Japanese Literature discussion

The thread for Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II by John W. Dower. Please take your time, I think a slow read on this book with be the best.

I began it yesterday, on audio. I have the physical book as well and likely will go back and forth between them in order to consume it efficiently. Having said that, I’m not a fan of the narrator. He’s fine, just not to my taste.

The introduction was a bit of a slog, but now that i am in Chapter 1, I’m getting a lot from this read. I am familiar with the big themes, but very few details on this topic, even about the surrender itself. The language of Hirohito ‘s August 15 announcement is brilliant. Hearing that everyone tolerated the lack of connection between the two representatives who signed off on the surrender agreement on behalf of the country of Japan and Emperor Hirohito intrigues.

I’ve just finished reading the repatriation portion around page 50-52. I feel for those soldiers and families who were outside of Japan’s borders as of August 15.

I wish I was surprised to read about the Soviet Union playing with the numbers and treating Japanese citizens under their control as chattel. They’re nothing if not consistent.

I have another non-fiction book on that subject in my to-buy list: Eleven Winters of Discontent . It's sure to be a depressing read.

I tried to start the novel The Barren Zone about an army officer abducted by the Russians from Manchuria at the end of the war, but found I wasn't in the mood for it. Maybe one of these days.

On the general subject of Japanese soldiers outside Japan on August 15th, there's In the Ruins of Empire , which I had mixed feelings about. It tells us more about the movements for independence and less about the Japanese trapped in those countries than I was hoping for. I do recall it mentioning how some remaining Japanese soldiers were put to work as soldiers by the new national governments trying to unify their countries and/or prevent Western re-colonization.

Bill wrote: "I have another non-fiction book on that subject in my to-buy list: Eleven Winters of Discontent . It's sure to be a depressing read.

I tried to start the novel [book: The Barren Z..."

I'll keep a look out for In The Ruins, at least I won't be disappointed.

My spouse is an avid WWII history reader and has mentioned on multiple occasions that we, collectively - folks alive now across the globe - don't acknowledge the treatment/atrocities done to german soldiers as they tried to get back home. Not that "winners" are ever completely honest about the experience of "losing" soldiers, but ...

I'm at the beginning of Chapter 14. Are you still reading it?

I've been reading 30 - 40 pages per day via audio, which has limited my ability to comment as I go, so this is a catch-up comment.

Chapter 1 - the content on the treatment of war orphans and returning veterans remains one of the most powerful segments I've read in this book.

Chapter 3 - the ongoing post-surrender problem of hunger and malnutrition - lasting at least through 1948. Then, Dower describes 650K suffering from communicable diseases (led by TB), and 99,654 recorded deaths due to the same, between 1945 - 1948.

Chapter 4 - All of which is in addition to the rampant spread of venereal diseases (described on page 130) in connection with the RAA, the establishment of which is described starting on page 127. I found it truly difficult to comprehend this quote, on page 129: "By one estimate, R.A.A. women engaged between fifteen and sixty GIs a day."
On page 154, Dower turns to the literary world for the first time, identifying Sakaguchi Ango, Tamura Taijiro and Dazai Osamu - linking "degeneracy and carnal behavior to authenticity and individuality." I'm unfamiliar with Sakaguchi and Tamura. Do either have books translated into English that you recommend?
The segment on Married LIfe, starting on page 162, was really interesting.

Chapter 5 - Bridges of Language. This is the first chapter which lays out a pattern for me with Dower. He treats all topics in the same manner, with a level of detail and quotations from primary sources that is exhaustive. He's incapable of determining that certain topics are worthy of capturing every known fact, and others are simply not. There's a list of magazine titles on page 181 that should have been an endnote - of which there are 100 pages. A couple of examples, at most, would have been better for his narrative.

Chapter 6. MacArthur, SCAP, mid-level officers living in upper-class housing requisitioned from their owners and paid for by the Japanese government. Japanese citizens turning to the black market while Americans shop at the PX with ease. Service personnel committing assaults and rapes with virtually no risk of repercussions. This chapter is essential to understand all of the nutty, uninformed beliefs about the "Japanese character" that influence subsequent negotiations relating to the Constitution and the like, but when I first read it, I couldn't stop shaking my head at the aggregate confidence + ignorance. But, of course, MacArthur.

Chapter 7 - Embracing Revolution. My favorite part of this chapter is the story of the letters and postcards addressed to MacArthur (or GHQ), and their origin in letters invited in AUgust 1945 by Prime Minister Higashikuni. A close second is the description of the abrupt shift in messaging by grade school teachers.

Chapter 8. Making Revolution. The description of trade union activities and the policy influence of communists (surprise, GHQ!) was interesting, but I didn't need as many pages or details as Dower wanted to share.

Chapter 9. In Chapter 9, Dower begins to discuss the Emperor, and all aspects of GHQ's beliefs about how important the Emperor was to the Japanese people, and how those beliefs drove GHQ's manipulation of, well, everything from why Hirohito was not investigated or held accountable for Japan's war-time activities, to what it thought was critical to be included and excluded from Japan's rewritten Constitution. Fellers and Mashbir. The meetings between MacArthur and Hirohito were important, but - again - I wish Dower wasn't so enamored of making certain not a single detail is omitted from the core text. I thought this Chapter dragged, although parts of it mesmerized.

Chapter 10. Emperor Hirohito' tour of almost every prefecture (details at page 330 forward) was more interesting to me than the details of presenting Hirohito as mortal vs. divine, but the second is foundational to the subsequent machinations around the Constitution, so okay.

Chapter 11. Imperial Democracy: Evading Responsibility. The photos in this chapter are mesmerizing. Page 339 begins a segment on Watanabe Kiyoshi, a man "consumed by rage at having been betrayed by his sovereign." I highly recommend this segment.

Chapter 12 and 13. GHQ writes a new national charter. Japan Japanizes the American draft. Both of these chapters are as interesting as your interest in the topic. I was fascinated at the 100,000 foot level, but found myself praying for the day I'd get to page 404. One question I had, though, that Dower either didn't answer or I missed his answer, is that, he mentions twice that the Japanese legal system being tinkered with in 1945+ is then-based on Germany's system. Why? or How? What's the origin of that country's influence on Japan's legal structure?

Carol wrote: "I'm at the beginning of Chapter 14. Are you still reading it?"

Carol, I am still reading it albeit slowly.
I am too easily sidetracked with potential Light Novels and Manga for the library.

In the 1870s and 1880s, Japan sent promising young men to Europe and the US to study their institutions. They adopted from various countries, and Germany was their closest model for their new legal system.

I would have thought I could find more detail on this in Emperor of Japan: Meiji and his World by Donald Keene, but it doesn't tell me why Germany.

Jack wrote: "Carol wrote: "I'm at the beginning of Chapter 14. Are you still reading it?"

Carol, I am still reading it albeit slowly.
I am too easily sidetracked with potential Light Novels and Manga for the l..."

Understood. I’m easily distracted by many many books :)

Bill wrote: "In the 1870s and 1880s, Japan sent promising young men to Europe and the US to study their institutions. They adopted from various countries, and Germany was their closest model for their new legal..."

Thanks for giving me this head start, Bill. I’ll see what else I can find.

Slow going here as well, but will post some thoughts before the weekend!

If anyone gets bogged down, skip ahead and read chapter 14 about censorship. It doesn’t require knowledge of anything that comes before it, and it is mesmerizing. Dower again offers 14 examples where 2 would suffice - with respect to censored haikus and political cartoons - but he also goes into a lot of detail about the film industry that I think you guys will be interested to read.

I am back to this now after reading through some potential books for the library. Will post after i make more progress. It is an interesting read so far. I have a friend who was there during the reconstruction with her father.

Jack wrote: "I am back to this now after reading through some potential books for the library. Will post after i make more progress. It is an interesting read so far. I have a friend who was there during the re..."

How old was your friend at the time, Jack? I can't say, 15 pages from the end of this book, that I would have wanted to be in her shoes, but the memories must be incredible, particularly if she stayed and perceives how things then shifted post- the start of the Korean War.

I finished. Chapters 14 through the end are strong. If you get bogged down earlier, consider skipping to chapter 14. After the chapter on censorship, Dower tackles the economic changes and the War Crimes Tribunal and does an excellent job of contrasting it with the Nuremberg trials as well as with any understanding of justice.

Carol wrote: "Jack wrote: "I am back to this now after reading through some potential books for the library. Will post after i make more progress. It is an interesting read so far. I have a friend who was there ..."

They were in their early teens at the time. The family accompanied their father who was posted with the early arriving occupation team. They are in their 90s now. They are a godparent of my eldest and the original source of my interests in historical Japanese literature.

BTW, I am still working on Dower’s book but got sidetracked with library book selections.

Jack wrote: "Carol wrote: "Jack wrote: "I am back to this now after reading through some potential books for the library. Will post after i make more progress. It is an interesting read so far. I have a friend ..."

What an experience for them, and a wonderful introduction to you of that world, too.

I have 28 books checked out at the moment, and can't tell you which I'll read and which will go back untouched. They are lovely shiny objects, always.

I will try to add some supplementary materials in the discussion thread for this book.
The Tokyo War Crimes Trial: The Pursuit of Justice in the Wake of World War II by Yuma Totani.
There is an hour interview with the author from 2009: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... as part of the “New Books in Japanese Studies” series. The main discussion about book starts at ~ 8 mins in. I think the interview is a good complement to our buddy read on Dower’s book.

Great. I'll check this out. I admit, I held the new Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia by Gary J. Bass in my hands the other day and was honest with myself that I'd like to have read it, but am unlikely to devote the time to reading it now. A podcast suits me perfectly.

Spotify has a number of podcasts in this Japanese Studies series, I noticed. Fun.

Yes, it is a good podcasts series. There is a great variety to choose from. I enjoy the interviews and have learned from them.

Although it has been difficult to read about, there are numerous articles about the R.A.A. Here is one from 2007 on NBC news:
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna18355292

This article, published in "Portal":
Pan-pan Girls: Humiliating Liberation in Postwar Japanese Literature by Rumi Sakamoto, University of Auckland should be available for download:
https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journal...
Click on "PDF" under the listing to read.

Also, if you have access to JSTOR, this article is referenced in the author's notes:
The Shape of Freedom: The Female Body in Post-Surrender Japanese Cinema
Joanne Izbicki
U.S.-Japan Women's Journal. English Supplement, No. 12, Special Issue: Gender and Imperialism (1997), pp. 109-153 (45 pages)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/42772110

I thought it was interesting, given our discussion on Japanese Cinema.

I would like to read several of the works referenced although I do not know if translations are available:
Miyamoto Yuriko, Twelve Years of Letters
Ozaki Hotsumi, Love is like a Shower of Stars

Nagai Takashi’s works are available in translations:
Leaving the Children Behind
The Bells of Nagasaki

I plan to watch “All That Remains”, a biography of Nagai Takashi, (with a large box of tissues) over the holidays.

I hope you can get The Bells of Nagasaki on ILL. It's way out of print, and used copies sell for more than I'm willing to pay.

As part of my side trips related to Embracing Defeat, esp. as related to Film and Literature, I have been exploring themes related to post WWII Japan antinuclear reactions and reflections in film and literature. In 1954 Toho released the first Godzilla Movie. The English translation, by Jeffery Angles, of the novelizations of the first two movies in the long running Godzilla series Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again by Shigeru Kayama was released in 2023. There are several interviews with Jeffery Angles. My favorite is this one: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
it includes the context of the film wrt post WWII cultural reactions and also a section on translation decisions.
I will be adding this book as a possible January bookclub choice.

Jack wrote: "I would like to read several of the works referenced although I do not know if translations are available:
Miyamoto Yuriko, Twelve Years of Letters
Ozaki Hotsumi, Love is like a Shower of Stars

Na..."

I missed out on making a list since I was primarily consuming via Audible; thanks for sharing these.

Jack wrote: "As part of my side trips related to Embracing Defeat, esp. as related to Film and Literature, I have been exploring themes related to post WWII Japan antinuclear reactions and reflections in film a..."

I'd vote for that. it would be a treat.

Some supplemental material from Isaac Meyer’s “History of Japan” long running podcast series. The show is from August 2013 and titled “Enduring the unendurable”. There is a section on how and why the protection of women was included in the Occupation’s directives. This is arguably the best and most successful result of the US occupation.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Isaac Meyer wrote,
“This week's episode is an overview of the Allied Occupation of Japan. In just seven years (1945-1952), the Allies undertook a massive effort to overhaul Japan's politics, economy, and society. We'll discuss the ways in which they tried to do so, and briefly attempt to evaluate their success. This was a really interesting episode to write and record -- I learned a lot myself!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.”

Additional material about kamishibai (paper theater):
There is a picture on page 393 in the text.

Kamishibai (紙芝居, "paper play") is a form of Japanese street theater and storytelling that was popular during the Great Depression of the 1930s and the post-war period in Japan until the advent of television during the mid-20th century. Kamishibai were performed by a kamishibaiya ("kamishibai narrator") who travelled to street corners with sets of illustrated boards that they placed in a miniature stage-like device and narrated the story by changing each image.

Kamishibai has its earliest origins in Japanese Buddhist temples, where Buddhist monks from the 8th century onward used emakimono ("picture scrolls") as pictorial aids for recounting their history of the monasteries, an early combination of picture and text to convey a story. - Wikipedia.

I was able to see a Kamishibai play at the Boston Children's museum in Dec 2023. It was presented/performed by the Japan Society of Boston. There are numerous example on youtube. There is an example and lecture that relates to the 15 yr war and occupation period here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEWwk...

I like Kamishibai folklore and children's storys the best. - J

Jack wrote: "Additional material about kamishibai (paper theater):
There is a picture on page 393 in the text.

Kamishibai (紙芝居, "paper play") is a form of Japanese street theater and storytelling that was pop..."

Thanks for sharing this info, Jack. Kamishibai was/is new to me. Much appreciated.

Well, I am _still_ rereading this with a friend and we are going a chapter a time (as I have cycles). My reading buddy is a retired history professor and it is an interesting conversation but SUPER challenging. We are chapter 13 now (my fav…). This came about because I casually said (foretelling music track here) I was interested in the post-war Japanese constitutional process, especially the impact of Beate Sirota (Gordon).

See: The Only Woman in the Room by Beate Sirota Gordon.

When rereading Chapter 14: Censored Democracy, I reread the section on a Policing the Cinema 2x and marked several films to search for.

“In the course of six and a half years of occupation, Japanese movie studios produced around one thousand feature films. Up to 1949, two copies of every screenplay had to be submitted in English in advance to SCAP’s “advisers,” and on numerous occasions a great deal of give-and-take took place before a script emerged that was satisfactory to the Americans. Some directors, such as Kurosawa Akira, flourished despite these constraints; others, such as Kamei Fumio, never found a firm postwar footing.”

Excerpt From
Embracing Defeat
John W. Dower
This material may be protected by copyright.

If available, I hope to watch Kamei Fumio’s “Nihon no Higeki (The Tragedy of Japan) and “Sensō to Heiwa (Between War and Peace)”.

A discussion of Kamei Fumio is here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumio...

Also my friend and I are watching and discussing the US propaganda film “December 7th”. It is available US film archives and on YouTube.

A discussion of the film is here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decem...

Jack wrote: "When rereading Chapter 14: Censored Democracy, I reread the section on a Policing the Cinema 2x and marked several films to search for.

“In the course of six and a half years of occupation, Japan..."

There’s a fab wealth of content and references in that chapter. Thanks for reminding me to dig in more on Fumio. I’ll look for December 7, too.

I finished the reread of Embracing Defeat, noting literary and cinema references that I want to followup on.
In the last section I reflected on a favorite film, Upon Poppy Hill by Studio Ghibli and the influence the Japanese experience during the Korean was shaped and influenced the movie.

Short edited summary courtesy of Wikipedia:

From Up on Poppy Hill (Japanese: コクリコ坂から, Hepburn: Kokuriko-zaka Kara, lit. 'From Coquelicot Hill') is a 2011 Japanese animated drama film directed by Gorō Miyazaki, written by Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa, animated by Studio Ghibli … It is based on the 1980 serialized manga of the same name illustrated by Chizuru Takahashi and written by Tetsurō Sayama.

Set in 1963 Yokohama, Japan, the film tells the story of Umi Matsuzaki (Nagasawa). Umi Matsuzaki is a 16-year-old high school student living in Coquelicot Manor, a boarding house overlooking the Port of Yokohama in Japan. Each morning, Umi raises a set of signal flags with the message "I pray for safe voyages".

Through a story in the school newspaper, meets Shun Kazama (Okada), a member of the school's newspaper club. Umi and Shun start having feelings for each other.

At Coquelicot Manor, Umi shows Shun a photograph of three young naval men. One of them is her deceased father, Yūichirō Sawamura, who was killed while serving on a supply ship during the Korean War. Shun is stunned to see he has a duplicate of the photograph. His father admits shortly after the end of World War II, Yūichirō arrived at their house one evening with an infant, Shun.

I highly recommend this film.

Two biographies i want to follow up on:

The Only Woman in the Roomby Marie Benedict about Beate Sirota Gordon though whose influence, women’s rights in Japan were greatly strengthened.

A New Woman Of Japan: A Political Biography Of Kato Shidzue by Helen M. Hopper.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shidz...

A few other literature references from the final chapters:

The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer

Harp of Burma by Michio Takeyama, translated by Howard Hibbett.

Listen to the Voices from the Sea (Kike Wadatsumi no Koe): Writings of the Fallen Japanese Students
Compiled by Nihon Senbotsu Gakusei Kinen-Kai (Japan Memorial Society for the Students Killed in the War—Wadatsumi Society)
Translated by Midori Yamanouchi and Joseph L. Quinn
University of Scranton Press, 2000, 344 pages
(jack's note: this is from the 1995 version of the book - 50th anniversary of the end of the war.)
and the first translation from the original (via French):
The Sun Goes Down: Last letters from Japanese suicide-pilots and soldiers, edited by Jean Lartéguy, translated from the French by Nora Wydenbruck
New English Library, 1956, 128 pages

(correction for title in English)
In the Faraway Mountains and Rivers (Harukanaru Sanga ni): More Voices From A Lost Generation of Japanese Students
Compiled by Todai Gakusei Jichi-kai Senbotsu Gakusei Shuki Hensan Iinkai (Committee for Compiling the Writings of the University of Tokyo Students Killed in the War, the University of Tokyo Student Council)
Translated by Joseph L. Quinn and Midori Yamanouchi
University of Scranton Press, 2005, 163 pages
This is the controversial collection of writings by students from Tokyo Imperial University who were killed in the war.

Zone of Emptiness by Hiroshi Noma, translated by Bernard Frechtman.

Fires on the Plain by Shōhei Ōoka, translated by Ivan Morris.

I have Fires on the Plain in my owned, unread pile. Fires on the Plain . I don't know if it's in print, but used copies are easy to find.

For Harp of Burma, I preferred the movie to the book. It's available from Criterion.

I'm not seeing any copies of Zone of Emptiness for less than $45. His collection Dark Pictures is a little cheaper. Note that someone created a separate author profile for Dark Pictures; it should probably be merged.

You might also want to check out Osaragi Jiro . He has two post-war novels that were translated into English, both quite good. Probably both out of print. It's too bad he's out of print and more of his books are unavailable. I believe there's even a literary prize in Japan named after him.

Bill wrote: "I have Fires on the Plain in my owned, unread pile. Fires on the Plain . I don't know if it's in print, but used copies are easy to find.

For Harp of Burma, I preferred the movie to ..."

Several used versions of the Tuttle release of Homecoming are available at ABE Books for $12 - $20. I haven't read him. Which is your favorite?

I preferred The Journey. Here's an Abe Books link:
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Book...

Bill wrote: "I preferred The Journey. Here's an Abe Books link:
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Book..."

Thank you, Bill!

History of Japan podcast episode about Beate Sirota and Eleanor Hadley. It covers why they were blacklisted after their return to the US. It probably didn’t impact Ms Sirota’s career but, I think, the US government lost a top notch Economist during the post war period with Dr Hadley.

https://sites.libsyn.com/43266/episod...

And from Wikipedia:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elean...

Jack W wrote: "History of Japan podcast episode about Beate Sirota and Eleanor Hadley. It covers why they were blacklisted after their return to the US. It probably didn’t impact Ms Sirota’s career but, I think, ..."

Thanks furcsfaring this, Jack. I haven’t let myself get buried in the HoJ podcasts yet, but I’m on vacation so this is the week for spending time with abandon.