Abstract
The Nanjing Massacre of 1937 is a controversial fixture in contemporary Japan, shaping debates raging from historiography to education reform to political activism to diplomatic activity. The capacity of a documented event to affect such a diversified field of present-day issues can be traced to the politicization of historical memory, a contentious act for which Japan has been criticized at home and overseas. For a while, many historiographical issues relating to the Nanjing Massacre was considered settled due to an unmitigated amount of evidence. However, it re-entered the public discourse owing in no small part to the actions of the government of Prime Minister Abe Shinzō (2006–2007, 2012–2020). Supported by an assortment of activist groups and individuals lacking expertise in history, the Abe Government allowed the Massacre to become once more the purview of revisionist attacks, even inside the National Diet. This development culminated in education reforms which compelled publishers to reduce or remove references of the Massacre from school textbooks. The present article surveys recent shifts in politics and historiography which contributed to the diminishment of the Nanjing Massacre from public consciousness and from historical memory.
Translated by Collin Rusneac; Introduction by the translator.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
Although this research group uses the term “Nanjing Incident,” the historians of this group by no means deny that this was a massacre. In later years some writers not belonging to this group used the term to express their doubts that a massacre actually happened. These discussions will be taken up throughout this chapter.
- 2.
Translator’s note: Matsui was cleared from the charges of “crimes against peace” and “crimes against humanity,” but was still convicted and sentenced to death for “conventional war crimes,” resulting from his role in the Nanjing Massacre (see Totani 2008, 135).
- 3.
Translator’s note: Mizuma is a self-proclaimed artist and prolific contributor to Japanese rightwing periodicals such as SAPIO, WiLL and Seiron. In Japan, he also gained public attention because he sent threatening postcards to teachers accusing them of anti-Japanese bias.
Bibliography
Askew, David. 2002. The Nanjing incident: Recent research and trends. https://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/Askew.html. Accessed: 19. Jan. 2021.
Askew, David. 2004. New research on the Nanjing incident. https://apjjf.org/-David-Askew/1729/article.html . Accessed: 19. Jan. 2021.
Ikuhiko, Hata. 1986. Nankin jiken: Gyakusatsu kōzō (The Nanjing incident: The structure of the “Atrocities”). Tōkyō: Chūō kōronsha.
Katsuichi, Honda. 1972. Chūgoku no tabi (Travels in China). Tōkyō: Asahi shinbunsha.
Katsumi, Komatsu. 2016. 2015-nendo no kyōkasho kentei to Nankin jiken – Jitsukyōshuppan “kōkō nipponshi A” no baai (The 2015 textbook inspection and the Nanjing incident – The case of the “Japanese High School History A” published by Jikkyō). Kikan sensō sekinin kenkyū 87 (2016): 10–25.
Kazuki, Iguchi, Junʼichirō Kisaka, and Masaki Shimozato, eds. 1989. Nankin jiken - Kyōto shidan kankei shiryōshū (The Nanjing incident: A collection of historical materials of the Kyōto division). Tōkyō: Aoki shoten.
Kazuhiko, Kimijima, and Katō Kimiaki, eds. 2013. Kōkō nihonshi A (Japanese high school history A). Tōkyō: Jikkyō shuppan.
Kenji, Ono, Akira Fujiwara, and Katsuichi Honda, eds. 1996. Nankindaigyakusatsu o kiroku shita kōgun heishi-tachi – dai jūsan shidan Yamada shitai heishi no jinchū nikki (The imperial soldiers who recorded the Nanjing massacre – The diaries of soldiers from the Yamada Branch of the 13th division). Tōkyō: Ōtsuki shoten.
Kingston, Jeff. 2016. Nationalism in the Abe Era. https://apjjf.org/2016/20/Kingston.html. Accessed: 21. Jan. 2021.
Masanori, Mizuma. 2008. The truth of Nanjing: The league of nations failed to even recognize the “Massacre of 20,000 Persons at Nanjing”. Tōkyō: Nisshin hōdō.
McNeill, David. 2015. Nippon Kaigi and the radical conservative project to take back Japan. https://apjjf.org/-David-McNeill/4409. Accessed: 21. Jan. 2021.
MOFA. 2021. Issues regarding History. https://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/q_a/faq16.html. Accessed: 20. Jan. 2021.
Mullins, Mark R. 2016. Nationalism, religion, and patriotic education in post-disaster Japan. https://apjjf.org/2016/20/Mullins.html. Accessed: 21. Jan. 2021.
Nanjing Battle History Editorial Committee, ed. 1989. Nankin senshi shiryōshū (Historical materials on the history of the Nanjing battle). Tōkyō: Kaikōsha.
Nanjing Battle History Editorial Committee, ed. 1993. Nankin senshi shiryōshū II (Historical materials on the history of the Nanjing Battle II). Tōkyō: Kaikosha.
Nihon no zento to Rekishi kyōiku o kangaeru giin no kai (The Diet Members’ Group for Japan’s Future and History Education), ed. 2008. Nankin no jissō: kokusai renmei wa nankin nimannin gyakusatsu sura mitomenakatta (The reality of Nanjing: The league of nations rejected the twenty thousand massacre). Tōkyō: Nisshin hōdō.
Rusneac, Collin. 2018. “Education and Patriotism” – A documentary. https://japan.fes.de/news-list/e/education-and-patriotism-a-documentary. Accessed: 21. Jan. 2021.
Saaler, Sven. 2005. Politics, memory and public opinion: The history textbook controversy and Japanese society. München: Iudicium.
Saaler, Sven. 2016. Nationalism and history in contemporary Japan. https://apjjf.org/2016/20/Saaler.html. Accessed: 20. Jan. 2021.
Shin’ichi, Kitaoka, and Bu Ping, eds. 2014. Nitchū rekishi kyōdō kenkyū hōkokusho – Dai 1 ken, kodai, chūkinseishi hen (Japan-China Joint Historical Research/First Report). Tōkyō: Bensei shuppan.
Shūdō, Higashinakano. 1998. Nankingyakusatsu no tettei kenshō (A thorough examination of the “Nanjing Massacre”). Tōkyō: Tentensha.
Takenaka, Akiko. 2016. Japanese memories of the Asia-Pacific War: Analyzing the revisionist turn post-1995. https://apjjf.org/2016/20/Takenaka.html. Accessed: 21. Jan. 2021.
Takeshi, Hara. 2008. Iwayuru ‘Nankin jiken’ no fuhō satsugai – sono kibo to yōin (The illegal killings of the so-called Nanjing incident – Main causes and scale). Gunji shigaku/Gunji shigakukai hen 43 (3–4): 139–155.
Takeshi, Yamaguchi, Hiromichi Mayuzumi and Yukio Uehara, eds. 1997. Chūgakkō rekishi nihon no rekishi to sekai (Japanese History and the World for Junior High Schools). Tōkyō: Shimizu shoin.
Tomio, Hora. 1967. Kindai senshi no nazo (Riddles of modern war history). Tōkyō: Jinbutsu ōraisha.
Tomio, Hora. 1972. Nankin jiken (The Nanjing incident). Tōkyō: Kawade shobōshinsha.
Tokushi, Kasahara. 1997. Nankin jiken (The Nanjing incident). Tōkyō: Iwanami shoten.
Tokushi, Kasahara. 2007 (new, revised and updated edition 2018). Nankin jiken ronsō-shi – Nihonjin wa jijitsu o dō ninshiki shite kita ka (The history of the controversy of the Nanjing incident – How the Japanese perceived the facts). Tōkyō: Heibonsha.
Totani, Yuma. 2008. The Tokyo war crimes trial: The pursuit of justice in the wake of world war II. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center.
Wakabayashi, Bob Tadashi, ed. 2007. The Nanking Atrocity, 1937–1938: Complicating the picture. Oxford: Berghahn.
Walsh, Brian P. 2019. Japanese foreign ministry’s document destruction order of 7 August 1945. https://brill.com/view/journals/jaer/26/1/article-p85_85.xml. Accessed: 20. Jan. 2021.
Yuji, Sasagase, Hayashi Keita, and Sato Kei. 2015. Japan’s largest rightwing organization: An introduction to Nippon Kaigi. https://apjjf.org/-Mine-Masahiro/4410. Accessed: 21. Jan. 2021.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tokushi, K. (2022). The Nanjing Massacre in Japanese Historiography and Education. In: Wigger, L., Dirnberger, M. (eds) Remembrance – Responsibility – Reconciliation. Kindheit – Bildung – Erziehung. Philosophische Perspektiven. J.B. Metzler, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-64185-9_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-64185-9_5
Published:
Publisher Name: J.B. Metzler, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-64184-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-64185-9
eBook Packages: J.B. Metzler Humanities (German Language)