Inoue Yasushi Award for Outstanding Research in Japanese Literature in Australia

2009 The Third Inoue Yasushi Award for Outstanding Research in Japanese Literature in Australia

The Inoue Yasushi Award for Outstanding Research in Japanese Literature in Australia was inaugurated for 5 years in 2007, and is awarded annually for the best refereed journal article or book chapter published in English during the previous year by a researcher based in Australia. The recipient will receive $1000 as well as a certificate of the award’s conferral.

Inoue Yasushi was a prominent post-Second World War novelist and poet. He wrote in many genres ranging from contemporary novels focusing on social problems to historical novels. He was a unique writer who managed to combine serious themes with fascinating and intriguing plots. Inoue’s works are still very popular, reaching a wide general readership as well as scholars and intellectuals. The Inoue Yasushi Memorial Foundation established the award in order to encourage Australian interest in Japanese literature generally, and in Inoue Yasushi more particularly. The Foundation also generously donated 28 volumes of Inoue Yasushi’s collected works, which can be found in the East Asian Collection of Fisher Library at the University of Sydney.

In 2008 Dr Roman Rosenbaum of the University of Sydney received the award for his article entitled “The ‘Generation of the Burnt-out Ruins’”, which was published in Japanese Studies (Vol. 27, No. 3, December 2007). Dr Rosenbaum received his award at a ceremony held at the Japan Foundation in Sydney, which was followed by a showing of Fûrin Kazan (The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan), a film based on Inoue Yasushi’s novel of the same name.

How to apply
Deadline for applications is Sunday 15 February 2009
Applicants for the 2009 award should submit a statement of the significance of their work, a 200 word abstract and three hard copies of their journal article or book chapter, published in 2008, or preferably, one electronic copy and one hard copy by Sunday, 15 February 2009. Due to this early cut-off date, in-press articles and book chapters which will bear the publication year as 2008 will be accepted with evidence. The winner will be announced on Friday 20 March 2009.

Submissions should be sent to the Chair of the award selection committee, Dr Yasuko Claremont.

Postal address:
Department of Japanese Studies
School of Languages and Cultures A18
University of Sydney, NSW 2006.

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