The Multifaceted Aftermath of Japan’s Close Encounters with Irish Literature:
A Hindsight of Forty-years of IASAIL/IASIL JAPAN

IASIL JAPAN’s development since its inaugural conference as IASAIL-Japan, with its membership number overshadowing other parts of the world, seems to require reflection and insight into the past as we look to its future at its 40^th anniversary. As one of the original and surviving members from the first conference in 1984 and a former Executive Committee and Editorial Board member, as well as Secretary and President, I feel privileged to share some of my observations on the history of Irish Studies in Japan, and hope they may offer new perspectives for exploration to younger generations.

My brief historical review of Japanese readers’ close encounters with Irish literature will cover nearly 180 years divided into 4 periods: (1) the Meiji era and after (the beginning of modern Japan), (2) the post-Pacific War era, divided in two by the establishment of IASAIL-Japan, (3) the post-IASAIL Kyoto Conference era, which coincided with Ireland’s Celtic Tiger years, when encounters became more direct through other genres of arts, and finally (4) the contemporary era when encounters became reciprocal and diverse. The correlation of societal changes, the similarities and differences between Ireland and Japan, will be referenced from such perspectives as colonialism, equality, gender and diversity.

It is hoped that the examination of these encounters and their aftermaths will illuminate Irish literature’s appeal to Japanese scholars and the roles translations have played; an example, perhaps, to be shared by emerging scholars in the changing world of today.