He interviewed hundreds of participants, both Japanese and American, and their reminiscence gives the story an extraordinary depth of intimacy and immediacy. This is very positive for Lord’s argument in his book to give an emotional appeal to the…
Introduction Fukoku-Kyōhei, meaning “enrich the country and strengthen the military” quickly became the motto for a reinvigorated Japan stepping onto the global stage commanded by the West, while also acting as the mold for which they would inevitably fit through their rather abrupt transformation: The Meiji Restoration (Christensen 1). What may have ultimately began as an endeavor to modernize, may have also become the trigger for exponential societal change and an undertaking that would eventually boast Japan’s military confidence and induce drastic social change. The Meiji Restoration had significant rippling effects around the world during the late 1800’s and allowed Japan to become recognized as an influential world power, but also an…
The subject of the post-Pearl Harbor reaction of the United States has become a topic of study by various historians. One such is John W. Dower who explores the intriguing comparison between American and Japanese depictions of each other in his short essay titled Race, Language, and War in Two Cultures: World War II in Asia. It is Dower’s essay that takes this interesting case study to draw the conclusion that the Japanese and the Americans were not that different in their propagandistic depictions. In his essay, Dower appears to make multiple claims on the dynamic played out by the prime super powers of the Second World War, specifically the United States and Japan.…
The Onin War and Its Effect on Future Eras in Feudal Japan Throughout the time of Feudal Japan, the might or warriors was spread throughout the nation. The legendary tales of Samurai and Bushido fill the text books of Japanese children today. Talk of Honor and peace is widely spread throughout Generations. However, the mention of the trials that Japan had to face in order to become what it is today are hardly mentioned.…
In Haruko’s World, Gail Bernstein illustrates the paradigm shift in post-war Japanese gender relations through the anthropological accounts of Uwa residents. Bernstein investigates, in depth, the results of the American Occupation on Japanese life. Through her studies, readers can gain an understanding of how everything from modern farming practices to access to birth control affected Japanese daily life and gender relations. There was change in the dynamics of Japanese culture, post-war; antiquated traditions were broken, and old Japanese values became obsolete, replaced with modern American values. As a result of Western influences, especially the introduction of contemporary American farming practices and technology, Japanese education…
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a state of war between the United States and the Empire of Japan on December 8th, 1941, in retaliation to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor one day prior, infectious racial tensions and diplomatic concerns spread throughout the country. In the words and experience of author and artist Miné Okubo, the Japanese American community faced increasing judgment during this time and were witness to “growing suspicion and general public antagonism” in the wake of Pearl Harbor’s trauma (Okubo 12). In reaction to the unease and anticipation of further intrusion of Japanese forces during World War II, the United States Government chose to take precautionary measures and demand mandatory internment of all Japanese American individuals to select, militarized assembly centers. The ensuing relocation and evacuation of Japanese American families succeeded in detaining approximately 120,000 individuals on United States soil. Dorothea Lange, a photographer and…
The Nisei were the “young American-born, American-educated, American-oriented seeking to assert themselves,” while the Issei were “the community elders who were upset by their sons and daughters, and who feared the traditional Japanese virtues were being abandoned.” The Issei viewed them as irresponsible children having fun during a difficult time and viewed the JACL as a challenge to their authority. Not only was the cultural gap between them large but as well as the age gap. Their differences contrasted greatly among these two generations as there was no bridge between their language barriers.…
The Plague of Progress: Mishima’s Characterization and Views of Westernization A common misconception is that change always equates to progress, yet sometimes change can strip a society of its fundamental characteristics. Japan endured similar events, surrounding World War II that resulted in an increasingly Westernized country that lost it’s integrity and beliefs. In this allegorical novel, The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea, Yukio Mishima uses the characters Fusako, Ryuji and Noboru whom symbolize the different states of Japan to illustrate the plague of Westernization and convey the value of tradition in Japan. Primarily, Fusako embodies modern Japan with her obsession with foreign goods and focus on economic growth, which conveys…
This investigation will focus on the Japanese-American experience during World War II and attempt to answer the question, “In what ways and with what effects did Japanese Americans experience internment camps during World War II?”. In order to thoroughly answer this question the following subtopics will be focused on: the bombing of Pearl Harbor which led to the relocation of the Japanese in America, FDR’s Executive Order that called for the relocation of Japanese Americans which led to the development of internment camps, and finally the conditions of the internment camps and the long and short term effects it had on the people. Two of the sources that will be used to discuss these subtopics are the scholarly article entitled “The Lives of American Japanese in World War II Internment Camps”, written by Harold Lowery. and the primary source called “The Diary of Toyojiro Suzuki” which was written by Toyojiro Suzuki, a Japanese American in internment camps. Lowery, Harold.…
Teetering to Surrender: A Critical Analysis of “The Shock of the Atomic Bomb and Japan’s Decision to Surrender— A Reconsideration” Individuals see “The Shock of the Atomic Bomb and Japan’s Decision to Surrender— A Reconsideration,” by Sadao Asada, as tedious and boring. Including names of different articles and historians can seem useless and insignificant, however I challenge you to see the strengths within this piece. Asada’s academic article puts entertainment and emotional appeal aside to discuss a different side of the Hiroshima bombing then previously emphasized, due to new information. As a result, Asada’s factual article presents a convincing case: the atomic bombs and Russian pressure were both necessary for Japan to finally surrender,…
X. Zhao, in the article "Chinese American Women Defense Workers in World War II," focuses on the “unique experience of Chinese American female[s]” employed as “defense workers” in the area around San Francisco. The publication bases itself on newspapers and report written in Chinese-languages, as well as oral history interviews from former workers. Narratively, the article also explores the forced placement into into tightly regulated, isolated ethnic communities could be overcome, as Chinese Americans endured through prejudice in order to use “the wartime opportunity” to insert themselves into the “larger American society;” although discrimination still existed to impede progress after the war ceased. Of course, the racism Chinese-American women faced contrasted greatly from the issues another Asian minority women dealt with during World War…
Executive Order 9066 issued the following Japanese Americans living on the West Coast to be imprisoned, taken away from their friends and homes. It was that very day on February 19, 1942 that President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zone making way for the deportation of Japanese Americans to internment camps. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, all backs were turned to those of Japanese descent; were they (the Japanese) with us or against us? Legion amounts of people questioned the loyalty of the Japanese. This negativity caused officials to conclude that the Japanese residing in the United Stated were untrustworthy and to be placed in internment camps.…
Between 1942 and 1946, more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated to concentration camps with the justification of military necessity after the Japanese launched the devastating attack on pearl harbor in 1941. However, it is of debate to which extent was the degree posed by Japanese-American equivalent to the treatment of Internment they received from the US government. Orthodox Historians who regard the internment decision to be wrong, suggests that the degree of threat posed by Japanese-American were completely inequivalent to the treatment they received as it was unconstitutional since the military justification were counterfeit from the start without any concrete evidence and was merely resulted of racism and war hysteria…
Specifically, the newly industrialized Japanese jumped at the chance. So instead of Chinese workers taking the jobs of iterant Californians, the Japanese were doing it instead. They came in such great numbers that the California legislature could not create an act quickly enough.[5] Because of this, quiet bitterness began to form in the place of public racism. While the Japanese and other eastern Asians were barred from entering the country in 1924, forty-two years of intense, bitter dislike for the Japanese did nothing but fan the flames of American Nativist policies. Denis Kearney stated that the Japanese and other East Asians, “Must Go.”…
The author examines the results of a study conducted on 40 second-generation Korean American university students living in the United States. The main topics of this article are the role of cultural identity and heritage language maintenance. She argues that in the United States, immigrant children's proficiency in English improves while their heritage language declines. The focus of this study is to determine the proficiency level and use of heritage language among second-generation Korean-Americans youths, how they identify themselves as culturally and the interrelationship between the two. Lee states that "cultural identity is formed by the complex configuration of one's awareness of one's own cultural and recognition of the social group…