Unlike Japan, with several conferences solely made up of scholars of Nara period Japanese literature, conferences in the West take the broader scope of "East Asian Studies." Even at a small conference like that of the University of Toronto, several panel presentations are going on simultaneously, and attendees may select one according to their interest. With such a wide range of interests, the focus is not on the details. Each presentation in our panel lasted only fifteen minutes, but the discussion time more than thirty. My topic on military subjugation in ancient Japan seems to provide little insight into issues we face today, as the other presentations on peace activism and the recollection of World War II. However, Western literary theory provides a common language with which scholars of various fields may communicate. For example, "history" can be examined not only as a list of scientifically proven events. It may also be examined as a "narrative," in which the events are legitimized by the story-teller. In the Kojiki, the Yamato unification of Japan is described as "pacification" of disobedient deities in the distant past. Yamatö-takeru is commanded: "Subdue and pacify the unruly deities and the unsubmissive people of the twelve regions to the East!" These seem to submit on their own accord, and their unsubmissive (maturapanu) natures turn to acts of service (maturigötö) to the tennô. The telling of these past events legitimizes the ideology of those in power, here strengthening the position of the tennô. The rewriting of more recent wars, as with the United States' Civil War or World War II, is plain to us today. As we study and discuss each of these wars, we are also telling one "narrative" of history, in which our public recollection of the past is influenced by larger issues such as Freedom or Unity or Peace (our "master narratives"). Are we guilty of focusing so much on our own master narratives that we overlook our own faults? Does our narrative of history ignore the scars caused racially and politically through these wars? Our panel did not answer these questions, but I hope that the discussion created through a comparison of our differing topics will at least help to recognize the problems. Sincere thanks to the Alumni Association of Kyoto Prefectural University for their generous support allowing me to present at this conference.