The Third Blog Post

The class trips to the Ritsumeikan Peace Museum, Yasukuni Shrine and Yushukan Museum, and the Hiroshima Museum of the Atomic Bomb have met all my expectations of what each visit would be like. Based from what I have read and heard about each museum prior to departure to Japan, the differences between the three museums are readily apparent and it is possible to contrast each museum with background information alone. It is clear that the Ritsumeikan Peace Museum holds a very liberal stance in contrast to the Yushukan Museum. The Ritsumeikan Peace Museum extensively covers Japanese aggression, mentions comfort women, and strives to promote peace. On the other hand, the Yushukan glorifies Japan's past military campaigns and serves as an example of Japanese revisionist historiography. The Museum of the Atomic Bomb, as its name implies, devotes its attention to dropping of the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima and the grave consequences it had on innocent civilians after the fact. While I can draw comparisons between these museums just from readings alone, these visits in my opinion were worth every bit of Yen that each ticket sold for. The excursions to these museums have allowed to me experience these museums first hand, to make the comparisons between each one, and to contrast them to museums back in the United States.

           

 I must say that my visit to the Ritsumeikan Peace Museum was my first visit to a Peace Museum of any sort. Viewing the multiple exhibitions of artwork, banners, and other artifacts had really made the museum as enjoyable as it was. The replica Japanese 1940's house allowed me to reflect what life during the era was like, serving as somewhat of a time capsule for the class. From what I saw, I felt that little necessary information was held back as the museum serves as a demonstration and tribute to the renouncement of war and the promotion of peace. One exhibit I found enjoyable was the display of textbooks from different countries, which attributes to the idea of collective memory and how ideas are transmitted, discussed later that day in class. In terms of minimizing bias and having a complete view of Japanese aggression during WWII, I felt that this museum was going to be as good as it gets compared to the other museums to be visited, considering the fact the museum covers the 15 year war extensively, depicts the negative aspects of Japanese nationalism towards the occupied territories, and mentions comfort women and chemical warfare, things I figured that I would not see in the Yushukan and Atomic Bomb museums. Most museums I have seen in America don't talk about atrocities that US soldiers have committed towards innocent civilians nor talk about peace in general. So upon my exit from the Peace Museum, I reflected on how Americans would react if they went to a peace museum and if there were more these respective types of museums in the states. While I could think of several possible reactions, the question still pops up in my head occasionally.

           

 In contrast to the Peace Museum, the class visit to Yasukuni Shrine and Yushukan Museum u-turns away from what we have seen at Ritsumeikan. The large torii gates of Yasukuni gave an overwhelming feeling as I first walked onto the premises. However the area was lined with multiple food vendors as a festival was going on. While the festivities were going on, I soon discovered how nationalist the place really was. After the first gate, I witnessed an elderly man worshipping a statue, going far as even taking off his suit jacket and tie in the process. I had never seen anyone whole-heartedly worship anything that was not even a deity or a religious figure. The worshipping I saw by Yasukuni itself only reinforced my uneasy feeling obtained earlier from watching the man worship.

            

Upon my initial steps into Yushukan, I immediately had gotten the feeling that the museum glorified Japan's war history without really relaying much of the failures and consequences of the campaigns. Knowing a little bit of Japanese history prior to the invasion of Manchuria, I had already noticed that some important facts and events were omitted or barely touched upon. It is also noteworthy to point out the fact the museum holds tribute to Japan's victory over the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War. My classmates and I were not really pleased at what we saw. Phrases such as "Chinese aggression" and "the Korea problem" really had some of my classmates' hearts pounding. As expected, there was no mention of the atrocities that the Japanese had committed. The fact that the museum recognized Manchukuo as a legitimate, not puppet state, really went against what I had read in the past. Fast forward further into the museum, I took note of the fact the Pearl Harbor was vaguely mentioned at all. The museum only stated that the Japanese had launched a bombing campaign in Hawaii and other parts of the Pacific, starting on December 8, 1941. In fact the only time I saw the words "Pearl Harbor" was in a description card for a model of a Japanese cruiser.  The exhibits within the museum serve as a clear model of revisionist historiography. Quite a few things observed in the Yushukan went against things that some of us may have learned inside or outside of the classroom in the past and it is understandable that a number of us were angry and had a right to be.

           

While most of the visit to the Yushukan invoked anger amongst the classmates, the only "positive" aspect I got from the visit was reading the letters from young soldiers and nurses to their parents and siblings. These letters, no matter the country, serve as a painful reminder of the hardships and overwhelming tragedies that war presents. As I read on, I couldn't help but raise a few questions. With the younger generation coming and older generation waning out, will less people visit the shrine and museum and how will it be viewed in the future? Will future Prime Minister visits still cause stirs with China and South Korea? Will the younger generation overlook the significance of the museum? The visit to Yasukuni and the Yushukan has only increased the number of questions.

            

While the Ritsumeikan Peace Museum and the Yushukan Museum offer differentiating views on many of the same moments in history, the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Museum somewhat provides as a middle ground for the two other museums. Visiting Hiroshima was very different compared to Ritsumeikan and Yasukuni because of the fact that Hiroshima is very much a graveyard to those who had passed when the bomb had dropped. Because of this viewpoint, walking through the city, visiting the Peace Park, staring at where exactly the bomb landed, and viewing survivors pay tribute to their lost friends and family was extremely surreal. With every pace I took, I could not help but imagine how Hiroshima looked like right after the atomic bomb was dropped.

            

The Atomic Bomb Museum offers a deep insight towards the destruction the atomic bomb had caused and suffering that the people had gone through. The exhibits presented offer a testament to the destruction that atomic weapons cause and that no other person should ever witness the kind of suffering the citizens of Hiroshima went through. However at the same time, I felt the museum also tells an excellent story of resilience and hope since it also covers the rebuilding of Hiroshima after the destruction. The whole visit was one I would never forget.

            

While the museum covers a great deal of the damage sustained by Hiroshima and its people, a few things are not told. Like the Yushukan, I did not see anything that mentioned Japanese aggression during WWII. However since the Atomic Bomb Museum's purpose is to discuss matters related to its subject, I did not really expect to see this aspect. Also I did not see any mention of the 10 Americans that were held captive at Hiroshima at the time the bomb was dropped, those same prisoners being killed by the bomb. So even though the visit to the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Museum was a memorable one, it is not without some missing puzzle pieces.

            

Overall these three museums have allowed me to look Japan's storytelling in many ways. I have been presented with a liberal, nationalist, and victims' point of view and with these visits complete, I have the rest of the trip to continue reflecting on each one. Until the end of the trip, I will just continue to be surprised in my travels as I was at the beginning of my stay here in Japan.