Through my travels in Asia, I’ve come to really enjoy visiting museums. They range from the stuffed animal fetish of the National History Museum in Ulaanbaatar to the grand museums of the palaces of Rajasthan. I like them for the information but love them for the misinformation they give. The most extreme example of this would be the museum at the Yasukuni shrine. This shrine is controversial because as together with all of Japan’s war dead, the souls of 14 Class A war criminals have been dedicated there. Visits by Japanese Prime Ministers honouring the war dead (and by extension, these executed war criminals) have been met with disapproval and protests from neighbouring Asian countries, in particular Korea and China. The museum and shrine has therefore become a centre point for extreme right wing groups in Japan.
Above: On the left, Yasakuni Shrine and on the right, a right wing march.
While the shrine is the more controversial of the two, the museum contains many gems in its own right. For example, the Japanese followed military rules to the letter in Nanking (according to the museum, there was no Rape of Nanking). Japan’s role in World War II is held up as a brave struggle to overthrow Western colonial oppression and unite the peoples of Asia under the enlightened stewardship of Imperial Japan. Japan’s often bloody suppression of China and the rest of Asia is recast as brilliant military campaigns in which people welcomed the Japanese as liberators instead of conquerors. Japan also inspired independence movements from Morocco to India, Angola to Papua New Guinea and inspired the views and beliefs of Gandhi, Mandala and Martin Luther King Jr. Pearl Harbour was the inevitable conclusion of American embargos on Japan.
While the shrine is the more controversial of the two, the museum contains many gems in its own right. For example, the Japanese followed military rules to the letter in Nanking (according to the museum, there was no Rape of Nanking). Japan’s role in World War II is held up as a brave struggle to overthrow Western colonial oppression and unite the peoples of Asia under the enlightened stewardship of Imperial Japan. Japan’s often bloody suppression of China and the rest of Asia is recast as brilliant military campaigns in which people welcomed the Japanese as liberators instead of conquerors. Japan also inspired independence movements from Morocco to India, Angola to Papua New Guinea and inspired the views and beliefs of Gandhi, Mandala and Martin Luther King Jr. Pearl Harbour was the inevitable conclusion of American embargos on Japan.
Another museum that rates a mention would be one in Ho Chi Minh City. Called the War Remnants museum, it documents the ‘terrible wrong doings of the US Government” during the American War (as the Vietnam War is known in Vietnam). It showcases show pretty gruesome pictures, some of which can be seen below. Of course, the US government were involved in some terrible atrocities but the museum conveniently overlooks any wrong doings by North Vietnam and concentrates solely on the mass evil of America and its capitalist puppet South Vietnam. Here, you can see images of fetuses warped by exposure to Orange Agent, Vietnamese pushed alive out of US military helicopters and GIs grinning manically with ears of Vietcong as trophies.
Above: Left, a statue outside the Koream War Memorial. Top Right: The A Bomb Dome in Hiroshima. Bottom Right: Watch that stopped with the dropping of the bomb.
The most balanced museum of all was the one that could have been the most biased and nationalistic. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum talks about the atomic bombing of the city, presenting its horror in a thoughtful and thought-provoking manner. The necessity to bomb Hiroshima is presented with both sides of the debate given airtime. Basically, one side argues that Japan was on its last legs and that there was no need for the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This side maintains that the bombing was done for political reasons, to show the power of America in a post-WW2 environment. It is also argued that the expense of the Manhattan project was such that America wanted to try out its weapon and see how effective it was. Hiroshima was chosen partly because it was largely untouched by Allied bombing and also because the city lies in a valley which would amplify the effect of the bomb. The other side would argue that Japan was prepared to fight on and that a full-scale invasion of Japan would have cost the lives of many hundreds of thousands of Allied troops and many more Japanese, both civilian and military. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. Japan was interested in fighting on so it could gain a more sympathetic surrender. However, the declaration of war by Russia on Japan meant that such a prospect was unlikely. Undoubtedly, America gained a lot politically from the bombing as well as invaluable data on its costly enterprise. The Museum manages to present both sides of the argument. There are so many heart wrenching moments, the pictures of women with kimono patterns burnt into their back, pictures of children orphaned by the bomb, people throwing themselves into the river, the watch that stopped at the exact time of the bombing. It is an extremely poignant and eye-opening museum, done in the best of taste. It just goes to show that not all museums in Asia are unbalanced.
The most balanced museum of all was the one that could have been the most biased and nationalistic. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum talks about the atomic bombing of the city, presenting its horror in a thoughtful and thought-provoking manner. The necessity to bomb Hiroshima is presented with both sides of the debate given airtime. Basically, one side argues that Japan was on its last legs and that there was no need for the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This side maintains that the bombing was done for political reasons, to show the power of America in a post-WW2 environment. It is also argued that the expense of the Manhattan project was such that America wanted to try out its weapon and see how effective it was. Hiroshima was chosen partly because it was largely untouched by Allied bombing and also because the city lies in a valley which would amplify the effect of the bomb. The other side would argue that Japan was prepared to fight on and that a full-scale invasion of Japan would have cost the lives of many hundreds of thousands of Allied troops and many more Japanese, both civilian and military. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. Japan was interested in fighting on so it could gain a more sympathetic surrender. However, the declaration of war by Russia on Japan meant that such a prospect was unlikely. Undoubtedly, America gained a lot politically from the bombing as well as invaluable data on its costly enterprise. The Museum manages to present both sides of the argument. There are so many heart wrenching moments, the pictures of women with kimono patterns burnt into their back, pictures of children orphaned by the bomb, people throwing themselves into the river, the watch that stopped at the exact time of the bombing. It is an extremely poignant and eye-opening museum, done in the best of taste. It just goes to show that not all museums in Asia are unbalanced.
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