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Tag: Syonanto

  • Daniel Goh: Syonan Gallery Controversy A Good Exercise In Appreciating History

    Daniel Goh: Syonan Gallery Controversy A Good Exercise In Appreciating History

    Excellent resolution to the controversy. Both the inappropriate “Syonan” and the pretentious “Gallery” dropped. I think we would have been poorer without this controversy, so all’s well that ends well. I am reminded of what Shanice Lishan Foh said in the comments of my previous post on the misnaming, “hey this make us all think about our history”. I can’t agree more.

    Shanice Lishan Foh: Finally more people are looking at the Old Ford factory! How many years have gone by and we have forgotten about this place ?

    Tell your kids :
    We were name Syonan-to during the Japanese occupation because the Japanese name us like trophies… those 3 years 8 months were painful….

    The British surrendered to Japanese forces on 15th February 1942 at the Old Ford factory…..we were helpless…

    Are we going to let someone name us differently again ? NO !!
    We will defend our country and homes ourselves !
    Majulah Singapore !

    *it is thought-provoking…
    I read many comments… I was at 1st thinking why such an insensitive name ? Someone is going to be hurt real bad…
    and then someone said about the crooked letter ” O ” in the syonan signage , hey this make us all think about our history….

     

    Source: Daniel Goh 吴佩松

  • Yaacob Ibrahim: Sorry For Pain Over Naming Of Syonan Gallery

    Yaacob Ibrahim: Sorry For Pain Over Naming Of Syonan Gallery

    The name of an exhibition on World War II-era Singapore will be changed, out of respect for the people who suffered under the Japanese Occupation.

    The exhibition, titled Syonan Gallery: War and Its Legacies, will now be called Surviving the Japanese Occupation: War and its Legacies, said Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim in a statement on Friday (Feb 17).

    The exhibition is housed in the historic Old Ford Factory at Upper Bukit Timah, where the British formally surrendered to the Japanese 75 years ago.

    Previously known as Memories at Old Ford Factory, the exhibition had been renamed Syonan Gallery: War and Its Legacies following a year-long revamp by the National Archives of Singapore.

    NAME EVOKED “DEEP HURT”: YAACOB

    In his statement, Dr Yaacob said that when he opened the exhibition on Wednesday, he explained that it had been designed to capture the dark days of the Japanese Occupation.

    “Far from expressing approval of the Japanese Occupation, our intention was to remember what our forefathers went through, commemorate the generation of Singaporeans who experienced the Japanese Occupation, and reaffirm our collective commitment never to let this happen again.”

    Workers seen dismantling the sign of the original name of the exhibition on Friday night (Feb 17). (Photo: Howard Law) 

    Dr Yaacob added that the name of the exhibition reflected the time in Singapore’s history when the island was forcibly renamed Syonan.

    “We have used the word ‘Syonan’ before to factually describe this difficult period. For instance, in 1992, for the 50th anniversary of the fall of Singapore, we held an exhibition at the National Museum, titled When Singapore was Syonan-to.”

    “But this particular exhibition name provoked a strong reaction. Over the past two days, I have read the comments made on this issue, and received many letters from Singaporeans of all races.

    “While they agreed that we need to teach Singaporeans about the Japanese Occupation, they also shared that the words ‘Syonan Gallery’ had evoked deep hurt in them, as well as their parents and grandparents. This was never our intention, and I am sorry for the pain the name has caused,” Dr Yaacob said.

    “I have reflected deeply on what I heard. We must honour and respect the feelings of those who suffered terribly and lost family members during the Japanese Occupation. I have therefore decided to remove the words ‘Syonan Gallery’ from the name of the exhibition, and name it Surviving the Japanese Occupation: War and its Legacies.”

    The gallery features many new archival materials, which were contributed by members of the public in response to a call for contributions. To date, it has received more than 400 public donations, with items ranging from personal letters, diaries and photographs to war artefacts and maps.

    Dr Yaacob added that the contents of the exhibition remain unchanged. “They capture a painful and tragic period in our history which we must never forget, and which we must educate our young about,” he said. “It is vital for us to learn the lessons of history, and reaffirm our commitment never to let this happen to Singapore again.”

    Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan said he fully supports Dr Yaacob’s decision to drop the words ‘Syonan Gallery’ from the exhibition’s name.

    In a statement, Mr Khaw said that the exhibition captured the dark days of the Japanese Occupation, when Singapore’s forefathers lost their freedom and suffered immensely.

    Mr Khaw, who is a Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC, added that he will be visiting the exhibition with his residents, some of whose parents or grandparents were killed during the Japanese Occupation.

    Mr Khaw said: “My own maternal grandfather died of starvation and for lack of medical care while in hiding. These personal sufferings and losses form deep scars in us.

    “That is why the initial naming of the exhibition gallery provoked such a strong reaction among a segment of the population. It does not mean that we should strike ‘Syonan’ out of our vocabulary but using it to name the gallery can unintentionally cause hurt.

    “I fully support Minister Yaacob’s decision to drop it from the name.”

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Goh Meng Seng: Don’t Glorify Japanese Invasion And Occupation

    Goh Meng Seng: Don’t Glorify Japanese Invasion And Occupation

    Yaccoob said the name Syonan wasn’t used to glorify Japanese Invasion and Occupation. Does he really understand what Syonan means in the full context in the first place?

    There is a slight mis-translation in lingo context. Most English translation puts it as “Light of the South” but this is not the wholesome context. In Chinese and Japanese context, “Light” means “Pride”… for example, if a person had won the Olympic Medal and he comes from a school, then the school will say “我校之光”, simple English translation means “the light of my school” but in essence, in this context, it basically means he is “the pride of my school”! Look at it in the wholesome context, he has brought SHINE to our school.

    Thus, Syonan is basically a term used by the Japan to mean This the the Glorious Pride of Japanese Empire! So how can Yaccoob comes to the conclusion that by using this name for the Memorial, he is not GLORIFYING the Japanese Invasion and Occupation?

    Secondly, I get even more FUMED by the photo below:
    It says “Syonan Gallery : War and its LEGACIES”

    Now, WHOSE LEGACIES are we talking about here? Syonan, the Japanese Glorious Legacies? Atrocities like raping, torture, sufferings, massacred and killings… all these are “LEGACIES”? Isn’t this glorifying the Japanese Glorious Victorious Invasion and Occupation?

     

    Source: Goh Meng Seng

  • Alfian Sa’at: Why Criticise Use Of “Syonan”If We Can Accept Other Depictions Of Us?

    Alfian Sa’at: Why Criticise Use Of “Syonan”If We Can Accept Other Depictions Of Us?

    Syonan–light of the south. South of what? Japan, of course, and then we arrive at the idea of Singapore being a beacon of Japanese power in the dark, unknown southern frontiers. The Nipponcentricism is without a doubt offensive to those who live here, who counter that they are not the peripheral, the unmapped, a people who are not counted until they are encountered.

    But why be uneasy with ‘Syonan’ and have no discomfort with ‘Nanyang’ or ‘South Sea’? Also a reference to the south, this time the south of China? And all the islands, distinct in the cultures and peoples, homogenised into the ‘seas’. Syonan has a gallery. Nanyang has a university, a polytechnic, a junior college, an academy of fine arts, various other schools…

    No, how can you compare an act of military expansion with what was primarily waves of primarily economic migration? But to speak of ourselves as the south is to always imagine the centre as elsewhere, to see ourselves as vassals onto which power is projected.

    But Singapore, in the Nusantara world, is the centre. It lies on the axis of Sri Tri Buana’s journey from Palembang to Malacca. It is the teardrop down the cheek of the Peninsula, above the lip of Riau Islands. It is the pearl flanked by the great islands of Sumatra and Borneo. It is north of one of the mighty centres of the archipelago, Java.

    There is also a violence in colonial settlement, different from the violence of military occupation.

    There is that violence in the act of naming.

     

    Source: Alfian Sa’at