Session 7 - 10/26 (afternoon), William Tsutsui

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,
I thought you might enjoy this YouTube clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1xRJN8z_sY

It's short and has a simple message about being a good parent.

[Kurt Hansen]

Anti-nuke is woven into Japanese culture. Absolutely due to the atomic bombs on Hiroshima nad Nagasaki, maybe, reinforced by Godzilla and the destruction of Tokyo, I watched Godzilla when I was a young kid. It was one of my older brother's favorite movies. When I lived in Japan, I rented the original from a store in Sasebo. I actually liked the Japanese version better, sans Raymond Burr. I think the message is better received in its original incarnation. It's not just a freaky monster movie. Its definately an anti-nuke anthem. When I was in Japan I went to the Nagasaki Peace Park. I got to see the Cranes draped over the statues in memory of the casualties of the atomic bomb. Kids on school trips actually asked for signatures for anti-nuclear petitions. Tokyo may have been destroyed by Godzilla and rebuilt in every film, but Nagasaki was completely destroyed by an atomic bomb and it's effect has lingered for generations through a seemingly simple, freaky monster movie.

[Angela Chong]

Japan's eventual growth after WWII was significantly influenced by the control the US had in Japan post WWII. The fact that Japan was no longer allowed to spend on military meant that they ended up investing in their own economy and benefitted by the protection of the US military bases. What started off as a punishment in the end helps Japan get back on it's feet and then eventually surpasses the United States and becomes an economic rival. By valuing the Yen as the US did, Japan is able to compete internantionally, to the point where the US realizes they now have a competitor internationally. Once Japan is a threat one of the ways the US tries to deal with it is to devalue the Yen, without letting Japan know. I found a comment made in our session regarding US attitudes towards Japanese products at the time as inferrior quite interesting, just as the US is currently trying to do with Chinese goods. Looking back at the history with Japan and then today the economic competition with China, makes me wonder what other messages the American public is being fed, as a way of influences what we consume more. In our household we only own Japanese vehicles, whereas in other parts of the country it's more likely to be domestic vehicles. I'm sure some of that has to do with the location of the auto industry and the factory locations. Still, even if Japan is a rival, the US benefits by having positive relationship with a strong economic power in East Asia. 

[Angela Chong]

I was surprised at the depth of meaning of the creature Gojire, the original 1954 Japanese movie that becomes Godzilla when it comes to the US. I have found my husband watching old movies, and never took the time to realize that this monster is the result of US testing and is the symbol of the destruction caused by the Atomic Bombs. I talked with him and he was well aware of the storyline, as he watched Japanese TV as a kid when he visited his grandparents in Hawaii. I had an entirely different appreciation for creative way that the original filmaker found a way to tell the story and jave the Japanese people be victorious in the end against it. While I realize that since the Japan lost the war they didn't really have the freedom to be angry at the United States, but I'm still surprised there wasn't more outcry. I've seen some documentaries, obviously done later, but it seems it was safer to do in the form of a fictitious monster like Godzilla after the war. 

[Angela Chong]

I was also thinking of the children after what they lived through during WWII. Especially those that were taken from the cities during the war. In our other Monday night session Samuel Yamashita mentioned that older kids would take food from the younger and they would cry themselves to sleep. I can't imagine that it was as simple as going back home after, if they had a home and family to return to. There really wasn't much discussion of the effects on those children, and you know they dealt with issues after the fact. I wonder if there aren't diaries of these kids, where they processed what they couldn't talk about?

[Angela Chong]

I found the discussion of Japan after WWII and the tremendous growth that took place in part because the government and business were working towards the same goals to be very interesting. The idea that the businesses would look to the governemnt for direction is quite different from the US way of doing things. Entrepreneurship is not very common in Japan, and there is a significant reliance on the government to guide business even today. Having the two aligned to the same goals does make reaching those goals more likely, but in terms of today's issues in Japan I wonder how this arrangement will continue? I was surprised to learn that Japan has borrowed 2 1/2 times their GDP, a figure that seems unsustainable. I wonder if this concerns the Japanese people? I know there is discussion of the aging population and what will happen in the future, but to have so much borrowed I don't know what will be done to solve this? I am concerned about our own dept in the US, and seeing what happened to Greece recently, it's scary to wonder how it will continue? 

[Iris Marin]

I saw this recently after all the fires here in Southern California, and Japan came up unfortunately. For your knowledge...

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/Fire-UNESCO-Japanese-Shuri-Castle-564136661.html

[Iris Marin]

So, I have this obsession with a brand called tokidoki which means sometimes in Japanese. Tokidoki is the brain child of Italian artist Sigmone Legno. The above picture comes from his Kaiju City line and it goes to show the influence Japanese popculture has throughout the world.

[Haena Shin]

The lecture was very engaging and insightful. I found a deeper appreciation and understanding of the Godzilla movies and how it represented the grief of the Japanese people. Having been able to visit Japan, I was also amazed at the global influence of Japanese animation and the presence it holds through its apocalyptic imagination and contemporary Japanese pop culture. 

The article about Japan's economy shed light on how it's economy continued to maintain preeminence yet was at war with itself. "Japanese companies in Southeast Asian countries also increased Japanese influence by creating loosely integrated networks, sometimes called "villages," that allowed them to communicate and cooperate closely with Tokyo. Japanese aid programs contributed to these networks, closely tying Tokyo's foreign policy to the interests of Japanese corporations." This integration of Japan's influence in neighboring countries allows Japan to influence both economically and diplomatically in these countries. However, "But Japan's foreign investments no longer bring with them the industrial dominance or political clout they once did. For one thing, there is now more competition: American and European firms have increased their presence in Asia, and Hong Kong and Taiwan have become major regional investors." The end of the article also points out that Japan could have much more potential if it allowed the role of highly educated women to take up more productive job positions as seen in China and Japan. 

 

 

[Andrew Frank]

I totally agree, Liz, that there is a definite contrast in comparing American disaster movies to Japan's in the 20th century; a sense of darkness seems something Japan was not afraid to deal with on a grand scale. This is most clearly evident in the way that Gojira directly dealt with the trauma of Hiroshima/Nagasaki itself in 1954, by making the origin of the monster rooted in "U.S. bombing in the Pacific." When the American adaptation of the film occured, Godzilla: King of Monsters, not only refused to acknowledge the political aspects (the U.S. involvement) but the dark thematic elements of war/bombs all together. Was/is the United States more afraid as a culture to deal with the idea of our distruction? Is the fact we are such a "young country" to blame for our fear of Armageddon? I love that Professor Tsutsui brought up the fact that Japan was able to witness first-hand the resilience of its people after its giant earthquakes, tsunamis, and the ravages of nuclear war. (Even in the 1960s, it seems Tokyo itself was rebuilt "every week" for the Tokyo Olympics). Will it take more destruction in America for us to finally reckon with the reality that we Americans are not invincible?

[Andrew Frank]

Marcos, I certainly agree that learning about the zaibatsu was fascinating - the notion of "financial cliques" (truly conglomerates) that dominate a marketplace does not seem far off from the United States's own economic structure. (Since I am a fan of entertainment, media groups specifically come to mind, like Comcast & Walt Disney Co.) I do question your statement about "private sector and government...knowing their place in the system" though. Although there seems to be monetery value in the dual economy of Japanese zaibatsu and "salarymen," and the idea of coporate parternalism can do a lot of good for employees (i.e. health, childcare, etc.), Professor Tsutsui mentioned that in this dual economy, the elite industry was very small in nature...If most workers ended up actually in middle-tech industries, with low wages, are we really looking out for the "little guy" (through a democratization of wealth, unionization, labor activism, etc.) or just letting the elite reign supreme? It is a debate that is especially relevant in America at the moment and will continue to be, at least through the 2020 Presidential election.

[Andrew Frank]

Sara, I love the idea that you mention incorporating "art therapy" into classrooms, aiding students in processing national (as well as their own personal) trauma. In regard to your difficulty in seeing how Takashi's work may be a response to the violence of Nagaski/Hiroshima, I believe that what Professor Tsutsui was hinting at was the vast array of ways trauma is processed in art: in the darkness of Gojira and the "monster movies," the violent cynicism of Akira, and the bright fantasticism of Takashi. I myself am personally a big fan of the horror film genre and know that Japan has a long history of "ghost stories" (dating back to the Edo/Meiji period). Many of their horror films are deeply violent and sinister, and in their American adaptations, have actually been "brightened" (i.e. Ringu to The Ring, Ju-On to The Grudge). I feel perhaps the only difference is that America does not simply dive "deep enough" in creating art that is a direct reaction to our own personal history of trauma...

[Matthew Hurwitz]

I found the connection between History and Pop Culture that was discussed in the lecture fascinating. In particular, the way in which pop culture, in this case the Godzilla movies, can be a way of venting societal pain and frustration that cannot, or will not, be talked about openly. It made me think about how I can incorporate more popular culture primary source materials into my lessons, looking more at what ordinary citizens were reading or watching, and not just focusing on official documents. It also made me think in paritcular about Godzilla and how that character has (or hasn't) been translated into a "mainstream" Hollywood blockbuster by American studios. Without the cultural history and baggage that goes with the Godzilla character in Japan, the American movies have turned the character into a somewhat generic monster action movie, stripping out all of the orignal deeper meaning to them, and replacing the Japanese fears and societal issues with American fears and issues. It's interesting to look at clips from both the American and Japanese movies, and compare how each side interprets the same character through their own cultural lens.

[Matthew Hurwitz]

I was also very interested to learn about Zaibatsu and how this facet of the Japanese economy was structured, and how this structure changed and adapted to the economic period after the war. It was interesting to think about how culture and economics merge together, something which many of us don't take into account when we think about Capitalism and how it works. The ways in which common economic systems are implemented differently was not something I had thought about before, but something that I'm going to have to do some more research on before teaching economics and economic systems in the Spring!

[Matthew Hurwitz]

I was also interested in how the U.S. and Japan reckon with our trauma through disaster movies. One of the things that I was thinking about after the lecture was how this Japanese approach to the Godzilla movies/franchise will change given the demographic challenges that Japan now faces. Will the movies become even darker, focusing on further acts of "destruction" and conflict in Japan as it faces more real world challenges, or will they become more nationalistic and focus on Japanese preserverence and ability to overcome obstacles? 

 

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