The 1955 Japanese mission to New Guinea; War remains and the politics of commemoration in the wake of the Asia-Pacific War
In January 1955, an official mission departed Japan for New Guinea to collect remains of the war dead and to erect commemorative monuments to fallen soldiers. Just before its departure, a diplomatic contretemps arose about the English wording on the Japanese stones: the Japanese government consider...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Manchester University Press
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Human Remains and Violence |
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| Online Access: | https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/journals/hrv/9/2/article-p60.xml |
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| author | Beatrice Trefalt |
| author_facet | Beatrice Trefalt |
| author_sort | Beatrice Trefalt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In January 1955, an official mission departed Japan for New Guinea to collect
remains of the war dead and to erect commemorative monuments to fallen soldiers. Just before its departure, a diplomatic contretemps arose about the English wording on the Japanese stones: the Japanese government considered them memorials to the dead, whereas the Australian government insisted that they be mere geographical markers noting the search for remains. This article examines how the divergent politics of commemoration in Japan and Australia created this dispute, demonstrating how the remains of soldiers functioned as important signifiers well beyond their material existence. In Japan, the search for remains spoke to the nature of national duty, the acknowledgement of mourning and the possibilities for atonement. In Australia, however, they stimulated visceral resentment, because the soldiers’ remains symbolised Japanese aggression and war crimes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7f1b406ac5ee4b02a593a2ecf627c3ba |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2054-2240 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Manchester University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Human Remains and Violence |
| spelling | doaj-art-7f1b406ac5ee4b02a593a2ecf627c3ba2025-08-20T03:31:45ZengManchester University PressHuman Remains and Violence2054-22402023-12-01926075https://doi.org/10.7227/HRV.9.2.4The 1955 Japanese mission to New Guinea; War remains and the politics of commemoration in the wake of the Asia-Pacific WarBeatrice Trefalt 0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1672-3572Monash UniversityIn January 1955, an official mission departed Japan for New Guinea to collect remains of the war dead and to erect commemorative monuments to fallen soldiers. Just before its departure, a diplomatic contretemps arose about the English wording on the Japanese stones: the Japanese government considered them memorials to the dead, whereas the Australian government insisted that they be mere geographical markers noting the search for remains. This article examines how the divergent politics of commemoration in Japan and Australia created this dispute, demonstrating how the remains of soldiers functioned as important signifiers well beyond their material existence. In Japan, the search for remains spoke to the nature of national duty, the acknowledgement of mourning and the possibilities for atonement. In Australia, however, they stimulated visceral resentment, because the soldiers’ remains symbolised Japanese aggression and war crimes.https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/journals/hrv/9/2/article-p60.xmljapanese war remainsrepatriationcommemorationnew guineaaustralia–japan relationsasia-pacific war |
| spellingShingle | Beatrice Trefalt The 1955 Japanese mission to New Guinea; War remains and the politics of commemoration in the wake of the Asia-Pacific War Human Remains and Violence japanese war remains repatriation commemoration new guinea australia–japan relations asia-pacific war |
| title | The 1955 Japanese mission to New Guinea; War remains and the politics of commemoration in the wake of the Asia-Pacific War |
| title_full | The 1955 Japanese mission to New Guinea; War remains and the politics of commemoration in the wake of the Asia-Pacific War |
| title_fullStr | The 1955 Japanese mission to New Guinea; War remains and the politics of commemoration in the wake of the Asia-Pacific War |
| title_full_unstemmed | The 1955 Japanese mission to New Guinea; War remains and the politics of commemoration in the wake of the Asia-Pacific War |
| title_short | The 1955 Japanese mission to New Guinea; War remains and the politics of commemoration in the wake of the Asia-Pacific War |
| title_sort | 1955 japanese mission to new guinea war remains and the politics of commemoration in the wake of the asia pacific war |
| topic | japanese war remains repatriation commemoration new guinea australia–japan relations asia-pacific war |
| url | https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/journals/hrv/9/2/article-p60.xml |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT beatricetrefalt the1955japanesemissiontonewguineawarremainsandthepoliticsofcommemorationinthewakeoftheasiapacificwar AT beatricetrefalt 1955japanesemissiontonewguineawarremainsandthepoliticsofcommemorationinthewakeoftheasiapacificwar |