This paper aims to describe and analyze an aspect of regionalization in East Asia by looking at the processes and problems of contemporary attempts to deal with historical traumas through joint history writing initiatives in the region (i.e. among Korea, Japan and China). By comparing these with similar initiatives in Europe (especially between Germany and France/Poland) and their outcomes, and through also a brief survey of the different historiographic traditions and developments in the two regions, the author seeks to highlight the particular difficulties encountered in East Asia, and calls for a greater openness to self-reflective historiography.