Pacific War Research Articles

China and the United States: Business, Technology, and Networks, 1914–1941

This paper studies the activities of American enterprises, technology, and related business organizations and engineering groups in China from the outbreak of World War i to the Pacific War and explains how these activities helped establish connections between China and the world. It borrows the concept of “networks” from Professor Sherman Cochran’s extraordinary book titled Encountering Chinese Networks, but broadens the scope of the term to include activity at the level of management and competition, as well as placing Sino-American relations in transnational perspective. Using a multi-archival approach to examine China’s major attempts at internationalization, this article focuses on the cases of the American Asiatic Association, the American Chamber of Commerce of China, and the Association of Chinese and American Engineers to show how these networks played important roles in the development of Chinese-American relations. It also discusses the issues of standardization, “scientific management,” and professionalism of entrepreneurs and engineers in influencing network making.

The evolution of Japan’s ‘misplacement’: from the Meiji Restoration to the Post-Cold war era

This article argues that since the Meiji Restoration, the degree of Japan’s misplacement has changed, depending on its structural power and ability to shape the concept of ‘Asia’ as a region. More specifically, there are three historical turning points: first, from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War (hard misplacement); second, post-World War II to the end of the Cold War (soft misplacement); and third, post-Cold War to the present (relative well-placement). In each period, Japan was faced with a different concept of ‘Asia’ and attempted to modify its identity and roles accordingly. The degree of ’misplacement’ is thus not static, but elastic, and such a status is not a permanent attribute of the state. Changes occur when states undertake a role location process, particularly during or after a change in the regional environment.

Book review:The Japanese Comfort Women and Sexual Slavery during the China and Pacific Warsby Caroline Norma

Book review:<i>The Japanese Comfort Women and Sexual Slavery during the China and Pacific Wars</i>by Caroline Norma

태평양 전쟁기 『아이생활』의 친일 변화 과정에 대한 연구 -기독교 교단과 『아이생활』 편집진의 전향을 중심으로-

태평양 전쟁기의 『아이생활』은 1920년대와 30년대 중반까지 보여주었던 기독교적 특성과 식민 치하에 있던 약소국이 지닌 민족주의적 특성을 버리고 심각한 친일의 길을 걸었다. 이러한 사실은 『아이생활』의 배경에 있던 기독교의 역사와 기독교인들의 전향, 식민 통치국이었던 일제의 활동과 깊은 관련성이 있었다,BR 일제는 천황제 이데올로기와 기독교를 결합한 ‘일본식 기독교’, ‘황도적 기독교’를 식민지 조선에 전파하기 위해 부단히 노력하였다. 이것은 교회의 민족주의적 성격을 제거하고 서구권 선교사들을 배척하기 위한 노력의 일환이기도 했다. 선교사들은 조선인이 아닌 외국인들로서 기독교의 국제적 네트워크 안에 속한 존재들이었고, 일본의 식민 통치에 대한 불합리성과 폭력성을 국제사회에 고발할 수 있었다. 또한 외교적 문제로 인해 선교사들은 일본이 함부로 좌지우지하기 힘든 성가신 존재였기에 일본은 획책, 분열, 갈등 조장 등의 방법을 동원하여 교회를 분열시키기 위한 다양한 노력을 진행했다.BR 식민지 조선의 지도자들 역시 자신들의 지배욕과 보호욕구를 충족하기 위해 일제에 적극 협력했다. 그들은 친일의 길을 걷기 전 주요 독립운동단체에서 활동했으나 일제 말에는 대부분 전향해 버리고 만다.BR 친일문학은 역사의 오점으로 남을 수 있지만 정직하게 대면해야만 성찰과 반성을 통해 같은 과오를 반복해서는 안 된다는 역사의식을 가질 수 있으며, 그렇게 할 때 친일의 문제도 극복될 수 있을 것이다. 이는 한국 아동문학사의 온전한 서술을 위해서도 반드시 필요한 일이다.

武士道와 日帝의 무도교육에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study was to examine the connection of the Musado Spirit in Japan with Japanese colonial era martial arts education and to reveal the ultimate purpose and development process of martial arts education aimed at establishing the Musado spirit.Japan was dominated by warrior for 700 years before its modernization, so naturally, the culture of warrior is deeply rooted in Japanese thought to this day. The Musa culture is organized under the name of Musado, which dominates Japanese thinking. However, Musado in the militaristic era can be seen as a result of the warrior changing his clothes to a soldier and the Musado changing into a military spirit. In other words, the reality of martial arts education in Joseon, which linked the spirit of Musado in the Japanese colonial era era, emphasized a stronger Japanese ideology as the war intensified, which was explained in comparison to the spirit of Musado. In 1914, the Japanese government enacted the Imperial Edict No. 27 “School Gymnastics Course” to adopt kendo and judo as extracurricular activities with gymnastics and to include Japanese martial arts in schools in Joseon. In addition, the Japanese government will make all-out efforts to promote the distribution of Japanese martial arts throughout the Joseon society by establishing martial arts organizations, publishing martial arts magazines, and academic journals to create a social atmosphere prior to the active introduction of Japanese martial arts. In addition, the Japanese government emphasized the tradition of the spirit of Mudo in the process of popularizing the martial arts and used it to establish the identity of Japanese people from the hitters. Mudo was created as a national morality when militarism expanded and emerged as an optimal educational means to cultivate strong soldiers in wartime situations. In addition, when the situation of the Pacific War turned unfavorable, the Japanese emphasized Mousado as an ideology. Therefore, it was confirmed that Musado in Japan was used as the main ideology for fostering strong soldiers needed for war in the policy of Japanese.

A “Monument to the American and Filipino Alliance for Freedom”: The Pacific War Memorial and Second World War Remembrance

The Pacific War Memorial on Corregidor Island in the Philippines was erected by the United States government to commemorate Filipino and American soldiers who had lost their lives during the Second World War. Inaugurated in 1968, it was the first American memorial on Philippine soil since the United States had recognized the Philippines as an independent country in 1946, following almost fifty years of colonial rule. This article interprets the monument and the wider Corregidor memoryscape. It examines how the United States, the Philippines and the Second World War are depicted both within and around the memorial and what this suggests about the creation and persistence of colonial memory. The article explores the tensions between colonial and decolonized remembrance, and the extent to which the Pacific War Memorial serves as a historical marker for the United States’ achievements in the Philippines.

京都市における「強制疎開住民」の移転先とその家族構成:―行政文書『都市疎開ニ依ル移転費交付申請書』の分析から―

京都市における「強制疎開住民」の移転先とその家族構成:―行政文書『都市疎開ニ依ル移転費交付申請書』の分析から―

日中戦争下における「醜の御楯」の意識

日中戦争下における「醜の御楯」の意識

Messages from the ‘Older Brother’: Djawa Baroe and the Japanese Propaganda in Indonesia (1943-1945)

The Japanese occupation of East Asia during World War II was accompanied by its propaganda targeted to the local population. In Indonesia, the military government, among other things, published Djawa Baroe, a fortnightly magazine published from January 1, 1943 to August 1, 1945.Compared to other magazines, this bilingual magazine (in Japanese and Bahasa Indonesia) Djawa Baroe was unique: it featured ample photographs and illustrations. Qualitative content analysis method enables this study to find the meaning of a theme in its holistic political, social, and cultural contexts beyond the number of its occurrences in the text offered by quantitative content analysis. All the issues of Djawa Baroe are examined in detail and reiteratively. Six themes can be found in Djawa Baroe, i.e., the friendship between Japanese and Indonesians, the description of Japanese military prowess, the exaltation of nationalism and the preparation for the war, the evil nature of Western power, the role of women in society, and entertainment. The study concludes that along with the development of the Pacific War that turned against the Japanese, Djawa Baroe moved its emphasis on long-range goals at the high psychological level to influence and win the hearts and minds of Indonesian people, to a more immediate result and practical guide in facing the imminent war. On the other hand, against the original intention of the Japanese propaganda, Djawa Baroe may have helped its educated readers to imagine their future nation-state, Indonesia. Keywords: Djawa Baroe; Wartime propaganda; Japanese occupation; nation-building

“a carefully weighed plan with adequate safeguards for us”: Economic Policy and the Coordination of Australian‐US Approaches to Japanese Aggression, 1939‐41

The historical narrative of Australia's foreign and defence policy‐making during the Pacific War tends to foreground the years 1941–42, characterising them as the turning point when the government realised that Britain alone could no longer protect Australia's regional security interests and turned to the United States of America for its salvation. This article makes a contribution to the alternative view, arguing that Australia was looking to the US well before Prime Minister John Curtin's famous “looks to America” proclamation. It does so with a focus on Australia's thinking and policy towards the engagement of the US in the years 1939‐41, arguing that the coordination of its economic policy with the US, rather than seeking insight into high‐level strategic planning, offered the nation the greatest opportunity to tie its security interests in the Asia‐Pacific region with those of the US. In exploring the role of economic policy in Australia's preparation for war, this article offers new insight into the maturation of Australia's foreign policy apparatus.

Japanese Navy’s Tactical Intelligence Collection on the Eve of the Pacific War

The intelligence literature on the Pacific War of 1941–1945 is grossly asymmetrical. Mainly American and British authors have examined many aspects of the Allied intelligence war, typically touting...

H. Baldwin’s Memorandum for the US Government “On Military Cooperation of Russia in the Pacific War” (1942) as a Historical Source

Issues related to US attempts to engage the USSR in a direct clash with Japan during the Second World War are examined. The relevance of the study is due to the fierce ongoing debate regarding a number of aspects of the history of the war years. Particular attention is paid to the study of a document sent by the Soviet intelligence agencies to I. V. Stalin in 1942. The novelty of the study is seen, first of all, in the fact that the document under study was declassified only at the present time and has not been published before. Meanwhile, the document testifies to the strategies proposed to the US government by a number of very influential and informed representatives of the American elite, aimed at drawing the Soviet Union into the war with Japan. It is shown in this document that the role of the USSR in the Pacific theater of operations is rightly defined as very significant. Of particular interest is the list of recommendations cited in the article by H. Baldwin, the author of the document studied, recommendations designed to ensure the involvement of the USSR in the war with Japan. The conclusion is formulated that the studied “Memorandum” confirms the readiness of the Allies to do a lot to achieve the desired. At the same time, it demonstrates the temporary nature of a community of interests and is by no means an allied attitude towards our country.

‘Kamikaze’ heritage tourism in Japan: a pathway to peace and understanding?

ABSTRACT Reflecting the wider belief that international tourism offers the opportunity to encourage peace and understanding amongst peoples and nations, one objective of Japan’s recent tourism development policy is the enhancement of mutual understanding and the promotion of international peace. The purpose of this paper is to consider the extent to which this objective is achievable, particularly in the context of continuing controversy surrounding the country’s confrontation of its twentieth century military heritage in general and its role in the Pacific War in particular. Based on research at two ‘difficult’ heritage sites, Chiran Peace Museum in Kagoshima Prefecture and Yūshūkan War Museum in Tokyo, it explores specifically how the kamikaze phenomenon is commemorated and interpreted for international visitors, in so doing revealing a significant degree of dissonance at both sites. Not only is a selective narrative of heroic sacrifice presented within a wider revisionist history of the Pacific War but also no attempt is made to acknowledge the prevailing cultural context that might underpin a more nuanced understanding of the kamikaze. Hence, the paper concludes that a meaningful opportunity to enhance international understanding has been missed.

Introduction of Golf to Korea during the Japanese Occupation

Golf was developed in Korea between the late nineteenth century and the early 20th century. This was a dark period for the country, during which its name was changed from the Joseon Dynasty to the Korean Empire, and the nation subsequently entered the Japanese colonial era after losing its national sovereignty. The game of golf, which was first introduced by the foreign maritime customs staff at the end of the Joseon Dynasty, spread across upper class society during the Japanese colonial era, as golf courses were being built in major cities and vacation spots around the country. The construction of the courses was undertaken by foreign missionaries, Japanese, and Koreans. The introduction and development of golf in Korea was initially led by the Japanese, as well as by foreign commissioners and missionaries; thereafter, Koreans began to participate in golf. However, golf courses completely disappeared from the Korean Peninsula over the course of the Pacific War and the Korean War after the liberation of Korea from Japan. Korean golfers who survived the Japanese colonial era began to rebuild the golf courses, thereby creating the cornerstone of what has today become a global golf powerhouse.

Performative Educational Rhetorics At a Korean Women’s College During Japanese Occupation, 1930–1943

Few Anglophone rhetoric studies have explored how colonial environments affected the work of American-supported schools and performances. Korea’s first women’s college, however, used hybrid Korean, American, and Christian cultural references in the pageantry, visuals, and music of its 1930 May Day to negotiate Japanese colonization. These May Day “performative educational rhetorics” acknowledged colonial authority while resisting Japanese assimilation objectives until they were silenced during Japan’s Pacific War. Unlike American-operated schools in U.S. colonies and occupied territories, therefore, Japanese colonization rendered performances not only of Korean but also Christian and American identities as potentially subversive symbols of freedom.

Challenges to Asian public intellectuals

ABSTRACT Kuo reflects upon the Pacific War and what he feels holds post-war Japanese culture back from attaining “genuine greatness,” given a capacity enabled by its early modernising efforts for “the liberation of the self, the democratisation of society and … the realisation of the knowledge-based mode of production and exchange.” He also argues that nations in East and Southeast Asia share a similar socio-political “baggage with Japan — chiefly the semi-feudal [and also nationalistic] culture which impedes our [joint] fuller entry into modernity.” The challenge for Asian intellectuals — and particularly for Southeast Asians with their complex and multiple cultural makeup — is to initiate dialogue as to how regional diversity and “civilisational assets” can be turned into a “living multiculture” that will be an advantage for “the region’s long-term progress and prosperity.”

태평양전쟁기 한국광복군과 미(美)전략첩보국(OSS) 합작의 국제적 배경 - 한국 고등학교 한국사 교육의 앞으로의 과제 -

본 논문에서는 태평양전쟁기(1941~1945) 한국광복군과 미국정부 산하의 전략첩보국(Office of Strategic Services)의 합작훈련 결정에 영향을 미쳤던 당시 국제적 정세와 배경을 고찰하겠다. 그러한 고찰을 통해 현고등학교 한국사 과목 한국독립운동사 파트의 학습내용에 있어 광복군과 당시 국제적 정세와의 관계를 조금 더 부각시켜, 학습자에게 한국 근현대사의 이해를 돕기 위해 1940년대 전반기 한국독립운동과 한반도의 광복에 대한 국제적 영향을 더욱 체계적으로 다루어야 할 필요를 논하겠다. 현 고등학교 한국사 교육에서 중요하게 다루어지는 독립군 부대인 한국광복군은 한국독립운동 역사에서 최초로 미 전략첩보국 미군부대와 합작하여 훈련했다는 데에서 특수성이 있다. 광복군과 전략첩보국의 합작훈련의 결성에는 미국 측이 한인 독립군을 사용해 당시 태평양에서 미국의 입지와 국제질서의 안정을 위태롭게 하던 적국 일본을 포함해 연합국인 중국과 러시아(당시 소련)를 견제하겠다는 취지가 담겨 있었다. 미국정부는 또한 대일전투에 연합국의 승리를 위해 한인들의 잠재력을 사용하여, 미국과 연합국이 일제로부터의 한반도의 독립을 보장하며 한반도를 동맹국으로 대우하겠다는 국제적 방침에 근거하여 한인군사 활용방안을 모색했다. 1942년~ 1945년 간 미 국무부와 전쟁부 등은 전략첩보국이 한인군사 활용 및 지원을 본격적으로 맡을 것을 요구했다. 이 때 미국정부에서 논의된 한인군사 활용 계획은 한반도의 독립을 약속하는 전제 하에 한인부대와 연계를 맺고 미국과 함께 대일전투에 나선다는 목적으로 의논되고 있었다. 전략첩보국은 또한 한반도와 아시아 지역 내에서 미국의 이익을 위협하는 중국과 소련의 행보를 견제하고자 친미적인 한인부대와 합작하고자 했다. 그리하여 한반도 진입 작전인 ‘독수리 작전(The Eagle Project)’을 위해 평소 중국의 광복군에 대한 간섭에 불만이 있고, 미국에 우호적인 감정과 동시에 반공산주의 정서를 지녔던 광복군 제2지대와 제3지대를 선별했다. 이는 광복군이 미국측의 국제정책에 따라 한-미 합작훈련의 대상으로 선별되었음을 시사해준다. 독수리 작전은 예상보다 이른 일본의 항복으로 인해 실패로 끝났으나, 광복군이 최초의 한-미 연합의 성격으로 대일전투를 준비함으로써 국제적으로 활동하는 독립군 부대의 성격을 가졌다는 점에서 의미가 있다. 광복군은 해방 후 국군의 모체로서 기억되었고, 미국과 대한민국의 한미동맹의 역사에서 해방직전의 광복군과 전략첩보국의 연합은 그 시초의 형태를 가졌다. 광복군에 대한 이러한 역사의 과정이 한국사 교육에 더욱 강조된다면, 학습자가 해방직전 한반도를 둘러싼 국제적 상황이 한반도 해방과 해방이후의 대한민국과 국제관계에 이르기까지 영향력이 있었다는 사실을 이해하도록 도울 수 있을 것이다.

태평양전쟁 시기 한일 &lt;歷史&gt;교과서 비교 연구 - 제국의 역사교육과 ‘和歌’의 효용성을 중심으로 -

日本人の心象を優れた文学性によって表現されたといえる和歌は、最も日本的な詩文学だっただけに、天皇中心の家族国家観が強く要求された太平洋戦争期の歴史教育にも大いに活用された。 当時の韓國と日本での歷史敎育のための教科書は、以前とは異なり、過ぎ去った歴史に当時代を造影する方法に改編され、これにより、和歌においても、当時の教育政策を照明することができる様な内容の和歌は歴史の中で最も劇的な部分に配置し、教育の効果を最大化しようとした。教科書に採録された和歌のほとんどは、皇国臣民としての心構え、それに伴う身体的な行動を悟らせるメッセージが込められていたが、これを両国の比較的な側面で見ると、文部省編『初等科國史』より、朝鮮総督府編『初等國史』において、はるかに強く適用されていた。 文部省の教科書に比べて倍にもなる和歌を收錄したことも目を引くが、名もない無名勇士の和歌として幼い学習者が近い将来に取るべき極端な身体的行動、いわば天皇のために戦場で戰死することを要求する内容のものが『初等國史』のみ適用されたという点は問題性が大きいといえよう。

The Making of Nakasone Yasuhiro’s Diplomacy

The upbringing and early life experiences of a political leader strongly influence development of the policy framework implemented when in office. In the case of Nakasone Yasuhiro, his experiences during the Pacific War would later be reflected in both domestic policy and international affairs. In terms of international relations, Nakasone formed relationships of trust with international leaders in both East and West that engendered respect and that contributed to his exceptional leadership in Japan’s diplomacy.

The View of the Japanese Enemy 75 Years after the End of World War II

The View of the Japanese Enemy 75 Years after the End of World War II Kirsten L. Ziomek (bio) Waldo Heinrichs and Marc Gallicchio, Implacable Foes: War in the Pacific 1944–1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017. 711 pp. Maps, notes, bibliography, and index. $34.95. After the defeat of Germany in May 1945, the United States wanted to end the war with Japan as quickly as possible. But Waldo Heinrichs and Marc Gallicchio contend that this was impossible as the United States was not in the position to launch a successful invasion of mainland Japan. One of the questions that Implacable Foes sets out to answer is how the conflict arrived at the point that the United States needed to be saved by both the atomic bombs and Hirohito's intervention in favoring surrender, because the prospects of a successful U.S. invasion of Japan did not look good. The book's premise is novel in that it challenges a common narrative that the dominant United States, with all its industrial might, men, and matériel was the certain victor in 1945. The authors depict a United States government and military that still considered themselves the underdog versus the Japanese who had not won a battle since the loss of Midway in 1942. Despite the Japanese fighting a two-front war in China for eight years and for four years in the Pacific theater, with a dwindling amount of supplies, trained pilots, and resources necessary to wage war, the United States still did not like its chances in launching an invasion of the Japanese mainland. Japan had 69 cities that had already been firebombed prior to the atomic bombings, and their military had to resort to kamikaze tactics in 1944 as their primary strategy from the air out of their sheer desperation caused by their lack of skilled pilots and planes. That the Japanese posed such a formidable threat raises questions: was the United States really incapable of launching a successful invasion of Japan or was it that the government and public simply did not have an appetite for further fighting with boots on the ground? The authors argue that both are true. This substantial book is primarily focused on the American order of battle, the personalities of several "great men" like General Douglas MacArthur and George Marshall, and detailing the internal wrangling that U.S. government officials and military leaders went through when confronted with the prospect [End Page 582] of continuing the Pacific war well past the end of fighting on the European front. References to Japanese soldiers, which are relatively rare, often rely on depictions of them as fanatics who fought to the death: "[The Americans] were engaged in a war of annihilation against an enemy resigned to his own death and determined to fight on for the sole purpose of killing as many Americans as possible" (p. 8). Although the authors try to provide balance by pointing out that American soldiers—like the Japanese—also committed brutalities during the war, (pp. 77–80) brief mentions do not obviate the overwhelming sense that pervades the book that the Japanese were an enemy of a sort that American soldiers had never encountered before. Refuting John Dower in War without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War (1987), which argues that the Pacific War was a race war that fueled hatred on both sides, the authors contend that Japanese soldiers were unique and unlike their American counterparts. "That war with the Japanese was a battle for survival, a struggle without sanctuary, came as a shock to the American soldier. Surrender meant barbaric death, to survive meant killing" (p. 79). While it is true that official Japanese military doctrine discouraged soldiers from surrendering, whether this resulted in American soldiers being less willing to fight for their lives than the Japanese is debatable. More groundwork and substantial evidence would help advance their argument against Dower's. Regardless, the book was never intended to be about the foes of America, but instead the focus was meant to be (and is) on how the American government and military officials saw their options to end the war in light of the...