L. Navid Osbert (東京)
29 June, 2009
The first Monday has come, and I’ve made a bit more progress. I’m but a tiny fraction of the way into the first text, but there are already so many issues to be grappled with in what I’ve covered this week.
We now see machine-guns and grenades. I don’t know how the time-frame could be narrowed any further than by this detail, but somehow historical context has not become any clearer. In fact it is only becoming more obscure, no less because of the parallel use of swords and spears and the utter unfamiliarity of the names of places, people, or groups mentioned. It’s frustrating to be feeling so overwhelmed so early in.
Of course I can’t remember, but I imagine that this must be the way with historical research on primary documents. If I can begin to unlock some details about time and place it will probably all be downhill from there. I wish I were looking at the text in its original Japanese side-by-side with this translated copy. At some point I need to dig through the boxes and find it, but when I peeked in earlier the sheer volume of paper was a little too daunting for me to approach yet. I’m just going to take this one thing at a time, or I won’t get anywhere.
