Thread by @SzendiChelsea

It's been almost a month since Shigenobu Fusako of the Japan Red Army was released from over 20 years in Japanese prison. The media continues to treat her with sensationalism, but there ways to try to truly engage with her actions and her legacy 1/

First of all, Shigenobu wrote extensively, and there are many efforts to make her words accessible beyond the Japanese language. @lhkuroda has done an elegant translation of her final newsletter from prison 2/

medium.com/@lisahofmannku…

Shigenobu's daughter, @MayShigenobu, has written in @TheFunambulist_ about the JRA's "revolutionary solidarity work in the fields of medicine, arts, culture, media, and literature," a legacy that remains unknown and worth exploring 3/

thefunambulist.net/magazine/decen…

In my own book, as @setsus pointed out, I replicated some of the media discourse around Shigenobu from the 1970s, including the idea that she was responsibility for the 1972 attack on Lod Airport, for which there is no evidence. 4/

And this was even as I tried to pick apart the media creation of the "terrifying and titillating" female activist! These narratives are durable and dangerous. Those interested in challenging those easy narratives and engaging more deeply can also: 5/

Listen to a dialogue with @MayShigenobu, @setsus, and Anne McKnight at UCSD: "The Dis/Appearance of Mei and Fusako Shigenobu: A Dialog with Mei Shigenobu About 27 Years Without Images" 6/

Read a new book by Kevin Coogan and Claudia Derichs on the Japan Red Army 7/
routledge.com/Tracing-Japane…

And read and follow the work of @TokyoStages, whose book and blog give such detailed yet accessible stories about the Left in Japan, and who is currently writing a book on Adachi Masao. 8/

throwoutyourbooks.wordpress.com