I research the histories and wars of border islands with a focus on how war changes international borders, and triggers movements of people. The field of study that looks at phenomena related to borders is known as “border studies.”

In particular, I have been observing Sakhalin—an island that stands at the Japan-Russia border—for 20 years or so. In the 20th century alone, the Japan-Russia border was redefined multiple times due to the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War, and the Second World War.

The status of Sakhalin and the makeup of its residents also changed. The island has seen the slaughter of Russian civilians by the Japanese, as well as the slaughter of Japanese civilians by the Soviet Union.

The history of Sakhalin cannot be told without reference to Russians, Japanese, Koreans, and the Ainu. The island is a mishmash of different cultures. The Russo-Ukrainian War has made it difficult for Russians to holiday abroad; as such, Sakhalin has grown in popularity as a domestic tourist destination. Ski slopes first created under Japanese control have been repaired, and Sakhalin is now one of Russia’s leading ski resorts.

Japanese-built buildings, and Japanese supplements and sweets shipped directly from Otaru City are popular there. Although Russia designated Japan an unfriendly country in 2022, there is an unbreakable bond between Sakhalin and Japan. Border studies addresses the goings-on of border regions—regions that defy the color-coded, politically drawn borders found on world maps, and that instead are more a hodgepodge of colors.

Adopting an interdisciplinary approach to the history of the Amami Islands

In addition to Sakhalin, there are other border islands associated with Japan which, through the impact of wars, have seen their national borders redefined and the movement of people. I have recently begun studying one of these: the Amami Islands.

From 1946 to 1953, the Amami Islands were administered by the U.S. army. The islands’ citizens—in Naze (present-day Amami City) in the heart of Amami Oshima in particular—campaigned for the return of the islands to Japan.

But what, exactly, did this campaign entail? And what impact did the Americans believe returning the Amami Islands would have on U.S.-Japanese relations? These are the sorts of questions I am exploring, but it is impossible to understand the islands without first learning about Amami lifestyles and cultures.

For example, the U.S. occupation sparked an unprecedented creation of literature and music in Amami, with theater a subject of particular interest. Songs calling for the return of the islands to Japan came to symbolize the campaign. I wish to combine a focus on political science with ideas from cultural anthropology and sociology, and take an interdisciplinary approach to investigating the post-war history of Amami.

What can historians do to create a future without war?

The victors of war redraw international boundaries. Civilians are helpless—slaughtered or forced to choose between migration and remaining behind and suffering. Such are the aftereffects of wars and the redefining of national borders.

I research the history of wars because I want to create a future without war. War always results in victims. I wish to look at war from the victims’ perspective, not siding with one country or another. I intend to recover historical documents that record victims’ voices. I plan to interview survivors and people who have been told tales of war.

In this way, I hope to cast a light on the hurt suffered by victims of war, to reconstruct those scenarios in which the only possible outcome was suffering—and to communicate this as history. Such a task impacts both the present and the future, and so I find it intellectually incredibly stimulating. I feel that it is my mission as a historian.

First, I plan to write a historical overview of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. A synopsis of the entire history of these islands—that is, one that does not focus on either the Japanese or the Russian point of view—does not yet exist. Few researchers have seen the islands through both a Japanese and Russian prism, hence I believe it is my duty to do so.

The book I recommend

“Nihon bunmei to kindai seiyou ‘sakoku’ saiko” (Japanese civilization and the modern West: a reappraisal of Sakoku)
by Heita Kawakatsu, NHK Books

Previously, modern Japan was thought to have emerged from the shock of its encounter with Europe and its subsequent Westernization. This book was published at a time when there was a movement in historical studies to revise this notion. I read this book in my third year at university, while working a summer job as a Japanese-Russian interpreter in Nemuro, Hokkaido. Every page is intellectually thrilling. It was the first book that I thought was truly enjoyable.

Interviewed: July 2025