I thought it was because of my inability to read Japanese

Enslaving Korean women specifically, being obsessed with succession planning back at home . . . something is going on with reproductive anxiety

Like there’s some kind of angle here that is both literally and culturally about problems of reproduction - Tsurumatsu’s death, Hideyoshi’s story of his miraculous birth, generals invoking Jingū and/or the Virgin Mary . . .

There’s this whole thing I’m interested in writing about Hideyoshi’s conquest of Korea and the problem of reproduction - this book actually does everything *except* women. Even Yodo barely appears.

Some people don’t like a moat, you know.

Here is the statement from our administration:

There was never any political concern raised in any discussion I had about this, and I would have been shocked and appalled if there had been. Our faculty supports gender history of all kinds and would not be quiet in the face of this kind of censorship.

We did have a conversation very early this year about the possibility of hosting it, but there were a number of logistical and administrative - not political! - concerns that made it untenable.

I have no idea what happened with other venues, but I do know that Northwestern never agreed to hold the conference and that, crucially, there was no agreement in place when the call for papers went out.

Can’t wait to read this - more work on Karl Yoneda is always welcome!

Seriously. I have one more piece of a project on this era and then I’m fleeing all the way back to 1582.

It’s called “revisiting the ‘comfort girls” of report #49: race, sex, and information in Asia’s war for empire” - i think it should be out in AHR by the end of the year (and I don’t think it will really ruin my life)

Also points for the student who said Oshio Heihachiro’s rebellion was “incredible stuff.” Indeed.