Representasi Sejarah dan Memori Kolektif Masyarakat Sipil Jepang dalam Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Abstrak

World War II in the Pacific caused not only military destruction but also profound suffering among Japanese civilians. This study examines the representation of the war’s impact on Japanese civilian society in Isao Takahata’s animated film Grave of the Fireflies (1988). The study employs a qualitative approach using library research and film analysis from historical and film-studies perspectives. Primary data consist of Grave of the Fireflies and Akiyuki Nosaka’s semi-autobiographical story, while supporting materials include historical literature on the bombing of Japan, particularly Kobe in 1945, as well as studies of war trauma, collective memory, and civilian life. The data were analyzed through content analysis and semiotic-narrative analysis and subsequently compared with historical information to assess the film’s representational accuracy. The findings indicate that the film portrays the consequences of war through four major dimensions: physical and material destruction, psychological trauma, the breakdown of social and family relations, and economic and food crises. Through the perspectives of Seita and Setsuko, civilian experiences are presented in personal and humanistic terms, particularly through scenes of displacement, loss of home and family members, hunger, and declining social solidarity. The film demonstrates strong correspondence with the historical context of Japanese civilian life during the final phase of the war. Nevertheless, its representation is selective because it foregrounds the experience of victims while giving limited attention to Japan’s position as an aggressor in the Asia-Pacific War. Grave of the Fireflies therefore functions not only as a work of art but also as a medium for historical representation and the preservation of collective memory concerning civilian suffering in wartime.