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Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution : Selection of Memories

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Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution : Selection of Memories Hyunmi Kim s2104768 Master Thesis Asian Studies 60EC Thesis Supervisor: Prof. Ivo Smits Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution : Selection of Memories and the Inscription Process of UNESCO World Heritage Academic year 2017-2018 Leiden University Humanities Faculty, MA Asian Studies Track History, Arts and Culture of Asia Specialization Critical Heritage Studies of Asia and Europe Index Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 Research questions ............................................................................................................................ 2 Theoretical Framework / Preceding Research .................................................................................. 2 Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Heritage Making in Japan ............................................................................... 6 Industrial Heritage in Japan ............................................................................................................... 6 Inscription History of the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution ............................................ 7 Nomination File and Justification ...................................................................................................... 8 Contextualized Memories ................................................................................................................ 12 Counteraction of the Republic of Korea ....................................................... 15 Missing Memories of Koreans ......................................................................................................... 15 Efforts of the Korean Government and Korean NGOs .................................................................... 21 The 39th Session of World Heritage Committee ........................................... 24 The Recommendation of ICOMOS ................................................................................................... 24 Controversy over the site ................................................................................................................. 26 Final Decision of WHC ...................................................................................................................... 28 Analysis ....................................................................................................... 30 Selection of Memories and Contextualization ................................................................................ 30 Heritage Interpretation .................................................................................................................... 32 Politicization of Decision-Making Process ....................................................................................... 33 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 34 Bibliography ................................................................................................ 36 Introduction In 2015, the World Heritage Committee (WHC) decided to inscribe ‘Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining’ that reminds Japanese people of the glorious period of the Meiji industrial Revolution, but at the same time, recalls the distressing history of the colonized era for Koreans. The Korean government tried to point out the sacrifice of all Koreans who were forced to provide labor under inhuman treatment while the Japanese government intended to conceal and ignore this matter because it can be an obstacle for the inscription. During the 39th session of the WHC (July 2015, Bonn), there was an acute tension between the Korean and the Japanese delegation because of their incompatible perspective toward the site. Due to the confrontation of the two countries, the final decision on the inscription of the Sites was postponed several times during the session. At last, the Japanese delegation announced that the site would not only be promoted in a way to romanticize their industrialization but also to mention the memories of Korean forced laborers embedded in the place. Then, the WHC decided to inscribe the site even though some of the memories relevant to this site were not mentioned in the nomination document at that time. Nevertheless, the promise has not been fulfilled at all, and the site is described as a great achievement. This case shows how a historical site is chosen by nations in the heritage-making process to contextualize and commemorate the historical events and how the value to justify their history is imposed on the heritage. According to the ‘Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention,' the sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria.1 States should prepare the nomination file based on the criteria listed in the operational guideline. Therefore, the Japanese government elaborated on the statements to satisfy criteria of outstanding universal value (OUV), integrity, and authenticity. However, as these industrial heritage sites are closely related to the modern history of Japan, most of the Sites have been engaged in the incidents which can sometimes be recognized as an unpleasant memory for neighboring countries and the international community. This specific case demonstrates the loophole and paradox of UNESCO World Heritage inscription system in the heritage-making process and how the nations take advantage of it for their political and economic needs. 1 UNESCO World Heritage Committee, "Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention," (2017), 41. 1 Research questions The main research question examined throughout the thesis is the following: Why was the site of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage? My argument is that nations use the inscription process of UNESCO World Heritage and the criteria of the operational guidelines to select particular memory under the name of heritage making and to legitimize or contextualize the history both in domestic and international ways. To achieve my aims, I also set a series of sub-questions to be answered chapter by chapter: • Why was the site selected by the Japanese government in the beginning? What did the Japanese government do to inscribe the site on the UNESCO World Heritage list? What values did Japan attempt to stress on the sites through the inscription of UNESCO World Heritage? • Why was the Korean government opposed the inscription of the site? What was missing in the nomination file? What did the Korean government do to block the inscription? • What was the decision and recommendation of the ICOMOS on the site? What was discussed related to the site during the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee? How was the decision made by the committee? Theoretical Framework / Preceding Research About this specific case, the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution, since it was listed in 2015, other research that is done on this site is not abundant. What has been done until now is mostly related to the perspective of either Japan or Korea. Therefore, it is challenging to grasp the whole aspect of the conflict over the inscription of the site during the 39th session of the WHC. My research is based on the idea of critical heritage studies on the heritage-making process and the selection of memories. Discourses of heritage have highlighted that the heritage- making process is what can be made by the present-day authority through the process of selecting a specific type of memory among others and impose a value and meaning into it. D. Lowenthal asserted that heritage is not about casting inquiries to the past but instead having faith in a past adjusted to present-day purposes.2 L. Smith regarded the practices and uses of heritage as are a process of meaning-making, undertaken either through the inscription on the World Heritage List at international level or the preservation, exhibition, and promotion process at national level.3 R. Harrison mentioned in his writing that heritage-making process is a ‘recreation of the past in the 2 David Lowenthal, The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History (Cambridge University Press, 1998). 3 Laurajane Smith, Uses of Heritage (Routledge, 2006). 2 image of the present’ and usually keep the distance from what might be categorized as bad history.4 B. Graham, G. Ashworth, and J. Tunbridge assumed heritage as ‘the contemporary use of the past,' and its meanings are imposed from the standpoint of the present.5 According to M. Rowlands, heritage-making is ‘a discursive practice, as a way that a group slowly constructs a collective memory for itself by telling stories about itself.6 S. Hall pointed out that heritage is a selective process involved with power.7 He claimed that a choice is made among numerous relics of the past and memories, whereas other histories are left out, destined to ignorance, disappearance, and silence.8 Therefore, like JC. Scott wrote heritage is always related with ‘a play of conflict and contention,' since an intrinsic attribute of heritage-making is ignoring the voice of certain groups and sometimes suggesting a different interpretation on it.9 The inscription history of the sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution will be analyzed based on the works
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