This paper addresses rethinking geopolitics from below by interviewing three Palauan women who lived under the Japanese rule. Republic of Palau was once integrated into Japanese empire as the mandate territory of League of Nations between 1920-1945. Koror island in Palau was a center of the mandate administration, where the headquarter of Nan’yo cho (South Seas Government) was located. The government provided new school system for the Palauan children; three years’ public schools (Kogakko) and supplementary two year course for promising youngsters (Hoshuko). Japanese language consisted the half of the classes and Japan-oriented moral education was also stressed. More than 600 Japanese words are still remained in present Palauan language and Palau is often called as the colony most loved Japan. While elderly women interviewed stated the memory of Japan time with sympathy criticizing postwar Palau society under US influence, their narratives should be carefully scrutinized in terms of the power relationship between the researcher and the researched as well as the Palauan and Japanese society.
Mots clés : geopolitics from below|women's narratives|Nan'yo cho|Palau|Japanese empire
A105183KK