'History Wars' and Reconciliation in Japan and Korea

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

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2. Introduction: History Wars in Postwar East Asia, 1945–2014

   • Peter Duus

   Pages 1-16

3. Remembering Colonial Korea in Postwar Japan

   • Takashi Yoshida

   Pages 17-32

4. The Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion in Postcolonial Japan: State, Shrine, and Honor for Ethnic Veterans, the Fallen, and their Bereaved

   • James Orr

   Pages 33-49

5. The “East Asian History” Elective in Korean High Schools: An Attempt at Reflective Education in Transnational Space

   • Nan Hee Ku

   Pages 51-81

6. Japanese Textbooks in the Asian History Wars: The Waning Importance of Weapons of Mass Instruction

   • Michael Lewis

   Pages 83-106

7. The Controversy over the Ancient Korean State of Gaya: A Fresh Look at the Korea–Japan History War

   • Pankaj Mohan

   Pages 107-124

8. Young Poets Under the Shadow of War: Yun Dong-ju and Tachihara Michizō

   • Yasuko Claremont

   Pages 125-141

9. Oda Makoto and Literary Reconciliation: The Rise of Civil Societies in Japan and Korea in the Wake of the Asia-Pacific War

   • Roman Rosenbaum

   Pages 143-161

10. “Comfort Women Bashing” and Japan’s Social Formation of Hegemonic Masculinity

    • Yuki Tanaka

    Pages 163-182

11. Back Matter

    Pages 183-201

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This book provides a fresh approach to understanding the origins and possible future direction of the Northeast Asia “history wars.” Leading scholars in history, literary studies, and education present the complex issue in a historical context by assessing its political and cultural dimensions, particularly with regards to relations between Japan and Korea. Their essays also touch on the significance of civil society efforts to advance peaceful reconciliation and the social and political forces that have worked to frustrate such efforts since 1945. At its core, this volume explores the political significance in the gap between Korean and Japanese civil society versus governmental efforts to resolve issues lingering from the Pacific War in Asia; the significance of cultural as well as political efforts to understanding historical and contemporary relations among Northeast Asian neighboring states; and specific factors—such as textbook reform, revised school curricula, and civil society education efforts— that are working to ameliorate the heretofore deadlocked “history wars.”

• Japan and Korea
• Civil Society
• Postwar Reconciliation
• Japanese history
• Korean history

“The excellent paper and printing quality of this book is a welcome sensation upon pickup. … the volume at hand is a rare and welcome chance to round out knowledge about the ‘history wars.’ … this book is a welcome addition to prior scholarship on the topic … this book will surely remain a valuable read for years to come.” (Juljan Biontino, Contemporary Japan, Vol. 30 (1), January, 2018)

• Department of Japanese Studies, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

  Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis is Professor in the Department of Japanese Studies at the University of Sydney, Australia. He is a historian of modern Japan and its influence on modern East Asian societies and politics. He has written major studies of mass protests in Japan and popular movements for and against the prewar Japanese empire.

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