Journal Article

War, Firsthand, at a Distance

McDONALD, Kate

2019

Overview

One of the most important battlefields of the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) was 203-Meter Hill. Located in the city of Lushun on the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, 203-Meter Hill also became one of the most important and contested places of memory in the Japanese empire. This article explores the production of collective memories at 203-Meter Hill. It does so from the perspective of Japanese and Korean travelers from the very first student tours in 1906 to the late 1930s. It pays particular attention to how changes in territory and ideology produced changes in commemorative practices. It argues that the history of 203-Meter Hill as a site for producing Japanese national identity is only one part of the battlefield’s story. Reading the accounts of Korean travelers alongside those of Japanese travelers, the article shows that the site produced powerful senses of Korean national identity as much as it did Japanese ones.

• Publisher: International Research Centre for Japanese Studies, National Institute for the Humanities