Authors
Natsuko Akagawa
Publication date
2020
Journal
Places of Traumatic Memory: A Global Context
Pages
37-59
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Description
The urban landscape of Japan’s major cities, though not visible today, is embedded with the traumatic memory of civilians who were the target of the firebombing air raids of Japan’s cities during 1944 and 1945. This chapter examines the complex, entangled emotions that constitute the multiple layers of trauma, guilt, and agony of civilian survivors and witnesses that have had been largely silenced and under explored in the international context. It discusses how this memory of trauma is remembered and narrated individually, domestically and internationally. It shows how emerging spaces for the narration of trauma enable the transmission of personal trauma and guilt, and simultaneously engage with what Akagawa calls ‘authorised narrative discourse’ of the post-war Japanese nation.
Total citations
2022202311