Discussion
On Oct 22, 2024, the 289th Expert Seminar on Japan was held in a hybrid format. The event was attended by 15 people on-site and 10 people online. Dr. Sojin Cho, a lecturer from the Department of Japanese Studies at Sookmyung Women’s University, delivered a presentation titled “The Zengakuren Movement Seen Through the Practice of ‘Archiving Activism’: The ‘Minikomi’ of the Nihon University Struggle.” The presentation covered the following points:
The presenter largely divided the lecture into several topics, including the Zengakuren (All-Campus Joint Struggle) movement in 1968, the university struggles, the specificity of Nihon University as the setting, and the act of archiving as “archivism.” She explained how the anti-authoritarian consciousness developed through experiences such as the Vietnam anti-war movement and how the post-war Japanese higher education system shifted from qualitative issues due to a rapid increase in universities, mass openings, and a focus on employment-driven education.
In this context, Nihon University, often referred to as a "mammoth university," became a representative case. With the quantitative expansion of the university leading to a weakening of educational substance, and student activities being suppressed through violence, students formed the Zengakuren of Nihon University as a voluntary group, spreading the movement with the goal of mass collective bargaining. These students, known as the "Dankai" generation, were the driving force behind the student movements of 1968. Their street protests, a form of resistance against the repression of self-expression by violence, marked the beginning of what is called "archivism."
A key characteristic of the Nihon University Zengakuren was its composition of numerous individuals who were not tied to any specific political ideology but rather emphasized the autonomous expression of individual thoughts and actions. "Archivism" involved independently disseminating information during the movement and recording it through various media channels, which, as Dr. Cho emphasized, sought to socialize the movement through the practice of recording. The unique aspect of these records was that they were created not by central figures but by individuals who voluntarily documented the struggle. These records were made without the help of experts, giving them a vivid sense of immediacy. Even today, the alumni organization “Nihon University 930 Meeting” continues these archival activities, and their "archivism" is ongoing, with implications beyond the Nihon University struggle, contributing to broader social awareness.
Following the presentation, a Q&A session took place. Questions were raised about the researcher's motivation for choosing this topic, the uniqueness of the Nihon University Zengakuren compared to other universities, the current state of the Zengakuren movements at other universities, the percentage of female participants in the Zengakuren, criticisms of university struggles, and how Japan's alumni culture may have enabled the “Nihon University 930 Meeting” to continue. Additionally, there were questions about why participants joined the Zengakuren movement and how historians can comprehensively define the movement. After the speaker's responses, the session concluded.
