Scars of War: Tokyo during World War II: Writings of Takeyama Michio

by Richard H. Minear (Editor, Translator), Michio Takeyama

Takeyama Michio, the author of Harp of Burma, was thirty-seven in 1941, the year of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Husband, father of children born during the war, and teacher at Japan's elite school of higher education in Tokyo, he experienced the war on its home front. His essays provide us with a personal record of the bombing of Tokyo, the shortage of food, the inability to get accurate information about the war, the frictions between civilians and military and between his elite students and other civilians, the mobilization of students into factory jobs and the military, and the relocation of civilians out of the Tokyo area. This intimate account of the "scars of war," including personal anecdotes from Takeyama's students and family, is one of very few histories from this unique vantage point. Takeyama's writings educate readers about how the war affected ordinary Japanese and convey his thoughts about Japan's ally Germany, the Tokyo War Crimes Trial, and the immediate postwar years. Beautifully translated by Richard H. Minear, these honest and moving essays are a fresh look at the history of Japan during the Asia-Pacific War.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Richard H. Minear is an American historian and professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, specializing in modern Japanese history. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1968 and taught courses on Japanese history and Hiroshima for many years. Minear is best known for Victors' Justice, a seminal study of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial. He has lived extensively in Japan and translated numerous Japanese works into English. In 1999, he brought renewed attention to Dr. Seuss wartime political cartoons by editing and publishing them.

Reviews

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The person who wrote this book was a civilian in Tokyo at the time of the war. The book consists of ten essays.

He believes the Tokyo War Crime trials were a farce. He says the judges were prejudiced. the procedures were flawed, and the judgment was faulty. It didn't indict the Emperor, it basically ignored Japan's own colonialism, it ignored the slaughter of Chinese and biological warfare (Unit 731), and it 'ignored the war crimes of the Allies' such as the firebombing and the use of the atomic bombs.

From 1945 to 1952 Japan was under military occupation by the U.S., and censorship was used, although not as severely as when the militaristic government of Japan was in control. The people were fed information that the government wanted they to know, although that information was often untruthful.

The author addresses why the Japanese people did not question their government. He says that everything went on behind closed doors. Also, he notes that Japanese politicians knew they could be assassinated if they tried to speak out, and the militaristic part of the government was too strong to fight against.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of a few books that tell the story of life for Japanese citizens during WWII. I feel that too often the citizens of a country we are at war with are not see as innocents. The general population of any country does not start a war- they only suffer the consequences.