ZACHARY FAIRBROTHER
I'm Zac, a history graduate from Sheffield University. As part of my journey to become a fully fledged historian of Japan, I’ve been chosen as one of 2024’s Daiwa Scholars. I depart for central Tokyo in September.
I’ll be documenting my time in Japan here, with a photography blog aimed at exploring the rich histories of Tokyo and beyond.
This page is also a portfolio of my work, including photography and previous publications, which can be accessed below.
2024 Daiwa Scholar
My own thoughts, musings, and discoveries about Japanese history, told through the photos I take as I explore Japan
Finding Japan
Gallery
Publications
My 2nd year summer project on fascism in postwar Japan, from ultra-rightists in the ‘60s to Nazi imagery in anime
My article for Route57 Issue 19, looking at Japanese colonial policy as pertaining to Ainu dwellings
My article on History Workshop examines the development of feminine aesthetics in contemporary fascistic media
My article for Route57 Issue 18, looking at the story of a school devasted by the 3/11 Triple Disaster
My article on History Matters looks at masculine fascist violence in ‘60s Japan
A brief history of Japan’s modern queer community
An abridged history of the Japanese queer community for the Daiwa Foundation newsletter
About Me
History has been my passion for as long as I can remember. Naturally, I decided to pursue it at university, and plans to train as a history teacher soon turned into a dream of working as an academic.
It was at university that I realised that I was most interested in Japanese history. I’m still not sure what it is that draws me in - Japanese culture, media, anime and manga, even the fact that Japan is so stereotyped. In any case, I’ll be specialising in Japanese history as my career develops.
My particular interests tend to cover the ‘fringes’ - topics and subcultures which destabilise the meaning of ‘Japan’ and ‘Japaneseness'. These include Hokkaido and its Ainu inhabitants; the southern islands of Okinawa Prefecture; Tokyo’s Queer community; racial minorities such as Zainichi Koreans; and the avant-garde.
I’m also interested in radical politics, particularly the far-right. I believe that history can be a powerful social force in fighting against fascism in the present.
I hope to combine my photography with my academic work in meaningful ways, and am gradually developing an interest in the history of photography in Japan.