taito.

View full abstract

[in Japanese]

View full abstract