Mapping the Sorrows of War

The two keywords in this essay, mapping and sorrows, are used as heuristic devices to explore the sticky problems of reconciliation among former enemies from the Asia Pacific War, 1931-1945, primarily Japan and China, but also Korea and the United States. Sorrows, as a word and concept, offers an innovative approach to healing the wounds of war by countering the powerful influence of war memories in the familiar narratives of self-pity and self-glorification. In the language of politics and diplomacy, as found generally in textbook writing and military history, victimization and triumphalism are often presented as opposing narratives. But looking at war and its unhealed wounds through the lens of sorrows, we see that they have much in common. Both fail to address the human dimensions of war as experienced by the other side. By its nature the sorrows approach, relying more on literature and art than on official documents, holds universal appeal and avoids some of the common pitfalls of national histories. Among the many ways one might map or frame the wounds of the Asia Pacific War, three are introduced here-mindful of the limitations of a short essay. One is looking very briefly at the sorrows of war as represented in the work of four Japanese artists, whose voices of reconciliation have been overwhelmed by the master narratives that are shaped by Japanese politics. A second is offering a comparison of the number of military and civilian deaths among the war\u27s participants, including those from the European theater. This part of the mapping exercise is particularly useful in creating perspective for Japanese, Chinese, and American deaths, though less so for Korean deaths. A third way of mapping, appropriate for publishing the essay in Japan, is to explore how reconciliation is addressed in peace and military museums in Japan today. This mapping exercise by nature is imprecise and does not claim to be scientific. Still, the intent is to offer an innovative way to understand the unhealed wounds of war with possible implications for rescuing war narratives from their diplomatic and cross-cultural impasse. The essay closes with reference to Germany\u27s experience of reconciliation and some reflections on the roles of civil society