Japanese civilians awareness of atrocities committed by its miltary

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[TD="class: alt1, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]I am writing a novel I call Enemy in the Mirror about the Pacific war as seen from both sides.

Unraveling what the actual awareness of Japanese civilians regarding the brutal tactics of its military is difficult.

For example, after the infamous Nanking massacre, I note that civilian parades celebrated the "noble" victory without apparent awareness of its ignoble reality. Japan was just a "big brother" that would lead East Asians in sphere of co-prosperity.

The paradox for me is the seemingly graceful and harmonious culture promulgated in the homeland and the bestial activity of soldiers on foreign fronts.[/TD]
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I recently read and reviewed for this forum a book called The Pacific War by Saburo Ienaga. He was a civilian living in Japan during the war and offers a interesting view on Japan at war. A used copy can be had from Amazon for a $1.50 plus shipping, or may be in your local library.

 

I was reading reviews on Amazon about that book, and like many history books, the author has an agenda. Read with your BS filter on.

 

Agreed he is a self-professed pacifist, and a critic of US policy since the war, but his description of the Japanese people, civilian and military I found interesting.

 

I personally would be interested in how a government controlled by the military, and a media controlled by the government could put forward anything but "glory"! Especially concerning the past few decades of Bushido concept mutation, where surrender was so offensive to both person and family that those who surrendered were less than "persons'.

Even if a "pacifist" Japanese saw any photos or reports of Japanese "atrocities" , would they really make a difference? Weren't those people deserving of their positions? The photo of the Australian being beheaded was certainly a Japanese record, did that mean anything other than the "warrior got what he deserved" since he surrendered? The culture of the time is hard to fathom in many respects.

 

I pretty much echo Clint and Lou's sentiments. I also think they may have known more than we like to think. After all these are the same people who were willing to fight in the same manner against any invasion of the home islands.

 

This sounds like a fine book. Japan is an amazing nation with an amazing culture and it is a damn shame they were lead down the totalitarian path. On another, but somewhat related note:

I would recommend, highly, Akira Kurosawa's fine picture Stray Dog. Set in post-war Japan, circa 1947, with many good street scenes around Ueno (Tokyo burb busy train station) and near the black markets that were common in that area during the reconstruction of Japan. It is a stunning docu-drama of the struggles faced by the Japanese to survive among the wrecked factories and ruins of war. Kurosawa had many run ins with the American censors of the era so it is a wonder he ever got this stark, anti-war drama made and released. A true treasure among the works of the great storyteller - Kuorsawa-san. English subtitled but worth the effort.

When a slightly deranged soldier returns from the war to his parents home in a simple village. It is not long before he turns to crime and buys a black market handgun. This handgun is special as it was stolen from a Tokyo Police Detective, Toshiro Mifune, on a crowded bus. The case takes you through the streets of Japan at a base level and is a great snapshot of where the Japanese mind set was and of their attitudes at the time as well as giving you a glimpse into the machinations of the mean, hopeless streets of 1947.

 

Thanks, Belasar.
I have the book & it is indeed interesting.

 

Wow! You guys are great. I am a newbie here and have not gotten such balanced feedback from other WWII blogs. I am sure I will want your input on a lot in the future.

Please see my blog enemyinthemirror.wordpress.com to see what I am trying to do. So far I've just gotten in to the 1902s, but my intention is to continue with consciousness viewpoints of both sides up through WWII.

I am not home now, but when I return later this week I will post a few interesting Japanese books
I've read along the way.

Again, thanks a million for your comments.

Markos

 

Thanks rKline56. I haven't seen that Kurosawa film. I will put it on top of my Netflix list.

There is a moving and eerie scene in "Kurosawa's Dreams" of a returning veteran and a ghost brigade.

You might also like these films about the Imperial era I've seen:

Battle of Okinawa (a must for all Pacific War WWII students)
Father of the Kamikaze
Japan's Longest Day
The Sun
Red Angel
Purple Butterfly
Japan's War in Colour
Dr. Akagi
Patriotism
No Regrets for Our Youth
Under the Flag of the Rising Sun
Pearl harbor: the View from Japan
History of WWII: Japanese Paranoia
Lust, Caution

And, of course, Letters from Iwo Jima


Regards,
Markos

 

If you want to understand more about culture in Imperial Japan, particularly family structure, all of the early languid, detailed Yasujiro Ozu films are superb.

Sorry to be so wordy, but this project has been pretty solitary so far & I am thrilled to make your acquaintances.

 

I have Dreams so I'll check that sequence. I did not get into that Kurosawa as much as so many of his others.
No Regrets For Our Youth is excellent. Thanks for posting your list as it looks very interesting.
I agree, Yasu Ozu is also a master. I believe he was one of the Toho studio Directors.
Have fun on the forum.

 

Just saw an excellent (if long and languid in Ozu style) Japanese film called The Marioka Sisters. It was made in 1983, directed by Kon Ichikawa. It is set in the late 1930s. The war in China is a distant echo. The photography of fall colors and spring cherry blossoms is stunning.

Interesting how the Japanese films of that era (e.g., Ozu's 1942 There is a Father and Kurosawa's 1944 The Most Beautiful) only make infrequent reference to the war.

I believe it was America's propaganda film maker John Ford who noted the nuance and subtlety of Japanese films of the era, lamenting our films weren't as good.

Markos

 

I have seen many photos of Japanese atrocities, particularly as a schoolboy in China most of them really gruesom but the one photo that fills me with rage is the one I think you are alluding to, the beheading of Australian Sgt. L.G Sifleet on New Guinea in 1942. He was a commando in M section so I gather that the Japs had the same ethos about commandos as the Germans. This photo is'nt particularly gruesom in itself but theres just something about it that makes me so angry.