Suchergebnisse

After the Second World War, Japan saw the return of more than 6.5 million Japanese nationals, of which about half were civilian overseas residents of Japan's colonial empire. Japan had no plan for the evacuation of foreign territories in the event of defeat, and but although provisions had been made by the Allies for the repatriation of the military personnel, the return of civilians was initially outside their scope, and left to the Japanese. The Allies would later assign military transports to help with the task of ferrying millions of men, women and children back to the mainland. However, despite this lack of previous planning, the repatriation of Japanese nationals was fast and efficient: between October 1945 and December 1946; over 5.1 million Japanese were brought back to the mainland. Some, however, had to wait until the second half of the 1950s. Once in Japan, the returnees found that a new identity had been imposed on them, one that stemmed from their shared experience as returnees: that of hikiagesha, or repatriates. Joined by their war experiences, they found themselves part of a heterogeneous group with an identity that still awaited definition. The meaning of the memory of their experience was shaped by the very way in which they defined and re-defined themselves and their experience, as they encountered marginalisation, hostility and distrust as they reintegrated to mainland Japanese society. After analysing the process of repatriation, this thesis will attempt to map out the process by which this initially marginalised group became acceptable, by integrating its narrative within an official discourse. ; Après la Seconde guerre mondiale, plus de 6,5 millions de sujets japonais, dont la moitié était des civils résidant dans les territoires japonais d'outre-mer, ont été rapatriés au Japon. Le Japon n'avait pas prévu l'éventualité d'un rapatriement en cas de défaite, et les Alliés, s'ils avaient planifié le retour des soldats japonais, n'avaient pas préparé le retour des civils. Pourtant, le ...

After the Second World War, Japan saw the return of more than 6.5 million Japanese nationals, of which about half were civilian overseas residents of Japan's colonial empire. Japan had no plan for the evacuation of foreign territories in the event of defeat, and but although provisions had been made by the Allies for the repatriation of the military personnel, the return of civilians was initially outside their scope, and left to the Japanese. The Allies would later assign military transports to help with the task of ferrying millions of men, women and children back to the mainland. However, despite this lack of previous planning, the repatriation of Japanese nationals was fast and efficient: between October 1945 and December 1946; over 5.1 million Japanese were brought back to the mainland. Some, however, had to wait until the second half of the 1950s. Once in Japan, the returnees found that a new identity had been imposed on them, one that stemmed from their shared experience as returnees: that of hikiagesha, or repatriates. Joined by their war experiences, they found themselves part of a heterogeneous group with an identity that still awaited definition. The meaning of the memory of their experience was shaped by the very way in which they defined and re-defined themselves and their experience, as they encountered marginalisation, hostility and distrust as they reintegrated to mainland Japanese society. After analysing the process of repatriation, this thesis will attempt to map out the process by which this initially marginalised group became acceptable, by integrating its narrative within an official discourse. ; Après la Seconde guerre mondiale, plus de 6,5 millions de sujets japonais, dont la moitié était des civils résidant dans les territoires japonais d'outre-mer, ont été rapatriés au Japon. Le Japon n'avait pas prévu l'éventualité d'un rapatriement en cas de défaite, et les Alliés, s'ils avaient planifié le retour des soldats japonais, n'avaient pas préparé le retour des civils. Pourtant, le rapatriement des civils japonais fut, dans sa majeure partie, rapide et efficace. Entre octobre 1945 et décembre 1946, 5,1 millions de Japonais purent rejoindre le Japon. Pour d'autres, le processus put durer jusque la fin des années 1950. Une fois au Japon, les rapatriés, confrontés à un Japon en ruines, se virent imposer une nouvelle identité, celle de hikiagesha, personne rapatriée. La mémoire et l'identité des rapatriés, confrontés à l'hostilité et la méfiance de la population de métropole, connurent plusieurs mutations pour finalement se réintégrer au sein du mémoriel discours dominant sur la guerre. Après une analyse des processus de rapatriement, cette thèse se penchera donc sur la formation de l'identité des rapatriés en tant que groupe, leur mémoire, et comment ce groupe au départ marginalisé est parvenu à intégrer son récit mémoriel au sein du discourra officiel.