Imperial Agents Remember: Shaping Local Memory of War

How do imperial repatriates remember war and empire, and how does this influence local memory and narratives? This paper investigates the influence of Japanese returnees from Manchuria on local memory of war and empire in Nagano prefecture. Using data on repatriates' locations of return, local events on war and peace-related education, as well as local municipalities' investments, this paper argues that repatriates facilitate a strong and critical memory of Imperial Japan's crimes. I supplement this with qualitative data from interviews of repatriates to demonstrate how and where personal and institutional narratives converge or diverge. This paper connects memory studies with spatial and social network approaches by showing how repatriates, as former imperial agents, shape memory through localised patterns of influence.