Japanese Literary Studies and Education in Australia ：From the Post-3.11 Period to the Age of COVID-19

Abstract

Having concluded four decades of teaching Japanese Language and Literature at Australian universities, now seems to be a good time for me to review various developments in the fields of research into and the teaching of Japanese literature. Broadly speaking, there has been a shift from the earlier kokubungaku (national literature) and nihon bungaku (Japanese literature) models to the multicultural nihongo bungaku (literature in the Japanese language) model, accompanied by constant deconstructions of the canon and the questioning of biases and stereotypes which formed on the basis of gender, genre, region and so on. Particularly important in the last decade has been the notion of post-3.11 literature. There have been a number of significant international events which have directly and indirectly contributed to the remembering of the triple disaster of 2011, and to the literary quest to discern and convey hope for the future. Since 2011, the University of Queensland has welcomed acclaimed and internationally recognised poets, writers, translators, and scholars such as Roger Pulvers, Tawada Yōko, Jeffrey Angles, Tsuboi Hideto, and Itō Hiromi. Their lectures, expositions and master classes have enabled a wide range of audiences to share in the struggle to realise hope and revitalisation through literature. Humour plays an important role in the release of tension and the overcoming of crises, and it may be of some help in the age of COVID-19.