Im looking for a list of books published in english about world war two, written from the japanese perspective. If you were living in the city, especially, one of the major metropolitan areas, things were pretty grim. The pasting it received at nomonhan was a factor in deciding japan to move against britain, dutch, and american interests in southeast asia rather than into siberia. The war remained undeclared until december 9, 1941, and ended after allied counterattacks during world war ii brought about japan s surrender. The new york times bestseller that explores the startling discoveries that science is making about faith. List of books and articles about allied occupation of japan. Living here in tokyo, i feel what a powerful presence the war is but its such a strong taboo topic that it. Record incorporates the lessons of these earlier books in his latest, a war it was always going to lose. The countrys industrial facilities had been severely bombed by the us during the conflict, especially towards the end of the war and the whole economy was in ruins. Japanese american communities largely shunned nono boys after world war ii.
Japan learn the geography of the east asian nation of japan. Macarthur, enacted widespread military, political, economic, and social reforms. As the 50thanniversary year of world war ii draws to a close, a recap of japanese literature shows that writers have rushed to fill in the creative gap imposed during the conflict, although. Barbara bradley hagertys new book, life reimagined. Japan is an island nation located in eastern asia in the pacific ocean to the east of china, russia, north korea, and south korea.
The allied occupation ended on april 28, 1952, when the terms of the treaty of san francisco went into effect. A severe shortage of food continued for several years. Some women at this time would gain ground through education. The remains of japan s war machine were destroyed, and war crime trials were held. For this reason, it may be many years after exposure before an increase in the incident rate of cancer due to radiation becomes evident. The integration of confucian hierarchical structures where men were dominate shifted gender roles into a patriarchal system. For four years before the us entered the war, with very little international assistance, chinese armies stood alone against the. Japan s catapult to world economic power has inspired many studies by social scientists, but few have looked at the 45 years of postwar japan through the lens of history. Popular civil war historical romance books showing 150 of 250 above and beyond. What was it like to live in japan right after wwii. The european war presented the japanese with tempting opportunities. After watching china being bullied by the western powers, japan launched a military moderinization. I had never really thought about what life must have been like for japanese civilians following the war before, but this book made me want to learn more.
With more than 30,000 copies sold to date, this edition. Industrial production dropped just after the war to onetenth of the pre war level 24% of the pre war level in consumer products and only 8% in industrial input products. This proposal was opposed by the imperial japanese army and prime minister hideki tojo, who regarded it as being unfeasible given australias geography and the strength of the allied defences. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. A puppet chinese government was installed at nanjing in 1940. The americanwritten postwar constitution was enacted on november 3, 1946 and became effective may 3, 1947. Books on the pacific war from pearl harbor to hiroshima. In early 1942 elements of the imperial japanese navy ijn proposed an invasion of australia. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. You could be asking for something as diverse as japans first beginnings as a civilization in the paleolithic, from almost 30,000 bc to the taisho democracy era in the early 1900. After the war, blacks moved north in the great migration.
What are some of the best books on prewwii japanese history. The book seeks out the true feelings of the wartime generation and illuminates the contradictions between the official views of the war and living testimony yomiuri shimbun, japan. Apr 07, 2018 you can get it directly here embracing defeat. World war ii is sometimes thought of as primarily a fight against nazi germany, with the war in the pacific as an afterthought. In an effort to discourage japanese militarism, western powers including australia, the united states, britain, and the dutch government in exile, which controlled the petroleumrich netherlands east indies, stopped selling iron ore, steel and oil to japan, denying it the raw materials needed to continue its aggressive activities in china and french indochina. The second world war, especially in the light of what came after, seems to be the last morally unambiguous war. On september 4, 1940, as tensions between the united states and the empire of japan mounted, the america first committee was formed. Lord russell of liverpools sensational bestselling books on the axis war crimes decided the publics. List of books and articles about japan, postwar period online. While some other world war ii armies had military brothels, japan is the only country accused of such widespread, organized sexual slavery.
Companies began recruiting black southerners to work in their. A detailed book but not as heavily illustrated as others in the series. The science, art, and opportunity of midlife, is out now from riverhead books is spiritual experience real. Werner gruhls objective is to present a fresh overview of the asianpacific war and its victims, drawing particular attention to the neglected history of japans invasion of china and. The war crimes trials at nuremberg and tokyo meted out the allies official justice.
After world war ii had ended, japan was devastated. It included article 9 clause, which restricted japan from having a military force and engaging in war. After suffering devastating casualties at each others hands during world war ii, the u. Experiences of japanese american women during and after world war ii. In that time, japan has established itself as a global economic and political power. All the large cities with the exception of kyoto, the industries and the transportation networks were severely damaged. Japan in the aftermath of world war ii new ed by dower, john w isbn. Never before have the separate stories of fighting in china, malaya, burma, the east indies, the phillipines, new guinea, the solomon islands, and the aleutians been so brilliantly woven together to provide a clear. Japanese historyworld war ii wikibooks, open books for an. This post on world war ii books is sponsored by libby. After the nazi attack on russia in 1941, the japanese were torn between german urgings to join the war against the soviets and their natural inclination to seek richer prizes from the european colonial territories to the south. This week i read an artist of the floating world by kazuo ishiguro and realized that although ive read a lot of books about atrocities committed by japanese soldiers, id never read anything about the war s affects on japanese civilians.
They should be comprehensive and full of details, without being dry and boring. A brief history of the korean peninsula before world war. A distinguished japanese scholar counterbalances the current preoccupation among sociologists with childhood socialization by exploring the changes in values and attitudes among adults in japan before and after world war ii. The best fiction and nonfiction on the war between the allied forces and japan in the pacific theatre. The book does include a lovely political map of 1600 japan and a brief section on war gaming the battle. Before world war i, at least 90% of american blacks remained in the south.
By the terms of the treaty, japan regained its sovereignty, but lost many of its possessions from before world war ii, including korea, taiwan and sakhalin. After world war ii erupted 1939 in europe, japan signed a military alliance with germany and italy, sent troops to indochina 1940, and announced the intention of creating a greater east asia coprosperity sphere under japan s leadership. After the japanese attack on pearl harbor in 1941, the war merged into the greater conflict of world war ii as a major front in the pacific war. From shoguns to world war ii and beyond, japanese history is a. This one is not by a japanese author, but contains a fascinating fiction story about a young japanese woman in the aftermath of wwii. It is an archipelago that is made up of over 6,500 islands, the largest of which are honshu, hokkaido, kyushu, and shikoku. The occupation of japan by the allied powers started in august 1945 and ended in april 1952. It would be great if they also contained plenty of personal accounts, reports, anecdotes etc from people especially soldiers who were involved in the fighting rather than just describing battle after. The attack on pearl harbor was a surprise, but japan and the united states had been edging toward war for decades the united states was particularly unhappy with japan s increasingly. Wwii from the japanese perspective book talk librarything.
Japan at war is a book to which americans and japanese will continue to turn for decades to come. Not only does this volume cover the inter war years, there are tons of information on japan itself, its customs, economy, population and government. The old japanese calendar was an adjusted lunar calendar based on the chinese calendar, and the yearand with it the monthsstarted anywhere from about 3 to 7 weeks later than the modern year, so in historical contexts it is not entirely accurate to equate the first month with january. The empire of japan and the republic of china had been at war. The jiang zemin administration enacted the patriotism educational implementation guideline in 1994, and promoted the thorough antijapanese education from 1995 which would be the 50th anniversary of an antijapanese war victory.
Among the several books about the japanese american internment published in the past year e. An enlightening elucidation of japanese brutality in world war ii, this book is an honest look at an unexplored facet of the inhumane war crimes of this era. Proposed japanese invasion of australia during world war ii. One of the lessons to be learned was that if you start a war and then lose the conflict, you can assuredly expect. Japan relations before, during, and after the war, and are intertwined with the political, social, and economic transformations in postwar japan, scientific information about the effects of radiation, and evidence of u. Home japan best books ten good books about japan at war all these books are currently available on in the u. Its surprise attack on pearl harbor on december 7, 1941, prior to a declaration of war and without warning killed 2,403 neutral military personnel and civilians and wounded 1,247 others.
Rebuilding the world after the second world war world. The practices of military government were standardized before world war i, notably at the hague conferences 1899, 1907 and form a part of the laws of war see war, laws of. Wwii historic fiction, world war two firsthand accounts nonfiction, best childrens books about world war ii 19391945, world war 2 bo. Japan at war world war ii series timelife books on. China plans 80 books on japan war trials japan today. These ideas defined japanese society up until the end of world war ii.
That diplomatic collapse is the story of how the foreign policies of the two nations forced each other into war. The book describes the wakatsukis experiences during their imprisonment and events concerning the family before and after the war. Aug 19, 2015 world war ii is sometimes thought of as primarily a fight against nazi germany, with the war in the pacific as an after thought. Japans decision to launch a war against the united states is masterfully recounted in eri hottas. The events leading up to pearl harbor, and after, covering the years 19414445 are crisply written, with topics as diverse as the dreaded kempitai, the tunariguni, and thought control bureau. Chinese resistance led to fullscale though undeclared war see sino japanese war, second. Here we are specifically talking about what happened to the japanese after world war ii was over. Japanese historypostwar japan wikibooks, open books for. Among the longterm effects suffered by atomic bomb survivors, the most deadly was leukemia. Macarthur protected him from facing trials as a war criminal not only due to the cold war strategy but also due to the necessity in keeping japan unified during post war reconstruction to prevent revolts from. Oct 28, 2012 especially after tiananmen sq incident as a scapegoat, japan has appeared in their text books.
Here are a few of my suggestions starting with my favorite book. This date is known as victory over japan, or vj day, and marked the end of world war ii and the beginning of a long road to recovery for a shattered japan. A brief history of the korean peninsula before world war ii relations between the democratic peoples republic of korea north korea and the republic of korea south korea havent always been as strained and controversial as they are today. The attack on pearl harbor is one of the most perplexing cases in living memory of a weaker power seeming to believe that it could vanquish a clearly superior force. A look at gender expectations in japanese society japan powered. Feb 14, 2008 after the power of the emperor was restored after 1869, japan began opening up more to the world and modernizing along western lines. A japanese soldier stands guard over part of the captured great wall of china in 1937, during the second sino japanese war. From 1932 to 1937, japan engaged in gradual economic and political penetration of n china. Nearly all the cities of any size were bombed and some were bombed so heavily as to be unrecognizable. By downloading libby to your smartphone, you can access thousands of ebooks and audiobooks from your library for free anytime and anywhere.
Experiences of japanese american women during and after. An increase in leukemia appeared about two years after the attacks and peaked around four to six years later. Mar 27, 2020 by including a range of primary sources representing the experiences and views of participants and commentators of all sides and setting them in their historical contexts, this unique anthology promotes an understanding of the pacific war, the events that led up to it, and its legacies. They modeled their navy along british lines and their army along prussiangerman lines.
Japanese history book showing footnote about rape of nanking. Between 1942 and 1945, a total of 10 camps were opened, holding approximately 120,000 japanese americans in california, arizona, wyoming, colorado, utah, and arkansas. The japanese ignore everything before hiroshima and the americans ignore everything after nagasaki. Saipan 19441945 is a great account from a japanese holdout that lasted until 1st december 1945, and then love letters from the fires of war published years after his death gave a day by day account from letters he wrote to his wife while in china and manchuria before shipping out to saipan. After the defeat of japan in world war ii, the united states led the allies in the occupation and rehabilitation of the japanese state. Winner of the pulitzer prize, the 1999 national book award for no. State department still refers to the american japanese relationship as the cornerstone of u. During and after world war ii, vast territories came under military government. Korea was annexed by the empire of japan after years of war, intimidation and political machinations.
A military conflict fought primarily between the republic of china and the empire of japan from 1937 to 1945. Post war history since 1945 japan travel and living guide. On december 7, 1941, nearly 90 years of american japanese diplomatic relations spiraled into world war ii in the pacific. Japanese history textbook controversies involve controversial content in one of the. Dowers brilliant examination of japan in the immediate, shattering aftermath of world war ii. Japan in the wake of world war ii winner of the pulitzer prize, the 1999 national book award for nonfiction, finalist for the lionel gelber prize and the kiriyama pacific rim book prize, embracing def. Japanese officials left for manila, philippines on august 19 to meet macarthur and to be briefed on his plans for the occupation. A detailed study of one of the leastknown campaigns of the 20th century, the border war japan launched to its cost against the soviet union. Fortunately, there is no shortage of worthwhile books about the. The best books about japan to read before you visit. The war had slowed immigration from europe, creating a labor shortage in the north. Even the daily mail, of all places, is beginning to tear apart the allied narrative by stating.
Youve asked a question about a favorite genre of mine. The incredible reallife stories of orphans who survived the tennessee childrens home society christie, judy, wingate, lisa on. Postoccupation japan is the period in japanese history which started after the allied occupation of japan that ended in 1952. The full extent and brutality of imperial japans actions before and during the second world war has not had the same cultural and political resonances as those of nazi germany, nor are they as well remembered. The incredible reallife stories of orphans who survived the tennessee childrens home society. Over 500 military officers committed suicide right after japan surrendered, and many hundreds more were executed for committing war crimes. I myself only got a full picture when i left japan and went to school in australia. In his sixties after the end of world war i, he helped bring parliamentary government to fruition during the hara cabinet and afterward, and as prime. Winner of the pulitzer prize, the 1999 national book award for nonfiction, finalist for the lionel gelber prize and the kiriyama pacific rim book prize, embracing defeat is john w. What are the best books about the eastern front during ww2. Ko wakatsuki jeannes father emigrated from japan to honolulu, hawaii and then to idaho, running away with his wife and abandoning his family. In july, 1937, after an incident at beijing, japanese troops invaded the northern provinces. This system was introduced to japan after world war ii to avoid government. They were illiterate and poor due to jim crow laws.
Its 150 years since rebel samurai overthrew the old tokugawa. The rape of japan after world war ii revisited veterans. Japan before world war 1 a new japan the japanese would try to stress tradition within family life, but industrialization and modernization with dealings with the west. Japan s territorial expansion 19311942 the resulting japanese war strategy hinged on massive initial blows that would surprise allied fleets and air forces at port or in vulnerable airstrips. Second sino japanese war 193745, conflict that broke out when china began a fullscale resistance to the expansion of japanese influence in its territory. Fires on the plain about the japanese occupation in the philippines and the degradation of men as war endures shusaku endo. Japanese american internment, the forced relocation by the u. The japanese military before and during world war ii committed numerous atrocities against civilian and military personnel. Jan 24, 2007 right after the war 19451950, japan was not able to keep maintaining economic development as you put it. This is for the more serious student of japanese military history. In this book, seven internationally renowned experts on japanese and asian history have come together to investigate, with innovative methodological approaches, various aspects of the japanese experience during and after the first world war.