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漫长的战败：日本的文化创伤、记忆与认同
战争中的杀人者，是英雄，魔鬼，抑或一个普通人？
士兵在一场不正义的战争中该担负起怎样的责任？
宣传战争记忆的过程中，政府、传媒、国家扮演了怎样的角色？
个体沉默、后代沉默、媒体沉默，背后都有什么样的因由？
本书致力于探究日本战败创伤记忆的建构与形塑的过程，围绕“记忆的叙述”，力图揭示出日本战败后创伤记忆的生产和再生产。作者以比较的视角，综合运用了访谈、教科书、影像分析在内的多种研究方法和模型，分析政治权力、媒体、个体叙述等在战败文化中各自扮演的角色，对日本在战后数十年间处 理创伤记忆的方式进行了深入而富有同情心的分析。
士兵在一场不正义的战争中该担负起怎样的责任？
宣传战争记忆的过程中，政府、传媒、国家扮演了怎样的角色？
个体沉默、后代沉默、媒体沉默，背后都有什么样的因由？
本书致力于探究日本战败创伤记忆的建构与形塑的过程，围绕“记忆的叙述”，力图揭示出日本战败后创伤记忆的生产和再生产。作者以比较的视角，综合运用了访谈、教科书、影像分析在内的多种研究方法和模型，分析政治权力、媒体、个体叙述等在战败文化中各自扮演的角色，对日本在战后数十年间处 理创伤记忆的方式进行了深入而富有同情心的分析。
280 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2015
10 people are currently reading
208 people want to read
About the author
Akiko Hashimoto
10 books5 followersAkiko Hashimoto is Associate Professor of Sociology and Asian Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 5, 2015
I found this book extremely helpful in understanding what is happening in East Asia today. The author writes beautifully, and compared to her analysis of war memory in Japan other books on this subject seem very shallow. This is the book to read if you want to understand how ordinary Japanese people think about World War II.
October 1, 2016
For me an introduction to the issue of cultural trauma and memory in Japan. Provides a nicely documented overview of perspectives of memory of way and way it has affected society today. The book is quiet short and engaging, at some points I wished there was more background information and further explanations of concepts and examples.
February 5, 2019
Original and fascinating, this is a book on Japan's Pacific War like no other.
December 24, 2021
1.作者所謂日本的”戰敗”是建構在二戰的大前提上，問題是日本是從二戰才開始侵略加害別國嗎？那琉球、台澎、朝鮮、中國東北是不是都不算數，都可被選擇性的忽略了呢？作者不知道設立這樣的前提就已把日人的缺點赤裸裸的呈現出來了嗎？
2.“戰敗”才有所謂的反省，那如果沒戰敗呢？是不是不就用反省了？作者大量篇幅都在講述日人在戰爭處於劣勢後才對戰爭的殘忍做出反省，怎麼沒看到在侵略初期（明治維新後）到1931年這幾十年日人的探討與反省？勝利時的略奪怎麼不來個算總帳的轉型正義？果然勝利與否是“反省”的唯一標準，戰爭的殘忍只能排在遠遠的後面，拿來自欺欺人裝可憐罷了，試問這的反省算反省嗎？
3.日本一直還未完全跳出封建制度的餘溫，所有的團結都是團結在下級對上級的愚忠下，不斷上綱反映出的就是全國上下對軍部、天皇、國家甚至民族的包庇，如果日本全盤認錯，會將日本這個國家與民族打入萬劫不復的地獄，於是只能用冷漠、忽視、謊言、偷換觀念來面對，結果就只是自陷於一個再也跳不出的迴圈，不斷的用更多的謊言來掩蓋一個不願認錯的事實，也許在面對本國自己人的你爭我奪歷史中可以用這招來規避責任，但一放到國際上就只能將自己永遠釘在恥辱柱上了，日本明治維新前大多武士都學過漢學，真懷疑四書五經都唸去哪了…
4.自卑引起的自大永遠是假自大，日本民族有不少優點，可惜的是一直沒辦法真正做到大是大非，有人說這是島國心態下的狹隘、有人說這是生在強鄰旁的必然、有人說這是文化揠苗助長下的缺漏，也許日本在過去習慣依靠吸收唐、明、英美的優點來解決自身的不足與落後，於是現在又下意識的要靠德國對二戰的反省來當成自己的標竿，但不知何時日人才能真正體會到文化這種玩意不是別國能強迫或強加的，只有日本自己突破才能越過這道關卡，不論鄰國如何敵視、強大、進步，都不應該影響其結果，這才是日本人真正要思考的…
2.“戰敗”才有所謂的反省，那如果沒戰敗呢？是不是不就用反省了？作者大量篇幅都在講述日人在戰爭處於劣勢後才對戰爭的殘忍做出反省，怎麼沒看到在侵略初期（明治維新後）到1931年這幾十年日人的探討與反省？勝利時的略奪怎麼不來個算總帳的轉型正義？果然勝利與否是“反省”的唯一標準，戰爭的殘忍只能排在遠遠的後面，拿來自欺欺人裝可憐罷了，試問這的反省算反省嗎？
3.日本一直還未完全跳出封建制度的餘溫，所有的團結都是團結在下級對上級的愚忠下，不斷上綱反映出的就是全國上下對軍部、天皇、國家甚至民族的包庇，如果日本全盤認錯，會將日本這個國家與民族打入萬劫不復的地獄，於是只能用冷漠、忽視、謊言、偷換觀念來面對，結果就只是自陷於一個再也跳不出的迴圈，不斷的用更多的謊言來掩蓋一個不願認錯的事實，也許在面對本國自己人的你爭我奪歷史中可以用這招來規避責任，但一放到國際上就只能將自己永遠釘在恥辱柱上了，日本明治維新前大多武士都學過漢學，真懷疑四書五經都唸去哪了…
4.自卑引起的自大永遠是假自大，日本民族有不少優點，可惜的是一直沒辦法真正做到大是大非，有人說這是島國心態下的狹隘、有人說這是生在強鄰旁的必然、有人說這是文化揠苗助長下的缺漏，也許日本在過去習慣依靠吸收唐、明、英美的優點來解決自身的不足與落後，於是現在又下意識的要靠德國對二戰的反省來當成自己的標竿，但不知何時日人才能真正體會到文化這種玩意不是別國能強迫或強加的，只有日本自己突破才能越過這道關卡，不論鄰國如何敵視、強大、進步，都不應該影響其結果，這才是日本人真正要思考的…
December 16, 2023
An invaluable resource.
Whether you study history, media studies or sociology, this book has something for you.
Analyses Japanese WWII and the ‘15 years of war’ war memory, as well as the impact it’s had on national identity and contemporary East-Asian politics.
Analyses:
- School history textbooks
- Manga and comics
- Films
- Biographies
- Press writings
Delves into:
- generational differences in war attitudes and memory
- the politicisation of war memory
- the complexity of recovering national self-esteem and belonging after defeat
Other:
- accessible and easy to read
- useful statics (both contemporary and from as early as the 1960s)
- useful comparisons (e.g. how Germany dealt with its WWII guilt in comparison to Japan)
- effective use of other notable works that study war memory and national identity throughout the book (from sociologists, to historians, to writers)
- each media form and it’s particularities are explored in depth
- countries victimised by Japan during the war and their opinions are incorporated throughout
Most important thing is that it is as objective as possible: it presents three main war memory-narrative strands that exist in Japanese society. The author does not overly favour any of the three and provides valid criticisms for all of them.
Highly recommend for anyone studying militarism and war memory in Japan. Would even be useful for those studying Japanese politics and East-Asian politics.
Whether you study history, media studies or sociology, this book has something for you.
Analyses Japanese WWII and the ‘15 years of war’ war memory, as well as the impact it’s had on national identity and contemporary East-Asian politics.
Analyses:
- School history textbooks
- Manga and comics
- Films
- Biographies
- Press writings
Delves into:
- generational differences in war attitudes and memory
- the politicisation of war memory
- the complexity of recovering national self-esteem and belonging after defeat
Other:
- accessible and easy to read
- useful statics (both contemporary and from as early as the 1960s)
- useful comparisons (e.g. how Germany dealt with its WWII guilt in comparison to Japan)
- effective use of other notable works that study war memory and national identity throughout the book (from sociologists, to historians, to writers)
- each media form and it’s particularities are explored in depth
- countries victimised by Japan during the war and their opinions are incorporated throughout
Most important thing is that it is as objective as possible: it presents three main war memory-narrative strands that exist in Japanese society. The author does not overly favour any of the three and provides valid criticisms for all of them.
Highly recommend for anyone studying militarism and war memory in Japan. Would even be useful for those studying Japanese politics and East-Asian politics.
May 3, 2022
希望大众怎么怎么样 我觉得是个很不好的习惯 尤其对于学者。个人认为要是讨论到二战日本普通民众的责任 相对而言 更加需要指责的是 日本上一代的大众 正式他们培育了军国兴盛的土壤 才在之后一发而不可收。但是反过来思考 用当代社会对民众的要求 即努力参与政治去选举一个靠谱的政府 去要求那个年代的人们 是不是太过苛责？毕竟说起威权文化 日本并不比我们差。而身在讲道理的社会 是很难理解形成于威权社会的恐怖的。
July 19, 2021
This is an extremely well-researched book. There is depth in the data and in the analysis and it provides a detailed and careful look at the experiences and memories of a disappearing generation.
February 21, 2022
Read for HST 301
August 10, 2022
Excellent book on the how Japan’s defeat in WW2 still affects the Japanese populace and its outlook. Explains well how Japanese view American military bases and nuclear weapons/energy.
December 8, 2024
i liked the chapter on postwar pedagogy
January 19, 2025
Genuinely one of the most interesting books I have ever read.
June 19, 2023
Although I had read The Long Defeat a few years ago, I decided to re read it in the context of having recently completed Orr’s Victims as Heroes. I made this decision for two reasons. First, I wanted to compare Orr’s approach with Hashimoto’s. Second, my recollections of Long were somewhat hazy at best.
Orr takes a historical approach. Ie, he presents the evolution of Japan’s construction of wartime memories as victims over the course of the years following the end of WWII. Hashimoto, on the other hand, takes a more ‘sociological’ one which describes and compares three different memory constructions. First, there are ‘fallen national heroes’ who sacrificed themselves to produce the country’s post war peace and prosperity. Second, there are ‘tragic victims’ who suffered the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as numerous fire bombings in order to develop the country’s pacifist and anti militarist policies. Finally, there are the ‘perpetrators whose malicious acts of aggression’ inflicted great harm on Japan’s Asian neighbors.
Included in Long are informative and sophisticated explanations about the social and psychological purposes which such memory reconstructions serve for a nation, as well as its people, which has suffered a terrible defeat. A brief comparison of the differences between how Germany and Japan have dealt with defeat was also provided. The conflicts from the 1990’s until the time of the book’s publication in 2015 between those Japanese who espouse one or the other of these schools of thought are also described quite clearly.
More specifically, the ‘nationalists,’ of which former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is the most well known example, resent the stigma of defeat, believe the country should engage with other countries from a position of strength, and refuse to make amends for the aggression inflicted on others during the war. It has been Abe, et al who have worked to amend the country’s constitution so as to allow it to have a military with which to defend itself. The ‘pacifists’ espouse anti military sentiments as a way to atone for the harm inflicted on others. These individuals have consistently opposed the efforts by the nationalists to amend the constitution. The ‘reconciliationists’ believe Japan should express guilt over and seek redress for its misdeeds during the War. These were the leaders who apologized in the early 1990’s for the harm inflicted on the ‘comfort women’ during the War.
As one would hope for in a scholarly text Hashimoto integrates information from a wide array of Japanese and English language primary and secondary sources. Thus, in a book that is only 140+ pages long there are 20 pages of endnotes and a 15 page bibliography. The prose gets a bit unwieldy at times with more lengthy and complex, compound sentences than I would prefer. But the chapters are well organized around specific topics with subsections.
Overall, this can be read as a good more current companion book to Orr’s which was published in 2001. Or it can be read as a stand alone analysis of this complex and important issue in Japanese society.
In recent months the war in Ukraine has intensified Japan’s sense of vulnerability which was already fueled by the ongoing threats of North Korea with their missle launches and the increasingly active efforts by China to expand its sphere of influence into the Indo Pacific. The population of Japan has for the first time been more willing to consider amending the constitution. Will the assassination of Abe in early July push the country further along in this direction? It would be informative if Hashimoto were to write a second edition on these issues.
Orr takes a historical approach. Ie, he presents the evolution of Japan’s construction of wartime memories as victims over the course of the years following the end of WWII. Hashimoto, on the other hand, takes a more ‘sociological’ one which describes and compares three different memory constructions. First, there are ‘fallen national heroes’ who sacrificed themselves to produce the country’s post war peace and prosperity. Second, there are ‘tragic victims’ who suffered the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as numerous fire bombings in order to develop the country’s pacifist and anti militarist policies. Finally, there are the ‘perpetrators whose malicious acts of aggression’ inflicted great harm on Japan’s Asian neighbors.
Included in Long are informative and sophisticated explanations about the social and psychological purposes which such memory reconstructions serve for a nation, as well as its people, which has suffered a terrible defeat. A brief comparison of the differences between how Germany and Japan have dealt with defeat was also provided. The conflicts from the 1990’s until the time of the book’s publication in 2015 between those Japanese who espouse one or the other of these schools of thought are also described quite clearly.
More specifically, the ‘nationalists,’ of which former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is the most well known example, resent the stigma of defeat, believe the country should engage with other countries from a position of strength, and refuse to make amends for the aggression inflicted on others during the war. It has been Abe, et al who have worked to amend the country’s constitution so as to allow it to have a military with which to defend itself. The ‘pacifists’ espouse anti military sentiments as a way to atone for the harm inflicted on others. These individuals have consistently opposed the efforts by the nationalists to amend the constitution. The ‘reconciliationists’ believe Japan should express guilt over and seek redress for its misdeeds during the War. These were the leaders who apologized in the early 1990’s for the harm inflicted on the ‘comfort women’ during the War.
As one would hope for in a scholarly text Hashimoto integrates information from a wide array of Japanese and English language primary and secondary sources. Thus, in a book that is only 140+ pages long there are 20 pages of endnotes and a 15 page bibliography. The prose gets a bit unwieldy at times with more lengthy and complex, compound sentences than I would prefer. But the chapters are well organized around specific topics with subsections.
Overall, this can be read as a good more current companion book to Orr’s which was published in 2001. Or it can be read as a stand alone analysis of this complex and important issue in Japanese society.
In recent months the war in Ukraine has intensified Japan’s sense of vulnerability which was already fueled by the ongoing threats of North Korea with their missle launches and the increasingly active efforts by China to expand its sphere of influence into the Indo Pacific. The population of Japan has for the first time been more willing to consider amending the constitution. Will the assassination of Abe in early July push the country further along in this direction? It would be informative if Hashimoto were to write a second edition on these issues.
March 2, 2018
I found this a fascinating examination of how Japan confronts/deals/comes to terms with its defeat in World War 2 and what its role should be in our current world. I found that my lack of knowledge of Japanese history obstructed my ability to conduct a critical assessment of this work. The author compared Japan, Germany, Turkey, USA, have dealt with such defeats.
July 21, 2015
Nothing revelatory in here, about Japan's psyche post-WWII and its constitutional and sociological pacifism (currently under threat by conservatives taking the reins). Some of the facts she provides help solidify what you already know, but this book doesn't go farther than that.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews