Muse no. 6: Japanese Network of Museums for Peace
Newsletter: December 2001
The Editorial Office: Kyoto Museum for World Peace, Ritsumeikan University56-1 Kita-machi, Toji-in, Kita-ku, Kyoto City 603-8577 Japan
Director: Ikuro Anzai. Curator: Masahiko Yamabe
Editor: Kazuyo Yamane. Illustrator: Erico Tosaki
Tel: +81-075-465-8151. Fax: +81-075-465-7899. http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp

Head Office of the Network Moved to Kyoto
The conference of Japanese Network ofMusuems for Peace (JNMP) was held on
November 18 at Kyoto Museum for World
Peace, Ritsumeikan University, in Kyoto. It
was when the conference of Peace Studies
Association of Japan was held there. It was
the first conference since the JNMP was(4) The head office of Japanese Networkof Museums for Peace will be moved from
Grassroots House to Kyoto Museum for World
Peace. Mr. Masahiko Yamabe, the curator of
Kyoto Museum for World Peace, will be incharge of the head office.
(5) As for the Muse newsletter, Ms

founded in December, 1998 when the third
International Conference was held in Osakaand Kyoto.
First Mr. Shigeo Nishimori, the director of
Grassroots House, reported his work for the
JNMP as the coordinator and made a financial
report.
As for the future, it was decided asfollows.
(1) In regard to the character of the

Kazuyo Yamane will continue to work as theeditor as a volunteer. This newsletter will be
published in Kyoto from December, 2001.
(6) The deficit will be made up by
donations and collecting the subscription fee ofthe Muse. (It is sent abroad for free.)We had exchanges of opinions among
directors and peace researchers from peacemuseums and peace­related museums such as
Kyoto Museum for World Peace, Holocaust

JNMP, it would continue to be an organizationof individuals such as directors, people whowant to make a peace museum, peace
researchers and so forth, not an organization
where peace museums belong to as a body.
This is because it is much easier to work
together.
(2) We will exchange publications such as
newsletters.
(3) A meeting will be held once a year.

Education Center, The Display House of the 5th
Lucky Dragon, Grassroots House, Maruki
Gallery, Children Center for Peace & Human
Rights, Osaka, Peace Museum in Nagano,Museum Perang Pasifik in Iwate,

The next meeting will be held in Yamanashi in
August, 2002 when the national symposium on
Preserving War Remains will be held.

Association of Recording Air Raids in1

Kasugai, people who are planning to make a
Center of War Documentation for Peace, Tokyoand so forth. (Masahiko Yamabe)

There were two reports on peacemuseums.
(1) Mr. Masahiko Yamabe, the curator of Kyoto
Museum for World Peace talked about somecriticism and attacks against exhibits on
Japan’s aggression during World War II bynationalists.
For example, right­wing
propaganda trucks are used to threat
curators so that they wouldn’t make an
exhibition on Japan’s aggression during thewar. Right­wing journalists wrote articles
criticizing those exhibits.
However,grassroots movement plays a great role toshow the agony of war and the importanceof peace at peace museums.

The 8th Conference of Association of JapaneseMuseums for Peace
The 8th Conference of Association ofJapanese Museums for Peace was held on
November 14th and 15th at Osaka International
Peace Center. All the nine members attended
it such as Kyoto Museums for World Peace,
Hiroshima Peace memorial Museum, Osaka
International Peace Center, Kanagawa Plazafor Global Citizenship, Kawasaki Peace
museum, Peace museum of Saitama,
Takamatsu Civic Culture Center/ Peace
Memorial Museum, Nagasaki Atomic Bomb
Museum and Okinawa Prefecture Peace
Memorial Museum.
Two subjects were discussed.

(2) Professor Hideo Fujita (the Display Houseof the 5th Lucky Dragon) talked about theroles of peace museums and some problems
to be solved. There are three roles of(1) A Homepage of the Association of JapaneseMuseums for Peace will be made in the
future. Homepages of the members will belinked together.
(2) The members will exchange information on
special exhibition that will be held in a few
years.
Each member made a report of its activities:
the study based on experiences, supporting
pupils in “Comprehensive Study” of elementarypeace museums.
① It is easy to use a peace museum forpeace education.
② A peace museum contributes tocreating feelings against war andnuclear weapons.
③ It promotes peace education at schools,
community centers and so forth byeducating and training teachers andstaff members.

schools, manuals of teaching materials forstudents, peace studies project, the standard ofchoosing materials, the evaluation of materials,
the situation of the preservation of materials,
the income increase, the reduction of expenses
and so forth. (Masahiko Yamabe)

Problems to be solved are war museums thatglorify war, attacks on the exhibits of Japan’s
aggression, the reduction of the budget for
public peace museums, whether people are
educated to work for peace at peace museums,
violence in media and computer games, the lackof information on the third world such as
Afghanistan, whether a peace museum plays
the role as a peace center like Grassroots Houseand so forth.

Peace Museums discussed at the Conference ofPeace Studies Association of JapanThe conference of Peace Studies
Association of Japan was held on November
17th and 18th at Kyoto Museum for World Peace.
There was the session on peace museums.

Professor Ikuro Anzai was the chairman
and Professor Toshifumi Murakami was the2commentator. There were many participants
who were interested in peace museums.

women were videotaped and they are usedby many visitors.

News on Museums for Peace in Japan

Kanagawa Plaza for Global Citizenship1. Photo exhibition in Asia and the Pacificarea: The winning photos at the photo
contest by UNESCO were exhibited under
the theme of “Peace: beyond differences”
from July 20th to August 20th.
2. Exhibition of 21st Century Humanity in
Nature: “Living on a Beautiful Earth” washeld from September 29th to October 14th.
They were exhibited at the United Nationsin 2000. The purpose was to think about
the earth in the 21st century throughcomics.
3. Exhibition of Picture Books called “Hello,
Dear Enemy”: the purpose is to educate
children folly of war and the importance oftolerance and cultivate a love of peace.

Peace Museum of Saitama
1. Exhibition(1) Exhibition of war­related materials
donated by citizens in 2000 from April
24th to June 24th.
A letter ofappreciation was handed to donors on
May 26th.
(2) War in Japan through paintings:
Artists were encouraged to record war
by painting during the war. The
paintings played a big part inglorifying war.
These paintings,
children’s paintings, posters usedduring the war and postcards were
exhibited so that people would
understand the wartime and peace. It
was exhibited from July 24th to August
31st.
(3) Artists and writers evacuated to
Saitama: there were poets, artists, andnovelists who evacuated from Tokyo to
Saitama since 1944. Their works andrelated­materials were exhibited from
October 23rd to December 2nd with thecooperation of Saitama Museum of
Literature and Modern Art Museum.

Photos by Tsutomu Hayami in the third
world were also exhibited in order toinform the environment and human rightsof the children from February 26th toMarch 10th.
Kawasaki Peace Museum
The role of NGOs for peace keeping were
exhibited as well as drug issues.

2. Meeting on war experiences
A man who experienced the battle in
Okinawa gave a talk on June 17th.
A man who experienced the U.S. air
raid in Tokyo gave a talk on March
10th.
3. Films were shown as life­long education in
April, June, July, September and October.
For example, films on the atomic bombsand “Farewell to Arms” by Hemingway.

Films are shown on the second Saturday every
month so that children and their parents will
think of the importance of peace.
Kyoto Museum for World Peace
World News Photograph exhibition was heldfrom September 27th to October 21st. They are
winning photos at the contest of news photos by
the Dutch Foundation.

4. People having War experiences videotaped:
It was started in 1992, and 160 men andChildren’s paintings in Viet Nam were
exhibited from October 26th to November 15th.

3

They are kept at War Remnants Museum in
Hochimenh City, Viet Nam.

Lectures on Peace Studies started in September.
The first lecture was given by Dr. Hiroyasu
Miyasato on September 15th. He talked about
his experiences of helping refugees in Thailand
as a doctor for one year. He is a member ofDoctors without the Border.

Conference of Haiku against the Atomic Bombs
was held on September 2nd.
CD­ROM of Kyoto Museum for World Peace
It is possible to see Kyoto Museum for World
Peace through the CD­ROM. It can be used atcommunity libraries and school libraries.
The price is 9500 yen and it is in Japanese. It
was made by Iwanami Shoten.
http://www.iwanami.co.jp/

The second lecture was given by Ms Youko
Kitazawa who talked about the present worldfrom her viewpoint, and globalization andpeace on September 29th. She was elected as
the President of Peace Studies Association ofJapan in November.

Osaka International Peace Center
Photo exhibition on Family was held from July
10th to 22nd. They are winning photos at theworld photo contest by the UNESCO. Warmhuman relation in family is the base of thepromotion of a culture of peace. The purpose

Concert was held on December 1st. Sung wereSongs before, during and after World War II
to reflect on the social background of the songs
and to renew people’s wish for peace.

is to search for the peaceful world throughwonderful family and various cultures.

Memorial Museum
The exhibition on the air raids on Takamtsu
was held from July 3rd to 8th. They were
photos on the damages after the air raids.
People who had actually experienced the air
raid drew pictures. They appealed to visitors
because the paintings showed the misery of war
and the preciousness of peace.

Takamatsu Civic Culture Center / Peace

There was the Exhibition for the 21st Century
from August 1st to October 14th. First there
were exhibits on current issues in the worldsuch as (1) regional conflicts and refugees, (2)poverty and children, (3) environmental issuesand (4) nuclear threat. UNICEF and UNHCR
were introduced to make visitors thinkWar­related articles donated by citizens werethemselves as global citizens. Twelve peace
messages by children were also exhibited.
There had been a contest of peace messages forchildren aged 9 to 15 years old, and 2002
children applied.

exhibited from July 30th to August 3rd.
Citizens have been asked to donate sucharticles.
A junior high school boy wrote his impression
as follows: “I came to see the exhibition because
I wanted to know about my town. I was very
sorry to know that hundreds of people were
killed by the U.S. air raids in my town. There
will be a few people who experienced the air

Photo exhibition in Asia and the Pacific area:
The winning photos at the photo contest by
UNESCO were exhibited under the theme of“Peace: beyond differences” from October 23rd to
November 25th.

raid, so we should pass such experiences to thenext generation. I think it was good to know

4the past at the peace museum.
No. 4 published in October)(Newsletter

flower arrangement, photographs, sculptureand so forth were exhibited. There were art
works from abroad also.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
The 56th anniversary of the atomic bombing
was held on August 6th at Peace Memorial Park.
Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima City
made a speech and declared that people ofHiroshima would do their best to make the 21st
century peaceful and humane. He also said
that they would make efforts to start a course of
lectures on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at major
universities in the world according to Peace
Culture No. 142 published on September 1st.

The exhibition called “Sadako and Folded
Cranes” has been held since July 19th and it
will be continued until December 16th. Sadako
Sasaki was exposed to radiation when she was
two years old and passed away when she wastwelve. Her photos and a folded crane that
she could not finish are exhibited. There arealso exhibits on the social situation in
Hiroshima in 1955 when she passed away.
There is also the exhibition on Children’s Peace
Monument whose model is Sadako. The
exhibits show how the story of Sadako andfolded cranes spread in the world. Sadako’s
story has been disseminated through picture
books, stories and drama in fifty­two countries

Children’s peace messages were exhibited from
August 1st to 31st. There were 1810 applicantsof “My Peace Declaration”: 1155 essays, 340
paintings and also poetry including haiku.
About eighty percent was teenager paintings
and also poetry and haiku. About eighty
percent was teenagers. Most of the peace
messages were put into a box at Hiroshima
Peace Memorial Museum. Essays and poetry
call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
People surrounding the earth are painted in a
picture, for example. Children’s strong wish
for peace is well expressed in their works.

as of May, 2001.
There is also a place for the exhibition offolded cranes sent from various places and alsoa place where visitors can write their messages
for peace.
It is possible to see exhibits in Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Museum through the Internet. The
homepage is as follows:
http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/peacesite/

The 5th Conference of Mayors for Peace washeld in Hiroshima and Nagasaki from August
4th to 9th. 200 mayors attended it from 105
cities in twenty­eight countries. The theme
was “Aiming at the Reconciliation between
Human Beings and Science & Technology inOrder to Survive in the 21st Century”.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki Appeal was adopted
declaring their efforts to make the 21st century
humane so that all life will be respected.

Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
Paintings drawn by atomic bomb victims were
exhibited to show the aftermath of the atomic
bombing from May 9th to September 2nd.
Photo exhibition by H. J. Peterson has been
exhibited since September. He came to Japan
to investigate damages done by the atomic
bombs.

The 47th Peace Art Exhibition was held at
Hiroshima Kenmin Culture Center from
August 2nd to 7th.
Paintings, calligraphy,
5There were exhibitions in other prefectures
such as Hyogo, Iwate and Kanagawa prefecture
where people don’t have a chance to know theatomic bomb issue, especially for young people
who have no experiences of war so that theywould be able to know the horror of nuclear
weapons and the importance of peace.

An old textile factory building was donated by
Mr. Sakae Kurita and it was repaired to be
used as a peace museum. There are about
20,000 exhibits related to war damages from
Hokkaido to Okinawa. There is an old hood toprotect the head of a child who was killed at the
U.S. air raids. Mother donated it because she
couldn’t throw it away.

Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum
There are about 13000 exhibits on Okinawa
battle. Some precious materials were
exhibited from October 2nd to November 30th.
People were asked to cooperate with thecollection of materials used during World War
II.

Strawberry geranium doesn’t wither even in
the snow and white flowers bloom in summer.
Though there was a hard time like a Red purge
against Mr. Tadao Kato, the director, the peacemuseum was opened because of Grassroots
support.

There have been exhibitions on Okinawa battle,
the international understanding, human rights
and peace for children since June.

It is impressive to know that the newsletter
called “Yuki no Shita” has been published since1951 when Korean War was going on. The oldissues are kept at the Diet Library and Kyoto

Maruki Gallery
Mr. Ichiro Hariu, the director, gave a lecture on
Iri Maruki on July 8th. There was also a
lecture on Mr. & Mrs. Maruki on August 5th. A
film on Minamata was also shown.
(Minamata city is in Kumamoto of Kyushu andmany people got sick eating fish contaminatedwith mercury drained from chemical factories
in the 1950s. Victims were drawn in Maruki’s
paintings.)

Museum for World Peace, but the problem isthat all the newsletters are not put in order yet.

http://www.aya.or.jp/marukimsn/
marukimsn@aya.or.jp

Textbooks edited by Association of Making New
History Textbooks passed the government’s
screening on April 3rd. There have been many
requests for panels on school textbooks for theexhibition and also lectures on this issue.
Though nationalistic school textbooks were
made, there has been strong protest against
using them by teachers and citizens. There
are a few schools where such textbooks will be
used in the future.

According to Mr. Tadao Kato, a peace museum
is not a place simply for preserving articles
related to the past. It should be the base forcreating peace in the future.
Children Center for Peace & Human Rights,
Osaka

Yuki no Shita (Strawberry Geranium) Peace
Culture Museum Opened
It was opened on November 23rd. First, there
was nothing except hope and passion, according
to the newsletter No. 119. Exhibits werecollected for fifty years and they are exhibitednow. It is possible to know the air raids on
Fukui, local culture and grassroots movement
for peace.

6It is possible to know Asian places worth
visiting that are related to Japan’s aggression
and have not been introduced in Japanaccording to its newsletter called Grassroots No.
15.
Pacific Ocean War History Museum, Iwate
It became possible for the Japanese family ofthe deceased to receive former soldiers’ remains
in West New Guinea after carrying on
negotiations with people living there. There
are still problems that should have been solved
soon after World War II.
People in themuseum have been trying to deal with such
issues.

Four directors went to Korea to inform Korean
people of their activities in Japan. They
visited national Central Museum and National
Folk Museum and asked Koreans to offer
information to Korai Museum in the future.
According to newsletter published on October
1st, they had a press conference in Seoul andthirteen reporters came from different
newspaper agency. The plan of opening Korai
Museum was warmly welcomed because therelation between Japan and Korea has beenstrained. It is because Japanese school
textbooks are getting nationalistic andhistorical facts on Korea were not written.
Prime Minister Koizumi’s visit of Yasukuni
Shrine in August also caused bad feelings
among Koreans because war criminals areglorified there.

History and Ethnic Museum in Sendai, Miyagi
A study meeting is held by the Association tothink Modern History in Miyagi according to
newsletter No. 14. It is pointed out that it was
virtue for Japanese soldiers to die during WorldWar II, and they were made to believe that theywould be a divine being if they were killed inaction. Such an idea made it possible foryoung soldiers to be sent as a suicide squadduring the war. Recent dangerous situation ofnationalistic history textbooks were also
discussed.

9 F, Daini Kankoku Hiroba Building, 1­12­1
Okubo, Shinjuku­ku, Tokyo
Tel & Fax: 042­378­5245
E­mail: Koraihak@nifty.com
http://business1.plala.or.jp/korai/
Grassroots House, Kochi
Peace Concert was held on October 7th andNovember 23rd downtown. It was called

Korai Museum Opened
Korai Museum was opened on December 7th inTokyo. The plan of making the museum wasmade ten years ago in order to convey thehistory of exchanges between Japan and Korea
and also the history of Koreans living in Japan.
A room at a building in Shinjuku,Tokyo, wasdonated by a Korean businessman living inJapan. The details were decided on
September 8th.
It will be open from 13:00 to 19:00 and closed“Let’s Make All the Weapons (buki in Japanese)
Musical Instruments (gakki)”. If you know
Japanese, you’ll notice the interesting end
rhyme. They were held to protest against the
U.S. war against Afghanistan because they
believed that force should not be used to solve
the problem of terrorism. They were held at apark downtown and twenty­two musicians
attended it. It was very nice to have peace
messages from abroad. Their messages wereon Tuesday. As for Friday, it will be open from13:00 to 20:00.

exhibited at the park and people enjoyedreading them.

7

Photo panels on Japan’s aggression, especiallythe germ war, have been exhibited at Kochi
Citizens’ Library since November 30th. The
purpose is to inform people of the reality of thegerm war conducted by Japan against China
and Japanese support of Chinese who filed asuit against Japan for the apology and thecompensation for damages during WWI.

a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania and lost hisjob. There is English newsletter also.
http://www.urban.ne.jp/home/hecjpn
hecjpn@urban.ne.jp
German Museum in Naruto, Tikushima
About 1000 German prisoners of war were put
into a concentration camp in Tokushima
Prefecture from 1917 to 1920. German
prisoners of war had a hard time in Japan
though there is one exception called BandoCamp. Music, drama, sports, lectures,
gardening, stockbreeding, confectionery,
construction and publication of newspaper andbooks were possible. Beethoven’s symphony
No.9 was played for the first time in Japan andit spread all over Japan. Common people
enjoy singing it in German even today.

Kochi Liberty and People’s Rights Museum
The exhibition on Japanese soldiers who cameback from Siberia and other Asian nations after
the war was held by Kochi City and Kochi
Board of Education. There were 1,396,468
Japanese who returned to Japan. It waspossible to see the reality of Japan’s aggression
through photos and paintings.

Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center

The museum was built in 1972. Newsletter

There was the exhibition of “Holocaust Seen byChildren” from March 2nd to May 30th. A bagof Hanna Brady was one of them. When it
was sent to the center from Auschwitz Museum,nothing was clear except her name andbirthday. Later, it was found that she had abrother living in Canada. Hanna was killed at
a concentration camp when she was thirteen.
His brother had been looking for her bag, andhe was very surprised to know that it was incalled Ruhe started to be published in
September.
55­2 Higashi Yamada, Hinoki Aza, Ooasa­cho,
Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture 779­0225
Tel: 088­689­0099. Fax: 088­689­0909

Japan. He visited the center in March.

regardless of the enemy and pray for peace.

105 Empire Coop, 28 Daikyou Town,
Shinjuku­ku, Tokyo 160­0015
Tel: +81­03­5363­4808. Fax: +81­3­5363­4809
E­mail: Holocaust@Tokyo.email.ne.jp
Website: www.ne.jp/asahi/holocaust/Tokyo/

Holocaust Museum in Hiroshima

It is impressive to know that Mr. Shinichi
Taketomi Taketomi will work for the museumthat his father, Mr. Tomio Taketomi aged 83,
founded. There are about 2000 articles suchas soldier’s uniform, letters and posters
glorifying war. It is possible for children totouch them and learn the past. There areabout 300 people from all over Japan to visit

People went to Chiune Sugihara Memorial in
Gifu Prefecture according to Newsletter No. 8.
He saved Jewish people during World War II as

there. Mr. Shinichi Taketomi said, “I have noexperience of war, and I don’t know what to do.
But I want to talk about war to children using

War Museum for Soldiers and the Common
People, Fukuoka
The Buddhist memorial service was held on
July 17th to console the spirit of the dead8

exhibits.” according to Asahi Newspaper dated
on January 5th.

“Hibakusha (victims of radiation sickness) in
the World” until nuclear weapons are
abolished.

Oka Masaharu Memorial Peace Museum,
Nagasaki

Hibakusha is not only from Hiroshima andNagasaki. There are about 70.000 Koreans
who are victims of the atomic bombs according
to Mr. Takashi Ito, one of the six photographers.
People in the Marshall Island are also victimsof radiation. It is shocking to see a photoshowing that nuclear waste was dumped into
the Japan Sea by Russia in 1993 because we,
the Japanese, eat fish. The photos show
victims in nuclear test site in Nevada andAustralia, radiation­contaminated area nearmining spots of uranium and nuclear plants
according to newsletter No. 48 published on
November 1st.

Chinese witnesses of Japan’s aggression gave aspeech on July 12th according to the newsletter
No. 29. There will be a meeting where
Chinese people will talk about Nanking
Massacre on December 8th. The museum
plays an important role to teach Japanesepeople about historical facts, especially Japan’s
aggression during World War II.
http://www/d3.dion.ne.jp/~okakinen
Tel & fax: +81­095­820­5600

Peace Museum Projects

Stamps on War & Peace have been exhibited in

The following is news on activities for the plans
to make peace museums in the future.

various parts of Japan. It is an interestingidea to collect such stamps and make an
exhibition.
Raising funds by recycling used books is also agood idea. People brought used books andthey were sold on September 29th and 30th.
20.000 yen was raised and it will be used to buy
books for children.
http://homepage2.nifty.com/shizuoka­heiwa

Shizuoka Peace Center
Good news is that Shizuoka Peace Center was
introduced in junior high school’s secondary
reader according to its newsletter No. 47.
Exhibition on Hibakusha in the World was heldfrom October 5th to November 4th. Visitors
were shocked to see a photo of a girl’s weary
expression in Iraq. It is said that the numberof children suffering from leukemia isincreasing because of depleted uranium usedduring the Gulf War.

e­mail: shizuoka­heiwa@nifty.com
Open on Friday, Saturday & Sunday from 10:00
to 16:30.
Photo Exhibition by Kikujiro Fukushima“Japan: Poluted Islands. The Structure of the
Destruction of Nature” was exhibited in Yanai
City of Yamaguchi Prefecture in April.

There are six photographers who have been
taking photos of people suffering from damages
done by nuclear weapons, nuclear tests andaccidents at nuclear plants. They made theassociation to spread the photo exhibition of

The photo exhibition of “War Responsibility:
9000 people’s Testimonies” was exhibited inJuly. The photos show war victims taken after

9

the end of the war and make people think of
war responsibility.

exhibiting whatever it is. There is not somuch pressure from nationalists as in the caseof a public peace museum.

Photos of “Self­Defense Forces and Weapon
Industry” were exhibited in July.
Fax: +81­820­23­1823

In case of Tokyo, people wanted to have a public
peace museum. However, their wish was notrealized and Edo Tokyo Museum (where theabove conference was held) was made. The
exhibition on the U.S. air raids in Tokyo andthe damages is only a small part of the exhibits
at the museum.

Making a Peace Museum in Yokohama
The members of the executive committee formaking a peace museum in a red brick building
asked the Mayor of Yokohama City to make apeace museum on May 29th that is the day
when there were air raids by the U.S. bombers
during World War II.
Fax: +81­045­241­4987

Such a story is similar in Kochi City. People
worked hard to make a public peace museum,
but the result was different: Kochi Liberty and
Peoples’ Rights Museum was made and it has
no word of peace in the name. This is why
Grassroots House, a private peace museum,was made by Mr. & Mrs. Shigeo Nishimori.

Peace Museum in Matsushiro, Nagano
There was Peace Festival on August 14th. The
purpose is to inform citizens of the movement ofmaking a peace museum, and to try to make apeaceful community including making a peacemuseum. It was the sixth time when thepeace festival was held.

The story of making a peace museum in Tokyo
was important especially for people who havebeen working hard to make a peace museum.

Both children and their parents went to see theair­raid shelter made for the headquarters ofJapanese rulers during World War II.
http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/^kibonoie
kibonoie@mb.infoweb.ne.jp
Fax: +81­026­224­1761

Other NewsThe 5th National Symposium on PreservingWar­related Sites
The symposium was held at Kawasaki Peace
Museum on August 4th and 5th. It was
impressive to know high school students’
activities to try to make a peace museum in
Matsushiro, Nagano.

Center of War Documentation for Peace, Tokyo
Mr. Katsumoto Saotome, a write who has been
active in creating a peace museum, talked
about his experiences at the National Liaison
Conference of Recording Air Raids and War
Damages held in Tokyo on August 11th and 12th.

The National Liaison Conference of Recording
Air Raids and War Damages
The conference was held at Edo Tokyo Museum
on August 10th and 11th.
Mr. Kazuhira
Tatematsu, a writer, talked about recording.
People exchanged information and opinions.

There is a tendency that people want to have apublic peace museum. But it is hard to makean ideal one in case of a public peace museum.
If it is a private peace museum, there is afinancial problem, but there is much freedom of

It became possible to communicate with one
another through the Internet.

10

Contact: Association of Recording Air Raids inTokyo: Fax: +81­3­5683­3326 (Mr. Shimao Doki)colonial rule or were they cruel invaders andcriminals?
Although
Prime
Minister
Murayama declared in 1994 that Japan didcause many Asian people unendurable pain andgrief through Japanese invasions and colonial
rules, public opinions about this question are
badly split even today. And this split has been
the most fundamental background in thescenes of war and peace museums in Japan.

ArticlesThe following is an article on museums inJapan and Germany.

Yasukuni Shrine and Split of War
Memory in Japan by Professor Morio

Absence of National Museum of Modern
Japanese History
We have no national history museum where
histories of many wars are displayed since thebeginning of modern Japan (Meiji era). There is
one huge national history and folklore museum(since 1983) in Sakura city, Chiba prefecturenear Tokyo. But this museum exhibits
Japanese history only until the beginning of
the Meiji era, just before the beginning of

Minami of Aichi Kyouiku University
Split of War Memory
August 13, 2001, two days before theanniversary of the end of World War II forJapan, the Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi
went and worshiped at Yasukuni Shrine(erected in 1869). About 2.5 million Japanese
war dead, including Tojo Hideki and six otherJapanese leaders during the wartime who had
been executed as war criminals on December
23, 1948, were secretly enshrined together
there in 1978. Facing hard criticism against
his intention of the visit from inside andoutside of Japan, the Prime Minister avoided
the date of the anniversary. But that was not

Japanese invasions against Asian countries atthe end of the 19th century. And two years ago
the first national museum ("Showa­kan") about
World War II was erected in Tokyo near
Yasukuni­Shrine and the Emperor's Palace.
And this museum displays only the (hard) lifeof Japanese during and after the War. No
photos of Japanese soldiers in battlefields in
Asia and the Pacific, and naturally no photos of
Asian victims killed by them or no photos ofessential. The essential problem is naturally
the fact that the Japanese Prime Minister
worshipped all of Japanese war dead as "heroicdead" （in Japanese "eirei"）. Before and after

enemies.

this incident there were many hard disputes
about this all over Japan as well as in Korea
and China. And this is not the first time.
Disputes about Yasukuni Shrine or the way ofcommemoration of war dead have been

Absence of War History in the Atomic Bomb
Museum in Hiroshima
The most famous Japanese museum forforeign people is perhaps the Atomic Bomb
Museum in Hiroshima (erected in 1955). We
do not need to explain the importance of thismuseum that displays the menace andinhumanity of nuclear weapons with clinicalcontinuing since WWII. That means the factthat there has been no consensus about thismatter in Japan over a half century. Were theJapanese dead soldiers and officers heroes for
defending their own country and for liberating
Asian countries from American and European

accuracy. But for a long time there has beenno exhibition about the war history. So
visitors could not know at which stage of the11war the atomic bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima and with which intentions the
USA used the new bomb, etc. In 1995 themuseum added some panels for the first timeabout the role of Hiroshima as a military
center for invasions of Asian countries
during the war. And at the same time some
explanations about the aims of using anA­bomb on the side of the USA, i.e. not only
to save many lives of American soldiers (andJapanese people), but also to test the new
expensive bomb and to demonstrate its
incredible power to the USSR for the sake ofthe post­war international political andmilitary strategy of the USA.

Concept of New National Cemetery for the
War Dead
During the disputes about the visit to
Yasukuni Shrine Prime Minister Koizumi
declared several times that the erection of a
new national cemetery should be considered
where many Japanese with various religious
and politicalbelief could visit andcommemorate the war dead without disputes,
and the Japanese Prime Minister can also visit
with his foreign guests. Several leaders of the
opposition parties also proposed it. But until
now there has been no official meeting todiscuss the concept of the new national
cemetery. Those who support Yasukuni Shrine
reject the proposal definitely. So we do not know
now if the concept will be realized or not. It
seems difficult to me. But if we discuss theconcept of the new national cemetery for the
war dead, I think we can learn many things

Contrast between Nationalistic War Museums
and Pacifistic Peace Museums since 1990's
As well known to many readers of thisnewsletter, in 1990's there have been erectedmany peace museums in Japanese cities, e.g. in
Osaka, Kyoto, Kawasaki, Saitama, Sakai andmany others. Among them Osaka International
Peace Center (since 1991), Kyoto Museum forWorld Peace of Ritsumeikan University (since1992) and Sakai City Peace and Human Rights
Museum (since 1994) show not only Japanesecasualties and damages through American air
raids, but also casualties and damages caused
through Japanese invasions and inhumanfrom German experience in the long process forerection of the new national memorial for the
war dead.

activities like Nanking Massacre and the 731
Unit for bacteriological warfare. On the other
hand there have been many nationalistic war
museums like Yushukan (erected 1881) in
Yasukuni Shrine, Peace Museum for Kamikaze
Pilots (since 1975 in Chiran, Kagoshima) for
commemorating and praising of Kamikaze
pilots and Kyoiku­Sankou­kan (since 1925) inthe military base of Etajima (Hiroshima).
Reconciliation between these two groups seems

Whitehall (London) and the memorial at thewall of Kremlin. But for a long time since WWII
there was no national memorial or cemetery for
the war dead in Germany like in Japan now.
We know well that both countries had some
important similar points in terms of the role in
WWII. They concluded a military alliancewith each other and they invaded othercountries and they committed many inhumanwar crimes (in each different way). So bothalmost impossible.

countries could not praise their dead soldiersand officers in a traditional national memorial.
And I think there is one more factor, i.e. a"Neue Wache", German National Memorial for
the War Dead in Berlin
There are famous national cemeteries ormemorials for the war dead in the world, e.g.
Arlington national Cemetery near Washington,
L'arc de triomphe in Paris, the memorial in

12pacifistic mainstream after WWII in Europe
and Japan (not in the USA). In this situation
there has been in Germany long discussions
about the new way to commemorate the war
dead since the beginning of 80's. And "Neue
Wache" (erected in 1993) shows a new type ofthe national memorial for the war dead in two
points, i.e. its pacifistic basic character and thevariety of the object of commemoration. The
pacifistic character we can find in the sculpturethat stands at the center of this monument.
The sculpture “Mutter mit totem Sohn (Motherwith her dead son)” shows no militaristic
character. And the artist Kaethe Kolwitz is wellknown through her antiwar activities afterWorld War I. And before the sculpture we readthe inscription: ”DEN OPFERN VON KRIEGUND GEWALTHERRSCHAF (For victims of
war and tyranny). As for the variety of those
who are commemorated here, we can find themcemetery, but also a new thinking ofcommemoration for the war dead, and we needto deny not only a religious deification like inYasukuni Shrine, but also a traditional
glorification of dead soldiers as heroes. And
moreover, we need to show a clear standpointthat Japan criticizes its past invasions andcolonial rules. Of course, as I mentioned, it will
be difficult to reach a national consensus in thisnew way of commemoration in the split of war
memory in Japan. But I think this is the only
proper, and therefore possible way tocommemorate the Japanese war dead.

Sensou to Kioku(War and Memory) by Morio
Minami was published by Kohmura inJapanese in 2001. It is about Nazism and his
visit of war monuments and memorial halls inGermay.
His e­mail: mminami@auecc.aichi­ed.ac.jp

on one of two copperplates at the entrance. Not
only German people, but also foreign people,
and not only soldiers, but also civilians
including German and European resistancefighters, and of course, victims of Holocaust andof other persecutions by Nazi, too. Germansoldiers are here one of many people to becommemorated and they do not stand in thecenter of them. And they are not praised asheroes, but mourned as victims of the war.

The following is an article by Mr. Dylan
Mathews who has worked for the Oxford
Research Group since 1999. The article has nodirect relation with peace museums, but it
seems that a peace museum can play a big rolein conflict prevention.

(Even this new pacifistic memorial was
severely criticized, e.g. as equalization of
victims and perpetrators especially related to
Holocaust. And after a long discussion again
German Parliament decided to erect anothernational memorial for only murdered European
Jews in Berlin in 1999.) If we discuss a proper
way to commemorate the Japanese war dead, I
think we can learn more lessons from thisGerman new memorial than from nationalistic

CONFLICT PREVENTION: THE ROLE OF
THE ‘UNOFFICIAL’ SECTOR
The terrorist attacks in the United States on
September 11th and the subsequent military
campaign against Afghanistan are stark
reminders that all too often violence is thepreferred method for addressing conflict orgrievance. Yet at the same time and notably at
the recent EU summit in Gothenburg, there isa growing awareness of need for new
approaches to conflict prevention andand traditional memorials like Arlington
National Cemetery or L’arc de triomphe. We
need not only a new national memorial or13resolution.

written up their experience...Ignoring cases ofsuccessful prevention can discourage efforts toattempt other preventive efforts.'

In Britain alone there are now 51 institutes
analysing and publishing information in thearea of conflict prevention and resolution. In
addition to inter­governmental agencies
working to prevent and mitigate conflict, there
are now many NGOs competent in the field.
However knowledge of what has actually‘worked’ in the field especially from the‘unofficial’ sector (NGOs, church & grassrootsgroups, individuals etc) – in the form of clear
and accessible case studies – is still in very
short supply. Most of the research fromacademic institutions focuses on theory andanalysis of current conflicts, while the majorityof practitioners – those who hold the knowledgeof what has worked in the field – simply do notwrite up their experiences.

What is needed now
In order to raise awareness amongst
government decision makers, conflict research
institutions and the general public of theeffectiveness of actual interventions in violent
conflict situations by non state actors, Oxford
Research Group is planning a series of four
major research reports. Volume one, entitled
War Prevention Works: 50 stories of people
resolving conflict was published in Septemberof this year and has been well received. Oxford
Research Group is now looking for stories tofeature in Vols 2 – 4 (see below)
Volume 2: Focusing on non­state actors which,Preliminary research by Oxford ResearchGroup attests to this problem. One conflict
resolution expert and practitioner said ‘We are
more devoted to doing it [preventive diplomacy]
than writing about it.’ Another comment, thistime from the head of one of the USA’s largest
conflict management NGOs sums up the
problem. 'Reflecting on our work is something
we do too little of and it helps to work withothers who are interested in doing so. Having

while not necessarily working on the 'front line'of conflict, nevertheless have made a significant
contribution to the prevention or resolution of aviolent conflict. This will include organisations
that provide training and capacity building toparties to a conflict, as well as certain advocacy
and lobbying groups and influential thinktanks .

said that, we are much better at doing our workthan in documenting what we have done.' If
this is the response from people from wellfunded western NGOs, one can only imagine
the problems faced by small, poorly fundedorganisations in developing countries.
This has serious implications for the policy
making community and the conflict prevention
field in general. A report commissioned by theprevention. Here the emphasis is on work done
by non state actors aiming to change attitudes
which, left unchecked, can lead to escalating
tensions and violence. In order to narrow down
the field of potential case studies we will choose
examples from countries that have recently
experienced ­ or are still experiencing ­ violent
conflict. A good example would be the Balkan
Dialogue project of the Fridtjof Nansen
Academy.

US State Dept notes that the principle cause of
the lack of accounts is ‘largely a result of thefact that those directly involved have not

Volume 4: Focusing on less well known
intra­state,inter­ethnic/religious/communal

Volume 3: Focusing on long term, deep conflict14

conflicts around the world. As in Volume 1, theemphasis will be on work by organisations that
addresses actual direct violent conflict or the
threat of it. As such we will be focusing on
people/organisations working on the 'front line'of conflict, to learn from their experiences. An
example would be the work of the Burundi
women's group 'Dushire Hamwe' which has
helped reconcile bitterly divided communities.

the development, definition and construction ofidentity in the Middle East and in otherconflicted areas.
IFLAC PAVE PEACE, The International
Forum for the Culture and Literature of Peace,
is a network of researchers, writers, poets,media, and intellectuals, working together tofoster joint cooperation and understanding in
the Middle East and in our global village.
adah@matav.net.il (Dr. Ada Aharoni)
http://tx.technion.ac.il/~ada/home.html

Volume 5. A synthesis document, drawing
together and analysing the learning that has
been accumulated over the entire series. This
will include specific policy recommendations.

Publications
Publication Committee. Kirameki no Tabi (TheTrip to Know Anne Frank). Yokohama. 2001.
(In Japanese) 1,000 yen.
The book is about the trip to know Anne Frankin August. Contact Mrs. Machiyo Kurokawa
26­37 Higasigaoka, Nishi­ku, Yokohama City

Each volume will contain 40 – 50 case studies,
each around 2000­2500 words long. Each casestudy will profile the intervention of one
organisation in the field and will seek tohighlight the tools and techniques used by theorganisation in their work to help prevent,contain or resolve violent conflict.

220­0033 Japan
Apology
There is an article on China on page 13 of Muse
No. 5. I’m sorry that “Mr. Shih Hsiao ming” isa mistake. Please correct it as Ms. Shih Hsiao
ming. (Kazuyo Yamane)If you know of any organisations or stories thatmerit inclusion in one of the above reports,
please contact Dylan Mathews at Oxford
Research Group on
org@oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk.
Tel: +44 (0)1865 242819
Fax: +44 (0)1865 794 652.

CalenderA beautiful anti­nuclear calendar called “Under

the Sky in August”

900 yenContact Ms Yuko Kimura: 2­840­102 Sadodai
Nara­shi 630­8105 Japan
Tel/Fax: +81­742­71­1827
E­mail: yuko@fm2.seikyou.ne.jp

IFLAC International Conference, London
Royal National Hotel, Russell Square,
14 to 17 March 2002

Virtual Peace Museum
Disarmament is possible through art! Please
open the homepage of the Bon International
Center for Conversion.

The
Conference
will
bring
togetheracademicians, specialists, writers, poets, peace
researchers, media, and women leaders, from a
broad range of fields, to discuss the impact of
the social dimensions of Conflict Resolution
through cultural bridges, and its key roles in

http://www.bicc.de/general/converart/preface.ht
ml15

Pacifist in Japan: Masamu Yanase
Masamu Yanase was born in 1900 in
Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, but moved to
Kita Kyushu in 1911. He liked painting as achild and hoped to become a professional artist.
After moving to Tokyo, he dreamt of studying
painting, but was forced to train himself anddevelop his own style.
Around 1920 hebecame active in the avant­garde art movementin Tokyo. Before long he joined the proletariat
art movement, working as a designer ofmagazines, books and posters for the cultural
movement. Meanwhile, he was hired by the
Yomiuri Newspaper Company to draw cartoonsand illustrations under the pen name ofHachiro Natsukawa. He also lent his skills toMusansha Shinbun (The Propertyless Peoples’
Newspaper), making advertisement posters
and drawing antiwar cartoons and satires

Editor’s Notes
I hope you enjoyed reading Muse No. 6.
Contact addresses that were introduced before

concerning the politics of the day. After the
antiwar newspaper was suppressed in 1932,
Yanase returned to full­time work for the
Yomiuri Newspaper Company, drawing political
cartoons and continuing to attack the
Fascist nature of contemporary politics in the
country. From about 1938 on, however, such
criticism was not allowed even from one of thenation’s leading newspapers.
Yanase wasforced to give up political commentary entirely,

are not written in this newsletter.
Last but not least, I’d like to express mygratitude to Mr. & Mrs. Shigeo Nishimori who
worked hard to publish Muse from No. 1 to 5.
We Welcome
Newsletter.

Your

Commentson

this

We Wish You A Happy New Year!

and turned instead to drawing illustrations for
an English­language magazine called “A Friendof Children” and painting landscapes. He diedin an air raid in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo on
May 25th, 1945.
(This is from a booklet published by Kyoto
Museum for World Peace. Yanase’s life isexhibited there.)With best wishes,
Kazuyo Yamane(KyYamane@ma1.seikyou.ne.jp)(one after ma)

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