Japanese travel-writing and Pacific War battle sites: Bringing the past into the present

Nishino, Ryota (2015) Japanese travel-writing and Pacific War battle sites: Bringing the past into the present. UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

My presentation explores several Japanese travel-writers’ impressions of Pacific War battle sites in southwestern Pacific Islands. I discuss how the writers engage with the memories of deceased Japanese soldiers and the bereaved families. Unlike other genres of war writing, travel-writers bring the past into the present by integrating travel experience with disparate forms of knowledge. This characteristic gives emotional gravity to two interpretations of the war. Some honour the war dead for the noble sacrifice for peace and prosperity of postwar Japan. Some question the Japanese military strategies that led to the soldiers’ death and the hardship the bereaved families have endured. These two interpretations resonate with the broader debate about the significance of Japan’s defeat. However, the ways the travel-writers develop and communicate historical consciousness can illuminate themes overlooked in other genres. In this sense, this presentation hopes to contribute to a historiography of the Pacific War memories.

Item Type:	Other
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DS Asia D History General and Old World > DU Oceania (South Seas) H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform P Language and Literature > PI Oriental languages and literatures
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts, Law and Education (FALE) > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Ryota Nishino
Date Deposited:	27 Aug 2015 23:27
Last Modified:	28 Apr 2016 04:01
URI:	https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/8385

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