From Cultures of War to Cultures of Peace: War and Peace Museums in Japan, China, and South Korea

Abstract

In this book, Professor Takashi Yoshida analyzes war and peace museums not only in Japan but also in China and the Republic of Korea. Popular media tends to report that the Japanese do not recognize the history of World War II honestly, but Yoshida argues that such reports are incorrect and demonstrates that many Japanese accept the importance of facing the wrongs of Japan’s aggression toward other countries by introducing readers to 19 museums for peace in Japan. He also analyzes war museums such as the Yūshūkan military and war museum located within Yasukuni Shrine, among others. There are not many books on Japanese war or peace museums available in English (although there are some in Japanese), but resources on peace museums around the world are available in English. The International Network of Peace Museums was founded when the first International Conference of Peace Museums was held at the University of Bradford in 1992. Since then, international conferences have been held in 1995 (Schlaining, Austria), 1998 (Kyoto and Osaka, Japan), 2005 (Ostend, Belgium), 2008 (Kyoto and Hiroshima, Japan), 2011 (Barcelona, Spain) and 2014 (No Gun Ri, the Republic of Korea). The Conference proceedings contain precious information for learning about peace museums around the world, and the International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP) newsletter is a valuable source of information on the activities of peace museums. In Japan, there is the Japanese Citizens’ Network of Museums for Peace founded in 1998 when the Third International Conference was held at the Kyoto Museum for World Peace and the Osaka International Peace Center. Its newsletter, Muse, has been edited by Anzai Ikuro, honorary director of Kyoto Museum for World Peace, Yamabe Masahiko, a researcher at the Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, and myself, and it is published both in Japanese and English. Much of the news on the projects of peace museums is introduced in Yoshida’s book, and is also available in Muse on the website of the Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage.1 Both the INMP and Muse newsletter are informative for those seeking the details on peace museums located in Japan and other countries.