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09-11-2010, 02:05 PM
well I was under the impression that the Japanese Military were definitely proud to fight and even die for their emperor. those who flew the planes and expected to kill themselves in the process. The way they fought like tigers and also they were expected never to be taken prisoner-- they were expected to commit seppaku.THey treated captured prisoners really badly and despised the POW's for allowing themselves to be captured. I believe the military were brain washed. considering what they did in ChiNa andother parts of ASIA. I do not compare them at all with american troops etc. Many captured Brits and those allies including australian and dutch were treated horribly.
THe Emperor was thought of as a GOD. I believe that General McCARTHUR kept the emperor on in order to prevent further conflict. There is much history on this period. MY japanese friend told me that the EMPEROR was highly thought of and said the Japanese were not to know his name. she was very much in awe of him. It was the Emperor who announced the end of the war. |
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09-11-2010, 02:07 PM
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forgive me PUMA I gues I took offence-- so please forgive me. So surely as well as AMERICANS there are others who live and work in Japan. I guess I over reacted so my apologies-- I am from UK. |
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09-11-2010, 02:22 PM
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With Binge drinking that is too common in UK there is much lack of control. I have seen films where some BRITS really let their country down with their awful behaviour. Personally I feel that if a country makes you welcome then you should show respect to that country. It is a bad advert to behave badly in another country-- When I read the book TOKYO HOSTESS that was about the sex and drinking clubs and the YAKUZA influence and how many backpackers or even trainee students mix with the wrong crowd at some of those clubs-- they can earn a lot of money very quickly-- but also place themselves at risk. I believe all countries have similar situations of course. Some of the programmes we have seen on TV about Japan tend to pick out the unusual-- such as the MAID cafes, places where you can take in oxygen-- Love Hotels etc but I am sure there is so much more to JAPAN than those few instances. |
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09-11-2010, 05:24 PM
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I have talked to quite a few people who served in the war. I have yet to encounter someone who joined the army for anything other than the following three reasons - 1) It was a well paid job, 2) To be respected/"cool", or 3) To protect home and country. Japan was not in good economical shape at the beginning of the war. Jobs and resources were pretty scarce. The military was marketed to young men as a way to make money for their families, secure a better future, and to just be cool and respected. Most of the guys who joined didn`t join for the glory of the emperor - they joined because it paid well and you could gain a lot of respect by climbing the military ladder... Something that relied on skill and not family background. Later, when Japan was the one being attacked - people joined to defend home and family. They believed that the lives of their families were at stake, and were indeed ready to die to protect them. The rest were basically drafted. It`s influencing through propaganda, but not really brain washing. Soldiers do what they`re told. I think this is true in ANY military. Personal feelings about things don`t really matter in a group. I have yet to hear any praise of the emperor from any of the guys who served in the war - most of them thought the whole thing was crazy and hated the government for putting them into the whole mess... But if you think your family and your home is at risk, you will fight to the death to defend it. I recall watching a documentary about the suicide pilots - including interviews with a few who had been lucky enough to have not been sent off to die. They were told that the Americans were murdering and raping all in their path, and to think very hard about their own families, homes, friends, and the life they`d lived up until now... And they were prepared to die not for glory, not for the emperor - but to protect their homes and all those left behind in Japan. They were prepared to die to protect home and country. Whether what they were told was true or not is irrelevant. What is important is that they believed it. At the individual level, is this so different from service men elsewhere during WWII? Quote:
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Would not someone high in the government announce that sort of thing outside Japan? ETA; Something people who were around and heard that announcement have expressed was not about the emperor seeming like a god, etc - But more the incredible sense of betrayal as they`d been led to believe things were much much better than they really were... And those who did know the real situation were disgusted that it had taken so long. To get more of a feel for what people actually thought, and not how Japan was interpreted in western propaganda of the time (which has a very strong influence on how it is depicted today) - try reading some Japanese literature from around that period. I think you`ll be surprised to find just how similar in thinking and "normal" people were. |
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09-11-2010, 06:26 PM
Yeah, I have never heard my grand father, who was 21 when the war started, say anything about Emperor. Older people probably have more respect for him, but it was not like Emperor ruled Japan, unlike a lot of westerners believe. If you study Japanese history, you'll see Emperors stopped being an actual ruler about 800 years ago. After that, they were more or less the symbol of other actually rulers' legitimacy. You might know, the title Shogun(将軍) means "a (military) general", and its unabridged version is 征夷大将軍 (Great general of North conqueror). This title had been given by the Emperor to almost all rulers of Japan for 700 years but that does not mean the Emperor had much power over them. This is a peculiar Japanese political game which may be hard to understand at the first glance.
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09-11-2010, 08:08 PM
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09-11-2010, 08:11 PM
I have the book that contains many letters from those involved in that war written to the ASAHI SHIMBUM.
We are talking from 1941 as far as AMerica is concerned-- I have seen many films on this subject also I wonder if the people you have come across were involved in that war? okay ask survivors actually in that war. Why were they so cruel? why was seppaku expected from any who were captured. those young pilots attacking ships giving up their own lives-- suicide bombers. I have heard so much about this. THe burmese railway-- the copper mines-- the cruelty was horrific. I have heard that much has been kept back from the japanese people about the truth of that war The Japanese Emperor: man god? |
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09-11-2010, 09:12 PM
mmm. It is becoming extremely off topic, so I'll just say that view is very different from what I know from my experiences with my 3 grand parents, and from my knowledge of Japanese history. If you or someone start up a new thread on it and I have time, I'll comment in there.
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09-11-2010, 10:36 PM
Well, being an African American living in kyoto, Japan I have experience just mostly death stares from all the Japanese I walk pass. Not once has anyone came up to me and ask a question or helped in anyway; But I already expected that. I mostly walk with a someone whenever go some where in Kyoto, I dont know if that the reason why they nevered appoached me or not. I try my best to speak the language and follow cultural guidelines. I not on the heavy im actually fairly skinny and short ( not saying that really matters). I do however overhear some japanese compliment on me on my clothing without them actually telling me...but whatever the case maybe, im going to stay positive and continue to enjoy me stay here.
I am a student studying in Japan for one year. |
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