By Yurika Sugie
Manager, Japanese Studies Department
The Japan Foundation, Sydney
Welcome to Volume 12 of New Voices in Japanese Studies. This year’s volume features five papers and five reviews from emerging researchers at various stages in their careers. The Volume 12 author cohort is made up of recent PhD graduates, PhD candidates and Honours graduates, all with ties to either Australia or New Zealand, and all of whom demonstrate a passion for and commitment to research related to Japan. The Japan Foundation, Sydney is delighted to provide this platform for their work, and hopes that these authors can use the insights gained from this early publishing experience to guide and strengthen their future academic publications.
As is usual for New Voices in Japanese Studies as an interdisciplinary journal, the papers and reviews in this volume cover a broad range of subject matter, from immigration and citizenship through to religion, canonical literature and popular culture. Across this breadth, I am delighted to note that the Japan-Australia relationship is a recurring theme across a number of the contributions. A paper by Tomoko Horikawa and a review by Shannon Whiley both take up the subject of immigration from Japan to Australia in the early nineteenth century. This work is complemented by a review by Alexander Brown, our Guest Editor for this volume, which discusses a recent book titled Japan in Australia, as well as a paper by Aoife Wilkinson which explores perceptions of citizenship and nationality among contemporary Japanese Australian youths. The strong relationship between Japan and Australia underpins not only this volume but also the journal as a whole, and it is gratifying to see this reflected so concretely in this year’s submissions.
On behalf of The Japan Foundation, Sydney, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has been involved in the production of this volume, and without whom it would not have been possible. I wish to thank the authors and their supervisors for choosing New Voices in Japanese Studies, and the Editorial Board whose invaluable advice has strengthened the work in these pages. I wish to thank the Guest Editor, Dr Alexander Brown, for the time, effort and enthusiasm that he devoted to this volume, which has benefited not only the papers and reviews but also the authors themselves. Thank you to Kevin Vo, who has produced the layouts and updated the website, and finally also to the Series Editor, Elicia O’Reilly, for her hard work in continuing to improve this journal and in bringing this volume to fruition.
New Voices in Japanese Studies first began as a way of supporting emerging researchers and identifying shifts and trends in Japanese Studies locally over time. We look forward to watching the authors in this volume as they continue to develop their research portfolios, and wish them the very best in their endeavours as they do so.
(August 2020)