John Dower’s Embracing Defeat challenges the idea that history is written from the perspective of the winner, a concept widely taught and promoted as true. Embracing Defeat is far more than simply a history book; it is the examination of the multiplicity of reactions, the outbreak of culture and counter-culture, as well as the development of various stereotypes that the loss in World War II brought upon the Japanese.
Embracing Defeat is incredibly complex and covers a wide range of Japanese responses in the aftermath of the Second World War. While Dower’s research on the variety of elements of the book is astounding, much of it gets lost within the many layers of the narrative. It is easy to forgive some generally confusing or unclear
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parts, as there are organizational issues inherent in any book that attempts to cover such a broad scope of a part of history. The book is split into six sections: “Victor and Vanquished,” “Transcending Despair,” “Revolutions,” “Democracies,” “Guilts,” and “Reconstructions,” each covering a different level of postwar Japan. The reader is led on a journey through both the cultural and secular developments from Emperor Hirohito’s speech of concession on August 15, 1945, to the removal of American troops from Japan in 1952. This is not the story of a defeated nation. It is the story of the creation of a new Japan. John Dower makes clear throughout the book that the conditions of an unconditional surrender forced upon Japan by the Allies had numerous implications on all aspects of Japanese life including the economy, morale, and culture. The status of a “fourth-rate nation” given to Japan by General MacArthur served a significant blow to the previously dominant Japanese. An important note that Dower makes early on is the inaccurate title of the “Allied Occupation of Japan” as it was in reality a primarily American mission. The relationship between the United States and Japan serves as the backbone for the book and is an important guide to the narrative. In fact the choice to use the word “embrace” in the title of the book can be interpreted as alluding to the intertwining of the two nations. Embracing Defeat begins with the significance of Emperor Hirohito’s speech of concession on August 15, 1945 and his embodiment of the people’s suffering.
Perhaps the most striking line in the book is when Dower states, “Like insects in amber, lines and phrases from the broadcast soon became locked in popular consciousness” (36). This example of Dower’s mastery of writing is used to show the impact that the Emperor’s speech had on an entire nation. The Emperor urges the nation to “endure the unendurable,” (36) foreshadowing what soon would become true for the nation. Ravaged by hyperinflation, extreme hunger, and a loss of identity Dower takes the reader through the heart-breaking nature of postwar Japan creating a lasting and powerful image of the time by including photographs and poems. However, from this broken nation rose grass-roots activism and …show more content…
culture. A major response to the American occupation was the rise of pan pan, prostitution. Prostitution became a theme both literally and metaphorically in the relationship between the Japanese and Americans. While prostitution became a major source of employment for many Japanese women, the nation too was seen to be prostituting itself to the United States by accepting American influence. This juxtaposition of individual and national sentiment serves as one of the most interesting elements of the book. On the individual level, prostitution served an economic necessity as well as an opportunity for an expression of freedom. Especially following militaristic rule in which one’s purpose was to be solely of service to the state, this act that is often considered to be a form of exploitation became one of liberation. On the national level, Dower makes clear the concept of horizontal Westernization through the spread of western symbols promulgating throughout various Japanese social classes including the pan pan.
Western materialism and consumerism, especially products like lipstick and nylon stockings, became a trademark for the pan pan look. It is with these Western goods that the metaphorical transition of the Japanese image from brutish, masculine dominant threat to the vision of a docile female body was formed. Here Dower explicitly depicts the interconnectivity of Japanese and Western cultures through commercialism.
Additionally, the explosion of poetry and literature published in magazines despite the extreme lack of paper supplies championed Dower’s idea of free expression. As the publishing sector became one of the first to recover, the obsession with the “new” made its way onto the titles of hundreds of magazines. Kasutori, meaning self-indulgence, culture combined both sexual license and literature with the introduction of widespread sexually oriented entertainment. While these trends do not define modern day Japan, it is interesting to note the response to the oppressing militaristic
rule. Dower also shares the American notions of the Japanese at the time as monkeys and barbarians who lacked any humanity. The nation was seen to have no core values or central identity and was thus incapable of governing themselves. Dower introduces the idea of “collusive Orientalism” promoting the image of a herd mentality amongst the Japanese people. Here is where Dower makes the transition from culture to the influence of the United States on government reform in Japan. Sentiment existed that the Japanese superficially embraced the introduction of democracy including the notion that women’s suffrage was instituted before women could comprehend its significance and that the transition from militarism to democracy occurred far too quickly. Common was the joke that posters supporting democracy were painted on the back of those supporting militaristic ideology. While largely critical of the occupation and of the chauvinist attitude of the United States, Dower does indeed have a nuanced respect for the ideals that led to the creation of the Japan that exists today. Many positive aspects from the ideas and influence of American democracy were brought to the Japanese including land, electoral, constitutional, and educational reform. Many of these, Dower emphasizes, were brought about and implemented by the Japanese. In fact, the Japanese Constitution included more rights than that of the United States. Throughout the book, Dower focuses on two men: General MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito and it is during the writing of the Constitution that the two come become directly involved. Dower paints the character of General MacArthur as one relatively ignorant, rarely leaving Tokyo and speaking to only a handful of Japanese. It is this context that MacArthur’s decision to promote the continued existence of the Emperor seems misaligned. As the democratization of Japan occurred, the conservative longing for an emperor slowly faded and the will to preserve the imperial throne came to an end yet the United States pushed for its survival. It is interesting that the United States decided on this route instead of choosing to make the Emperor a scapegoat and blaming the loss and the state of postwar Japan on him. The legacy of the Second World War still plays a significant role in Japanese current affairs. Dower states, “the lessons and legacies of defeat have been many and varied indeed; and the end is not in sight,” (564). With the introduction of a new security bill passed by Japan’s upper house of parliament allowing for defensive military engagement overseas, this statement could not be truer. The debates surrounding the bill are saturated with memories from the Second World War. If the Japanese will once again rise to become a dominant world power has yet to be seen. Yet, Embracing Defeat proves that the Japanese can turn defeat into victory and how the supposed loser can turn into the winner.
Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.
The sympathy of loss is persuaded as a devastating way on how a person is in a state of mind of losing. A person deals with loss as an impact on life and a way of changing their life at the particular moment. In the book My Losing Season by Pat Conroy he deals with the type of loss every time he plays basketball due to the fact, when something is going right for him life finds a way to make him lose in a matter of being in the way of Pat’s concentration to be successful.
John Dower's War without Mercy describes the ugly racial issues, on both the Western Allies and Japanese sides of the conflict in the Pacific Theater as well as all of Asia before during and after World War II and the consequences of these issues on both military and reconstruction policy in the Pacific. In the United States as well as Great Britain, Dower dose a good job of proving that, "the Japanese were more hated than the Germans before as well as after Pearl Harbor." (8) On this issue, there was no dispute among contemporary observers including the respected scholars and writers as well as the media. During World War II the Japanese are perceived as a race apart, a species apart referred to as apes, but at the same time superhuman. "There was no Japanese counterpart to the "good German" in the popular consciousness of the Western Allies." (8) Dower is not trying to prove how horrible the Japanese are. Instead, he is examining the both sides as he points out, "atrocious behavior occurred on all sides in the Pacific War." (12-13) Dower explores the propaganda of the United States and Japanese conflict to underline the "patterns of a race war," and the portability of racist stereotypes. Dower points out that "as the war years themselves changed over into an era of peace between Japan and the Allied powers, the shrill racial rhetoric of the early 1940s revealed itself to be surprisingly adaptable. Idioms that formerly had denoted the unbridgeable gap between oneself and the enemy proved capable of serving the goals of accommodation as well."(13) "the Japanese also fell back upon theories of "proper place" which has long been used to legitimize inequitable relationships within Japan itself."(9) After...
Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi. “Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman and the Surrender of Japan.” Taking Sides: Clashing View in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras & James SoRelle. 15th ed. New York, NY. 2012. 289-298.
Throughout history artists have used art as a means to reflect the on goings of the society surrounding them. Many times, novels serve as primary sources in the future for students to reflect on past history. Students can successfully use novels as a source of understanding past events. Different sentiments and points of views within novels serve as the information one may use to reflect on these events. Natsume Soseki’s novel Kokoro successfully encapsulates much of what has been discussed in class, parallels with the events in Japan at the time the novel takes place, and serves as a social commentary to describe these events in Japan at the time of the Mejeii Restoration and beyond. Therefore, Kokoro successfully serves as a primary source students may use to enable them to understand institutions like conflicting views Whites by the Japanese, the role of women, and the population’s analysis of the Emperor.
938-42. Print. 3. Leckie, Robert. "132. Nagasaki and the Surrender of Japan." Delivered from Evil: The Saga of World War II.
The bombing on Pearl Harbor impaired America, which brought an increase to racial tension. However, this impairment brought all nationalities together. “Thirty-three thousand Japanese Americans enlisted in the United States Armed Forces. They believed participation in the defense of their country was the best way to express their loyalty and fulfill their obligation as citizens” (Takaki 348). Takaki proves to us that the battle for independence was grappled on the ends of enslaved races. The deception of discrimination within the military force didn’t only bewilder Americans that sensed the agony of segregation, but also to the rest of world who honored and idolized America as a beam of freedom for
Throughout December of 1937, the historic city of Nanking was invaded by the Japanese military, which will gradually proceed on to rape and kill helpless civilians as well as carry the death toll to exceed that of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, put together. What took place there is certainly retold throughout three views, that of the troops who executed the assault, of the people who survived and suffered, and lastly of the chosen number of Europeans and Americans who battled to save over three hundred thousand people in this abomination. That sort o...
(p. 4) Dower acknowledged that warfare in the Pacific was particularly harsh with both side frequently killing imprisoned enemy soldiers rather than keeping them as prisoners, and the collection of human remains of enemy for mementos was typical. He also showed the brutal Japanese treatment of whites and Asians in wartime camps and the Americans' internment of over 100,000 Japanese/American people. If he had discussed Japanese anti-Jewish and pro-Muslim attitudes and a more equal comparison of battle brutalities in the Pacific region, and some on the Eastern Front would have given the reader a greater comprehension. Overall, Dower’s work was thoroughly researched and was a innovation in acknowledgment of W.W.II propaganda in the Pacific
Keene, Donald. Anthology of Japanese literature, from the earliest era to the mid-nineteenth century. New York: Grove P, 1955.
Davidson, J. F, 1954. Memory of Defeat in Japan: A Reappraisal of "Rashomon". The Antioch Review, , 492-501.
Japanese banners soaring overhead, as bombs scream their warnings of death as they slam the ground. “BOOM!” Smoke fills Tomi’s nostrils as he runs for shelter- and his life. These moments of extreme panic opened a door to new threats on Tomi’s life and altered the perspective of his life entirely. With the right help, Tomi can fight through these new hardships, but life after this day will, undoubtedly, be tough. After the Day of Infamy, Tomi loses his family and irreplaceable treasures, encounters racial discriminations and bullying, and struggles to find a way to return to the luxury of the before time.
...direct assistance of a male. In Japan’s Comfort Women, the “weakness” of women is seen again. Rape and sexual trade became a power play by individual men all the way up to the highest levels of government. But it was also a story of strength and courage on the part of victimized women. The Pacific War changed many things in Japan and the evolution of those institutions of Japanese society happened rapidly. The changes, however drastic, however gruesome, however sorrowful, were what shaped the history and future of Japan.
From the moment Japan opened its ports to Western ships, Japanese people from all over the country played catch-up to Western technology, ideas, and beliefs. However, they quickly noticed that Japanese national and cultural identity was rapidly disappearing in favor of the seemingly more sophisticated Western style of thought. The Meiji Period, lasting from 1868-1912, was a huge pivotal point in the fusion of Japanese and Western styles. Novelists penned many works during this time, detailing the aspects of the transition from traditional to modern such as the benefits and consequences of moving forward versus centering life on core, old-fashioned values. In addition, new standards were set out on what defines a novel. The Essence of the Novel by Tsubouchi Shoyo and Fukuzawa Yukichi ideas pushed the framework of the Western novel as the more preferred style of writing than the Japanese writing style, as well as introducing contemporary literary criticism to the Japanese literary community. Despite many writers gradually accepting their criticisms, there were some pundits who believed that Japan shouldn’t blindly accept everything Western at the cost of their own, unique identity. Nagai Kafu’s The River Sumida and Kanagaki Robun’s “The Beefeater” explore the Western-Japanese cultural fusion, each placing their praise and criticism of Western indulgence at similar but unique points.
Fifty years after the end of the second World War, it is easy to look back on the American occupation of Japan and see it as a mild nudge to the left rather than a new beginning for the country. We still see an emperor, even if only as a symbol. Industry, when it was rebuilt, was under much of the same leadership as before the war. Many elements of the traditional lifestyle remained–with less government support and in competition with new variants. The Japanese people remained connected to a culture which was half western and half Japanese. Nevertheless, it is irrefutable that the surrender in 1945 had a major impact on the lives of the Japanese. Political parties, elected by the populous, became a great deal more influential in the government. This changed the dynamics of Japanese industry, even if the zaibatsu were sill the foundation of the economy. Financial success took on a new character; the production of high tech goods for sale to the world’s most developed countries was now a better source of income. The affluence of the upper class was more evenly distributed. On a broader scale, for the first time, America had more influence than European powers. The prevention of the formation of a military put the focus of the government on trade, the United Nations, and the cold war rather than an empire in Asia. Simultaneously, social attitudes and lifestyle were more independent of the government and consumer led.