Japan Brontë Society 40th Annual Conference

The Japan Brontë Society will take place tomorrow, October 10:

Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025, 9:50 AM - 5:30 PM

Venue: Shoin University, Atsugi Morinosatoキャンパス, Building 3, Floor 5, Room 3503 Address: 9-1 Morinosatoﾜｶﾐﾔ, Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture 243-0124

Program Schedule
★ Registration: 9:20~
Master of Ceremonies: Associate Professor Beni Kudo, Rissho University
★ Opening Remarks: 9:50
Professor Emeritus Mitsuko Suzuki, Tohoku University
★ Research Presentations: 10:00~12:00 
Chair: Professor Miwa Ota, Chuo University 

"Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights—Three Narrators"
Miharu Otobe, Teacher, Osaka Prefectural Toyonaka High School

In Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë, 1847), the narrator is the protagonist Jane herself, and Charlotte is considered to directly express her own thoughts and ideals through Jane based on her own experiences. In contrast, the two narrators in Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë, 1847) are not protagonists, and the connection between Emily's biographical facts and the work is not clear. Emily constructs complex human relationships spanning three generations within a double narrative structure, and the characters' utterances and actions are conveyed to readers through Lockwood, who is completely unrelated to the events at Wuthering Heights, and Nelly, who observed and heard everything nearby.

I hypothesize that Emily's attempt to hide her own assertions and thoughts inward while depicting them indirectly and modestly in her work led to this complex narrative structure, and I would like to examine this by comparing with Jane Eyre while also considering the lives of both authors.

"The Rhetoric of Nelly Dean's Narration—Focusing on Appellations and Address"
Hidehiro Yukita, Doctoral Course, Graduate School, Hokkaido University

What kind of person is Nelly Dean, the main narrator of Wuthering Heights (1847), and what significance does her being the narrator hold? This presentation approaches this problem by changing perspective from Keiko Kawamura's argument, which examined "how Nelly is addressed," to consider "how Nelly addresses other characters." Nelly uses various appellations when referring to the same person. For example, she sometimes calls Catherine I "Miss Cathy," "Miss Catherine," or "Mrs Linton," and other times omits honorifics and calls her "Cathy" or "Catherine." This presentation explores the motivation behind such distinctions and discusses the stylistic effects created by different forms of expression, arguing that the various appellations and forms of address used by Nelly play a significant role as rhetorical elements supporting her sophisticated narration.

Chair: Professor Emeritus Haruko Iwagami, Shiga University

"Lucy Snowe's Two Loves—Reconsidering Villette"
Masako Ishii, Part-time Lecturer, Doshisha University

The romantic feelings of Lucy Snowe, the protagonist of Villette (1853), toward John Graham Bretton and Paul Carl David Emanuel have been discussed from different perspectives: feminism and British identity. This presentation aims to complement these approaches and offer a new perspective on her love. When she calls Graham "a true young English gentleman" and continues to praise his character, beauty, and good fortune, she places the ideal of British identity in him and also practices self-love. Having a place (home) in his heart supports her personality. Even when his view of women is socially defined and he sees her only as a "shadow," she submits to this. On the other hand, while she constantly points out Monsieur Paul's ugly expressions and Napoleon-like tyrannical character, he understands her heart and she behaves as his equal. Furthermore, she knows his character of sacrificing himself for others and his love for her, deepening her love for him. Her heart becomes his home as he departs for the West Indies.

"Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea—Bessie and Christophine"
Keiko Inokuma, Associate Professor, Tokyo University of Science

This presentation compares and analyzes Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea. You might think "not again." Indeed, numerous critics and writers, including Gayatri Spivak, Joyce Carol Oates, and Susan Meyer, have repeatedly discussed (and exhausted) both works from postcolonial perspectives and from the perspective of women's voices and narratives. Nevertheless, this presentation takes up these two works again, beginning by focusing on their "beginnings." Interestingly, both Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea focus on the discourse of female servants at the beginning of their works—in the former case, Bessie of the Reed family, and in the latter case, Christophine, who cares for Antoinette. However, in contrast to the critical spotlight on Christophine, interest in Bessie is uniformly low, and there are no studies (as far as I know) that compare and analyze the relationship between the two or their positioning in relation to the heroine's voice. In light of this, this presentation aims to shed light on the previously overlooked connections between these two women while unraveling both classic works.

Symposium: "Charlotte Brontë and Art—From a 2020s Perspective"

Research on "Brontë and Art" began with comprehensive material studies such as "The Brontës' Paintings" (Alexander and Sellars, 1995) and "Brontë and Music" (Higuchi, 2008), and has since developed remarkably through multifaceted individual studies seen in works like "Brontë in the World of Art" (eds. Hagan and Wells, 2008). This "art" encompasses not only their creative work but also painting, music, theater, and even cooking and sewing in daily life, and recently various forms of "art/arts" adaptations are also research subjects. This time, we deliberately title it "Art" and focus on the aspect of "craft/technique" at its root. Charlotte's basic training in learning art at home began with mastering drawing techniques and practicing musical exercises. We want to approach her solid attitude and interest in meticulous techniques.

★ Host University Address: 13:00~13:10
Nanatsuka Ishigami, Dean of Faculty of Communication and Culture, Shoin University
★ General Meeting: 13:10~13:40
Chair: Professor Hiroko Sugimura, Osaka Electro-Communication University
Report from Secretariat: Professor Mari Takumi, Tokyo University of the Arts
★ Encouragement Award Report
Chairperson of Japan Brontë Society Encouragement Award Review Committee:
Professor Emeritus Akiko Kimura, Waseda University
★ President's Address
Professor Emeritus Michiko Kurisu, Daito Bunka University
★ Conference Chair's Address
Professor Mie Abe, Shoin University
★ Lecture: 14:00~15:00
Chair: Professor Kimiyo Ogawa, Sophia University
"The Domain of the Narrator—The Case of Jane Eyre"
Speaker: Professor Akira Tamai, Mukogawa Women's University
★ Symposium: 15:10~17:20
"Charlotte Brontë and Art—From a 2020s Perspective"
Chair/Presenter: Professor Mari Takumi, Tokyo University of the Arts
Presenters: Lecturer Mai Osawa, Meiji University
Associate Professor Ami Hatanaka, Hirosaki University
Associate Professor Yuko Nishiyama, Mukogawa Women's University
★ Closing Remarks: 17:20

"Pleading Narratives and Women's Responses in Jane Eyre"
Mai Osawa, Lecturer, Meiji University

"Women's Lives and Loneliness: The Efficacy of Creative Activities in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Margaret Drabble's The Waterfall"
Ami Hatanaka, Associate Professor, Hirosaki University

"The Overlap of Sound and Art in Jane Eyre"
Yuko Nishiyama, Associate Professor, Mukogawa Women's University

"The 'Art' of the Body in Jane Eyre"
Mari Takumi, Professor, Tokyo University of the Arts
Access Information

Conference Venue: Building 3, Floor 5, Room 3503
Reception Venue: Tiara Hall, Building 3, Floor 9, Room 3904