The Solace Book Review

Throughout time, the role that Women had in the early twentieth century to the present has changed drastically and it has changed for the better. Japanese American Women residing in the United States, has experienced the evolution of their culture, tradition, values and their role in society. However though it seems as if there is no time in this ever so rapid society, they still continue to pass down culture and tradition through each generation. Some key terms that are crucial in order to understand the essay are, Issei, or the first generation, Nisei, the second generation ,and Sansei, known as the third generation.Over time the Women slowly moved away form being the average Homemaker and transforming into a respected and valued member of society.

The autobiography illustrates personal experiences of discrimination and prejudice while also reporting the political occurrences during the United States’ involvement in World War II. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States government unleashed unrestrained contempt for the Japanese residing in the nation. The general public followed this train of thought, distrusting the Japanese and treating them like something less than human. In a country of freedom and justice, no coalition stepped up to defend the people who had lived there most of or all of their lives; rather, people took advantage of the Japanese evacuation to take their property and belongings. The government released demeaning propaganda displaying comical Japanese men as monsters and rats, encouraging the public to be vigilant and wary toward anyone of Japanese descent. The abuse of the Japanese during this period was taken a little too lightly, the government apologizing too late and now minor education of the real cruelty expressed toward the nation’s own citizens. Now we see history repeating itself in society, and if we don’t catch the warning signs today, history may just come full

One of the most difficult aspects of any given historiography, is in the distinction between the ideals of a society, and that of actuality. While sources may represent the specifics that people may have aspired to, in everyday life, things would naturally become more complicated. Of particular note of this can be seen when dealing with the societal expectations of gender. Throughout the selected passages, about homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan, the personal writings of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and excerpts from Song Ruozhao’s Analectics for Women, it can be seen that although each society had its own concepts of gender, once can see that the actual implementation did not always run parallel.

To build her arguments, Wilson starts with the background of the young men’s associations as the social, cultural, and political centers in the rural area as opposed to state-run ones and the special political environment of Nagano Prefecture. While it is somewhat dangerous to pick Nagano as her case study because of its distinct features from other areas of Japan in terms of political activism, she is able to provide counterarguments by citing other sources of evidence, such as those from other prefectures and the official’s political action and the content of its mouth piece, Ie no hikari. Apart from remarking on the impact of the depression as the economic factor in the countrymen’s political activism, comparing both the opinions in and outside the young men’s association newspapers and the official one, enables Wilson to draw a convincing picture of the complexity of the rural reaction to the state’s imperial expansion abroad, specifically the Manchurian Incident in 1931. Wilson, at this point, stretches her argument into the changing political condition at the home front in the wake of the Incident. The tension was clear between the two ideologies, one leftist activism and the other rightist conservatism,

The Fifteen-Year War was a time of great turmoil and uncertainty in Japan. Various facets of the country were tested and driven to their limits. During the occupation, race and gender began to evolve in ways that had not exactly be seen before. War had a tremendous impact on every part of the life of a Japanese citizen. Both men and women began to fill roles that were completely novel to them. Race became a part of the definition of who people were. As the war progressed and American troops landed on Japanese soil for occupation, more drastic changes occurred. Economic hardship and rations befell the people of the Land of the Rising Sun. Prostitution began to rear its ugly head and rape transpired. Through memory, research, and vivid

During the course of the war, Radio Tokyo employed over twenty women to broadcast programs to the foreign troops (Lerner 163; Iva 1). A myth began to be dispersed and soon the women were all called “Tokyo Rose” as a whole (Tokyo 3). The reporters of that time were obsessed with finding the biggest story, locating and interviewing the notorious “Tokyo Rose” (Lerner 163). To accomplish their goal, they rewarded anyone who could supply information on the whereabouts of her. A Radio Tokyo employee, Kenkichi Oki, labeled Toguri as “Tokyo Rose” (Iva 1; Lerner 164). As a result, the reporters pursued Toguri and paid her two thousand dollars for her admission to being “Tokyo Rose” and for a private interview (Tokyo 3). She only agreed to this proposal because Toguri believed she did nothing

During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy’s “human resources were stretched thin,” forcing the Japanese government officials to turn towards Korea for extra manpower. In 1942, the government-general of Korea (GGK) announced that twenty-year-old Korean men would be conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. To promote Korean acceptance of conscription, the Japanese encouraged assimilation of Koreans into Japanese culture and society. This included learning Japanese and taking on a Japanese name. The attempts at assimilation and the draft left Koreans wondering whether they would become full citizens or “remain second rate subjects” after the war. Even Korean soldiers, who were supposedly equal to Japanese soldiers, were left wondering about their position in Japanese society. Through an analysis of Kasayama Yoshikichi’s recount of “The Korean Guard,” this paper argues that Kasayama reveals the nature of Korean conscription in the Japanese Army. In doing so, this paper shows how Korean soldiers were forced to comply to Japanese official orders, otherwise they would be punished; although, some Korean soldiers resisted towards the end of the war.

Fujitani does not solely describe the cruelty exhibited by the Japanese and the Americans; he includes positive measures that were taken by both as well. Fujitani claims that “A historically responsible and empirically sound critique of wartime racism in these two nation-state-based empires cannot simply deny their life-enhancing efforts, but must somehow account for the uneasy fit between what can only be recognized as their gross cruelty toward minority and colonial subjects and their apparent concern for the life, reproduction, welfare, and sometimes even happiness of these same peoples” (Fujitani 13). The paradox that exists is dutifully acknowledged as Japan and the United States are not treating the minority populations with complete respect, but consequently, respect them out of necessity.

I find that the juxtaposition of East and West is firmly demonstrated in the written and participative aspects of the military throughout this period. The combination of both ideologies highlights the fractured nature of Japan, connected in part to its Eastern ancestral roots, yet also determined to become a Western empire. However by 1885 this sentiment has changed, evidenced by the work of Fukuzawa Yukichi who argues in favour of adopting Western practices and bluntly saying ‘goodbye’ to

The Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft is a compelling arguement that argues for equality for women in society. The Weaver’s Complaint Against the Callico Madams explains outcome of women’s with equal rights would do to society. Sanshiro written by Natsume Soski, focuses the details and experience of his life spent at a prestigious Tokyo University. Three of these readings relate to women and material things because they explain the position of women with each of their society. Although these reading originated from different time lines, each reading portray a similar and different view on women

This paper is a review of the book Japan’s Comfort Women-Sexual slavery and prostitution during WWII and the US occupation by Yuki Tanaka. This book was published in 2002 by Routledge. The book deals with the thousands of Japanese, Korean, Chinese and other Asian and European women who were victims of organized sexual violence and prostitution by means of “comfort stations” setup by the Japanese military during World War II.

“Regeneration” by Pat Barker illustrates the interactions between a psychiatrist, Dr. W.H.R. Rivers, and his patients during World War 1 in Craiglockhart Hospital. Not only does the book depict the psychologic effects of war, it also gives us glimpses of the changes in the society during that time. The relation between traumatic experiences and memory could be inferred from the themes of the novel as well. These aspects are significant for us living in the 21st century, because they still are the fundamental ideology of the modern world, and those ideas could also be applied to us. I define significance as something important that is part of what you are, and could change how you think.

The Japanese apology was not only insincere but came too late for many of the victims. Of course, nothing can make up for the humiliation, brutality and fear that these so-called “Comfort Women” endured for years and years. However, they still deserve a sincere and formal apology so that their dignity can be restored.

What do Kishino Junko, a former journalist, Kurihara Nanako, an expatriate who settled in America, and Miki Soko, a former housewife turned author, have in common? These three women come from different echelons of society, have had different experiences, and continue to lead different lives. However, each of these women has had encounters with the Women’s Liberation Movement (commonly referred to as “Lib” in Japan), and each has developed their own “feminine consciousness” as a result of their interactions with the Lib Movement. Although there is no true definition of what a feminine consciousness is, Kishino, Kurihara, and Soko have all viewed the Lib Movement as a catalyst of change within themselves, by surrounding themselves by women

Space Battleship Yamato (1977) and The Silent Services (1988-1996) are both films that ‘rehabilitate’ Japan’s experience of World War II as they re-tell or imagine alternative histories or fictional stories that rehabilitate past trauma (namely their humiliating defeat of WWII and a sense of loss of masculinity to the U.S.-Japan alliance and what came corollary with it). Such narratives can be interpreted as expressing what contemporary Japan desires. The narrative of each film is reflected by the context of the time of its production (cold-war vs. post-cold war) and whilst the narratives of SBY and SS share similarities they differ in their depth of political discussions, conveyed messages and explicitness due to the constraints of post-war democracy, pacifism and U.S. relation. Relevant concepts are militarism, nationalism, anti-war messages, anti-US messages, pacifism, masculinity and patriotism and many of these co-exist in each respective film – the films try to reconcile them by ending with a lasting impression that justifies the aggression for the sake of world peace.