Dr. Yuichi Tsukada

My book, Shakespeare and the Politics of Nostalgia (London; New York: Arden Shakespeare, 2019), is available worldwide. It can be found in major bookshops around the world, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Blackwell's, Bloomsbury, Foyles, Waterstones and WHSmith. The paperback edition was released in 2020.

Short Biography
Dr. Yuichi Tsukada is an Associate Professor of English at Seikei University. He received his BA and MA from the University of Tokyo and his PhD from King’s College London. His journal articles on Shakespeare have won him fellowships and awards, including the University of Tokyo President’s Grand Award and the Young Scholar Award of Special Merit from the English Literary Society of Japan. His monograph, Shakespeare and the Politics of Nostalgia (London; New York: Arden Shakespeare, 2019), has received international acclaim, earning positive reviews from major international journals.

 Yuichi Tsukada, Shakespeare and the Politics of Nostalgia (London; New York: Arden Shakespeare, 2019)

"This is an exciting re-evaluation of Shakespeare's engagement with the icon of Elizabeth I in his Jacobean plays. It examines the tropes of Elizabeth as a warlike queen, an imperilled princess and a bringer of peace as they were contested within Jacobean politics and culture. The book reveals a much more subtle and ambivalent response to Elizabeth by Jacobean Shakespeare than has previously been acknowledged." Professor Jane Kingsley-Smith, University of Roehampton

Recently reviewed in Theatre Journal (Johns Hopkins University Press):

“The greatest strength of this study is Tsukada’s rich, nuanced rereadings of scenes from (and indeed critical interpretations of) Macbeth, Antony & Cleopatra, Coriolanus, and Cymbeline that would on the surface seem to be done to death. This book proves the contrary—that it is possible to find more complexity in Shakespeare’s engagement with both the monarch on the throne (James) and the looming shadow of his predecessor (Elizabeth) than has been previously assumed. In addition to discussing Shakespeare, Tsukada engages with other contemporary dramatists, poets, and essayists; James’s own official statements and policies; and the copious modern critical tradition. The result is a study that builds upon, rather than tearing down, those with whom it disagrees. Furthermore, the book’s conciseness, its careful engagement with critical conversations, and its clarity of style and argument make it especially useful for undergraduates approaching these thornier late plays, and for graduate students seeking models for how to productively engage with the enormous volume of Shakespeare criticism already available.”

From Theatre Journal, Volume 73, Number 2 (2021): 253–54 (253)

Also reviewed in:

Choice, Volume 57, Number 6 (2020).

Kritikon Litterarum, Volume 50, Issue 1-2 (2023): 163-66.

Renaissance Quarterly, Volume 74, Issue 1 (2021): 355-56.

Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, Volume 60, Number 2 (2020): 387-435.

The Year's Work in English Studies Advance Article, Volume 7 (2021): 60-61.

The latest review of Shakespeare and the Politics of Nostalgia in Japanese:

"Based on extensive historical discussion, meticulous analysis of literary texts of the time, including Shakespeare, and the fascination of solving mysteries, this book is a very rewarding research book to read. . . It has been reviewed in several international journals, where it has been recognised as an excellent work. This book, which wonderfully interprets Shakespeare's plays in their historical context, comes highly recommended not only for researchers but also for undergraduate and graduate students." (translated from Japanese)

Eibungaku Kenkyu (The English Literary Society of Japan), vol. 100 (2023): 59-63 (60-62)