Recent Developments in the Representation of National Memory and Local Identities: The Politics of Memory in Tsushima, Matsuyama, and Maizuru

Abstract

The establishment of stringent and homogeneous national master narratives in modern nation states is often contested by deeply-rooted local identities based upon different local versions of history. Even today, many regions of Japan are cultivating a unique account of their local history, often based on premodern events and personalities. These historical identities are expressed in prefectural museums, memorials and tourist locations such as medieval castles. However, in the past two decades the building of museums or memorials commemorating Japan's modern history has become increasingly prominent. In this context, tensions have become evident between the demands made by the national interpretation of history—which local museums and memorials cannot or do not want to ignore—and the strong desire for the preservation of local color and content in treatments of Japanese history.This article analyzes museums, memorials and memorial ceremonies in three Japanese prefectures which have received considerable attention in Japan in recent years. The background and origins of the memorial to the naval battle fought in the Tsushima Straits (1905) on Tsushima Island; the politics of memory pursued by the city of Matsuyama, which relates mainly to the Russo-Japanese War (1904/05) and its heroes; and the memorial and museum to Japanese repatriates from the Soviet Union and the Asian continent after the Second World War in Maizuru are examined in relation to official versions of national memory as expressed in declarations of the central government and memorials in the capital region. The article demonstrates that the politics of memory in the three prefectures in question is not an expression of a re-affirmation of a local narrative, but that it rather obviates tensions with the national master narrative and aims at embedding the local narrative within the framework of national history in a harmonious and complementary manner.