Presentation Information
[SY-59]Cultural Responses to WW2 in Japan: Interdisciplinary Reflections and Intercultural Dialogue
Ritsu Yonekura1, Chizuko Tezuka2, Kai Ogimoto3, Eugen Koh4 (1.Nihon University(Japan), 2.Independent(Japan), 3.Sagami Women’s University(Japan), 4.Australian National University(Australia))
Global conflicts and regional tensions evoke cultural responses from the past, particularly WW2. Our panel aims to illuminate these historical cultural reactions and their implications in contemporary contexts, fostering a dialogue.
Cultural responses to collective experiences like war can often be biased and distorted. Japanese narratives focus on the tragedies of innocent victims while they leave out the victims of Japanese colonialism and aggression abroad (Hein & Selden, 1997). It is essential to explore both victimization and perpetration aspects of the Japanese wartime experiences and to discuss the responsibilities of Japanese citizens regarding WW2.
1. Prof. Ritsu Yonekura, a journalist from Nihon University will explore public narratives in TV Journalism, focusing on programs aired on and around August 15, the Japanese Commemoration Day of the End of the War.
2. Chizuko Tezuka, a former professor at Keio University, will analyze narratives expressed in Tanka, a form of uniquely Japanese short poetry consisting of just 31 syllables. These poems were composed both on battlefields abroad and Japanese islands during the war and postwar period.
3. Kai Ogimoto, an associate professor at Sagami Women’s University and an psychoanalyst in training, will investigate the deeply personal narrative of war-related trauma and guilt experienced in psychotherapy, analyzing through lens of the Japanese mythology of Izanaki and Izanami.
To enrich our reflections and broaden our discussion to include perspectives from beyond Japan, we invite Dr. Eugen Koh, a Chinese Australian psychiatrist renowned for his concepts of “cultural trauma” and its associated “cultural work,” to be our discussant. We sincerely hope that open dialogues across cultural borders will be fostered through the active participation of everyone in the audience. Yuki Imoto, an anthropologist associate professor of Keio University and Kai Okimoto will moderate the session.
Cultural responses to collective experiences like war can often be biased and distorted. Japanese narratives focus on the tragedies of innocent victims while they leave out the victims of Japanese colonialism and aggression abroad (Hein & Selden, 1997). It is essential to explore both victimization and perpetration aspects of the Japanese wartime experiences and to discuss the responsibilities of Japanese citizens regarding WW2.
1. Prof. Ritsu Yonekura, a journalist from Nihon University will explore public narratives in TV Journalism, focusing on programs aired on and around August 15, the Japanese Commemoration Day of the End of the War.
2. Chizuko Tezuka, a former professor at Keio University, will analyze narratives expressed in Tanka, a form of uniquely Japanese short poetry consisting of just 31 syllables. These poems were composed both on battlefields abroad and Japanese islands during the war and postwar period.
3. Kai Ogimoto, an associate professor at Sagami Women’s University and an psychoanalyst in training, will investigate the deeply personal narrative of war-related trauma and guilt experienced in psychotherapy, analyzing through lens of the Japanese mythology of Izanaki and Izanami.
To enrich our reflections and broaden our discussion to include perspectives from beyond Japan, we invite Dr. Eugen Koh, a Chinese Australian psychiatrist renowned for his concepts of “cultural trauma” and its associated “cultural work,” to be our discussant. We sincerely hope that open dialogues across cultural borders will be fostered through the active participation of everyone in the audience. Yuki Imoto, an anthropologist associate professor of Keio University and Kai Okimoto will moderate the session.