A History to Open the Future: Modern East Asian History and Regional Reconciliation

In 2005 a group of educators, citizens and scholars from China, Japan and South Korea who were distressed by the Japanese government’s approval of a middle school textbook that they felt "distorted" Japan’s history, compiled and published a "common" history of modern East Asia they hoped would provide a foundation from which to move toward a resolution of the "history wars" that plague relations among those three countries. Written in non-technical language, the book focuses in particular on those events that are the source of historical memory conflict in the region today and provides concrete accounts of incidents that are often alluded to but rarely described. It also includes a considerable number of personal accounts and recollections that make for engaging reading, while contextualizing these events in the context of the social and cultural transformations that the respective societies underwent as they embraced Western modernity.

Identical versions of the book were published simultaneously in the official languages of each of the three countries. The present volume is an English translation. It includes supplementary features designed to enhance its value for English reading audiences. One is a foreword explaining the context and significance of the volume. Another is an account of the process of producing the book and the controversies associated therewith written by a Korean participant. In addition to providing enlightening reading to anyone interested in contemporary East Asian historical memory issues, the book is well suited for use as a text or case book in college classes dealing with historical memory in general.