Asia Book Awards
Best Asian Books of the Year
War, Colonial Rule and Archives (2 Volumes)
戦争・植民地支配とアーカイブズ （全２巻）
Japan, Masahito Ando, University of Tokyo Press
Author
Masahito Ando(安藤正人)
Professor Emeritus, National Institute of Japanese Literature
Born in 1951. Graduated from the Faculty of Letters, The University of Tokyo, and completed the Master’s Program in the Graduate School of Humanities, The University of Tokyo.
He later completed the Master’s Program in Archival Studies at University College London (UCL) and earned his Ph.D. in Archival Studies from the University of London.
He has served as Professor in the Department of Archival Studies at the National Institute of Japanese Literature and Professor in the Archival Studies Program, Graduate School of Humanities, Gakushuin University.
His areas of specialization include archival theory, the history of archives, and the study of historical records in early modern and modern Japan.
Major works include:
『記録史料学と現代――アーカイブズの科学をめざして』 (Kiroku Shiryōgaku to Gendai: Ākaibu no Kagaku o Mezashite, Records and Historical Materials Studies and the Modern Age: Toward a Science of Archives, Yoshikawa Kōbunkan, 1998)
『アジアのアーカイブズと日本――記録を守り記憶を伝える』 (Ajia no Ākaibu to Nihon: Kiroku o Mamori Kioku o Tsutaeru, Asian Archives and Japan: Preserving Records and Transmitting Memory, Iwata Shoin, 2009)
Publisher
University of Tokyo Press
The University of Tokyo Press was established in March 1951 at the initiative of President Shigeru Nanbara, making it the first university press founded by a national university in Japan.
Since its founding, the press has pursued the mission stated in its founding charter: “To support research conducted at the university and the dissemination of its results, and to promote the advancement and popularization of scholarship through the publication of both general and academic works.”
Guided by this purpose, The University of Tokyo Press continues its publishing activities to this day, contributing to the dissemination of knowledge and the promotion of academic scholarship.
Across former Japanese colonies and occupied territories in the Asia-Pacific region, a massive number of archives (governmental records, corporate documents, and private historical documents, etc.) and cultural heritage were lost due to the wars of the 20th century. This book analyzes the reality of the archives lost due to war in detail and discusses the serious impact caused by the erasure of memory and evidence.
This book is the culmination of the author’s research, based on the doctoral dissertation, “Treatment of Records and Archives in the Japanese Colonies and Occupied Territories in Asia during the Second World War and its Aftermath”, submitted to the University of London in 2007, and substantially expanded and revised through the incorporation of later studies.
In Volume 1, Part 1, it discusses the international relationship between war and archives, using case studies such as the development of international law and custom concerning archives, as well as the handling of diplomatic documents during wartime, and the Shanghai land records incident. In Part 2, it analyzes the reality of “Colonial Archives Policy” through the survey and collection of former regime records and regional materials under Japanese colonial rule, and cases like the Old Records Arrangement Office of Manchukuo and the Government-General of Chosen.
Volume 2 addresses the period from the final phase of the Second World War to Japan’s defeat. In Part 1, it analyses how the Japanese military made use of the records of former regimes and local private materials in occupied regions of China and Southeast Asia during the Sino-Japanese War and the Asia-Pacific War, as an “Occupied Territory Archives Policy”. In Part 2, it focuses on the Allied Powers’ “Archives Policy” from the end of World War II to the period after Japan’s defeat. It covers how the Allied Powers prepared and executed operations to seize archives following Japan’s surrender.
Following the above analysis, the final chapter states that archives serve as a foundation for historical understanding, human rights, and democracy, but the loss of records becomes a source of historical problems and human rights violations. It further points out that the gap in historical perception between Japan and its neighboring Asian countries is rooted in the absence of records.
Archival studies is a field of study responsible for the theory and practice of appraisal, preservation, and public access to records. The study of archival history has recently developed, making the fate of records under war or colonial rule, as well as international demands for their return, important subjects of study. The author has played a pioneering role in developing this field, and this book represents the results of that work. In the contemporary world, where wars and ethnic conflicts continue to occur in many places, the preservation of records is indispensable for evidential value, accountability, and the realization of social justice. For this, this book emphasizes the importance of cooperation and network building among archivists and historical researchers across national borders.