Inheritance of Loss: China, Japan, and the Political Economy of Redemption after Empire

336 Pages·2016·19.93 MB·English

by  Yukiko Koga

China) Japan)
and the Political
Economy of
Redemption after
Empire
Inheritance
of Lo
Yukiko Koga
>-
How do contemporary generations come to terms with losses inflicted by imperialism,
o~
-colonialism, and war that took place decades ago? How do descendants of perpetrators and
~ victims establish new relations in today's globalized economy? With Inheritance of Loss,
::C:: Yukiko Koga approaches these questions through the unique lens of inheritance, focusing
'-- on Northeast China, the former site of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo, where mu
;>
C!) nicipal governments now court Japanese as investors and tourists. As China transitions to
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a market-oriented society, this region is restoring long-neglected colonial-era structures
~
0 to boost tourism and inviting former colonial industries to create special economic zones,
~
0 all while inadvertently unearthing chemical weapons abandoned by the Imperial Japanese
~= A rmy at the end of World War II.
zE-- Inheritance of Loss chronicles these sites of colonial inheritance- tourist destinations,
< corporate zones, and mustard gas exposure sites- to illustrate attempts by ordinary Chi-
nese and Japanese to reckon with their shared yet contested pasts. In her explorations of
everyday life, Koga directs us to see how the violence and injustice that occurred after the
demise of the Japanese Empire compound the losses that later generations must account
for, and inevitably inherit.
"Most discussions of coming to terms with the past have taken the Holocaust as their
paradigm. Koga's important new book looks elsewhere and comes to strikingly orig
inal conclusions. Focused on three cities in Northeast China and set in the aftermath
of Japanese empire, Inheritance of Loss goes beyond familiar references to the politics
of postwar memory and points us toward the political economy of redemption in the
wake of colonial modernity. This is a fresh and brilliant intervention that will be of
interest to scholars of trauma and memory as well as globalization and postcolonial
studies:' -Michael Rothberg, University of California, Los Angeles
"Inheritance of Loss is a moving, powerful, beautifully rendered ethnography that ad
dresses timely questions with surprising answers. China's market economy has led
to the commodification of Japanese imperial remains and the reincorporation of
former colonial industries, bringing Japanese tourists and investors alike back to
China. Yet this postcolonial encounter through the capitalization of history leads not
to an erasure of the past but to painful ironies of reckoning with its memories and
traumas. Koga's engagement with 'after empire' -what she calls the political economy
of redemption- offers a brilliant Benjaminian reading of our times:'
- Lisa Rofel, University of California, Santa Cruz
Yukiko Koga is assistant professor of anthropology at Hunter College of the City Univer
sity of New York.
Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-41213-9
The University of Chicago Press ISBN-IO: 0-226-41213-X
www.press.uchicago.edu ll ~l ll! 1~111! 1111)~
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9
STUDIES OF THE WEATHERHEAD EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE,
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
The Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute of Columbia University
were inaugurated in 1962 to bring to the wider public the results of significant
new reseaich on modern and contemporary East Asia.
INHERITANCE OF LOSS
China, Japan, and the Political Economy of
Redemption after Empire
YUKIKO KOGA
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
CHICAGO AND LONDON
j
IÎ /_ 1:" The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
f J t7 :J The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
10 / © 2016 by The University of Chicago
f
All rights reserved. Published 2016.
of,. l:J Printed in the United States of America
25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 I 2 3 4 5
ISBN-13: 978-o-226-4u94-1 (cloth)
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-41213-9 (paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-41227-6 (e-book)
DOI: IO. 7208/chicago/978022641227 6.001 .0001
This book was generously supportcd by the Association for Asian Studies First Book
Subvention Prograrn
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Koga, Yukiko, 1969-author.
Title: Inheritance of Joss : China, Japan, and political economy of
redemption after empire / Yukiko Koga.
Other titles: Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute,
Columbia University.
Description: Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2016. 1 Series: Studies
of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Identifiers: LCCN 2016019383 1I SBN 9780226411941 (cloth: alk. paper) 1
ISBN 9780226412139 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1ISBN9780226412276 (c-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Manchuria (China)-Relations-Japan. 1J apan-Relations
China-Manchuria. 1P ostcolonialism-Economic aspects-China-Manchuria.
Classification: Lee ns740.5.J3 K615 2016 1nnc303.48/2518052-dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016019383
8 This paper meets the requiremcnts of ANSI/NISO z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
In memory of my grandmother, Obii.chama, who opened the
door for me to see the landscape of after empire

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
Prologue and Acknowledgments xi
1. Introduction:
Colonial Inheritance and the Topography of After Empire I
2. Inheritance and Betrayal:
Historical Preservation and Colonial Nostalgia in Harbin 32
3. Memory, Postmemory, Inheritance:
Postimperial Topography of Çuilt in Changchun .67
4. The Political Economy of Redemption:
Middle-Class Dreams in the Dalian Special Economie Zone I22
5. Industrious Anxiety:
Labor and Landscapes of Modemity in Dalian 169
6. Epilogue:
Deferred Reckoning and the Double Inheritance 196
Notes 221
Bibliography 269
Index 289
vil

ILLUSTRATIONS
MAPS
r Map of Northeast Asia and Northeast China xxviii
2 Map of Russian and Japanese railway imperialism in East Asia 5
3 Map of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province 30
4 Map of downtown Harbin 31
5 Map of Changchun, Jilin Province 66
6 Map of Dalian, Liaoning Province r 20
7 Map of downtown Dalian 121
8 Map of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province 212
FIGURES
2.1 St. Sophia Cathedra! in downtown Harbin 33
2.2 The former site of Imperia! Japanese Army Unit 731
in Harbin 34
2.3 Gas masks displayed in the Unit 731 Museum 35
2.4 The Modern Hotel on Central Avenue 40
2.5 Xinhua Bookstore on Central Avenue 41
2.6 Chinese Baroque architecture in the Daowai district 42
2.7 Sit-in protest in front of the Heilongjiang Province Communist
Party Headquarters 43
2.8 Old Harbin photography exhibition in St. Sophia Cathedra! 45
2.9a-d The destruction of St. Nicholas Church in 1966 during the
Cultural Revolution 56
2.10 Resurrected St. Nicholas Church at Harbin's annual ice festival 60
2.u Red Flag Square where St. Nicholas Church once stood 61
ix