Citation

Kaphake J. Ryukoku hogaku 2004; 36(4): I-XXIII.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Ryukoku Daigaku Hogakkai)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Injustices involving large-scale wrongdoing historically lead to cycles of further violence and hatred. How should societies remember and respond to such past mass atrocities? Sites of collective memory take different approaches to commemorating and interpreting these public crimes. Some sites choose to largely ignore the wrongs. Some seek to punish the wrongdoers, while others defend them. During the final decades of the twentieth century, an small but growing number of historic sites have begun to adopt a fourth approach-these places present history in a way that seeks to restore. Restorative justice theory is most often associated with courts and the criminal justice system. Rather than focusing on retribution, restorative justice seeks to heal the damage to victims, wrongdoers, and communities caused by the criminal behavior. Adopting a new paradigm, this article broadens the application of restorative justice theory and suggests that memorials and museums, especially those located at sites of historic injustice and commemorating public crimes committed by the state or society, can redefine national histories and function as venues for restorative justice by memorializing, healing, educating and reconciling - thereby providing what this paper calls a restorative history. Models and theories for evaluating, comparing, and measuring the impact such sites have as facilitators of restorative justice will be proposed. It will be argued that centers of collective memory may be innovative centers of public accountability and healing, thereby creating a space where restorative history happens. These sites of past violence and hatred are thus transformed into present day places for truth-telling, social reconciliation, and reintegration of victims and wrongdoers into the community.