This study investigates the role of museums in collective memory by focusing on the Yūshūkan and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to excavate the meanings of their visual, narrative, and material constructions of Japan's past war. The research found that the museums in Yasukuni and Hiroshima exhibit markedly contrasting memories in terms of what happened during World War II, what kind of lessons can be drawn, and how the Japanese self‐identify. The article demonstrates that the Yūshūkan and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum not only produce knowledge of the nation's past, but also trigger the emotions of contemporary people to connect them to the war dead, by exhibiting personal stories, photographs, and belongings of the deceased and thereby generating an affective national identity that transcends time and space. It argues that the two museums’ contrasting messages are integrated into the larger, nationally contested discourse on war and peace in contemporary Japan, beyond museum narratives, rendering the Yūshūkan and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum socially constituted institutions. It also argues that, despite the stark contrast in their portrayals of collective memory, the museums in Yasukuni and Hiroshima share a commonality in neglecting to exhibit or draw lessons from Japan's colonial past in Asia, leaving a profound effect on younger generations. In light of its findings, this article offers implications for historical reconciliation in East Asia.

中文翻译：

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靖国神社和广岛的冲突？当代日本的战争与和平博物馆

这项研究通过重点考察友寿馆和广岛和平纪念博物馆，挖掘了博物馆在日本过去战争中的视觉，叙事和物质构造的意义，从而研究了博物馆在集体记忆中的作用。研究发现，靖国神社和广岛的博物馆在第二次世界大战期间发生的事情，可以借鉴的经验教训以及日本人的自我认同方面表现出截然不同的记忆。这篇文章表明，尤首坎和广岛和平纪念馆博物馆不仅展示了该国的过去，而且还通过展示死者和死者的个人故事，照片和财产，激发了当代人的情感，将他们与战死者联系起来。从而产生超越时空的情感民族认同。它认为，除了博物馆的叙述外，这两个博物馆的对比信息已经融入到当代日本国内有关战争与和平的更大规模的论述中，从而使幽州馆和广岛和平纪念博物馆成为社会组成的机构。文章还指出，尽管靖国神社和广岛的博物馆在集体记忆的刻画上形成了鲜明的对比，但它们在忽略展示或汲取日本在亚洲殖民时代的经验教训方面有着共同点，对年轻一代产生了深远的影响。根据调查结果，本文为东亚的历史和解提供了启示。绘制了由寿馆和广岛和平纪念资料馆的社会组成机构。文章还指出，尽管靖国神社和广岛的博物馆在集体记忆的刻画上形成了鲜明的对比，但它们在忽略展示或汲取日本在亚洲殖民时代的经验教训方面有着共同点，对年轻一代产生了深远的影响。根据调查结果，本文为东亚的历史和解提供了启示。绘制了由寿馆和广岛和平纪念资料馆的社会组成机构。文章还指出，尽管靖国神社和广岛的博物馆在集体记忆的刻画上形成了鲜明的对比，但它们在忽略展示或汲取日本在亚洲殖民时代的经验教训方面有着共同点，对年轻一代产生了深远的影响。根据调查结果，本文为东亚的历史和解提供了启示。