Reflections on Session #10 (12/3)

[Anonymous]

It must have been tough to have your culture and identity be questioned during the time of the Japanese invasion and war of War World II. Professor Yamashita shared his story of his father and his father's friends who served in the American national guard during the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor. Imagine not knowing whether you were going to be friend or foe to the United States.

The prospect of living your days out in the concentration because of the color of your skin or your national make up because of the actions of your governments. It reminds me of how small and helpless we are as citizens of the state or empire. When it comes down to it, we have to accept the living agreements of our chosen land.

[Anonymous]

I was so bummed I had to miss the majority of this class session. I've had parent conferences all week, and of course the last one on Monday night would be the one that ran past the allotted time. Doesn't it always happen that way? However, I was there to learn about a key important turn in the history of Japan: Truman signing NSC 13. National Security Council 13 stated that Japan would become an ally of the US since China was turning communist. It's interesting to think that the Japan we know today is a product of NSC 13.

[Anonymous]

I found Professor Yamashita's explanation to why Japan Pearl Harbor to be very interesting. I never realized how important their control of China was to them or to the United States. I went in to this lecture understanding why they would have been upset about the U.S. banning the sale of war materials to them but the rest was very eye opening. It is amazing how the age of Imperialism destroyed so many countries and relationships between them.

[Anonymous]

The starvation of the evacuated children during Japanese War time was hear breaking. To be alone with your class mates and without your parents must have been frightening. To be starving and with small rations must have been horrifying. To have only 300 children die as a result of the war time is truly surprising. We seldom hear about the civilians a country during war time, but war has no biases.
It was also interesting to hear about civilian accounts of war, an usually neglect area of discussion and reflection.

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed Monday's class. Professor Yamashita did a great job explaining the Attack on Pearl Harbor. I had know idea that the relationship between Japan and China played a huge role in the war. Japanese actions in China provoked the United States, who protested their take over of Manchuria. Due to this aggressive move, the US considered rounding up all Japanese people in Hawaii and put them in concentration camps on the mainland. This ended up not a good plan because the Japanese were the working force and the economy would collapse. For the next few years the US tried banning steel and scrape iron to Japan and then they also froze the Japanese assets and banned oil shipments to Japan. In the fall of 1941, the US demanded Japan to leave China. All of these strategies to negotiate with Japan didn't work, and finally, Japan made the decision to attack the US at Pearl Harbor in 1941. It is all still very complicated and confusing as Professor Yamashita said, but I feel like I get a better sense of what happened that I didn't have before. Of course the sad result is the great loss of life. Japan lost 3% of it's population.

[Anonymous]

The talk about the attack on Pearl Harbor very interesting but my favorite part of the session was our discussion about food and the best Ramen shops in LA. Very valuable information!! I can't wait to try them out.

[Anonymous]

Bodies are incinerated. vaporized. gone. It is not human to have such thoughts. Cruel, inconceivable. Announcements of "all must prepare to die" are accepted by the populace of Japan. Happy to have these times behind us but I know it is not extinct.

[Anonymous]

Professor Yamashita's lectures have been very relevant in my classes. His insight has added to my ability to engage students in Japanese history.

[Anonymous]

Professor Yamashita brought some personal stories to his lecture this week. I appreciated hearing about the details of what happened leading up the the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. I had no idea that the relationship between China and Japan was such a main issue in Japan deciding to bomb Pearl Harbor. I loved hearing history and stories about the Japanese in Hawaii. Professor Yamashita grew up there. He told us about some of his families' experiences. I lived in Hawaii myself for six years. It is such a lovely, diverse place to live. We had many friends who were Japanese. It was interesting to hear their families' experiences about Pearl Harbor as well. What a sad thing to have the Japanese people living in the US put into camps. I see the reasoning behind it, but the reality to families and individuals was so damaging. This lecture was really eye opening and helped me better understand WW II.

[Anonymous]

This was by far my favorite lecture. i was fascinated by listening to the history of the Pearl Harbor attack from Professor Yamashita's Japanese perspective.

[Anonymous]

I found this week to be interesting because of the perspective Professor Yamashita brought to the lecture. His explanation of how the Japanese ended up in Hawaii and the effect the bombing of Pearl Harbor had on them was very insightful. The history of the Japanese in Hawaii and US deepened my understanding of the Japanese American culture, which I feel is more relevant to the cultures I deal with in my classroom today than straight-up Japanese history. I also enjoyed hearing stories about his parents and his childhood--he really used those stories to bring the Japanese-American history alive. And I'm a little bummed that the topic of good Japanese food didn't come up until the last few minutes of class. That's something I definitely could've spent some time discussing!

[Anonymous]

I have enjoyed an increasing interest in news articles that originate in Asia, as a result of this class, and was fascinated with one that spoke about the Manga phenomenon recently. Manga has its origins in the 19th century, I was surprised to learn. In its more recent "rebirth", as it were, it has been linked to an attempt for young people to consume more. With the great economic growth of the 70s in Japan, so grew its interest in Manga. What an interesting world and parallel to our (U.S.) fascination with media consumption.

[Anonymous]

I finally got to see the film, "Jiro Dreams of Sushi". Professor Yamashita said that he had been to his little 10-seat restaurant in Tokyo a number of times. Apparently it takes months to secure a reservation there. Many patrons are willing to fork out the minimum $300pp that it takes to experience his mastery. It takes a minimum of 10 years to apprentice, before one can become a "shokunin" or master craftsman, as it were. Some apprentices work years, massaging octopus all day long (it takes more than 50 minutes to massage one, apparently, in order for the meat to soften). I really enjoyed the scenes of the fish mongers - the auctioneers at the tuna market. Brokers go and inspect the tuna carefully with flashlights and remove a small piece of flesh to mash and mold in their hands before deeming it worthy to bid on in the fast-paced and very-much male-dominated fish market. The only women in the entire film, in fact, were a few patrons at the end. Another thing I noticed were how many pedestrians in Tokyo walk around wearing surgical masks.

[Anonymous]

The reasons Japan had for bombing Pearl Harbor are more clear to me after hearing Professor Yamashita's lecture. I did not realize that Japan and China had been at war for such a long period of time. It makes sense that Japan would want to bomb the American naval base so that they could not aid China in the war. However, the Japanese plan did not work for them in the long run because it brought the United States into World War II which eventually led to the demise of the Japanese empire. I am always very saddened by all war but I was specifically saddened by the way Japanese Americans were treated during WWII. They were Americans regardless of their decent and should never have been placed in concentration camps, not that anyone every should be.

[Anonymous]

Two years ago my son married a Japanese woman. Her grandmother was a guest at a recent baby shower that I hosted for my son and daughter-in-law. Her grandmother began to tell stories about her families immigration from Japan to Hawaii and how she worked in the cane fields there when she was young. She also briefly talked about her family spending time in the internment camps after World War II. It was obvious that this was a painful experience for her. Listening to Professor Yamashita's lecture provided additional perspective and understanding about this experience.

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