This essay investigates the relationship between contested memories and processes of collective identity construction by critically reflecting on empirical examples of political interpretation and symbolization of historical episodes.The case considered is that of the struggles against the U.S. military presence in Okinawa, Japan.The antimilitarist protest scenario is one of the major stages, along with peace and war memorials, museums, and community centers where history enters the scene, retouched and revisited through the point of view of the actors involved, their interpretations of the past, and their aspirations.Collective memory, in this perspective, takes on the appearance of living history, i.e., a broad, heterogeneous, and evolving set of significant events, processes, and symbols of the past that entertain a vital relationship with the present and generate a common field of contention and interpretation.