Touring Shinto Shrines in Seoul
Emergence of Contestation: 2017
The "dark history" tour along a route on South Mountain in central Seoul aims to showcase the disgraceful history of Japanese colonial rule over Korea and the associated hardships by placing the remains of the Shinto Shrines located along the route in their historical context. Few of the Shrines have been re-purposed as sites of memorialisation, most remain unmarked (aside from in the tour guide materials), and reflect a disconnect in the awareness of Seoul's inhabitants between the spaces in the city they live in and their history.
The Memory and Legacy of shinto Shrine Sites in Seoul: The Geography of Colonial Religious Topoi - John G. Grisafi
Tanba Mangan Kinenkan
Emergence of Contestation: 1989
The Tanba Mangan Kinenkan is a small private museum near Kyoto which houses information on the conscription of Korean labourers in the early twentieth century
Museum Education through Reenactment: Considering Historical Sites in Korea and Japan - Jason Mark Alexander
Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts, Hong Kong
Emergence of Contestation: 2018
Tai Kwun police station was redeveloped and opened to the public in 2018, and comprises three former surveillance apparati: the central police station, the central magistracy and Victoria Prison. At first, in the courtyard of the beautifully renovated compound, one sees mostly the American bars and French restaurants, with spaces for shops selling all kinds of crafts and design materials, and, in the upper part of the complex, a gallery for contemporary art. In the buildings, there are a number of signposted notices pertaining to the history of place, as well as a visitor centre that guides you into the overall history of the buildings. History is thus here not hidden but clearly labelled, but judgement on its status remains cautious.
Art in Former Military Sites: Spectres of Geopolitics in Southeast Asia - Gabriel Gee
Qijin Kitchen, Kaohsiung
Qijin kitchen is a project developed by the Taiwanese artist Wu Mali in Kaohsiung, the main harbour city in the south of Taiwan. The kitchen is located on Qijin island, a thin band of land that separates the inner bay of Kaohsiung from the ocean. The history of Kaohsiung harbour is tied to the island’s position at the top of the Southern China seas. Qijin island has been for many centuries populated by fishermen, and today is made to stand for a ‘vernacular Taiwan’, a glimpse into the pre-industrialized world. This is a false impression, as the population, in the past as today, is made up of migrants sailing the waves of history, and consuming foodstuffs from well beyond Taiwan's current borders.
Art in Former Military Sites: Spectres of Geopolitics in Southeast Asia - Gabriel Gee
National Memorial Museum
Emergence of Contestation: 2014
The National Memorial Museum of Korea in Pusan focuses on the Japanese conscription of Korean labourers during the period of colonial expansion, focussing particularly on the lived experiences of the colonized.
Museum Education through Reenactment: Considering Historical Sites in Korea and Japan - Jason Mark Alexander
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiyong2/49037497296/
Mimizuka (Ear Mound)
Emergence of Contestation: 1597
The Mimizuka memorial can serve as an example of a transformative mnemonic site, where meaning and memory of conflict is continuously reshaped through time. The representations of the monument and the collective memories associated with it shift between communities, generating narratives ranging from reproach to remembrance, and even reconciliation, all the while fueling discussion on how memorialisation is handled in today's society.
Kyoto's Mimizuka: Transformation and Contestation Across Four Centuries - Daniel Milne
Kinmen Islands
Emergence of Contestation: 2013
In 2004, the contemporary art and heritage programme was devised for Kinmen Island, just off the coast of China. The island was a territorial bastion of the Republic of China, and was covered in bunkers and other paraphenalia associated with Cold War front lines, to the extent that it has been christened as 'Taiwan's DMZ' (LINK). After China's opening and reform, and the relative appeasement over the straits that marked the turn to the 21st century, the site was identified as a significant space in which to engage with dark memories and heritage, and consider an alternate construction of the future.
Art in Former Military Sites: Spectres of Geopolitics in Southeast Asia - Gabriel Gee; J.J Zhang
Centre for Contemporary Arts, Singapore
Emergence of Contestation: 1960s
The Centre for Contemporary Art in Singapore opened in 2013 in a series of white buildings, neatly spaced out in a green environment near the Pasir Panjang district. While the seeming archetype of a white cube neutral settings, the cluster of white buildings were originally the Gillman Barracks, erected in 1936 as part of a large military zone complete with schools, hospital facilities and residential housing. They were handed over to the Singaporean State following its declaration of independence in 1965, before being repurposed into an aesthetic abstraction bordering on the decorative.
Art in Former Military Sites: Spectres of Geopolitics in Southeast Asia - Gabriel Gee
Ichigaya Memorial Hall
Emergence of Contestation: 1946, 1990s
The courtroom at the Ichigaya site where the International Military Tribunal for the Far East was held has been preserved through a collaborative effort of conservative and progressive activists. The site was supposedly to commemorate either the Japanese wartime crimes, or the allies' victor's justice over the defeated Japanese leaders. When contrasted with the site of the Nuremberg Trials, however, the site draws little attention to the war trials themselves. Moreover, the items exhibited at Ichigaya make a bias in favour of the "victor's justice" narrative apparent.
Competing Memories of Victor's Justice vs Aggressive Warfare at Ichigaya Memorial - André Hertrich
Kyoto War Heritage
Emergence of Contestation: 1945
Members of the 16th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army stationed in Kyoto were sent out across the Asia-Pacific, linking various sites across the city to Japan's military past. This past and the associated sites, however, are conspicuously absent from Kyoto's tourism landscape, and remain a negative heritage, yet to be dealt with.
Kyoto's Contested Asia-Pacific War Heritage: Sites of the Army's 16th Division - Justin Aukema
Christian Sites of Nagasaki
Emergence of Contestation: 1600s, 2018
The Nagasaki region features a number of historic sites of hidden Christian worship. The sites serve both the goals of institutional tourism as internationally recognised Japanese heritage, and the narratives of local guides as sites of importance to rural folk culture. Neither narrative can be considered the dominant one.
World Heritage, Tourism, and Cultural Intimacy in Nagasaki - Raluca Mateoc
