Hagerty incident

Mar 24, 08:45 PM

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"The source field recording is combined with found sounds and field recordings made at a 1965 Hiroshima anti-nuclear protest, a 1968 Tokyo student protest, as well as street performances and 'happenings' presented between 1960 and 1970.

"Tobata, an industrial port in southern Japan, was often the site of such demonstrations and protests, many of which were related to the Anpo struggle (安保闘争, Anpo tōsō).

"One of the most infamous moments of the Anpo struggle was the 'Hagerty Incident', in which U.S. Ambassador to Japan Douglas MacArthur II (the nephew of the famous general) deliberately provoked an international incident by ordering his car to be driven into a large crowd of protesters. The provocation backfired and chaos ensued.

"The right of people to gather and protest, celebrate, or commemorate is a fundamental right with cultural, political, and social significance. The sounds we create in doing so are an essential part of our sonic heritage."

Tobata lantern festival reimagined by Simon Kennedy.

IMAGE: JKT-c, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.

Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage