Memory and Music in Okinawa: The Cultural Politics of War and Peace

This paper maps Okinawan songs from both pre- and postwar periods that have narrated Okinawan experiences of war and prayers for peace, arguing that these songs may be heard as sites of memory that trace Okinawa's conflicted positions within the Japanese empire and state, and between the United States and Japan. Especially in the long postwar period, these songs have invoked memories of the past and dreams for the future in making politically significant present-day claims.