Comments on Samuel Yamashita's 12/3 presentation

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Hello everyone,

Please take a minute or two to share your thoughts on Professor Yamashita's presentation last evening. What did you take away with you about the Japanese experience in the Pacific War? Which aspects of the presentation did you find most interesting, and how do you plan to apply it in your classroom?

-Miranda

[Anonymous]

Professor Yamashita's presentation was very interesting! I took away a whole new perspective of WWII - I guess I'd never even considered what the ordinary Japanese citizens thought about the Pacific War or what they actually experienced. I think I'd like to buy his book! I was surprised to learn about the extent of the "carpet bomb" damage. Likewise, I'd never heard about the food shortages and rationing either. I used some of the lecture information today, actually, with my class that is reading Chinese Cinderella, by Adeline Yen Mah. We started a timeline and filled in events mentioned in the book - I felt a little better prepared to give them some background information about the events taking place in China between 1937-1941. Great lecture. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Samuel Yamashita like all the other speakers was absolutely amazing. He did a great job of informing us about the Japanese perspective of WWII while teaching us what was occurring in the homes of civilians in Japan during the war. Life during the war was not pretty. Thank you for the great speaker.

[Anonymous]

Sam Yamashita's Dec presentation on the Pacific War was great. It was helpful to have the background of the war, how it was recieved in Hawaii and the war from the perspective of Japanese citizens in Japan. It really made me realize how detached most Americans are from the Gulf War going on. It was interesting to hear of the similarities between German and Japanese culture/outlook on the war and how the Japanese valued 1800s German arts and education.

[Anonymous]

Professor Samuel Yamashita's presentation helped to solidify some of the material I had read and seen about WWII and the Japanese invasion. His delivery style is quite engaging and his insight into the mindset of the Japanese was invaluable. What a worthwhile evening of learning. Thank you Professor Yamashita!

[Anonymous]

Wow. The readings provided were amazing and provided rare glimpses into this challenging time in Japan. Food rations? Black market? Famine? I had no idea. And I particularly enjoyed Professor Yamashita infusing his lecture with personal anecdotes about his mother and his family, and his experiences.
The levels of organization and record-keeping of every individual was all new learning for me. I also want to learn more about the Nanjing massacre.
It was a very engaging and interesting presentation.

[Anonymous]

This was an excellent presentation. I liked the way he went over the 6 generalizations about the Japanese homefront based on the diaries he has read. I learned so much about World War II and its effects on the regular Japanese citizen. I also enjoyed his humorous telling of the process of titling his book. I love the title by the way.

This presentation also made me want to go back and reread Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Professor Yamashita's presentation was wonderful and impressive. He spent a lot of time to study and translate the diaries of ordinary Japanese people from WWII. I could have pictures in my mind when I read the diaries. I will use some of his teaching material for my Chinese language classes. When I teach Chinese history, I can teach how Japan involved in Pacific War. Thank you very much for your wonderful PowerPoint presentation.

[Anonymous]

Learning from the perspective of the people present is always the best way to understand the time period, in my view. Reading the diaries and then hearing Mr. Yamashita speak was very powerful. My third grade students are aware that I am participating in this seminar and I have a large population of Asian kids that are very interested in what we are learning about their countries.

We talk about journal writing and what a powerful medium it is to understanding history. There are many kids' books written as journals that I discuss with them, and I shared excerpts from Mr. Yamashita's book with them as well. We talked about Pearl Harbor briefly and talked about different perspectives and how history books are sometimes written in a biased way depending on what country published the book! I explained that this is why primary sources are so important and read a brief account from one displaced school child in the book. We talked about the difference in their lives and in this child's life. It was a powerful lesson and I think the kids found it very intriguing.

[Anonymous]

I was very impressed with Professor Yamashita's presentation. I especially enjoyed reading the diaries. I have to admit I have a very limited background on Asian history and culture, and have a lot to learn. Professor Yamashita's presentation was easy for me to follow and the readings made the topic much more personal and less intimidating. Being able to compare viewpoints from such different members of a population and having the opportunity to experience the war from real people's perspectives as they experienced it, rather than a third party's interpretation of the events made it much more relevant to me. Using primary sources such as these diaries is a very effective way to encourage student interest in historical topics.

[Anonymous]

😀
Sorry I am a little late in posting- I have had some time to read a little bit more and feel better equipped for this entire course. I am like a blank slate when in comes to Asia history- however, I love anything to do with WWII. Mr. Yamashita's presentation was particularly enlightening. I seemed to have focused more on European and American participation in the War in my studies. Putting a face on the horrendous cost the Japanese took has helped me understand much more about the War itself.

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