East Asia and Cosmopolitan Memory
Publication Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
12-2015
Abstract
This paper examines institutional underpinnings of the so-called “history problem” in East Asia, a set of controversies over how Japan should commemorate the Asia-Pacific War. I first illustrate how the history problem resulted from a collision of mutually reinforcing nationalist memories in Japan, China, and South Korea. Next, I introduce two intersecting dialectics that hold the key to explaining the trajectory and dynamics of the history problem. One is a dialectic of nationalism and cosmopolitanism as two logics of constructing collective memory, and another is a dialectic of commemoration and historiography as two modes of appropriating the past. I then argue that the recent trajectory and dynamics of the history problem points to the emergence of cosmopolitan memory, coupled with historians’ critique of nationalist memory. In conclusion, I critically assess future prospects of cosmopolitan memory and reconciliation in East Asia.
Discipline
East Asian Languages and Societies | Sociology
Research Areas
Sociology
Publication
Routledge Handbook of Memory and Reconciliation in East Asia
Editor
Mikyoung Kim
ISBN
9781135009212
Identifier
10.4324/9780203740323-25
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
City or Country
Basingstoke
Citation
SAITO, Hiro. (2015). East Asia and Cosmopolitan Memory. In Routledge Handbook of Memory and Reconciliation in East Asia (pp. ). Basingstoke: Taylor and Francis.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1898
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203740323-25