著者

宮武 実知子

出版者

社会学研究会

雑誌

ソシオロジ (ISSN:05841380)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.50, no.3, pp.75-91,190, 2006

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"The Cornerstone of Peace," which is located in the southern half of Okinawa prefecture, is a very famous symbol for war and peace. The monument is engraved with the names of about 240,000 men and women who lost their lives in the Battle of Okinawa, regardless of nationality or whether they were military or civilian. Many journalists, newscasters, and politicians mention it as an ideal monument for the war dead. In this article, I will argue about the correlation between official memorial places and public opinion. In case of Okinawa, before "the Cornerstone of Peace" was built, hundreds of monuments had been built by the war bereaved in Okinawa as well as by administrative units of local government. Such monuments by local governments were often looked at critically as selfish, so that a new kind of monument was needed to dedicate to the whole war dead. After 1991, when the project to build the Cornerstone was announced, some people argued against it and others for it. Then once the monument was erected in 1995, it was praised as an ideal monument without controversy, especially in Japan proper. More importantly, these days, the need for a new kind of memorial which can replace the controversial Yasukuni Shrine is becoming an issue. The case of "the Cornerstone of Peace" in Okinawa can offer some solutions to this issue.