Nichibunken News

A Nichibunken Academic Encouragement Award 2025 debriefing session was held on July 23rd, 2025.

This award was established in 2023 to foster the next generation of researchers in Japanese Studies. The awardees are selected from doctoral students recommended by overseas institutions holding academic exchange agreements with Nichibunken or international member institutions (Full Member) of the Consortium for Global Japanese Studies. (Please find out more about the award here.)

For the awardees, Nichibunken will provide research support for up to 90 days of their stay at Nichibunken, including research support from time faculty members and researchers and use of the Nichibunken library and research facilities.

At the debriefing session, the awardee, Ms. SUI Zeyu, who had been staying at Nichibunken since June, gave a brief presentation on her research.

Following her presentation, participants, including the Nichibunken faculty members and researchers, exchanged many questions and comments actively.

In addition, at the end of her research stay at Nichibunken, Ms. SUI gave the following report on her research.

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“The Representations of colonial Manchurian railways in Japanese children's literature: The Creation and Transformation of ‘Asia Express’ in Literary Space”

In the former colony of Manchuria, the luxury express train “Asia” once ran, famously called the “King of the Land.” Operated by the state-owned company Mantetsu, it ran between Dalian and Harbin from 1934 to 1943. Developed independently by Mantetsu, its speed, design, interior facilities, and services represented the world’s cutting edge at the time. From the early stages of its operation, Mantetsu invited domestic and foreign journalists and renowned writers to experience the train firsthand, actively promoting the “Asia” Express. During that period, numerous articles, travelogues, songs, and films related to the train were published. The “Asia” Express also appeared in various children’s books, becoming extremely popular among children and serving as an object of dreams and admiration. As these children grew up, the “Asia Express” continued to appear in postwar children’s literature, and its influence extended into the postwar period.

However, considering the colonial context of Manchuria, Mantetsu’s proud “Asia Express” symbolized not only advanced technology and modern civilization but also the colonial domination of militarist Japan, originating from railway interests. Its essence included the violence inherent in colonial control. This raises two central questions: how was the “Asia Express” constructed as an object of children’s admiration, and how did this image evolve and leave an impact after the war? To explore these questions, this study analyzes works of children’s literature from both wartime and postwar periods in which the “Asia Express”, a symbol of the Manchurian railway, appears. For analytical clarity, the study is conducted in two stages: “creation” and “transformation.” Specifically, the research examines the “Asia Express” as a literary space from three perspectives—the external depiction of the train, the interior (passenger compartments), and the external landscape along its route—using text analysis to explore its creation and transformation.

The first stage of this research has already been published in academic journals. During the current stay at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, the first-stage research was further developed. In addition, research materials were collected and preliminarily analyzed in preparation for the second stage of study.

The current findings indicate that, in terms of exterior depictions of the “Asia Express”, wartime children’s literature tended to associate the train’s appearance with images of war, emphasizing its stylishness. In contrast, postwar works highlighted the train’s enormity, linking it with frightening images such as monsters. The representation of the “Asia Express” as a massive entity symbolizes the enormous profits generated through Japan’s extensive control and exploitation in Manchuria.

Regarding the interior space, the luxurious train compartments functioned as “privileged spaces” for colonial authorities. In wartime works, within these closed, privileged spaces, children’s experiences of Manchuria were replaced with the notion of “colonial privilege,” shaping children’s understanding of themselves as part of the ruling group and reconstructing their self-perception as “privileged.” In postwar works, depictions of the luxurious compartments convey an atmosphere of fear, suggesting the darkness underlying the train’s splendid appearance.

Regarding the scenery seen from the train windows, wartime works focused on fertile lands, crops, farmers, and livestock as resources and labor. In contrast, postwar works emphasized pure natural landscapes—grasslands, skies, and the movement of the sun—from the perspective of children. Finally, postwar children’s literature featuring the “Asia” Express shows another characteristic that was not present in prewar works: the train’s image becomes associated with death. These works, either directly or indirectly, link the “Asia Express” to the concept of death, symbolizing both the disillusionment with Manchukuo as a fictitious state and the collapse of militarist Japan, thereby imbuing the train with profound symbolic significance.

During the three-month stay at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, this research benefited greatly from the valuable guidance and advice of Professor Liu and other Nichibunken faculty members, providing important references for the further development of this study. In addition, I could collect a substantial number of research materials, which not only enriched the present study but also created a foundation for future related research.

（by SUI Zeyu, Nichibunken Research Fellow, Academic Encouragement Award）

• Ms. SUI Zeyu
• Q & A session