Kamishibai

Kamishibai was one of the most popular forms of entertainment in Japan during the 1930’s, especially to children. Although mainly used to as entertainment, Imai Yone discovered it could be used for educational purposes, and started to teach the youth about Christianity. She would use Kamishibai as a medium to tell old and new testament stories from the Bible. However as the war progressed, the government issued that Kamishibai must be used for propaganda much to the dismay of makers its traditional and educational counterparts. The difference between the propaganda and traditional versions was that while traditional and educational were made for children, the propaganda was made mostly for adults.

Propaganda Kamishibai had multiple purposes. Sometimes, it was used to tell stories with morals like self sacrifice and family cooperation. Others, it provided instructions for the war time effort.

Work Cited

Dymsensei. "Die for Japan: Wartime Propaganda Kamishibai (paper Plays; 国策紙芝居)." YouTube. YouTube, 22 Jan. 2012. Web. 06 June 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFavUjEYc7Y>.

Kamishibai Pictures:

http://cippodromon.blogspot.com/2009/11/manga-kamishibai.html 

http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2009/manga-kamishibai-the-art-of-japanese-paper-theatre/

Tokyo Rose

Iva Toguri was an Japanese-American woman born in Los Angeles on July 4th, 1916. While visiting in Japan, the attack of Pearl Harbor occurred, stranding her in Japan with no communication with her family. She was then taken into custody by Japanese secret police and asked to renounce her American citizenship. She refused and was instead given a job as the host of the radio program Zero Hour. The goal of the show was to reach american soldiers and to lower morale. With her feminine voice and fluent English, the plan actually started to work. She ridiculed the soldiers, convincing them their girlfriends back home weren’t loyal. She was given the nickname "Tokyo Rose" by her american listeners

                                    

One recording of the 340 broadcasts of Iva Toguri

After the war was over, Iva returned to the States and was charged with treason against the United States and was imprisoned for 10 years. She was given an executive pardon by Gerald Ford and died an American citizen.

Work Cited

Editors, Biography.com. "Tokyo Rose." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 05 June 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/tokyo-rose-37481>.

Mei1940WO2. "Tokyo Rose, Propaganda Japan 1941 - 1945." YouTube. YouTube, 19 May 2013. Web. 05 June 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l39iZb4uSpE>.

Bushido

Bushido is the conduct of warriors in Japanese cultures. This code has been a part of the Japanese military since feudal samurai in the sixteenth century, finally being banished from teachings after Japan’s defeat in World War II. Bushido was a code that created undying loyalty and sacrifice to the Japanese Emperor. During World War II, that meant it was better to die fighting or commit suicide then submit to surrender. Even after the war had ended, as the United States occupied Japan, first hand accounts from american soldiers show Japanese women cluthing their childrens and jumping off cliffs to their deaths rather then admit defeat.

Kamikaze pilots embodied the Bushido conduct. During the end of the war out of desparation, pilots volunteered to become suicide bombers to attempt to avoid defeat of the Japanese Emporer. Over 5,000 pilots died using this tactic. However, after the atomic bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Emporer declared the end of the war.

Work Cited

"First Kamikaze Attack of the War Begins." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 05 June 2016.

Pletcher, Kenneth. "Bushido." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Feb. 2016. Web. 05 June 2016.

Powers, David. "Japan: No Surrender in World War Two." BBC History. N.p., 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 5 June 2016.

Kamikaze Picture:

http://defence.pk/threads/the-kamikazes.389090/

Momotaro no Umiwashi

Momotaro no Umiwashi (1943) was a Japanese animated propaganda film, targeted at children and was a dramatization of the events at Pearl Harbor. Momotaro no Umiwashi translates into English is “Momotaro’s Sea Eagles”, which is a reference to the naval air force that attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 (History.com.) Eagles were a symbol of national patriotism in Japan, which gave the movie a heroic connotation. This 37 minute feature depicts “the story of a naval unit consisting of the human Momotarô and several animal species representing the Far Eastern races fighting together for a common goal.” (Sanchez).

Bluto (right) was also featured in the movie as an American naval officer, as well as a drunk. Bluto was originally from the American cartoon Popeye as the antagonist. Making him a drunk in Momotaro no Umiwashi negatively portrayed American soldiers, reinforcing stereotypes made by the  Japanese government.

Work Cited

History.com Staff. "Pearl Harbor." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 01 Jan. 2009. Web. 05
          June 2016.


Momotaro No Umiwashi. Dir. Seo Mitsuyo. Ministry of Education of Japan, 1943. Youtube. Youtube,           10 May 2015. Web. 5 June 2016.


Sanchez, J. "Momotaro's Sea Eagles." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 05 June 2016.

Bluto Picture:

http://blog.vision-strike-wear.com/was-popeye-a-coastie-or-a-navy-sailor/

Kokutai

A common theme in Japanese propaganda was kokutai, which can loosely be translated as “natural essence”.  “Kokutai, which was hotly debated in Japan starting in the late Tokugawa period, might be best understood as those qualities that make the Japanese “Japanese.”’ (Sources) This concept was begun as the Ministry of Education distributed a pamphlet, Kokutai No Hongi, describing what would be needed in order to re-establish Japanese identity, as well as undermine Western ideology. It emphasized themes such as loyalty and patriotism, harmony, and strong family roles.



This was one of the covers for the multiple printings of Kokutai No Hongi, which was ditstributed throughout all of Japan by the Ministry of Education during 1937 to help national morale in regards to the war effort.

This artwork was a poster in response to Kukutai ideology. The eagle is a representation of national patriotism, as well as the liberation from Western morales. The eagle, ironically enough, is also a symbol of freedom in the United States.

Work Cited

Sources of Japanese Tradition, edited by Wm. Theodore de Bary, Carol Gluck,

and Arthur L. Tiedemann, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005), 968-969, 975. © 2005 Columbia University Press.

Picture of Kokutai no Hongi Cover:

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/NEOBK-1757955

Eagle Propaganda Poster:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_propaganda_during_World_War_II