Japanese Military Research Articles

Cyber-nationalism and celebrity: the Zhehan Zhang controversy

ABSTRACT This article uncovers an increasingly dominant hyper-nationalistic digital landscape in mainland China, illustrated by the prohibition and complete removal of Chinese actor and celebrity Zhehan Zhang after he posted on Instagram photos of a trip to Japan, which included pictures of the Yasukuni Shrine buildings, a potent symbol of Japanese militarism. This landscape of pervasive censorship impacts public figures and regular netizens alike, in which context nationalism becomes a powerful tool for ousting individuals based on ‘past mistakes’. Our analysis reveals a dual consequence: a combined censorship approach by authorities and netizens, targeting various individuals, while reinforcing implicit approval of this cyber-nationalistic atmosphere.

Reconsidering ‘Sook Ching’ victimhood: A microhistory of Singapore’s Nishimura trial

Abstract This article highlights the cross-disciplinary methodological potential of Third World approaches to international law (TWAIL) and microhistory by studying the active and complex exercise of agency by victims in an understudied historical instance of post-war justice, namely, the Singapore ‘Sook Ching’ trial or Nishimura trial. This trial dealt with the arbitrary massacre of Chinese residents by the Japanese military during the Second World War. Using TWAIL and microhistory methods, this article analyses trial transcripts and archival material on the Nishimura trial, with a focus on the trial experiences of witnesses, survivors, and community representatives. By studying the Nishimura trial as mobilization and meaning-making opportunity, this microhistory draws attention to the exercise of social and political agency by the Chinese community under difficult post-war conditions and British colonial rule. Chinese community leaders represented the community as collectively victimized and united in the pursuit of post-war justice. However, a close analysis of trial transcripts reveals tensions within the community and the need for a more complex understanding of victimhood.

1890년대-1930년대 조선 지식인들의 프랑스혁명 독해법

The fundamental goal of this article is to fill the void of poor prior research and stimulate further research. The main issue is, first, to apply into the context of the time and analyze various types of texts referring to the French Revolution from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. In that extension, it tracks the changes in the views and historical perspectives of Joseon/Korean intellectuals who lived in a radical transition period leading to the period of King Gojong, the Korean Empire, and the colony on the French Revolution. In addition, the discourse on the French Revolution formed and shared by Joseon intellectuals in the 1890s and 1930s is briefly compared with that of contemporary Chinese and Japanese intellectuals to gauge the worldview of contemporary East Asian intellectuals in the West. The achievements of this study are as follows. First, reformist intellectuals during the period of King Gojong-the Korean Empire represented by Yoo Gil-jun and Yoon Chi-ho were also afraid of active discussion of the French Revolution and acquisition of its historical lessons. Second, intellectuals during the period of cultural governance tried to approach the French Revolution ‘from below’, paid attention to its creative destructive power, and learned its democratic character. Third, Joseon’s modern women welcomed the French Revolution as a successful example of the modern feminine movement, and made it a lesson to overcome the ‘women’s panic era’ in which old women and new women conflict. Fourth, some intellectuals appropriated ‘La Marseillaise’, a military song and national song of the French Revolution, in a way that supported Japanese militarism and promoted totalitarian fascism. It can be seen that the framework for interpretation of the French Revolution during the colonial period shifted from ‘left to right’.

Japanese Military Government Policy on Radio Broadcasting in Java

In World War II, radio was one of the effective communication media that could be used to spread news and propaganda. The Japanese military government in Java made efforts to control or censor radios owned by the public. Control and censorship efforts to prevent the public from listening to radio broadcast by the Allies. On the other hand, radio was also useful for Japan to spread propaganda in society. The purpose of this study is to examine the policy of the Japanese military government in controlling and utilizing radio as a propaganda media in Java during wartime. This study is a historical research, thus the method used in this study is the historical method. The primary data used were Asia Raya newspaper, Djawa Baroe magazine, and Kan Pō (the government news) published by the Japanese military government in Java in 1942-1945. The results of this study show that the Japanese military government paid great attention to radio broadcasting and was strict in controlling it, radio broadcasts from enemy countries (Allies) were strictly forbidden to be listened to by the public, even the Japanese military government will impose severe punishment on the people if anyone violates. However, the Japanese military government also employed radio as a media for disseminating propaganda such as radio speeches from Japanese military officials, government programs, news, and so on.

A Study on the Popular Narrative of Japanese Military “Comfort Women” Before and After the Testimonies

A Study on the Popular Narrative of Japanese Military “Comfort Women” Before and After the Testimonies

Between Collective Will and Individual Standards: Levels of Discourse within the Japanese Military’s Kōgun Ideal, 1937–1945

ABSTRACT During the Second Sino–Japanese War, the Japanese military constructed the kōgun ideal as a code of conduct for its soldiers, stimulating their fervour for a ‘holy war’. The basic principles of kōgun included loyalty, devotion, and sacrifice, which played an important role in controlling frontline soldiers through ideological propaganda. However, the kōgun ideal was inherently contradictory. If the spirit of ‘aggression’ constituted the standard of violence, ‘compassion’ implied an opposing principle of self-restraint. Furthermore, ‘pacification’ became a new expectation for kōgun after the outbreak of the Pacific War, primarily as a means of reconstructing legitimacy under domestic and international pressure, but it was no different from ‘plunder’ from a Chinese perspective. As the gap between the harsh conditions at the front and the luxurious life in the rear became increasingly apparent, the kōgun ideal, specifically glorified sacrifice, created dilemmas and frustration for individual soldiers, which threatened to undermine the ideal. This article explores the diverse and nuanced wartime mentality of frontline soldiers, whose deviations from and negotiations with the collective will reveal their dual identities as victimisers of Chinese civilians and victims of the fascist ambitions of the militarist Japanese government.

The Military Component and its Role in the History of the Japanese State and Society: The Specifics of the Japanese Military System in the 7th–9th Centuries

The purpose of this article is to analyze the role of the military component underlying the functioning of the Japanese state in the 7th–9th centuries. It was during this period that military houses appeared in Japan, and military service began to be perceived as one of the most important government functions. The recruitment of the armed forces was based on universal conscription. As part of the most important government codes, the Military Defense Law for the first time in Japan laid the foundation for the formation of the institution of universal conscription. In this regard, it is extremely interesting to trace how much the Japanese recruitment system coincided and whether it coincided at all with the Chinese one. Created at the turn of the 7th–8th centuries the army recruitment system was a complex phenomenon, which was undoubtedly a progressive step towards the formation and development of the Japanese state. However, despite all the progressiveness of this system, which was borrowed by the Japanese from China, in the conditions of Japanese reality (exorbitant burden for peasants and the absence of enemies) it turned out to be unnecessary and by the 9th century it was replaced by “private” formations. However, the fact that this system, with minimal changes, was taken as the basis of the Japanese Imperial Army in the second half of the 19th century and existed until 1945, speaks of its advanced character and enormous historical significance.

문화적 외상의 극복과 기억의 윤리

This study attempted to examine the reproduction of the Japanese military 'Japanese Military Sexual Slavery' in “Red Poem” through Jeffrey Alexander's theory of cultural trauma, and to examine the meaning of the process of overcoming cultural trauma and the ethics of memory embodied in the work. “Red Poem” of understanding 'connects' the scars of the Japanese military 'Japanese Military Sexual Slavery' in the context of the present level, not the past. Through this process, it reveals that the scars of the history of the Japanese military 'Japanese Military Sexual Slavery' are a contemporary common trauma, that is, a 'cultural trauma' and awakens a shared sense. This play implicitly shows the historical process from the long-silence, concealment, and denial of the Japanese military 'Japanese Military Sexual Slavery' to breaking silence and being accepted and recognized as cultural trauma and social pain. “Red Poem”, which makes us reflect on the ethics and responsibilities of memory beyond the empathy of pain, does not remain as a connection between the past and the present traumatic events, but moves toward the politics of relationships and affections seeking overcoming and healing by actively connecting with the memory of suffering beings.

The Problem of Incredible Contracts for the Japanese Military Comfort Project during the Pacific War

Decades after the mobilization of comfort women from the late 1930s to 1945, disagreements over the issue continue to escalate, fueled by limited information and differing perspectives. This article aims to foster an academic consensus by employing a law and economics framework, contrasting with an opposing viewpoint. By examining the bilateral relationship between the Japanese authorities and comfort agents, previously overlooked aspects are brought to light. The analysis reveals varying levels of contractuality in different bilateral relationships, with comfort women lacking basic contractual requirements. However, the relationship between the Japanese authorities and comfort agents demonstrates greater fulfillment, albeit with an inherent imbalance. Notably, credible commitments between the authorities and agents, independent of written contracts, facilitate reciprocal agreements. Historical records shed light on this relationship, providing a basis for logical deduction. Resolving the current disagreements requires considering these perspectives, potentially alleviating longstanding antagonism and reconciling incompatible views surrounding the issue.

카이로회담 전후 연합국 군사동맹의 비판적 검토

This paper tried to critically examine the military alliance between the U.S., Britain, and China through China’s role in the Cairo talks and changes in the Allied strategy against Japan before and after the talks. Immediately after the outbreak of the Pacific War, the national government proposed a military alliance to the West, and a military alliance was signed between the United States, Britain, and China. However, each country had a different view of the Allied military alliance. As a result, the difference in strategy between the US, UK, and Chinese military leaders resulted in Burma being occupied by the Japanese military in a short period of time. Since 1943, as the war has developed in favor of the Allies on the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific, the Allies held Cairo talks for the post-war Asian initiative and the Japan-Japan strategy. Chiang Kai-shek’s participation in the Cairo conference led China to become one of the four major powers. But it was a semi-final in justification, not a real one.
 In Tehran, the Allies decided to end the war in Asia after ending the war in Europe first. Of course, the strategy agreed upon by the Allies at the Tehran talks may have been a way to quickly end World War II as a whole. However, this strategy could have a huge negative impact on Eastern Europe and Asia, even if the damage to the Chinese national government was left alone. First of all, in Europe, the Soviet Union advanced to Germany and influenced post-war Eastern Europe, and then in Northeast Asia, the Soviet Union exerted influence over Manchuria rather than other powers, which had a decisive impact on the outcome of the post-war civil war.

기억의 국제정치와 국내정치적 요인 연구

Sometimes countries value ideological factors and accept conflicts with other countries even at the expense of security interests or economic losses. A case in point is the Korea-Japan conflict. The period when such conflicts between Korea and Japan intensified was during the Moon Jae-in government. The specificity and sensitivity of Korea-Japan relations were recognized by both citizens of the two countries, and even though it was necessary to maintain a cooperative relationship in consideration of the mutual dependence between the two countries, there was a tendency to officially express the Korea-Japan conflict during the Moon Jae-in government. If so, was there any domestic political benefit that could be gained from this? For this study, we tried to apply the politics of memory, and as examples, we tried to investigate the problem of victims of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery, victims of forced labor, and trade disputes caused by Japan's economic sanctions. As for the analysis data, data such as opinion polls, time series data on the president's approval rating and the Korea-Japan conflict index, political speeches, diplomatic documents, and media articles were mainly used. As an analysis method, it was intended to examine how the Korean government's political and diplomatic actions affect the president's approval rating in Korea-Japan issues at a time when the Korea-Japan conflict was high. As a result of the study, it was confirmed that the timing of the government's political and diplomatic actions on Japan-related issues tended to overlap with the timing of the rise in the Korea-Japan conflict index.

The Subaru Telescope and Interimperial Intimacies Between Mauna Kea and Mt. Fuji

ABSTRACT This essay discusses the Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea within a tradition of Japanese militarism and contextualizes the settler colonial dynamics of its construction in Hawaiʻi. The first half analyzes the telescope as a symbol of US-Japanese interimperial partnership and Asian settler colonialism through Japanese astronomers’ claim to “nostalgia” in Hawaiʻi. The second half analyzes Nicole Naone’s film “Mauna Fuji,” which counters Japanese temporalities of nostalgia by critically juxtaposing Mauna Kea and Mt. Fuji. Through a relational reading of Mauna Kea and Mt. Fuji’s shared conditions of militourism, this essay attends to the uneven atmospheric relations between both mountains.

일본군 ‘위안부’는 ‘영어로’ 말할 수 있는가

This article targets the movie “I Can Speak”, which was produced based on the actual case in which the “Resolution on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery (H. Res. 121)” was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007. Through the analysis of “I Can Speak”, this paper critically examines the discourse of ‘Comfort Women’ in the United States. Today, ‘Comfort Women’ issue is raised in the United States as a matter of human rights for universal women, but on the other hand, this discourse omits the issue of American intervention and (neo)colonialism in the Pacific War and post-war processing. At this time, 'universal value' means built by the state-knowledge power of the United States, and at the same time reproduces it. “I Can Speak” puts the U.S. outside the issue by erasing the U.S. political landscape surrounding the ‘Comfort Women’ issue and reducing it to just ‘Korea-Japan’ relations. In “I Can Speak,” the U.S. Congress is represented as a place where historical truth wins, and the victim receives an apology from the audience in a parliament surrounded by a statue of an American great man. This paper confirms that the U.S. Congress is also a powerful place to capture Servalton's speech with its ruling discourse by revealing the action of power that the word ‘universal value’ conceals. What is important is that these limitations are not only “I Can Speak,” but also our view of recognizing the ‘Comfort Women’ issue being publicized in the United States today. Therefore, the analysis of “I Can Speak” allows us to critically examine the discourse and movement that is ‘globalizing’ the ‘Comfort Women’ problem through the United States.

1894년 이후 호남의 동학여당과 의병의 동향

『Hongjae Diary(1866-1911)』 is a diary written by Ki Haeng-hyeon(1843-?) who lived in Buan-gun, Jeolla-do. Ki haeng-hyeon recorded events, news, and rumors in Gobu, Taein, Namwon, and Jeonju, where the Donghak Peasant Revolution took place. He also recorded the trends of Yeonghakdang and Hwajeok, which were called the remaining forces of Donghak. The central government recognized it as a group like Donghak and the righteous army and suppressed the righteous army commander. In this way, Donghak-gun which was disbanded after the Donghak Peasant Revolution, continued its momentum as the remaining forces of Donghak, such as Yeonghakdang, Hwajeok, and Sujeok. Amid the continued suppression of the Donghak, the Iljinhoe was organized, and a person working as a Iljinhoe appeared in Buan. Iljinhoe intervened in local government authority and was also involved in the administration of village. This power of Iljinhoe was further strengthened when the Russo-Japanese War ended with Japan's victory and Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905 was signed. Since the signing of the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905, righteous army has occurred in all parts of the country. The activities of the righteous army became stronger with the abdication of Gojong and the dissolution of the Korean army in 1907. Ki Haeng-hyeon recorded the size of the righteous army identified through newspapers, the murder or expulsion of local officials. After the Donghak Peasant Revolution, Donghak-gun in Honam returned to Yeonghakdang and continued its momentum as the remaining forces of Donghak including Hwajeok, and Sujeok. In an era when the sovereignty of the country was lost, Donghak's remaining forces were converted to righteous army by fighting against the Japanese army. Donghak-gun, suppressed by the Japanese military, rejoined the ranks of resistance against Japanese invasion as a righteous army.

'군속선원명표'를 통해서 본 전시체제기 일본 육군의 조선인 선원 강제동원

During the wartime regime (1937~1945), the Japanese Empire forcibly mobilized Koreans in various forms, including laborers, soldiers, Civilian in Military Employment, and Japanese Military Sexual Slaverys, to carry out the invasion war. The registers is an important data to inform the fact, and one of them is The Register of the Sailor in Employment in Military Seas Transportation Head Office. The Register is a one-page card that records individual personal information. The personal information of the forced Korean crew, their company and unit, the name of the ship on board, the timing of mobilization, and salary are described in this statement, and whether the ship on board the crew was sunk and whether the crew died. The purpose of this paper is to understand the status of forced mobilization of Korean sailors, which is not yet known. As a result of this study, it was found that Korean sailors who were forcibly mobilized could be classified into two main types: those of large merchant ships and those of small fishing boats. First of all, they differed from the items listed on The Register, and it was found that the sailors of the large merchant ship worked as “military sailors” no later than July 1943. On the other hand, it was not known through The Register how the sailors of the small fishing boat were treated. In the case of sailors of small fishing boats, the reality of forced mobilization can be grasped through oral work on the testimony of survivors. I want to leave this part as a after task.

The rise and fall of the leprosy clinic in Ru Gao in the North of Jiangsu in the period of the Republic of China

The North of Jiangsu was a traditional area for leprosy in Chinese history. In the period of the Republic of China, one of the largest leprosy clinics in China was established in Ru Gao (Jugao) with the help of Chinese and foreign charitable organizations, the Chinese central government and some squires. It was the only large clinic for leprosy in the North of Jiangsu. It was officially opened in 1924, attached to the Presbyterian Church hospital, and was closed in 1927 after the breakout of the civil war. It reopened in May 1933, hosted by a leprologist, Lee S. Huizenga. Ru Gao (Jugao) leprosy clinic treated around 1,000 lepers in the North of Jiangsu with medicines and language communication. The establishment of the leprosy clinic made a historical contribution in terms of preventing leprosy from spreading to Shanghai. It closed in the spring of 1938 because of the invasion of the Japanese military.

우치무라 간조와 근대 일본

The period in which Uchimura Kanzo lived was a time when modern Japan achieved national unity. He experienced a series of victories in the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars, and spent his life under the rapidly growing Japanese militarism that followed. Uchimura, who lived in such an era, constructed a new worldview through Christianity. For Uchimura, in particular, the question of how to reconcile Christianity as a Western religion with his homeland, Japan, was the ideological and practical challenge of his life.
 Uchimura, as he is well known for his refusal to bow deeply to the Imperial Rescript on Education in the formal ceremony held at the First Higher School, and his insistence on anti-war, seems to have been a prominent figure who clashed repeatedly with the nationalism of his time and was at odds with the state. However, Uchimura was also a Christian and a patriot who loved Japan all his life, as his famous love for the “two Js” (Jesus and Japan) shows. For Uchimura, the “two J's” are a powerful indicator of the inseparability of Christianity from nationalism, and the more strongly he concentrated on the “two J's,” the more contradictory this inevitably became. In this paper, I have considered Uchimura's thought and its meaning from the aspect of his perception of Japan and his so-called view of the nation, bearing in mind that Uchimura's thought was closely related to the situation of modern Japan in which he was situated.
 For Uchimura, the fact that Christian faith and love for Japan coexisted without any contradiction made it impossible or impractical to penetrate the problematic nature of the emperor state, which had a religious character, as a device to ensure the political legitimacy of modern Japan. In other words, Uchimura's fundamental problematic focus was on Christianity for Japan.

Tembikar Dapur Masak Tradisional (Tuku) di Kampung Mambong, Kelantan: Sejarah, Tradisi Pembuatan dan Cabaran

Kampung Mambong in Kuala Krai, Kelantan was the only place in Peninsular Malaysia that had been involved in the making of traditional earthenware cooking stove. However, its history and manufacturing perspectives have never been studied in detail in prior studies. The present study was conducted to unravel the history, manufacturing tradition and challenges faced by the potters at Kampung Mambong in preserving the production of earthenware cooking stove. This study was carried out using the qualitative method involving ethnography fieldwork and a library survey. The findings of the study showed that the production of traditional earthenware cooking stove or locally known as Tuku was inherited by Che Bunga and her ancestors at Kampung Mambong since the 1850s. Like other potteries at Kampung Mambong, Tuku is made using traditional methods without incorporating modern techniques. In the 1930s, however, the manufacturing of Tuku began to dwindle, and its entire production halted by the end of the 1940s. The lack of experts and interest among the younger generations to learn and continue the making of Tuku are two main reasons why the production diminished in the 1930s and 1940s. Apart from that, the invasion of the Japanese military in Sungai Galas in the early 1940s had indirectly caused the production to cease. Overall, this study has successfully contributed new insights into the history, manufacturing tradition and factors that caused extinction to the production of Tuku at Kampung Mambong in the late 1940s. Therefore, essential proactive steps need to be taken to revive the manufacturing of Tuku because it is one of the unique heritage crafts of the Malay potters in Sungai Galas, Kelantan.

Japanese Authorities, the ‘Comfort Project’, and Tacit Contracts under Militaristic Rule during the Pacific War

ABSTRACT The comfort women issue (also known as the Japanese military sexual slavery issue), which occurred during the Pacific War from the late 1930s to 1945, has continued to negatively impact the present and future of East Asia for more than seven decades. Even today this issue is the source of multiple and serious disagreements between governments, scholars, and citizens from across the region. This article seeks to contribute to research on the comfort women issue by shifting the focus from the relationship between the Japanese authorities and comfort women to that between these authorities and the comfort agents. It uses archival records, and in particular documents from the Japanese military and police, to illustrate that the ‘comfort project’ was not driven by the choices of the women who were caught in its midst, but rather by a hierarchical structure of wartime militaristic rule, with the Japanese authorities as the principal and the brothel-owners/recruiters as their agents. Further, the article argues that the relationship between the authorities and brothel-owners/recruiters was a tacit contract of agency: both parties had to carry out their commitments because these commitments were so credible, even in the absence of physical contracts.

THE HISTORIOGRAPHICAL DISCOURSE OF JUGUN IANFU (Critical Historical Analysis of Historical Biography Momoye Mereka Memanggilku By Eka Hindra and Koichi Kimura)

Momoye, They Call Me is a historical biography of Jugun Ianfu whose entire contents include Mardiyem's acknowledgment as the main character in this book. In 1942-1945 when Japan took over Indonesia from Dutch rule, the Japanese military had forcibly recruited a number of Indonesian women to serve as biological needs for the Japanese military and civilians. This research is intended to explore the dark history of Jugun Ianfu according to Mardiyem's memory construction. Through critical historical tracing, the historical facts of Jugun Ianfu are interpreted in the hope that the Indonesian people, especially the younger generation, can learn about the dark history that befell Indonesian women as a result of the savagery of the Japanese occupation in Indonesia. This textual research can also be interpreted explicitly as a form of criticism of Indonesian historiography which has always marginalized women and silenced historical memories that should be studied by the younger generation of Indonesia. Theoretically, the concept of hermeneutics is very significant in interpreting the meaning of the history of human experience because this concept believes that empirical data shows patterns that give special meaning to human experience. Hermeneutically, Mardiyem's statement in her biography is the most likely textual strategy to provide a different perspective on the dark side of history faced by women during the Japanese occupation in Indonesia.