The Prison Gate as Leftist Heritage?

Abstract

Addressing another aspect of the heritage of incarceration, Tomoko Ako’s study of the gate of Nakano Prison in Tokyo—the only remaining vestige of this infamous prison’s original structure—deals with an attempt to suppress an aspect of Japan’s difficult pre-1945 past, and local efforts to resist this suppression. As one of the local activists resisting efforts to remove this landmark, Ako argues that preservation of the gate allows the history of the prison to be openly debated and reflected upon. However, her experience shows that the forces in Japanese society ranged against such openness remain formidable.