March 24, 2010
Contemporary History
Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2010 With the national education system notoriously glossing over difficult aspects of 20th-century history, the opening of a new exhibition room at the National Museum of Japanese History presents an opportunity to get a different official slant on WWII, Japanese emigration, and the postwar economic miracle. Much agonizing will […]
By Metropolis
Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2010
Leaflet bomb “Dentan” (Propaganda Leaflets). © National Museum of Japanese History
With the national education system notoriously glossing over difficult aspects of 20th-century history, the opening of a new exhibition room at the National Museum of Japanese History presents an opportunity to get a different official slant on WWII, Japanese emigration, and the postwar economic miracle. Much agonizing will have gone into the creation of the new Gallery 6: Contemporary History, and its weighty intention is to show how “the time from the 1930s to the 1970s has had an impact on today’s Japan and the world.” A treasure trove of films, commercials, news media, models and dioramas depict not only the agonies of war but also lighter moments from Japan’s high-growth go-go days in the ’60s and ’70s.
National Museum of Japanese History
117 Jonaicho, Sakura-shi, Chiba. Tel: 043-486-0123. Open Tue-Sun 9:30am-4:30pm, closed Mon. Nearest stn: Sakura. www.rekihaku.ac.jp
