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Reconstructing Memories on Byakkotai in Meiji Japan

Lee Seyun 1

1한양대학교 비교역사문화연구소

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper is an attempt to analyze the texts about Byakkotai’s death from the viewpoint of reconstruction of memories. The monument of Byakkotai erected in 1890 and the Russo-Japanese War were turning points in the memories on Byakkotai. Since 1890, the end of Byakkotai began to be represented in various ways, the contents of which were not uniform. The memories on Byakkotai were fragmented as the representation repeated. However, as the discourse of Bushido was raised on the occasion of the Russo-Japanese War, the memories on Byakkotai began to have a certain shape. Byakkotai was established as a symbol of Bushido or the soul of Japan. This movement of stereotyping was accelerated by the intervention of the Nation State. The stories on Byakkotai were spread to the whole country in a standardized form through the textbooks and popular education controlled by the Ministry of Education.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.