Asian Forum No.180 “Trace, Incident, and Testimony: The Story of Amano Kozo, Lieutenant of the 33rd Regiment of the 16th Division of Japan’s China Expeditionary Army”

Instead of writing on the grand narrative of the Nanjing Massacre, I will explore a much smaller and lesser known event, or the incident of Amano Kozo, a lieutenant in Japan’s China Expeditionary Army, who (or his soldiers) slapped John Allison, an American consul. It ignited a serious diplomatic dispute between the United States and Japan and led to Kozo’s own indictment by a Japanese military trial. I will analyze the circumstances surrounding the incident, using the Japanese trial records and telegrams from the American side. I will discuss the problematic testimonies from Japanese war veterans made half a century later, combing through the traces left behind from the incident and analyzing their semantic meaning may well be a better way to deepen our understanding of history.

Lecture in Japanese

Everyone is welcome!
We are looking forward to your participation.

Poster