Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II | John W. Dower

Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II | John W. Dower | Brilliant

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Embracing Defeat: ...

	Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II John W. Dower, 1999 - 676 pages average customer review:based on 63 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An Interesting Read, Highly deserving of the Prize

Professor Dower has put together a marvelous book. Here he interweaves different historical narratives of post-war Japan. He looks first at the social history, and uses that to build the political issues. His idea is that for a while Japan was a vibrant democracy and had all of those leanings. It was the paradox of revolution on high by the Americans, and the oncoming of the cold war that killed the larger movement toward a freer and more democratic society.

The history is well done. The true strenght and the reason that I give it the stars is in the writing. There are very few scholarly books that I would recommend to people not interested in history or Japan, but this is one of that elite group. It is scholarly, but it is also accessible, and Dower has a gift with words. He also integrates pictures into the text much better than many other historical writers, and places them so that they can be used as "evidence" for his argument's development.

This is a book that one cannot miss. It is beautiful and it will undoubtably change the way you think of modern Japan.

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Brilliant

As non-native speaker of the japanese language, I am amazed at the amount of research that Dower must have completed for this title in the sphere of japanese documents and other reference materials that native japanese themselves rarely open.
As a native english speaker, I am thoroughly impressed with his application of that language to a non-fiction subject. The most complex situations are regularly rolled up in a single sentence. The progression is so smooth that you may not even notice that after (x) pages you've somehow absorbed the level of understanding that a lot of authors would deliver in (x) chapters.

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outstanding

the only flaw is that Dower brings up various radical writers and tells the reader how the writer's writings were. This book needs more, and longer, direct quotes (in trans. of course)[cf. Spence, The Gate of Heaveny Peace}.
Assertion is weak, but bald statement based on nothing is weaker still.
This is a rivetting read, but and it needs more to sustain historical mettle.
But ED blows 'Hirohito' and 'Fallen' out of the water--in terms of interest, readability, and information. These books are solid thesie, i.e., Hirohito is guilty, the A-bomb saved lives. Very true and well proven, but such does not make an interseting 500+ read. ED shows you things you never knew, and it upsets things you think you knew yet knew not.
It could be all wrong, but it shows a vacuum by its existence, and it will lead to more work.
Seminal.

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Excellent Social History of the Occupation of Japan

This fine book is a thematic exploration of the experience and consequences of the American occupation of Japan. Dower is concerned with understanding how Japanese society, at all levels, experienced the occupation, how the Americans perceived Japan and the reasons for specific American actions, and how the occupation set the stage for the subsequent development of Japanese society. Readers should be aware that this is not a conventional narrative history. Rather, Dower moves through the occupation discussing issues thematically. The best way to get the maximum benefit of reading this book is to review the relevant narrative history in a overview text of modern Japanese history. Both James McClain's and Marius Jansen's recently published books provide concise and illuminating narratives about this period.
Dower begins by discussing the aftermath of the war and the expectations of the victors. It is clear that from the outset, the American occupation would be based on a paradox. The Americans wished to construct a democratic society but also wished to impose, without discussion, their views of how to conduct democracy. The Americans also made the decision, different from the initial occupation in Germany, to govern indirectly through the existing Japanese state. This was convenient in the short run but reinforced the importance of the central bureaucracy, which had already become increasingly important during the pressures of managing a wartime economy. Many of the Americans, notably MacArthur, his principal subordinates, and many of the important figures in Washington, viewed Japan as an 'Oriental' state populated largely by slavish subjects and needing paternalistic guidance. This was true even for experienced officials with considerable experience in pre-war Japan. In fact, virtually all of the important changes imposed in the early years of the occupation were embraced by the Japanese. Land reform, a new legal code granting women greater rights, functioning labor unions, the destruction of paternalistic rights, guaranteed civil rights, and a reformed electoral system, were imposed by the Americans but implemented enthusiastically by Japanese. Large segments of Japanese society had chafed under the authoritarianism of the preceding decades and found the new system liberating. Even the new constitution, written quickly by a group of idealistic, younger Americans, was embraced by the Japanese. During the initial years of the occupation, the Japanese ceased to be Imperial subjects and became citizens.
The effects of the American occupation were, however, mixed. Particularly after the outbreak of the Korean War and the hardening of antagonism with the Soviet Union, the Americans became increasingly concerned about leftist movements. American censorship and pressures against what were perceived as threatening movements were often harsh and irrational. The Americans preferred governing through conservative politicians and the powerful central bureaucracy. The Americans often utilized informal censorship and informal control of objectionable movements. This style of government encouraged conservative conformity and would have lasting impact. Other American actions had long term negative consequences. The American decision to proceed with a relatively small number of show trials about war crimes contributed to Japanese reluctance to face the aggressive and often criminal activities of the pre-war and wartime Japanese state. The often farcial efforts of the Americans and conservative politicians to shield the Emperor from criticism contributed to this problem.
Dower also has a very interesting section on the effect of the occupation on the Japanese economy. The relatively centralized direction of the Japanese economy is often stated to be a distinctive feature of Japanese culture. Dower shows that this system is a relatively recent phenomenon with strong roots in efforts to centralize direction of the wartime economy. During the occupation, American actions would wittingly and unwittingly reinforce these centralizing tendencies. In addition, many prominent Japanese economists and planners, quite a few of whom had been purged from Universities and public life during the war, were leftists sympathetic to central direction. The new found, and American instigated, freedoms of the post-war period allowed these individuals to re-enter public life.
An additional attractive feature is the presence of a number of revealing photographs. See page 55 for a devastating image of the consequences of failed Japanese imperialism.

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interesting, but could have used more context

This is a really interesting book, discussing how the Japanese handled the 5 - 10 years after WWII. And it has a ton of information in it, both big picture as well as a lot of detail.

The one thing that keeps me from giving it 5 stars is that it does not do a good job of placing what is described in the bigger picture of Japan at that time or of the allies. It's as though McArthur and the allied occupation is there, and at times has a (sometimes very strong) influence. But the rest of the time - nothing about them. And yet, they were the most significant single force for change in the culture.

The same for the overall political climate in Japan. The emperor appears occasionally as do the top politicians. And the mood of the citizens is covered at times. But a lot of the time what is happening is listed as though it occurs in a vaccuum.

With all that said - it's a real good book on a topic that is interesting.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, page 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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