Ruptured Histories: War, Memory, and the Post–Cold War in Asia

New forms of nationalism have affected American policy in the Pacific, challenging the post-communist world order. This book explores the wars of the modern era, illuminating regional and global changes in East Asia, and underscoring the need to redefine the Cold War language that still continues to inform U.S.–East Asian relations.

Table of Contents:
Cover Title Page Copyright Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Re-envisioning Asia, Past and Present Chapter 1. Relocating War Memory at Century’s End: Japan’s Postwar Responsibility and Global Public Culture Chapter 2. Operations of Memory: “Comfort Women” and the World Chapter 3. Living Soldiers, Re-lived Memories? Japanese Veterans and Postwar Testimony of War Atrocities Chapter 4. Kamikaze Today: The Search for National Heroes in Contemporary Japan Chapter 5. Lost Men and War Criminals: Public Intellectuals at Yasukuni Shrine Chapter 6. The Execution of Tosaka Jun and Other Tales: Historical Amnesia, Memory, and the Question of Japan’s “Postwar” Chapter 7. China’s “Good War”: Voices, Locations, and Generations in the Interpretation of the War of Resistance to Japan Chapter 8. Remembering the Century of Humiliation: The Yuanming Gardens and Dagu Forts Museums Chapter 9. Frontiers of Memory: Conflict, Imperialism, and Official Histories in the Formation of Post–Cold War Taiwan Identity Chapter 10. The Korean War after the Cold War: Commemorating the Armistice Agreement in South Korea Chapter 11. The Korean War: What Is It that We Are Remembering to Forget? Chapter 12. Doubly Forgotten: Korea’s Vietnam War and the Revival of Memory Chapter 13. Revolution, War, and Memory in Contemporary Viet Nam: An Assessment and Agenda Epilogue: New Global Conflict? War, Memory, and Post-9/11 Asia Notes Contributors Index

Review :
This original and imaginative book uses the study of twentieth-century Pacific wars to clarify the subtle yet radical changes sweeping through East Asia with the ending of the Cold War. Penned by some of the best known and most respected voices in the field, these essays are a reminder that within ruptured histories, familiar themes endure: expanding American military power in the Asian Pacific; resurgent nationalisms; and the continuing dominance of war memories in cherished national myths. -- Philip West, University of Montana