Dear General MacArthur: Letters from the Japanese during the American Occupation

(Paperback)

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This unique book compiles some 120 remarkable letters from Japanese citizens to General Douglas MacArthur during the postwar occupation of Japan (1945-1952). Painstakingly culled from a vast collection, these letters evoke the unfiltered voices of people of all classes and occupations during the tremendous upheaval of the early postwar period, when the Japanese were coming to terms with the devastating losses of the war, adjusting to a new political system, and creating the framework for economic and social recovery.
Written by people of all ages and walks of life, the letters raise issues ranging from Japanese war crimes to the future of the emperor system, from the behavior of American occupation troops to pleas for the United States to annex Japan. Some writers offered to serve as spies for the occupation forces; others appealed for help in solving individual problems, protested allegedly unfair treatment by the occupation, or made detailed recommendations for the reform of Japanese society.

Sodei's running commentary places the letters in their historical context, and the substantive foreword by John W. Dower, who drew upon Sodei's research for his Pulitzer Prize-winning Embracing Defeat, further assesses the significance of the letters in understanding Japan's occupation experience.

Reviews

This collection is a valuable asset for those who wish to understand the American occupation and Japanese attitudes toward foreigners. * Booklist *
This fascinating book is ideal for cultural studies curricula. * Publishers Weekly *
A pleasure to read. For academic and larger public libraries. * Library Journal *
A unique volume. . . . [The letters] open a window into a frequently misunderstood Japan. -- Jonathan Mirsky * Times Literary Supplement *
This is a rare gem of a book. We have nothing else like it concerning Japan. . . . To 'listen to Japan' in this manner entails rethinking conventional notions of Japanese culture in profoundly subversive ways. . . . We owe a great debt to Sodei Rinjiro for showing us what a rich, complicated, and contradictory human story still waits to be further explored. -- John W. Dower
Sodei presents the reader with valuable glimpses into Japanese society during the American occupation....While the letters themselves are fascinating, Sodei contextualizes each letter so that both the novice and experienced scholar of Japan will come away with new insights. . . . Dear General MacArthur can be utilized...for those studying more contemporary U.S.-Japan relations, or applied more broadly to those researching foreign policies which involve occupations in a variety of international contexts....It has multiple levels that will appeal to a wide audience. * H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online *
There are aspects of [the book] that are absolutely brilliant. Sodei's ability to reconstruct the atmosphere the letters were written in, and his explanations of the levels of honorific language used, is quite informative, and help the reader better understand the letters he highlights. Overall, the book is very readable, and within each section it flows well. . . . A valuable resource at evaluating both the attitudes of Japanese during the occupation, and the way in which contemporary historians interpret the occupation. It has multiple levels that will appeal to a wide audience. Sodei effectively demonstrates that many Japanese viewed themselves as victims of the Pacific War, and made available letters from the Japanese that will undoubtedly further research into the American occupation of Japan. -- David Rands, Austin Peay State University

Author Bio

Sodei Rinjiro, Japan's foremost biographer of MacArthur and a leading historian of the occupation, is professor emeritus at Hosei University, Tokyo.