Leaves From An Autumn Of Emergencies Analysis

Leaves From an Autumn of Emergencies is a collection of 8 translated diaries written by everyday Japanese people during World War 2. Not only does it provide the feelings and opinions of those on the home front, but the author/translator Samuel Hideo Yamashita also provides a context for the collections. It highlights the struggles that the general Japanese public met with problems of food shortages, the formation of community councils or chounaikai, inflation levels that had caused most Japanese citizens to be living below the poverty line and many other factors. These aspects of Japan are usually not taken into consideration when referencing their involvement in World War 2; one cause as to why many misunderstandings appear to surround their …show more content…
The authenticity of cultural texts can be shown through language; in this case, the diaries were written by Japanese in Japanese. Samuel Hideo Yamashita not only gathered these entries but also (along with a team of translators) attempted to convert the texts into English. Since he himself is half-Japanese, he has a thorough grasp on Japanese language and culture as he has grown up with it at home. As a historian of modern Japan, Yamashita is well-versed in many aspects of both old and new Japanese …show more content…
The first theme is important because not just one or two diarists supported the war, they all did. They completely supported the war; the only difference lies in the wavering of spirit of those on the home front as the war progressed. The diarists who had changed their positive attitudes about the war were mostly women; the mothers and wives of those fighting in the war. The constant changes in the government, negative feelings towards the community councils they were forced to attend every week or month as well as lack of reliable information and the ever prominent bomb raids from the Allies were what brought down the morale of Japanese citizens. By the end, many simply wanted the war to end and were relieved at the surprise announcement. One diarist wrote that “People’s faces had no particular expression. Perhaps they were exhausted. As to how they felt about the war ending, an unmistakeable brightness told the story”. That wasn’t the case for all Japanese though, as many were very angry about Japan’s surrender. Navy Special-Attack Pilot Itabashi Yasuo was very vocal for his support for the war and never wavered, even going so far as stating that in order to aid Japan’s success in the war he would “happily see [his] five-foot body smashed to pieces”. Dying for one’s honour is a commonly held value in Japan. Bushidou, or the “way of the warrior”, dictates that honour,