Writing Okinawa: Narrative Acts of Identity and Resistance

This book traces the development of Okinawan literature over the tumultuous past century, during which the island experienced imperial subjectification, wartime annihilation, a protracted American occupation, and reversion to Japan. This book is the first full-length study in English of modern Japanese fiction from Okinawa, a region that remains liminal in Japan's social imaginary despite the recent surge of interest in its popular arts and geopolitical position. The book begins with the emergence of modern prose in 1911 and and comes up to the present day, at a time when Okinawa's authors have, in rapid succession, captured critical attention throughout Japan and internationally. The main body of the text traces the developments of the genre of prose fiction from Okinawa through the tumultuous past century, during which the island experienced imperial subjectification, wartime annihilation, a protracted American occupation, and reversion to Japan that left intact the U.S. military base economy. Today, Okinawa remains entrenched in its neo-colonial incarnation as Japan's most heavily militarized prefecture and the weight of these experiences, past and present, clearly informs the region's texts. As a result, imaginative writing there reveals tensions not seen elsewhere. Providing a much-needed critical understanding of how to read this important genre of literature, Writing Okinawa will be essential reading for anyone interested in Japanese literature, as well as Okinawan studies and war-time literature.Bhowmik, Davinder is the author of 'Writing Okinawa: Narrative Acts of Identity and Resistance' with ISBN 9780415775564 and ISBN 0415775566.