General MacArthur and the Emperor
"If ever a picture was worth a thousand words, it was the image of General MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito standing side by side during their historic first meeting on September 27, 1945. In it, a casually dressed MacArthur towers over the stiff, formally attired Emperor. "What does it say?" asks historian Carol Gluck. "It says, I'm MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, and I'm in charge." For millions of Japanese, it brought home in an entirely new way the notion that they had lost the war."
General MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito were considered to be two of the most enigmatic figures of the 20th century. The ambiguity surrounding their roles in leading Japan before and after the war make one realize how complex (and just plain strange) they actually were. To many of his subjects, Hirohito was the "emperor of heaven," not really a man at all, but the living incarnation of Japan. No matter what you may know about the two men, their lives provide an interesting perspective into how the running and occupation of japan worked.
Emperor Hirohito was installed as Crown Prince at the age of fifteen, Hirohito attained what was called the "Chrysanthemum Throne" (don't ask why) in 1926 when his father, the Emperor Yoshihito died. Because his father had been weak and sickly, Hirohito ruled more in his grandfather's shadow, the great Emperor Meiji, who presided over Japan's ridiculously funny late-19th-century opening up to the West and modernization. Even before assuming the throne, many web sites that could have been actually made-up say that Hirohito reflected the same fascination with the West, especially after his six-month tour of Europe in 1921, where he picked up a lasting taste for Western food and clothes. Personally, I have a hard time believing that a vacation when he was nine could have possibly affected him so profoundly, but it seems to have been shown at least partially true in 1975, when he visited the United States, meeting John Wayne, conversing with President Ford, and receiving a Mickey Mouse watch he supposedly wore for years. In between, however, he presided over one of the largest and most costly military ventures since Hannibal. In the years after the war, the accepted version of events holds that Hirohito was essentially a pawn of the militarists who gained control of the government shortly after he took the throne.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to December 7, 1941- the day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor- as “a date which will live in infamy.” This description has continued to be accurate, nearly 70 years after the attack on American soil. However, not many people have the same emotional connection to the events at Pearl Harbor, as does the former Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel, the man who was in the position of “Commander-in-Chief” at Pearl Harbor. The events of this day caused his rank of “Admiral” to be removed.
Okihiro, Gary Y. Whispered Silences: Japanese Americans and World War II. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996.
Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi. Racing the enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the surrender of Japan. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005.
The Korean War changed the face of American Cold War diplomacy forever. In the midst of all the political conflict and speculation worldwide, the nation had to choose between two proposed solutions, each one hoping to ensure that communism didn?t sweep across the globe and destroy American ideals of capitalism and democracy. General Douglas MacArthur takes the pro-active stance and says that, assuming it has the capability, the U.S. should attack communism everywhere. President Harry Truman, on the other hand, believed that containing the Soviet communists from Western Europe was the best and most important course of action, and that eliminating communism in Asia was not a priority.
Japan led a ruthless assault in the Pacific for fifteen years. This small island was able to spread imperialism and terror to neighboring countries through means of force and brutality. Japan even attempted to combat and overcome European and Western countries such as Russia and the United States. Even with an extreme militaristic government, Japan was unable to achieve the glory it was promised and hoped for. The Pacific War analyzes Japan’s part in the war and what the country could have done to prevent such a tragedy.
Starting in the early 1930’s, the Japanese began to display their great imperialistic dreams with ambition and aggression. Their goal was to create a "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere" where they controlled a vast empire in the western Pacific.1 In September of 1939, Japan signed the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis Treaty, allying themselves with Germany and Italy in an effort to safeguard their interests in China from the Soviet Union. Japan’s only major obstacle left lay in the significant size of the United States Pacific Fleet. To rid themselves of this, Japan attacked the United States Pacific Fleet in hopes of crippling it enough to prevent any further hindrance from the US. Although Japan began the War in the Pacific on the offensive, winning many battles and gaining significant territories, the tide quickly turned in favor of the US because of the their dominating industrial capacity. Thus, the Japanese began to resort to ghastly measures to prevent a humiliating defeat.
In Prompt and Utter Destruction, J. Samuel Walker provides the reader with an elaborate analysis of President Truman’s decision behind using the atomic bomb in Japan. He provokes the reader to answer the question for himself about whether the use of the bomb was necessary to end the war quickly and without the loss of many American lives. Walker offers historical and political evidence for and against the use of the weapon, making the reader think critically about the issue. He puts the average American into the shoes of the Commander and Chief of the United States of America and forces us to think about the difficulty of Truman’s decision.
The Battle of Iwo Jima In the early morning of 19 February 1945, United States Marines assigned to the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Division led the initial assault on the Japanese controlled island of Iwo Jima, with the objective of capturing and securing the island. This was the beginning of one of the fiercest and bloodiest and, more decisively, the most strategically important battles fought during World War II. After the dust had settled, and the smoke had cleared, the casualties and losses were astounding. 6,821 U.S. Marines along with 18,844 members of the Imperial Japanese Army had paid the ultimate sacrifice.
The bombings of 1945 by the United States of America on Japan were very controversial events. Many historians believe these acts were aggressive and unnecessary. In addition, analysts argue that the U.S. should have used alternative methods instead of the bomb, but most do not realize the repercussions of these different tactics. On the contrary, the bomb was needed to ease tension quickly and effectively. Ultimately, the bomb proved more effective than any other method, and also proved to be a technique that is sufficient for America’s needs. The effort made by the U.S. to bomb Japan after their disapproval of the Potsdam Declaration was needed to end conflicts in the Pacific because of Japanese resistance, to save American lives, and to portray the U.S. as a nation of power and dominance.
Sabin, Burritt. "The War's Legacy [sic]: Dawn of a tragic era", Japan Times, February 8, 2004 (
Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi. “Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman and the Surrender of Japan.” Taking Sides: Clashing View in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras & James SoRelle. 15th ed. New York, NY. 2012. 289-298.
Feifer, George. Breaking Open Japan: Commodore Perry, Lord Abe, and American Imperialism in 1853. New York: Smithsonian Books/Collins, 2006. pp. xx, 389 p.: ill., maps; 24 cm. ISBN: 0060884320 (hardcover: alk. paper). Format: Book. Subjects: Japan Foreign relations United States /United States Foreign relations Japan.
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.
Douglas MacArthur was one of the most famous American Generals. He commanded troops in the Southwest Pacific during World War II (1939-1945). He also commanded the successful occupation of Japan after the war, and was in charge of the United Nations forces during the Korean War(“Douglas MacArthur Biography”). MacArthur was talented, outspoken, and in the eyes of many, egotistical. Douglas MacArthur was one of the most influential generals in United States history.
Throughout Hirohito’s years of leadership, he made several decisions for the country. One of his best moves being his announcement of Japan’s unconditional surrender on August 15th, 1945 during World War II. If Hirohito had not administered this military surrender, Japan would not have been able to develop and flourish in such a way that it has in order to reach such a point of success and progress – such as becoming the world’s 14th richest country. If Hirohito hadn’t surrendered Japan, his place in Japan’s government would’ve been abolished. Because of this admitted defeat, he thus showed his affection for his people by ending their suffering by ending their side of the war and in return, Japan’s economy and the country’s income thrived, the people remained loyal to their Emperor.