Cultural History of 'War Memories' through Popular Media: Case Studies of Singapore and Hong Kong

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K13316
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 03010:Historical studies in general-related
• Research Institution: Ohtsuki City College (2021-2023); Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (2019-2020)
• Principal Investigator: Matsuoka Masakazu 大月短期大学, 経済科, 助教 (70769380)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 戦争の記憶 / 第二次世界大戦 / シンガポール / 香港 / アジア・太平洋戦争 / アジア主義

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research project investigated and examined how popular media, such as films and music, depicted the Second World War and the Japanese military's occupation of Southeast Asia, particularly focusing on the experiences of Singapore and Hong Kong and how this affected historical experiences related to memories of the war. In the process, I also conducted further research into the use of popular media in the Japanese Occupation of Southeast Asia and also investigated and analysed post-war historical education and social education, including museums that shaped the "memories of war". As a result, this highlighted not only the discrepancies in the memories between Japan and various parts of Asia but also the "complicity" between Japan and these regions and the uniqueness of the historical discourse in each region.

Free Research Field

文化交流史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、戦争と日本軍による東南アジアの占領という歴史的事実のみならず、映画や音楽といった大衆的なものも含むさまざまなメディアで戦争やそのもとでの生活経験がどのように表象され、集合的記憶を形成しているかについて考察を深めた。これは広い意味での史学史的研究と言えよう。歴史を単なる「事実」の蓄積としてだけ捉えるのではなく、その語られ方、大衆メディアを通じた人々の歴史実践、そして歴史を語る際の感情に着目した点で歴史研究の現代的意義をもつものと言えよう。また、研究成果は中等教育の現場や広い読者を持つ媒体へも反映させており、歴史・文化・地域の理解を広げていくうえで一定の意義を果たしたと言える。