Page 499 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo II

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Important motives for the supporter group’s members were upholding awareness and
preserving Hokkaidô’s tradition as Japan’s frontier and stronghold towards the north.
This frontier spirit is especially directed against the Russian (or Soviet) threat, which is
still quite alive in Hokkaidô. It is accompanied by a specific regional perception of the
war, which is different from that in the rest of Japan, since the issue of the Russian occu-
5
pied Kuril Islands is still vividly disputed and tangible in Hokkaidô. In order to defend
Japan, the supporters emphasized the importance of good civilian-military relations, as
well as a general understanding of defense issues among civilians and the elevation of
status and reputation the SDF generally enjoy in Japan.
So, civilian supporters and Ground-SDF officials equally share the idea of gunto
(garrison town) as a leading vision for harmonious cohabitation of armed forces and
the local community. During the opening ceremony of Hokuchin-Memorial in 2007
the commander of the 2nd Division stated: “Here at the Memorial we would like to
introduce the history of Ground-SDF’s 2nd Division [as well as the history of its pre-
decessors, the 7th Division] which we shared with the local people and by doing so we
hope to deepen the honored visitor’s understanding of the Self-Defense Forces.” He also
pointed out the importance of this “tradition of gunto”: “The early Asahikawa has been
called ‘gunto’, and it is said that there were close ties and brisk exchange between the
former 7th Division and the local community. We are strongly hoping for this memorial
to become a place where the Self-Defense Forces and the local populace will foster their
exchange, just as it used to be.” 6
This indicates that, the ideal of gunto in the years before 1945 serves as the leading
idea and model of close and harmonious military-societal relations, representing Asahi-
kawa’s social cohesion and community in the past, which were presumably lost in the
present. Thus Hokuchin-Memorial serves Ground-SDF officials and civilian supporters
equally as a mean to recreate the imagined “good old days”.
I will now take a closer look how local history is being exhibited at Hokuchin-Me-
morial in order to examine how these “good old days” were supposed to look like. For
example, there is a diorama of former military buildings of the Asahikawa barracks on
display (which are now used for civilian purposes, such as schools, apartment buildings
or administrative offices). Other items representing the military-civilian encounter are
for example sake bottles and kegs, which would represent soldiers as customers of local
pubs.
According to the exhibition the main driving force behind the prospering develop-
ment of the city of Asahikawa was the presence of the 7th Division, which chose this
piece of land due to its strategic position and built a military post on it that would de-
velop into Hokkaidô’s second largest city with more than 350.000 inhabitants. Also its
influence on urban development, commerce and industry, architecture, education or so-
cial life is being presented throughout the entire exhibition. Not only does the exhibition

5 Irish, Ann B. (2009), Hokkaido. A History of Ethnic Transition and Development on Japan’s Northern Island,
Jefferson: McFarland and Company, (2009), pp. 276-278.
6 Opening address by Lieutenant General Morooka (commander 2nd Div.) and Major General Tanaka (chief of
Camp Asahikawa), June 2007.