Recipient’s Comment

The book Emplacing East Timor is a work on history and historiography that I wrote without expecting much sympathy from the contemporary general readers. One reason is that its subject, Timor-Leste, is a small country with just over one million people. But, more than that, my motivation for this research stemmed from my rather personal experiences: living as a minority in Tokyo during my youth and some unexpected encounters while working for the UN mission in Timor-Leste. These experiences, I used to feel, would be difficult for the majority of readers who have not shared them to fully grasp. 

Moreover, this book is a radical one that systematically deconstructs discourses on East Timor from across the globe—ranging from those rooted in colonialism to the well-intentioned reports by contemporary transnational activists—and, after clearing the field, presents its own distinctive historical perspective. For readers accustomed to widespread narratives on East Timor, there will likely be pages that are hard to accept. 

For this reason, in the dedication I wrote that the book is for my deceased friend (He might correct that he was my “best friend”) “who enabled me to become a minority” and for a ”compassionate future generation.” Keeping the faint hope that one or two generations from now, there might be a few readers who can understand this book, I spent about a decade researching, writing, and revising it. 

Receiving the prestigious Mishima Kaiun Academic Award merely one year after publication is an unexpected event of good fortune. I am deeply grateful to the selection committee of the award and the colleagues who nominated the book as well as the researchers and students from many countries—including Timor-Leste—who have engaged with it with both appraisals and criticisms. It seems to me that Emplacing East Timor has begun its rather fortunate journey beyond the author’s expectation. As its author, I wish to leave words of gratitude: Thank you for reading Emplacing East Timor with open minds and generosity for its contents.