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
Queen's Pier
Emergence of Contestation: 2007
The Queen's Pier in Hong Kong can function as a case study of the degree to which (formerly) colonial spaces continue to shape people's relationships to their colonial past and their own identitities even in the post-colonial period, through their spatial design intertwined with colonial education which generate lasting control systems impacting both body and mind.
Tracing the inveterate (post-)colonial controls: Queen's Pier in Hong Kong and the 'Cape No. 7' in Hengchun, Taiwan - Liza Wing Man Kam
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
Okawa Elementary School
Emergence of Contestation: 2011
In the wake of the March 2011 disasters in Tohoku, several remaining ruins have become sites of negative heritage. This site - at which the failure to manage the evacuation of pupils led to tragedy - has been subject of a debate between survivors and the Japanese government, with the former wanting to preserve the school buildings, and the latter seeking to demolish them.
Framing Negative Heritage in Disaster Risk Education: School Memorials After 3.11 - Julia Gerster, Flavia Fulco
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
Arahama Elementary School
Emergence of Contestation: 2011
In the wake of the March 2011 disasters in Tohoku, several remaining ruins have become sites of negative heritage. This site - an example of a successful evacuation - is being preserved as a monument to the importance of disaster preparation (BOSAI).
Framing Negative Heritage in Disaster Risk Education: School Memorials After 3.11 - Julia Gerster, Flavia Fulco
