[Lecture performance]
An Imperial Sake Cup and I

by Dr. Charnvit Kasetsiri, directed by Teerawat ‘Ka-ge’ Mulvilai,
Nontawat Numbenchaphol & Anan Krudphet.
[Language] Thai with English subtitle

An Imperial Sake Cup and I is a lecture performance by Dr. Charnvit Kasetsiri, a renowned historian and specialist in Southeast Asia studies. Charnvit draws a connection between his relationship with the Japanese army in his hometown Nong Pla Duk, Ban Pong, during World War II. In 1964, Crown Prince Akihito and his consort officially visited Thailand, and as a junior member of the Bangkok Municipality welcome team, Charnvit was given a royal sake cup which he has kept ever since. In this lecture performance, he traces personal and micro narratives to reflect objects and memories as well his witnessing of the global social transformation from the Japanese presence in Thailand, the Vietnam War, and the 1970s student uprising in Thailand. He juxtaposes Thailand and Japanese history and subtly unravels the comparison of these two countries. This lecture performance is co-directed by Teerawat ‘Ka-ge’ Mulvilai (performance / stage), Nonthawat Numbenchaphol and Anan Krudphet (video, moving images), and is produced by Gridthiya Gaweewong.

Charnvit Kasetsiri (born 1941) is a History Professor of Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand, and a prominent historian and Thai Studies scholar. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree in Diplomacy with Honours from Thammasat (1963), he pursued his M.A. in Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College, Los Angeles, California (1967) under a Rockefeller scholarship, and his Ph.D. in Southeast Asian History at Cornell University (1972). His thesis, The Rise of Ayudhya and a History of Siam in the 14th and 15thCenturies, was published by Oxford in Asia in 1976. He served as Lecturer of History at Thammasat from 1973 to 2001, founded the Southeast Asian Studies Program in 2000, and was President of Thammasat University from 1995 to 1996. His latest works deal with questions of war and peace, and relations between ASEAN countries – especially between Thailand and Cambodia. He is a co-author, along with Pavin Chachavalpongpun (Kyoto) and Pou Sothirak (Phnom Penh), of Preah Vihear: A Guide to the Thai-Cambodian Conflict and Its Solutions (2013). Charnvit was awarded the Fukuoka Academic Prize in 2012, as well as the award for Distinguished Contributions to Asian Studies by the Association for Asian Studies, USA in 2014.