Page 500 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo II

1140 XXXIX Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

emphasize the city’s benefits, but also stresses the fact that Asahikawa’s civilian citizens
in return supported the troops. By doing so, the exhibition creates an image of symbiotic
relations and mutual affection between military and civilian population. E.g. objects
displayed under the title “Defense of the Home front”, such as sashes of the Japanese
Women’s National Defense Association, or photos depicting air raid drills with women
carrying water buckets, or women collecting stitches for a cotton belt worn by soldiers
as lucky charm, strongly indicate civilian and especially female support for the troops.
Female encouragement for soldiers is illustrated by other objects even more explic-
itly. During the tour through the exhibition the guide pointed out a farewell banner as a
unique proof of affection. It’s a banner made of simple cloth. It only says: “Farewell to
the soldiers leaving to the battle, from the Nakashima district”. Nakashima was the name
of the red light district. So this banner represents the support of prostitutes sending off
their clients to the battle. The accompanying text even goes so far to imply the prosti-
tutes had caring and loving feelings towards the leaving soldiers. It reads: “Although the
material of this banner is simple, it expresses the overwhelming emotions of longing of
these prostitutes; emotions this banner also transmits into our present.”
By doing so, and with the ongoing debate on Japan’s wartime military sexual slavery
(also known as “comfort women”) in mind, this kind of contextualization of the object
not only creates a rather romantic image of the red light district; even more: this roman-
tic image is set as counter-narrative to trivialize images of Asian women being forced
into prostitution and had to experience rape on a daily basis. Thus the exhibition uses
the message of the Nakashima-prostitutes to portray Japanese soldiers as being loved by
prostitutes in order to falsify images of Japanese soldiers as abductors and rapists.
Another section of the exhibition focuses entirely on civilian life and domesticity
in Asahikawa. There are several objects on display, which were used during the 1930s
and 1940s for leisure, household or fashion. The museum guide points out that most of
these objects might be well known to the visitors, either from their own experience or
from stories their parents and grandparents told them. So, by creating the image of the
sanctuary of family and being at home, this section represents domesticity during the
early Shôwa years (1926-1945). Civilian life in this section is represented as the homely
sphere, to which mothers or wives would be associated with. Interestingly domesticity
is presented exclusively as peaceful and cozy. The suffering of the wartime years, e.g.
air raids, food shortage, loss of family members are almost of no interest at Hokuchin-
Memorial. Civilian or female life is represented as a contrast to the displays of war,
violence and death in the remaining exhibition.
Hence the exhibition describes war as something that did happen abroad, while Asa-
hikawa and its inhabitants were safe – thanks to the soldiers of the 7th Division.

Conclusion
Although Imperial Army’s 7th Division is the central topic of the exhibition at
Hokuchin-Memorial, the exhibition also focuses on large portions on Asahikawa as a
garrison town and the cohabitation of soldiers and civilians. The 7th Division appears
to be the acting protagonist, while the local community provides the setting and plays