Sayako Kanda - Awarded in 2017
Participant Profile
Sayako Kanda
Asian Economic History, South Asian History1994: Graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Keio University 1997: Completed the Master's Program at the Graduate School of Economics, Keio University 2005: Obtained a Ph.D. in History from SOAS, University of London. After serving as a lecturer at the Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University, and an associate professor at the Faculty of Economics, Keio University, she has held her current position since 2013. 2017: Awarded the 60th Nikkei Prize for Excellent Books in Economic and Social Science *Profile and position are as of the time of the interview.
Sayako Kanda
Asian Economic History, South Asian History1994: Graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Keio University 1997: Completed the Master's Program at the Graduate School of Economics, Keio University 2005: Obtained a Ph.D. in History from SOAS, University of London. After serving as a lecturer at the Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University, and an associate professor at the Faculty of Economics, Keio University, she has held her current position since 2013. 2017: Awarded the 60th Nikkei Prize for Excellent Books in Economic and Social Science *Profile and position are as of the time of the interview.
A Simple Question Becomes a Life's Work. Scholarship Is a Wonderful Companion for Exploring It.
Encountering Her Research Theme
As a student, I encountered the world of India in Singapore's "Little India." I decided to go to India immediately, choosing Calcutta (now Kolkata) simply because the airfare was the cheapest. There, I was profoundly struck by the intense foreignness of "the real India," and the question, "What is India?" began to bubble up inside me. In particular, seeing people lounging leisurely on the legacy of the British Empire made me wonder what colonial rule was all about. As it was also time to choose a seminar, I looked for a place where I could study "something about India," which led me to an economic history seminar.
The Appeal and Fascination of the Research Theme
This research focuses on India during the rule of the British East India Company from the late 18th to the early 19th century, specifically Eastern India, a region that includes the present-day Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha, as well as Bangladesh. This was a period when India's politics, society, and economy underwent significant transformation. I sought to clarify the nature of this transformation not through the framework of colonial rule, but by examining the changes in the market for the commodity of salt from multiple perspectives. As a result, I found that the salt market was being changed by various factors and their interactions, including policy, finance, currency, the environment, energy, tastes, law, rituals, religion, management, and public opinion. To answer my initial question, "What is India?," I believe economic history is a fascinating field of study because it allows for the analysis of markets that change under diverse conditions over time.
A Message for Students
My encounter with India and the academic field of economic history as a student greatly changed the course of my life. I encourage all students to venture beyond the campus and into the "wider" world. For me, this meant India and the United Kingdom, where I studied abroad. I met stimulating people and learned many things. Of course, the wider world is not limited to foreign countries. I hope you will take on various challenges, whether in your studies or other activities. I often say this, but I believe it is important to acquire both imagination and creativity. In my case, both were forged through seminar activities, traveling abroad, and studying abroad during my student years, and I feel that this expanded my own potential.
(Interview conducted in December 2017)