thoughts about session 8 on 7/30 w/Dr. Yamashita

The information Dr Yamashita shared with us about the Japanese during WWII was very surprising. The cannabalism... probably most shocking of all. Be nice to your compatriots is the message I guess. The fact that the nation was storing up for the invasion seemed strange. I have heard that the shortages in the United States wee staged to make the people feel united and like the were sacrifincing for the troops. True or not , I don't know. But the JApanese story made me reccall this . A Japanese internment camp research project might be an interesting investigation for my students. I want tp read the diaries Dr. Yamashita translated.

It was very enlightening to hear Dr.Yamashita’s assessment of the many factors that led Japan to war. The brutality of the army and the ruthless attacks on China, the Philippines, and Pearl Harbor highlight the senseless horror of war and the futility of diplomacy in the face of conquest. This harsh reality is contrasted by the picture of Japan presented in the school girl diary of Nakane Mihoko. Nakane’s world is filled with caring teachers who urge her to become the most virtuous loyal child she can be. Her life is filled with learning and service to her school and country. She spends her time giving thanks for the simple joys of everyday life and reflecting on the sacrifice of her nations soldiers. She does her utmost to write letters that will communicate her appreciation for their service. My own students could write very similar diary entries filled with school activities and letters to the troops. It is this common thread that will help my students reject the stereotypes generated by war propaganda and view the conflict from a new perspective.

I found the Iwakara Mission and the influences of the west on Japan to be very interesting and believe there could be great discussion on the topics in class. When the Japanese were "modernizing" their system, drawing on Western clothes, infrastructure, political system, military, which nations did they choose to model? Why? I think this would be a very good way of better understanding Japan and its relationships with the West, but also see how it built itself to be an equal. Was there a hierarchy in the west the Japanese recognized in regard to specific areas of expertise? Was the United States considered too new? When the Iwakara Mission went through the US it was during the reconstruction era, when the US was recovering from a war. What was going on in the other countries they visited? I believe this would be a great lesson to tie together an international view and connecting world history as the Japanese traveled through the world. Also, look at the motivation behind the traveling, too. Students could be broken up into groups for each specific country visited and what was happening at the time in each one. Full of possibilities on this one.

I was glad that Dr. Yamashita spoke of the collective participation of the Japanese in the war effort and the differences in opinion within the Japanese population towards the war. The elimination of the opposition by the militarists and the complicity of the conservatives as well as the brutality of the Japanese military and the psychological effect of inflicting misery on those below you (although inexcusable). Some questions raised by the lecture were what would had happened if the population of Japan would have been made to share more of the blame for the war? Should emperor Hirohito been forced from the throne due to his complicity? Did Truman make the right choice to drop the bombs in light of new information that points to the facts that Japan was storing food for an invasion, the military tried to block the broadcast of surrender, the military and other officials were debating whether to surrender after Hiroshiima. A topic for study with the students perhaps would be why is it important to try to understand someone else perspective, rather than looking through our own GLASSES the world? Had the military been able to recognize that the Americans were not going to rape and pillage Japan perhaps they would have surrender with honor.

The diary from the young girl was so interesting. Her positive statements about everything just remind me of the eager to please student. One day she writes about the loss of the war, and the next it is describing food. I thought in the preface she claimed everything she had written was true, I think the memory of what we think our childhood was like, that we convince ourselves we feel something we don't, is interesting.