PRIME-Supported Lecture

A Long Caption for a Photograph:The Land Struggle on Ie Island, Christianity, and the Failure of Bearing Witness

This lecture examines the relationship between Christianity and the land struggle on Ie Island, Okinawa, during the 1950s.

In 1955, the farmers of the Maja district, whose land was forcibly seized by the U.S. military through the use of “bayonets and bulldozers,” fought for their survival. Their struggle has often been described as one carried out in complete isolation, with churches, temples, and universities hesitant to offer support. At the same time, however, individuals from outside the island—including Harold Rickard, a Methodist missionary—sought to stand in solidarity with the movement.

Drawing on Christian representations of the land struggle and archival materials related to Harold Rickard, this lecture explores both the possibilities and the limitations of bearing witness in situations of violence.

Date and Time　　：　Saturday, July 18, 14:00–16:00　For further details, please visit the website.

Venue　　：　Room 2202, Building 2 Meiji Gakuin University, Shirokane Campus

Registration：　Not required

Speaker：

Sora Enomoto

Writer and translator whose research focuses on the history and contemporary significance of war and land struggles on Ie Island, Okinawa. He is the author of Sore de Kimi no Koe wa Doko ni Arunda? and Onban no Raireki. His translations include works by James H. Cone and Saidiya Hartman, including Lose Your Mother and Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments. His Japanese translation of Lose Your Mother received the 10th Japan Translation Award.

Organizer：　Institute for the Study of Christianity, Meiji Gakuin University

Supported by：　PRIME (International Peace Research Institute), Meiji Gakuin University

Members of the press wishing to cover this event are kindly requested to contact the organizer in advance using the contact information below.