On the Persistence of the Japanese History Problem

Historicism and the International Politics of History

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book On the Persistence of the Japanese History Problem by Hitomi Koyama, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Hitomi Koyama ISBN: 9781351611923
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: June 13, 2018
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Hitomi Koyama
ISBN: 9781351611923
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: June 13, 2018
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

In Japan, people often refer to August 15, 1945 as the end of "that war." But the duration of "that war" remains vague. At times, it refers to the fifteen years of war in the Asia-Pacific. At others, it refers to an imagination of the century long struggle between the East and the West that characterized much of the 19th century. This latter dramatization in particular reinforces longstanding Eurocentric and Orientalist discourses about historical development that presume the non-West lacks historical agency. Nearly 75 years since the nominal end of the war, Japan’s "history problem" – a term invoking the nation’s inability to come to terms with its imperial past – persists throughout Asia today.

Going beyond well-worn clichés about the state’s use and abuse of discourses of historical modernity, Koyama shows how the inability to confront the debris of empire is tethered to the deferral of agency to a hegemonic order centered on the United States. The present is thus a moment one stitched between the disavowal of responsibility on the one hand, and the necessity of becoming a proper subject of history on the other. Behind this seeming impasse lay questions about how to imagine the state as the subject of history in a postcolonial moment – after grand narratives, after patriotism, and after triumphalism.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In Japan, people often refer to August 15, 1945 as the end of "that war." But the duration of "that war" remains vague. At times, it refers to the fifteen years of war in the Asia-Pacific. At others, it refers to an imagination of the century long struggle between the East and the West that characterized much of the 19th century. This latter dramatization in particular reinforces longstanding Eurocentric and Orientalist discourses about historical development that presume the non-West lacks historical agency. Nearly 75 years since the nominal end of the war, Japan’s "history problem" – a term invoking the nation’s inability to come to terms with its imperial past – persists throughout Asia today.

Going beyond well-worn clichés about the state’s use and abuse of discourses of historical modernity, Koyama shows how the inability to confront the debris of empire is tethered to the deferral of agency to a hegemonic order centered on the United States. The present is thus a moment one stitched between the disavowal of responsibility on the one hand, and the necessity of becoming a proper subject of history on the other. Behind this seeming impasse lay questions about how to imagine the state as the subject of history in a postcolonial moment – after grand narratives, after patriotism, and after triumphalism.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book The German Underworld (Routledge Revivals) by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Gramsci and Foucault: A Reassessment by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Fashioning Masculinity by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Uncovering the Hidden Harvest by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Comparative Perspectives on Communal Lands and Individual Ownership by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Crusade of the Left by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Restoried Selves by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Routledge History of Philosophy Volume VIII by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Muslim Women, Transnational Feminism and the Ethics of Pedagogy by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Managing Evaluation and Innovation in Language Teaching by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Collective Trauma, Collective Healing by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Early Civilizations of the Old World by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Companion to the Qur'an by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Postfeminist Education? by Hitomi Koyama
Cover of the book Enriched Composition and Inference in the Argument Structure of Chinese by Hitomi Koyama
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy