Japanese Reflections on World War II and the American Occupation

This book presents an unforgettable up-close account of the effects of World War II and the subsequent American occupation on Oita prefecture, through firsthand accounts from more than forty Japanese men and women who lived there. The interviewees include students, housewives, nurses, midwives, teachers, journalists, soldiers, sailors, Kamikaze pilots, and munitions factory workers. Their stories range from early, spirited support for the war through the devastating losses of friends and family members to air raids and into periods of hunger and fear of the American occupiers. The personal accounts are …

2 Auflagen

256 Seiten

Am 24. Mai 2018 von Routledge veröffentlicht.

ISBN:: 978-94-6298-973-3
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Ben Waber hat Japanese Reflections on World War II and the American Occupation von Edgar Porter besprochen

A Poignant, Painful, and Insightful Book

5 Sterne

This is one of the best examples I've seen of how to present firsthand accounts of historical events, with the authors weaving together their incredible interviews from Oita prefecture about the Japanese experience during WWII and the subsequent American occupation with the historical context as it unfolded. What emerges is a far more complicated view not just of WWII and its immediate aftermath and how it was experienced by people living in this corner of Japan, but also of how these experiences still reverberate within some people today - the examples of former soldiers who even seven decades removed from the war still remarking approvingly on children and families killing themselves rather than accept defeat were bone chilling. This is an important historical contribution that should be required reading. Highly recommend