Creating Tsugaru Studies: The Paradox of Area Studies at the Local Level

Abstract

There is, at present, an emerging body of academic research that is being called Tsugaru Studies. Taking place in the Tsugaru District of northern Japan, these efforts to create Tsugaru Studies have yielded numerous literary translations, two course textbooks, and a locally-produced periodical. This paper considers the content of this emerging Tsugaru Studies, assessing it on its academic characteristics and significance. While language is an important discriminating characteristic of the various genres of Tsugaru Studies, focus on the academic character of the works leads to the conclusion that a major portion of the English language published content can be viewed as limited to describing the characteristics of the place, whereas part of the Japanese language published content can be viewed as making contributions to more in-depth theorization. The implications reveal a paradox of Area Studies research: the work that is widely disseminated fails to advance Area Studies due to its focus on descriptive objectives whereas the work that is limited in exposure could make such contributions, but does not due to the language of publication.