My Cultural Memory Project Analysis

The assertions of Japanese officials demonstrate that after long years that had passed, Japanese government officials were still denying the sexual crimes they committed toward these women. Additionally, the refusal of the Japanese government to acknowledge their crimes shows the disputes between hegemonic history and memory as their claim implies that memories of individuals were not enough evidences to prove such crime. However, memory is not just about remembering an event, but “it includes structures of feeling and all the ways that people with culturally specific identifications remember precisely” (Oliva-Alvarado 4). This means that the memories of these comfort women do not only include their experiences, but also the pain, trauma, grief, and shame, and all of these are with them throughout their life. Just like Catalina Lorenzo, one of the Filipino comfort women, stated, “Do you think we have forgotten what had happened?” Everyday we wake up and it’s in our head. Every night we go to sleep, and it is with us again….It is always with us,
Using the train to depict the testimonies of comfort women is my way “to [blur] the lines between literature, art, history, and social science [to] present a way to deal with the unspoken, the hidden” (Kindle Location 3125). By comparing their plight to a journey in the train, my aim is for people to easily relate or visualize the ongoing struggles that these comfort women are going through to receive the apology and formal acknowledgement that they deserved. Additionally, by doing so, I hope that the stories of Filipino comfort women will serve as an inspiration for others to speak up and give a voice to silent narratives that they might have been keeping for so long. Overall, my cultural memory project aims for the stories of Filipino comfort women to be seen, heard, and