We are pleased to invit e you to the next Japanese Studies seminar.
Mr. Daisuk e Nakayama (First Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands) will open the research seminar with a brief address.
Dr. Nanako Ota (Nichibunken, Kyoto) and Dr. < strong>Marek Jancovic (VU Amsterdam) will present their rese arch, followed by informal Q&A/discussion and a borrel/drinks rec eption (see details below).
Dr. Nanako Ota will present on:
"Voyaging Voices: Tracing Japanese Historical Sound Recordings through Multi-Archival Research"
Japanese Studies has developed alongside the global expansion of Japanese popu lar culture and now appears to be at a point where new directions are needed. This presentation explores what forms of Japanese Studies ar e both necessary and feasible in today’s challenging context, using radio as a case study—a medium that has shaped Japanese popular cu lture over the past century since its birth in 1925. The presenter’ s research focuses on identifying and analyzing largely overlooked ma terials on or related to Japanese broadcasting held overseas, particu larly in the United States, the United Kingdom, and The Netherlands. By gathering these dispersed voices and situating the Japanese case w ithin broader global trends, the study seeks to illuminate a new traj ectory of Japan’s radio history, as well as its place and significa nce within the wider history of global popular culture.
Dr. Mar ek Jancovic will present on:
"Digital Methods, Analog M edia: The Local Challenges of LLM-Assisted Historical Research on the Example of the Japanese Photochemical Film Industry"
The massive recent advances in large language models represent a gene rational leap for historical research, particularly in areas such as text recognition, document retrieval and structured data extraction. The latest LLMs vastly outperform prior computational techniques in a ccuracy - yet there are also interesting regional blind spots in whic h the technology fails. Historical Japanese sources present a particu larly difficult context for document digitization.
Utilizing th e corporate histories of the Japanese photochemical industry - compan ies such as Fujifilm, Konica, and Daicel - this presentation will his toricize Japan's position in the global history of cinema and photogr aphy from a material and environmental perspective and, in parallel, examine some of the characteristics that make Japanese historical rec ords uniquely challenging to study with emerging LLM-assisted digital methods.
This event is part of a series organized by Dr. Carol yn Birdsall and Bruno Luberti (University of Amsterdam), co-hosted by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in collaboration with the International Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken).
Everyone is most we lcome! The event is open to all staff, researchers, students, PhD can didates, and everyone interested. Sign up here.
DESCRIPTION: Mr. Daisuke Nakayama (First Secreta ry at the Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands) will open the research seminar with a brief address. Dr. Nanako Ota (Nichi bunken, Kyoto) and Dr. Marek Jancovic (VU Amsterdam) will present their research, followed by informal Q&A/discussion and a borrel/drinks reception (see details below). Dr. Nanako Ota will present on: "Voyaging Voices: Tracing Japanese Hist orical Sound Recordings through Multi-Archival Research" Jap anese Studies has developed alongside the global expansion of Japanes e popular culture and now appears to be at a point where new directio ns are needed. This presentation explores what forms of Japanese Stud ies are both necessary and feasible in today’s challenging context, using radio as a case study—a medium that has shaped Japanese popu lar culture over the past century since its birth in 1925. The presen ter’s research focuses on identifying and analyzing largely overloo ked materials on or related to Japanese broadcasting held overseas, p articularly in the United States, the United Kingdom, and The Netherl ands. By gathering these dispersed voices and situating the Japanese case within broader global trends, the study seeks to illuminate a ne w trajectory of Japan’s radio history, as well as its place and sig nificance within the wider history of global popular culture. Dr. Mar ek Jancovic will present on: "Digital Methods, Analog Media: The Local Challenges of LLM-Assisted Historical Research on the Examp le of the Japanese Photochemical Film Industry" The massive recent advances in large language models represent a generational lea p for historical research, particularly in areas such as text recogni tion, document retrieval and structured data extraction. The latest L LMs vastly outperform prior computational techniques in accuracy - ye t there are also interesting regional blind spots in which the techno logy fails. Historical Japanese sources present a particularly diffic ult context for document digitization. Utilizing the corporate histor ies of the Japanese photochemical industry - companies such as Fujifi lm, Konica, and Daicel - this presentation will historicize Japan's p osition in the global history of cinema and photography from a materi al and environmental perspective and, in parallel, examine some of th e characteristics that make Japanese historical records uniquely chal lenging to study with emerging LLM-assisted digital methods. This eve nt is part of a series organized by Dr. Carolyn Birdsall and Bruno Lu berti (University of Amsterdam), co-hosted by Vrije Universiteit Amst erdam in collaboration with the International Center for Japanese Stu dies (Nichibunken). Everyone is most welcome! The event is open to al l staff, researchers, students, PhD candidates, and everyone interest ed. Sign up here. We are pleased to invite you to the next Japanese Studies seminar. END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR