Dr. Tsui Shuen LAU
Research Area: Modern Japanese History
Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies
Department of Japanese Studies
Wilhelmstraße 90
72074 Tübingen
Room 206
E-Mail: tsui-shuen.lauspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de
Office Hours: Arranged upon e-mail request.
Profile:
Tsui Shuen (Chris) LAU is a historian of modern Japan and currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Japanese Studies at the University of Tübingen. She earned her Ph.D. in Japanese Studies from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in October 2024. Her research focuses on intellectual history, social history, and empire, with a particular interest in modern Japan’s engagement with global history. She explores how transnational flows of ideas and practices shaped Japan, especially in relation to nation-locality dynamics, the imagination of nationhood, and empire and colonialism.
Research Projects:
Chris is a member of the DFG-funded Emmy Noether Junior Research Group, “The Japanese Alpine Empire: A Transnational Environmental History of Japan’s ‘Alpine’ Landscapes,” led by Jun.-Prof. Dr. Fynn HOLM. Her current project explores the concept of Japanese Alpine Empire in former frontiers and colonies, including Hokkaidō, Taiwan, and Korea. This research positions the Japanese empire within a transnational context, investigating how and why alpine and mountain regions were explored and exploited during both the early and colonial periods. It examines how mountains were reimagined as colonial spaces through hegemonic interpretations, with their natural resources extracted and their economic and religious meanings stripped from the colonized inhabitants.
In addition, she is developing a manuscript based on her dissertation, “Imagining Homeland: Landscape, Locality, and Nationhood in Modern Japan, 1881-1945.” Her dissertation examines the conceptualization of homeland (kyōdo 郷土) in modern Japan, addressing why the nation promoted both love for homeland (aikyōshin 愛郷心) and love for nation (aikokushin愛国心). Her work demonstrates that homeland was a multilayered and flexible space—representing a birthplace, a majestic landscape, or the entirety of Japan. Beyond its physical dimension, homeland also served as an imagined, timeless space that connected the Japanese people to their land, ancestors, imperial lineage, purported traditional values, and national identity. This research further highlights the strong transnational influences on Japan's dual love for homeland and nation, drawing connections to the German concept of Heimat and the U.S. national park movement. By emphasizing the importance of rural localities in the imagination of nationhood, her work seeks to offer a fresh perspective on Japanese nationalism, which is often viewed through the lens of centralized systems.
Her Ph.D. research was supported by the Japanese Studies Fellowship from the Japan Foundation and the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship from the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong.
Research Interests:
Modern Japanese History
Intellectual History
Transnational History
History of Empire
Social History