HARDY FORUM ARCHIVE H01090 10/30/01 "HISTORY OF THE HARDY SOCIETY IN JAPAN" ========================================================================== From: "Jeanie Smith" Subject: Hardy Society of Japan Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2001 15:38:46 -0000 Dear list members, I am writing my MA dissertation which is essentially about the use of bibliographies and other resources by Hardy scholars. The background to this includes a look at 'Hardy Communites'. Can anyone give me any information about the Hardy Society of Japan? I believe it was the first Society to be founded. Thanks for your help, past and present Jean Smith. ========== From: "James Gibson" Subject: Re: Hardy Society of Japan Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2001 12:06:55 -0000 Dear Jean, It looks as if the Thomas Hardy Society of Japan was the first in the field, starting in 1957. Below is a quotation from the Society's Bulletin No.26 (1987) written by Professor Minakawa: It was on October 12, 1957, when many admirers of Thomas Hardy gathered at Nihon University in celebration of Dr Yamamoto's monumental work *A Bibliography of Thomas Hardy in Japan*, that the idea of founding The Thomas Hardy Society of Japan was first born. The idea was unanimously taken up, and Prof. Osawa was chosen as the first president of the Society because he had been well-known for his Hardyan studies., Naturally, the new members were ebulient with their hopes of cooperative work in the same field of English literature... (the rest of the piece details the Society's publications and the dates and venues of conferences up to 1987: I would be glad to send you a copy.) Professor Suguru Fukasawa of Chuo University is now the President, and he is also a Vice-President of the Thomas Hardy Society (UK) and his e-mail address is fukasawa@tamacc.chuo-u.ac.jp , and I am sure he would be happy to give you further information. Good luck with your dissertation. All best, Helen Gibson ==========