The Japanese occupation was one of the most problematic periods of modern Indonesia, and generally is perceived as a break in the continuity of Indonesian history. Additionally, even with globalization, scholarship largely had continued to develop in national or language communities, and effective communication has been limited because of the difficulties of dealing with materials in multiple languages. It is not merely Dutch and Indonesian materials that are significant, as in other periods of modern Indonesian history, but also Japanese-language materials; public records and the memoirs of high-ranking officials are essential sources of information about official policies and social order. Mastering all of these materials is a daunting task, and thus a full range of primary and secondary sources has almost always been out of reach of even the most diligent scholars.
The Encyclopedia of Indonesia in the Pacific War is a momentous publication that, by its very appearance, is already helping to break this long-lasting problem thanks to the participation of scholars from different countries and specialties. Beginning with a chronological table covering the beginning of the European war in 1939 to the repatriation of most Japanese in May 1947, this book contains several very distinctly different but useful sections—a series of topical articles on aspects of the Japanese occupation, a lexicon with somewhat detailed information about critical subjects, glossaries of Japanese and Indonesian key terms, and a bibliography. The book is also filled with hundreds of painstakingly compiled photographs and illustrations.
The longest part is the overview, which is made up of forty-eight individually authored articles (plus other minor feature pieces), grouped loosely under the headings “historical overview,” “administration and policies,” “coercion and control,” “economy,” “society and social change,” “culture,” and “postwar burdens and memory.” These articles cover a wide range of subjects, providing a picture of the occupation that is neither strictly systematic and complete (an impossible task), nor haphazardly constructed. While this results in occasional lapses, it also allows the inclusion of interesting material. The special features are particularly eclectic, focusing on unconventional subjects such as Thai brides, love affairs, and particular movies or songs.
The lexicon (to which I made minor contributions) is a tremendously useful tool for students and researchers, and it is designed to provide quick, clear access to important information. Most of the approximately 300 entries are 200 to 400 words and provide important background information and details about individuals, institutions, and events. This is the most “traditional” section for an encyclopedia. Rather than complete, the current lexicon is tantalizing, and could be significantly longer than its current 155 pages. Descriptions of the organizational differences and functions of Gunseikanbu and Gunseibu, presidents of BC-class war crimes tribunals (the well-known L. F. de Groot is included), non–BC class courts in postwar Indonesia, the repatriation process for Japanese and Europeans, and innumerable Japanese and Indonesian personalities during the war could be added. With a slight stretch, Haraguchi Takejirō, his Dutch counterpart A. H. J. Lovink, and the Taiwan governor's office research section also could be included. The list of “missing” subjects that relate directly or indirectly to the occupation is virtually endless.
The majority of articles and lexical entries have extremely brief reference lists. Given this brevity, the lack of a dedicated historiography is a major gap. While there is a six-page article by Adrian Vickers on Indonesian historiography, the scholarship in other countries is merely covered through discussions of “memories” or scattered throughout other articles. Besides more substantial historiographical discussions, partial translations or detailed summaries of major works in Dutch, Japanese, or Indonesian could be presented to better introduce relatively inaccessible or unknown scholarship. For example, the works of L. F. de Groot, Goto Ken'ichi's Nihon senryō-ki Indoneshia kenkyū, Iwatake Teruhiko's Nanpō gunsei ronshū and Nanpō gunseika no keizai shisaku, as well as Iwa Kusuma Sumantri's autobiography, which was published in Japanese in 1975 but not in Indonesian until 2002, would be excellent choices. Similarly, beginning researchers could benefit from a discussion of the origins and makeup of major archival collections, but such a discussion would interest general readers as well.
While the book will be of tremendous importance to students, scholars, and anyone who is interested in the wartime years in Indonesia, this book is also a work in progress. The first printing has enough minor mistakes and shortcomings to make enumeration here impossible, perhaps indicating the difficulty of producing a work of this magnitude on schedule. These errors include mislabeled pictures, incorrect kanji, typographic errors, mis-alphabetization, and occasional misinterpretations. Many of these problems are expected to be corrected in the second printing (due in mid-2010), and if a second edition is prepared, many more of these problems certainly will be addressed.
As a Japanese researcher, I have several particular critiques. Despite efforts to be balanced, the bibliography is still disappointing, especially in its coverage of Japanese works, as it includes some works of questionable quality but misses other works that are essential for research. On occasion, the informative articles or lexicon items also surprise the reader in not so positive ways. For example, the British-appointed Indian judge Radhabinod Pal's stance in the Tokyo A-class war crimes tribunals was a result of his Indian background (p. 570), not his professional knowledge and skills, but the similar opinions and “striking role” of the Dutch judge B. V. A. Röling were attributable to his expertise (p. 578). Correct or not, critical readers will see this as a lingering neocolonial bias. The existence of such “problems” in the first edition of such a massive undertaking is virtually a tribute to the efforts of the editors and contributors—as long as they continue to improve their product. Taken positively, these shortcomings. along with the strengths of the encyclopedia, may stimulate others to address new issues.
With its classy black background and four different Japanese propaganda pictures, including a little boy “soldier” saluting a young Javanese woman, the cover of this encyclopedia not only shows charm but also indicates the innovative work of this book. For about twenty years, studies of Japanese-controlled areas of Asia have too frequently been churned out with little critical attention, while important subjects have remained untouched. This book marks a return to basic historical studies, juxtaposing an amazing range of critical information about the occupation period in Indonesia. This book will change the image of the Japanese occupation, facilitate the sharing of knowledge among scholarly communities, and stimulate a new generation of research on this problematic period of Indonesian history. While I dream of future work, this book is a welcome addition to any bookshelf and well worth the hefty price.
