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AnonymousIn my undergraduate studies as a history major, Ronald Takaki’s Strangers from a Different Shore was a staple as his text focused on the immigration of Asians into America; a topic seldom examined, in this level of depth and breath, by other historian of American history. However, despite its notable reputation as a comprehensive account of the history of Asian immigrants, Takaki neglects the motivations for Japanese immigration in the 1880s to Hawaii. Dr. Samuel Hideo Yamashita provided insights into why the Japanese first settled in then, U.S. colony Hawai’i. Information like this -- presented by Yamashita – provided a truly thorough overview of modern Japanese history. Supplemented with personal anecdotes only further enhanced Saturday’s lecture sessions. Thus when applying Dr. Yamashito’s notes to the readings, specifically Ebery’s chapter on “War and Aftermath in Japan (1931-1964)”, a more comprehensive picture is produced. For instance, Dr. Yamashito provided art and personal connection to monpe, baggy pants worn by Japanese women in the late 1930s – 1945 (Ebrey 444). While the chapter focuses on delivering staid facts, Dr. Yamashita provided context for the reasoning for women donning the monpe attire and providing a narrative that resonates. Subsequently, his recollection of details steaming from the diaries he’s read and studied was incredibly invaluable in understanding the history that impacted people in Japan, but also on this continent and beyond, especially since, as an educator – we strive to convey not only historical facts to our students, but the impact of shared histories.
AnonymousToday's sessions were extremely interesting, Professor Yamashita, was great. Most people don't know much about the Japanese's people experience during WWII. Japanese experiences' during the war, especially the evacuated children was an eye opener. I thought it was interesting that the Japanese government wanted to preserve families, yet separated them by sending the children to the countryside, men to fight in the war, and women to do other jobs.
AnonymousProfessor Yamashita's personal input from his parents and other family members was interesting to hear, because he is analyzing the war events as a historian. It was interesting that some Japanese-Americans had to go to Japan to find opportunities, that were not available in the U.S.. Also, I had always wonder why Japan went from an U.S.'s enemy to an ally, even after knowing about China becoming communist. It never made sense to me, until today, how could the U.S. and Japan be allies after each country had bombed each other. After, Professor Yamashita's lecture it made so sense, because stopping communism was more important that making Japan pay for the atrocities committed during the war.
AnonymousThe seminar about Japan was very interesting, especially when Dr. Yamashita explained the intricacies of making the decision to attack the US through pearl harbor. He stressed the fact that the people making the higher level decisions were "very smart" individuals, many of who had attained an education in prestigious US universities. I would like to disagree with that but I really can because we did not define in class what being "smart" entails....
I was also intrigued by the culture of Japan. It seemed like the whole country was in favor of the war. There were no mentions of any type of protests and everyone was doing something to aid the war. Even at the end when they had nothing else to fight with many soldiers sacrificed their lives, "kamikaze," just to keep on fighting. The discipline of Japan is very admirable.
AnonymousI was really intrigued by the way Professor Yamashita described social norms in Japan in the first part of today's lecture. I was definitely surprised when Professor Yamashita described how non-Japanese clients are openly rejected from service at a renowned restaurant in Japan. I am curious to know more present day Japanese perceptions of Americans and Anglos. I tried to find some additional materials about this, and was able to find a Pew poll from a couple months ago. But the poll only asked Japanese about whether they thought Americans had qualities such as inventive and hard-working, so it's not a great source of information. I'm wondering if anyone else has information (anecdotal or research-based) they can add to help contextualize the anecdote from class today.
AnonymousDuring Professor Yamashita’s second session, I was struck by the evacuation of the children in Japan during the war. I had never heard of these evacuations before and I can only image the logistical nightmare that this created. I am amazed that teachers would commit to this, and I wonder the impact that this had on their own families. Where they able to take their own families with them? What did their meals look like? And how did they learn to hunt? It reminds me a bit of Katness from the Hunger Games! I am also wondering what type of health facilities were provided to the children that were clearly malnourished by the images shown during seminar.
Another inquiry I have is regarding the aftermath of the war. The professor talked about the psychocultural collapse of indigenous populations during colonialism that lead to death for some. I wonder what the psychosocial impacts were for students returning to their home towns, possibly not seeing their families. What are the experiences of those children coming back to a possibly new environment that was once “their own?”
AnonymousProfessor Yamashita briefly discussed the interment of the Japanese in the U.S. as well as the interment in Guam, the Philippines, and Hawaii. Although I have visited Manzanar and the Japanese American museum, this process of interning Americans is still hard to believe. It had never crossed my mind that Japanese people in U.S. territories would also be interned, maybe because having always lived on the mainland, I have had a more limited perspective. I wonder what were the reactions of the people living in Guam, the Philippines, and especially Hawaii towards Japanese Americans or immigrant?. I know that besides government action, there were also discriminatory actions taken by businesses, neighborhoods, and local people on the mainland towards the Japanese. And how did people in those countries feel about the treatment of the Japanese considering they may have also felt like outsiders or outcast in contrast to mainlanders.
AnonymousI really enjoyed the teaching style of Samuel Yamashita. I think I will switch to teaching college! He was so relaxed, and seemed to enjoy teaching this subject, and said a few times that he probably told us too much, but that was never the case; it was fascinating! One part of the question I asked in our first session was answered today. I had wondered why there was an influx of people from East Asia to Riverside, California. 196,543 Japanese people immigrated to the U.S. mainland between 1885-1924 because farmers were going bankrupt, due to the policies of the finance minister, Matsukata Masayoshi. 238,543 Japanese also immigrated to Hawaii during the same period of time, which is much closer to Japan than the mainland. That was another thing I had been curious about. How had there come to be so many Japanese people on the Hawaiian Islands? My aunt and uncle live on Oahu, so it was a question I have had in my mind after having spent a lot of time there. Also, my daughter's best friend comes from a Hawaiian native family - Kalei. It is amazing how interconnected we all are. All the more reason to learn from our shared pasts.
Which brings me to another idea brought up a few times during the lecture - culpability, and that people should be held accountable for their actions. It appears that a lot of people were let off the hook after WWII. I have many other thoughts about this, but they require further refining.
Matsukata Masayoshi was considered a god, and his family is still well-respected and honored because of his financial brilliance. I'm glad we live in a world where more people are being honored for their emotional strength and brilliance, and loving hearts, like Malala Yousafzai. I appreciate being taken to new levels of thought by Samuel Yamashita's genuine and honest teaching of this important portion of history. It was certainly thought-provoking.
AnonymousA very common question I get when I teach about Pearl Harbor is "why did Japan attack if they knew the US would retaliate?" All I would be able to offer is an incomplete answer about how Japan was upset at the US for cutting them off on oil and scrap metal. Dr. Yamashita totally changed that for me. Although there were MANY factors why Japan decided to attack, the one that stood out to me the most is Japan's desire to be seen as a world power. Although I don't support terrorist attacks such as the attack on Pearl Harbor, making the decision to attack was very bold. Japan had a vision and they acted upon it. It was very interesting to learn about the war effort from the Japanese perspective. It was definitely the opportunity of a lifetime!
Something else that really stood out to me was the occupation period. That threw me for a loop! Although I understand the logic of the US deciding that they wanted Japan as an ally given the alignment of China and the USSR, it was difficult for me to reconcile with that decision. I am already a pessimist when it comes to the reasons why the government does what it does, but to switch the occupation policy out of geopolitical convenience really surprised me. I do not support brutal occupation as reconciliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor, but I am sure the US government was paying that type of lip service. I am sure people who wanted the US to take revenge on Japan were outraged.
AnonymousAs Kriztian mentioned previously, I also was shocked by the evacuation of children that Professor Yamashita talked about during the afternoon lecture. To me, the logistics of this just seem crazy. How could parents allow their children to leave? How did children not rebel? This part of the lecture help me comprehend the reading "The Diary of an Evacuated Schoolgirl," in that it gave me a better historical context into the girls' experience. I was curious as to why in the reading she always mentions that they weighed them or that the students lost weight, as well as what they ate. After the lecture, it made total sense given the situation these children found themselves in. I'm wondering if there are other accounts from the children who experienced this, in that this diary excerpt was very interesting and the historical information Yamashita provided although devastating to hear (like that the children would only get one cup of food a day), I would love to read more on it.
AnonymousDuring the morning session, I appreciated Professor Yamashita's lecture focus on the development of heavy industry and the economy break up of Japan. He shared how industrialization came with a huge cost to indigenous people around the world (and shared a very interesting book I look forward to reading!), and appreciated him including this in his lecture, since it gets skipped so often in history books or overlooked by other professors. In terms of the economy break up of Japan, I found it interesting how most of the work force was agricultural based (1930s) and in the fishing, mining and trade industries. This information help me understand the readings that focused on Japan post 1930. I also enjoyed how Professor Yamashita broke down why the Japanese attack the Allied Powers. I feel like I have read about this a million times, but he helped break it down in a very storylike way, with his focus on the different players involved, as well as analyzing the different stages that eventually led to the attack. I will definitely share this with students in the future when I teach high school and get to a unit on WWII.
AnonymousThese sessions by Dr. Yamashita were excellent and made a Saturday in the classroom very productive. The session felt short, despite the long day, which is a credit to the presenter. His liberal use of personal stories humanized the lessons and took us beyond the readings and textbooks. When we teach, we are often told to "tell a story" rather than tedious facts, well a story he told us and it was good. I was grateful to get good solid history, which will be useful for my classroom. The information presented can go from Dr. Yamashita directly to my tenth grade students because its accessible, personal and interesting. He filled several historical blanks about the homefront in Japan during the war. Information like this isn't available though the textbook and I'm grateful for it as it'll help me enrich my lessons. I will be buying his books, both of them.
AnonymousProfessor Yamashita thorougly explained Japan's history, culture, what led up to World War II, sacrifices during the war and post war. I was struck with the rationing, the women who played an important role, and the evacuation of the children. Those were new ideas for me. I also really enjoyed his personal stories of his father and mother at the moment Pearl Harbor was bombed. It really impacted me to hear how his parents reacted to the bombing. Also, hearing how Professor Yamashita's mother was treated and discriminated against made me realize how people of Japanese decent were treated at that time.
AnonymousThe topic that ‘hooked’ me into learning more about Asia, was the attack on Pearl Harbor. As a teenager, my parents took me to Hawaii to visit the Pearl Harbor memorial and I instantly wanted to know more about the history of this event, and investigate why this happened and what incidents lead to this event. In attending Professor Yamashita’s lecture, I learned about this and so much more. I thoroughly appreciated his lecture and the essential questions that he provided. It allowed me the opportunity to organize my thinking and follow the timeline of the events that took place before AND after the attack on Pearl Harbor. I found The Diary of an Evacuated School Girl to be one of the most impactful readings, as it caused me to reflect on a question that I don’t remember being emphasized in my own education, which was “What was the impact on Japan and its’ people after the attack on Pearl Harbor?”
AnonymousI also had a similar question about this in regards to Japanese migrants in South America. Upon doing research on this topic I found out that the most significant migration waves to places like Brazil and Peru occurred in the late 1800’s due in part to Minister Masayoshi’s deflationary policies. During this time Peru and Brazil developed thriving communities made up to of poor Japanese peasants.
edited by rchang on 10/5/2015