Aum Shinrikyo and religious terrorism in Japanese collective memory

Download or read book Aum Shinrikyo and religious terrorism in Japanese collective memory written by Rin Ushiyama and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-12-08 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aum Shinriky?'s sarin attack on the Tokyo subway in March 1995 left an indelible mark on Japanese society. This is the first book to offer a comprehensive study of the competing memories of Aum Shinriky?'s religious terrorism. Developing a sociological framework for how uneven distributions of power and resources shape commemorative processes, this book explores how the Aum Affair developed as a 'cultural trauma' in Japanese collective memory following the Tokyo attack. Interrogating an array of sources including mass media reports and interviews with victims and ex-members, it reveals the multiple clashing narratives over the causes of Aum's violence, the efficacy of 'brainwashing' and 'mind control', and whether capital punishment is justified. It shows that although cultural trauma construction requires the use of moral binaries such as 'good vs. evil', 'pure vs. impure', and 'sacred vs. profane', the entrenchment of such binary codes in commemorative processes can ultimately hinder social repair and reconciliation.