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The effect of World War II on the United States
United states society after ww2
Us society after world war 2
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“Be resolved that honor is heavier than the mountains and death lighter than the feather.” The chilling words of Yasuo Kuwahara, a former kamikaze pilot, provide a glimpse into the mindset of the Japanese during one of the most dismal segments of World War II. For centuries, the Japanese customs and lifestyle revolved around the concept of honor, honing in on how to uphold and maintain it. The fear of ruining this balance of honor and wanting to die a glorious, radiant death, played a huge role in propelling the Japanese people to volunteer to pull off suicidal kamikaze attacks (Hollway 48). Putting the kamikaze concept into perspective by considering the background, understanding the significance they had in World War II, as well as pondering …show more content…
The near miss on Franklin was a win for the United States, but, the Japanese won a victory as well. Now, they had an infallible strategy that “the Americans could not roll off of assembly lines” (Hollway 49). Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi was one of the men who revered this suicidal method (Hollway 48). With a great sense of urgency, Admiral Onishi moved to a base in Manila, and developed a plan for kamikaze attacks, proposing it to his men. He knew that the drastic nature of the plan revealed the many flaws in Japan’s previous strategies (Hollway 48). The plan stated the following, “that is to organize suicide attack units composed of fighters armed with 250-kilogram bombs, with each plane to crash-dive into an enemy carrier” (Hollway 48). With his procedure in mind, Onishi began to ask for volunteers (Hollway 48). All of the pilots in the base in Manila ended up volunteering to participate in Onishi’s kamikaze special attack units (Hollway 48). This elite unit, originally called the “shinpū” or “tokkō”, reverted back to its original title of “kamikaze.” It was named as such on behalf of the typhoons that had destroyed the Mongols, in the hopes that the United States would meet the same fate (“Kamikaze of 1274 and 1281”,Gordon …show more content…
Suicide had become a fad in Japan during World War II, it had been encouraged and compared to stunning things like flowers and snowflakes (BBC, Hollway 48). One Japanese soldier wrote an ominous poem, saying, “If only we might fall like cherry blossoms in the spring — So pure and radiant” (Morris). Death was embraced and compared to the simple delicateness of cherry blossoms. Beauty had become so skewed in the minds of the Japanese that committing suicide was considered the peak of elegance and heroism. Years passed by, and the perspective changed substantially. A poll conducted by Win/Gallup in 2015 revealed that in the post-war generations, only an alarming 11% of Japanese people would be ready and willing to die for their country (BBC). Today, the Japanese people acknowledge the bravery of the pilots, but are repulsed by the “rashness and stupidity” by which the kamikaze plans were executed
Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi. Racing the enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the surrender of Japan. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005.
...target to escape and even held a competition of the person who kills 100 people first will win the game. The Japanese keeps denying their actions and refuse to give an official apology to all the offenders. Their officials go to shrine to pay homage on their so-called heroes, ignoring how these “heroes” have deeply injured the Chinese. During the Holocaust, alive human beings were taken to the chamber of gas and organs were taken to do the experiment. How the Nazi treated the Jewish was similar to how the Japanese treated the Chinese.
In World War II, many new weapons were created to kill more people with more efficiency. The most notable of these was the atomic bomb. As American troops closed in on Japan at the end of the war, they realized that taking the small island nation would be nearly impossible. The Japanese soldiers had shown their willingness to die for their country when kamikaze pilots flew into American ships.... ...
When most American people think of Germany, they think of sports cars made for the autobahn, sauerkraut, Adolf Hitler, and the Holocaust. Compared to Germany, when most American people think of Japan they think of sushi, Godzilla movies, Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. World War II was such a significant event in history that almost 70 years after it came to an end, today’s younger generations often associate former Axis controlled countries with the war. People around the world are filled with disgust and immense hate when they hear the name Hitler, mainly because of his leadership under the Holocaust; which was the discriminatory mass genocide of 11-17 million people, the vast majority of which were European Jews. Hirohito, former Emperor of Japan, should strike a similar bell with people when they hear his name because Japan carried out genocide on Chinese civilians and soldiers in World War II. Japan’s attack on the Chinese city of Nanking, was one of the most atrocious events in history. This event has been named both the Nanking Massacre and the Rape of Nanking. The torturous, violent techniques used by the Japanese army upon Chinese civilians and soldiers including dehumanizing them, addicting them to drugs, and other perverse and violent acts, are some of the most grosteque methods ever recorded that could only be thought of by sadistic Japanese soldiers. The events committed by the Japanese army in Nanking, are equally as disgusting as the acts that Nazi Germany committed and should become a major topic involved with World War II in the future, despite the lack of light shed on it in the past for various reasons.
Prior and during the war, the Japanese were known for their citizens’ extreme loyalty and commitment to their nation, but after the dropping of the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, some of these feelings diminished within the Japanese nation. Prior to the dropping of the atomic bomb, Over 70% of people in Japan believed that their nation could come out on top in the war even after more than a decade of constant fighting and the Japanese being on the defensive for over three years since the Battle of Midway. Directly after the use of the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the percentage of Japanese people that believed that defeat was inevitable rose to over 50%. Many people in the two cities that were bombed by the United States were affected more so than the rest of the Japanese population. For example, a 25% increase in suicidal thoughts was reported in the two cities struck by America’s new deadly weapon. This sharp decrease in morale amongst the Japanese people after the dropping of the atomic bomb coincided with an increase in Japanese fear of American and Allied power in future battles. For example, according to survivors of the bombing, whenever a lone American plane was seen over a Japanese city, people would “rush into their shelters,” and “They went in and out so much that they did not have time to eat. They were so nervous they could not work.” Prior to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki most Japanese were only scared of American aircrafts if there was a large group, but after the dropping of the atomic bomb any individual plane could wreak havoc on Japanese cities, as Elona Gay did to Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. The use of the atomic bomb was able to spread fear amongst the Japanese people so
Willbanks, James H. "Kamikazes: World War II." World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
Japan has a very rich history on the view of suicide. It is even discussed in two main Japanese history narratives. The first major writing I will be discussing is Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai (1716) by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. The second was written in 1899 by Nitobe Inazō and it was called Bushido: The soul of Japan. It is important to point out some differences about the two books. On the one hand Hagakure’s book is written to explain bushido (the way of the Samurai) to people from the age of the Samurai. On the other hand, Bushido was written and based off of Hagakure, however it is written in the context of the late nineteenth century, well after European context. Furthermore, Inazō wrote Bushido in America while Japan was in the midst
Even before the battle started, America saw his attack coming. Japan had bombed the Dutch harbor in Alaska on the days of June 3rd and 4th. Japan landed there instead of on the islands of Attu and Kiska, in fear the United States might be there. There attacks failed when the plan to get the American fleet from Midway to aid the freshly bombed Dutch harbor. At 0900 hours an American patrol boat spotted the Japanese fleet seven hundred miles from Midway. At that point admiral Soroku Yamamoto’s plans of a sneak attack were over. Admiral fletcher commanded the U.S.S. Yorktown before it was sunk by the Japanese. Then at 0750, japan spots nine enemy (American) planes fifteen miles out. Tones, a Japanese cruiser, opened fire on the American pilots. Almost instantly if an American bomber plane were hit it would explode and go down. The bombers dropped their torpedoes to far from their targets, so the torpedoes didn’t land a single blow to Japan. At 1040 japan sent from Hiryu,...
In the early 1940s, an event that was so premeditated and yet so very atrocious hit our nation’s pacific ocean. The state of Hawaii and its famous harbor was left victimized and bleeding as the skies rained down with munitions and kamikaze fighter planes. Many of the members of the armed services found themselves asking one question. What was to come next? As the United States of America and the empire of Japan at the time demonstrated that both sides had its differences no one could have ever expect anything of this magnitude to take place.
On December 7,1941 Japan raided the airbases across the islands of Pearl Harbour. The “sneak attack” targeted the United States Navy. It left 2400 army personnel dead and over a thousand Americans wounded. U.S. Navy termed it as “one of the great defining moments in history”1 President Roosevelt called it as “A Day of Infamy”. 2 As this attack shook the nation and the Japanese Americans became the immediate ‘focal point’. At that moment approximately 112,000 Persons of Japanese descent resided in coastal areas of Oregon, Washington and also in California and Arizona.3
“Man masters nature not by force but by understanding. This is why science has succeeded where magic failed: because it has looked for no spell to cast over nature”. From the beginning of time man and nature has been in conflict with one another because, as a whole, there is no cooperating. Each one tirelessly wants its way. The Man is fighting for dominance and nature w never yielding its authority. In American Literature, many authors illustrate this theme in their writing. Specifically the writers Jack London in The Law Of Life, Stephen Crane The Open Boat and Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Fin. Each explores the relationship between humans and nature but with slightly different methods. Mark Twain uses nature in a realistic way, Jack London in a naturalistic way and Stephen Crane constitutes a combination of both.
Have you ever felt stuck? Wherever you are, it’s the absolute last place you want to be. In the book Into the Wild, Chris McCandless feels stuck just like the average everyday person may feel. Chris finds his escape plan to the situation and feels he will free himself by going off to the wild. I agree with the author that Chris McCandless wasn’t a crazy person, a sociopath, or an outcast because he got along with many people very well, but he did seem somewhat incompetent, even though he survived for quite some time.
What makes a good person good? According to WikiHow, "We should learn to define our own morals ourselves. One of the simplest ways to do so is to love others, and treat them as you would like to be treated. Try to think of others before yourself. Even doing small things daily will greatly enrich and improve your life, and the lives of others around you." This quote shows us what we need to do in order to be what society thinks as, “good". In order to be a good person, you have to do good and moral things in your society consistently. However people might think that by doing one good thing once in a while will automatically make you a “good person”, but in reality it doesn’t.
The Second World War years saw Japan engaged in military operations throughout Asia with many significant victories. The dropping of Atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki however brought Japan to its knees. The once feared and dreaded Japanese armies were defeated. In the years since, both Western and Asian historians have been able to compile detailed records gained from interviews with survivors and from analysis of Japanese documents themselves giving shocking evidence of the scope of atrocities committed by the Japanese armies and government officials. Regardless of their admirable achievements in industry and technology in the 21st century, the Japanese are must still come to ...
Both Korean and Japanese know that before committing their wrongdoing during World War two, psychologically a major barrier between us will renew and rebirth in the future. (Patrick 132).