Mr. Frank Dhont, M.A., M. Phil., M. Hum 435 Tempat dan tgl. lahir
300
Sekretariat Perizinan Penelitian Asing Kementerian Riset Dan Teknologi
DIREKTORI PENELITIAN ASING DI INDONESIA
2010
Abstrak
This historical research will focus on the whole society in all its segments and in what way the ordinary people, civil institution and the local rulers responded to the
pressures of a Japanese occupation. Geographically the focus of the research will not be Batavia with Sukarno and Hatta but the Yogya-Solo area formerly known historically
as the Vorstenlanden and autonomous region of the rulers Mangkunegara, Pakualam, Hamengkubuwono and Paku Buwono. I will be asking questions such as: how did these
areas respond to the Japanese occupation and in what way are these centers of traditional culture and Indonesian Javanese heritage transforming in order to emerge after the
war?
When in 1942 the Japanese occupation of Indonesia started, a time of confusion began for Indonesians. The Nationalist movement of Indonesia had achieved a measure
of unity before but there had not yet occurred any break-through progress towards independence. The Japanese promised to become Indonesia’s elder brother and relied
on the help of the Indonesian nationalist to govern in Indonesia. Not all Indonesians however believed the Japanese. Most worked for their own goals. One group who had
always represented traditional ‘Indonesian-ness’ or ‘Javanese-ness’ were the 4 rules of the Vorstenlanden. These rules, who descended from the Sultan of Mataram and had fought the
VOC, still remained and still commanded great respect among the ordinary people of their realms. The symbolized ‘indigenous’ Indonesia and formed a counter-pole of power to the
Dutch government in Batavia. The Japanese respected these four rulers and allowed them to remain where they were with the privileges they had when they occupied Indonesia.
This research will investigate to what extent this situation offered a possibility for these rulers to protect the ordinary people from becoming the victim of the harsh conditions of
the Japanese occupation. How did the both rulers and ordinary people in Yogya and Solo cope with the occupation and how were their lives during that time…? Especially the role
of Yogya as center of traditional authority and successful achievement in transforming a feudal system into a modern state will become the focus of this research.