The Long Defeat Cultural Trauma Memory and Identity in Japan Book Review

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Nov 05, 2015 Harry rated information technology it was amazing

I constitute this book extremely helpful in agreement what is happening in East asia today. The writer writes beautifully, and compared to her assay of state of war retention in Japan other books on this subject field seem very shallow. This is the book to read if you want to understand how ordinary Japanese people think virtually World War II.

October 01, 2016 Melina Aguilar rated it actually liked it

For me an introduction to the event of cultural trauma and retention in Japan. Provides a nicely documented overview of perspectives of memory of way and mode information technology has affected gild today. The book is quiet short and engaging, at some points I wished there was more than groundwork information and further explanations of concepts and examples.

Original and fascinating, this is a book on Japan'southward Pacific War like no other. Original and fascinating, this is a volume on Japan'south Pacific War like no other. ...more than

Oct 22, 2016 Istvan Zoltan rated it actually liked information technology

The book was a very skillful overview of Japanese attempts both of politicians and civilians to understand their role in the second world war, and since then.

Hashimoto covers the main political debates between pacifists, nationalists, reconciliationists. The distinctions are someties oversimplified, simply there are plenty of details and careful references and then anyone can strike out and make up their ain heed.

Hashimoto offers very useful survey of textbooks, mainstream media products that are actually po

The book was a very good overview of Japanese attempts both of politicians and civilians to understand their role in the second world war, and since then.

Hashimoto covers the main political debates between pacifists, nationalists, reconciliationists. The distinctions are someties oversimplified, just in that location are plenty of details and careful references so anyone can strike out and brand up their own mind.

Hashimoto offers very useful survey of textbooks, mainstream media products that are actually popular with Japanese people living today, and of the have of the largest newspapers and TV channels on historical issues. These chapters are eminently useful and most paper writers would do well to read them: they prove that while there are nationalists and war-crime deniers in Nihon, the major part of the population is against assailment, war, and is aware of the crimes committedd by Imperial Nippon, its ground forces, its leaders, and many of its citizens.

The terminal thirty pages of the volume are in many respects the most interesting since Hashimoto reflects there on the post 2000 events up to 2014. It is besides bad that she doesn't bargain on more than pages with the effects of Chinese and South-Korean nationalism, and the hatred against Japan stoked by Chinese and Korean (both N and South). These factors are becoming more and more of import as Cathay and both Koreas grow stronger, and make many of the before fears of Japanese into bodily threats to Japan. Of course these factors also complicate the motion-picture show of how Japan should relate to its ain office and validate that it should merely move on. Chinese and Korean citizens sadly know most next to cipher most the current Japanese sentiments about war, and are kept in the nighttime by their governments (nor do they make enough efforts to look for information on their own).

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This is an extremely well-researched book. There is depth in the data and in the analysis and information technology provides a detailed and conscientious look at the experiences and memories of a disappearing generation.

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？

three.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

iii.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…

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Oct 25, 2020 Dumpling FR rated it it was amazing

This author represented the complexity I felt as a French Japanese individual. The arguments my parents would accept over this subject is extremely sensitive. It was beautifully written and translated the deep suffering and injure Japanese people however feel today. A war should be not told by the winners. It should be told past all perspectives, intern, extern and omniscient. People should be given an objective, blank and raw honesty of the war. Both sides are always, always every bit to arraign for the cru This author represented the complexity I felt as a French Japanese individual. The arguments my parents would take over this subject is extremely sensitive. It was beautifully written and translated the deep suffering and hurt Japanese people still feel today. A war should be non told past the winners. Information technology should exist told by all perspectives, intern, extern and omniscient. People should exist given an objective, bare and raw honesty of the war. Both sides are always, always equally to arraign for the cruelty that erupts. The consequences of a subjective view is hypocrisy, historical tensions in betwixt governments and social unrest. The Japanese people still have to apologise for prostituting thousands of Asian women during the war. The United States nonetheless has to apologise for the 2 nuclear bombs they dropped and have to remove U.s.a. war machine camps in Japanese territory. Without an apology, people will ever feel resentment, revenge. It'southward dangerous for the balance of communities. ...more

I establish this a fascinating examination of how Nippon confronts/deals/comes to terms with its defeat in World War 2 and what its function 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.

Goose egg revelatory in here, about Nihon'due south psyche post-WWII and its constitutional and sociological pacifism (currently nether threat by conservatives taking the reins). Some of the facts she provides aid solidify what you already know, but this volume doesn't go farther than that. Nothing revelatory in here, well-nigh Japan'south psyche post-WWII and its constitutional and sociological pacifism (currently nether threat by conservatives taking the reins). Some of the facts she provides aid solidify what you already know, merely this book doesn't go further than that. ...more