Medium Post #4(Week 5)
Considering the intense racial animosity that Dower outlines in his introduction to War Without Mercy, why do you think the Japanese and US governments were so quick to see each other as allies? Do you believe that the transition was as quick for ordinary people? Think about how this question (including a version of this question that is put forth in Kurosawa’s No Regrets for Our Youth) risks effacing the scrutiny of Japanese colonial rule and imperialist aggression in Asia.
Dower outlines intense racial animosity in his introduction to War Without Mercy, making the metaphor that race and power are the same thing. Dower’s outline of World War II(WWII) begins with, “when and where does race play a significant role in the war?” Dower describes that WWII was the result of anti-sentimism towards Jews in European countries. After the war against the Nazi party had ended, the war against Asia began and the racism moved from against the Jews to against those of Asian descent. As Dower illustrates, the human psyche of domination and race supremacy, leads to discrimination; no matter the circumstances, there will be discrimination.
As the war ended, the world’s view shifted from WWII to Cold War enemies, and after the Vietnam War. During those shifts of circumstances, the shift of racism went from against Japanese to the Communist China and Russia, to Communist Vietnam. Because Japan lost in WWII and the world’s racism shifted from Japan to the next enemy, this led to an easy shift from enemy to ally for Japan and the US government. No longer was Japan seen as an enemy, but also as a conquest, for the US government had “conquered” Japan in the war. This sense of allyship may have been shared by many, but not by all, at least not as quickly.
In Kurosawa’s No Regrets for Our Youth, we follow the story of Yukie and her entanglement with a spy, Noge. Yukie had met Noge during her days as a university student. During this time Noge was a radical, actively protesting the invasion of Manchuria. During one of the protests, Noge was arrested, and with the help of a mutual friend, released on the terms that Noge would forfeit his radical ideals. Yukie married Noge later in life and stayed married to him until he was arrested, due to involvement in espionage. He died in jail and Yukie brought his remains to Noge’s family, only to be casted away, due to the shame their son had brought them. In the end, Noge’s parents come to realize that Noge was not a spy, we see Yukie’s father celebrating Noge as an inspiration to an academic movement, and we see Yukie say that maybe she can become a symbol to the rural women’s cultural movement.
Although the thought wasn’t shared by all, the end goal was the same for all, freedom. Through Noge, it was by protesting against the invasion of Manchuria, in an attempt to prevent a militant regime and to gain academic freedom. Through Yukie, it was to stay in the village to try to help improve the quality of life for the women in the village. However, the means do not justify the ends. Even though Japan may have been fighting for freedom, just like everyone else was at the time, the fact that there were wrongs in Japan’s past should not be erased, but rather remembered and learned from to not repeat the same mistakes.
