Leiden University Student Repository

Nagel, Nienke (2014)

"Maybe I used to be like that". History and memory in the process of identification among Indisch-Japanese descendants.

Master thesis | Asian Studies (60 EC) (MA)

In this thesis I examine the complications in constructing an identity that is based in a past of conflict, an identity that has been hidden and negatively approached. I focus on three Indisch-Japanese descendants, whose stories show the problems they faced in constructing an identity in a sphere of taboo. I will show how by deriving more information about their past, they can rethink the memory of their history and as such bring a new form of negotiating their identity. In this thesis, I look at the trip to Japan as a central source of gathering information about their background. The stories show that identification to a Japanese background is a process that takes shape over time.

identification

indisch

japanese

war children

history

Author

Nagel, Nienke

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

MA Asian Studies; Politics, Society and Economics

Supervisors

Ezawa, Aya

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en