In 1945, Douglas MacArthur, the American five-star general whom the Japanese had vowed to capture, sat in Tokyo as the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces and became the emperor of all Japanese. Before the outbreak of the Korean War, he had only left Tokyo twice, to revisit his hometown in Manila and to visit Seoul. The rest of his energy was devoted to the transformation and reconstruction of old Japan.
Tommy Lee Jones recreates a classic scene in the movie "The Truth About Sunset"
MacArthur's activities in Japan are very regular:
He comes and goes twice a day When he went to the Allied Command Office in the former Japan Daiichi Life Insurance Building at the U.S. Embassy, ??he never interacted with ordinary Japanese. He just stayed in the office and gave orders. Only 16 Japanese were lucky enough to have more than two conversations with him. , these people are without exception celebrities and dignitaries such as prime ministers and university presidents.
MacArthur would attract Japanese onlookers when he went to and from get off work
He led a team of 1,500 soldiers and civilians (increased to 3,200 by 1948) to issue a report to the Japanese authorities. The series is enough to "touch every Japanese and reshape his thoughts, feelings and lifestyle". The Americans formed small teams and went deep into communities and some civil organizations to provide American-style civics education to even Japanese housewives. Some later observers described the occupiers as sometimes showing superior idealism and generosity, handing out chocolates and candies. , willing to listen, willing to take strangers to the hospital, doing good deeds without asking for anything in return, and even turning sideways to let the Japanese pass first when they meet on a narrow road.
Of course there are also unpleasant aspects. Ordinary American soldiers enjoy the most superior treatment. They occupy the best houses in Japan, with cooks, valets and maids, gardeners and laundresses. , all the expenses are paid by the Japanese government. When Christmas comes, lights are decorated everywhere, but only the Stars and Stripes are allowed to be flown. In June 1948, a man in Yokohama was detained for six months for flying the Japanese flag without permission. The decrees and notices posted everywhere begin with "According to the orders of the occupying forces", always reminding the Japanese of their defeated status. Some Japanese may also want to resist, but the nearly one million American troops stationed in Japan are the solid foundation of these decrees. Backing up, no one dares to disobey.
The U.S. battle fleet anchored in Sagami Bay
MacArthur carried out forced modernization of Japan almost according to his personal wishes. He destroyed the chaebol system, reformed the education system, and forced Truman Providing food aid to Japan, which was in ruins after the war, allowed ordinary Japanese to survive during those most difficult days. The latter's hatred was eventually replaced by gratitude.
The Allied High Command receives a large number of letters from all over Japan every day. The number is astonishing, and most of them are written to the Supreme Commander himself. According to incomplete statistics, from September 1946 to May 1951, the U.S. Translation Bureau processed 441,161 letters and postcards. The writers came from all walks of life in Japan. A small part of them were in English, and the vast majority were in Japanese. Written, the content is filled with gratitude that overflows from the page. Professor Sodei Hayashijiro, a Japanese researcher, has carefully read some of the letters. He believes that this is "an unprecedented communication between the conquered and the conqueror in history." The letter writers actually accounted for seven thousandths of Japan's adult population at that time. Five, that's a terrible ratio.
The vanity MacArthur gained from these letters can be imagined. Most of the letters began with titles such as "godlike kindness" and "living savior". An old man in Aomori Prefecture said that he worships MacArthur's portrait every morning and evening, just like he did to the emperor in the past. A local cultural association in Kobe produced a Japanese-style painting of Mount Cristo. In the painting, MacArthur was educating the Japanese like Amaterasu. The association claimed that MacArthur "had a compassionate heart like the Buddha", using the Analects of Confucius. A famous saying describes him as "having friends come from afar".
Some ordinary men and women confided in him the sins of militarism in the past and confessed to him like a priest. MacArthur also received many gifts, which were like tribute to the monarch.
A fisherman wrote in the summer of 1948 that he had been thinking hard about how to pay tribute to the general, declaring that "because of your outstanding ideas and talents, the Japanese have achieved something that even many years of bloody fighting could not achieve," so he decided Presenting the most delicious product known to all - catfish. Starting from November 1946, a Japanese craftsman spent three years at Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto to create a completely handmade brocade kimono and belt for MacArthur. As a "symbol of the souls of 70 million pure citizens", every stitch represents With respect from a Japanese.
All kinds of gifts flew in like snow flakes, including dolls, pottery, lacquerware, bamboo products, ancient books, bonsai, animal specimens, armor, swords, paintings, and calligraphy. The number was overwhelming. When he occupied Japan, MacArthur was already 65 years old, so he also received countless birthday gifts, especially rattan and walking sticks that are common in Japan. As for food, there was even more, such as mushrooms, tea, adzuki beans, lotus roots, potatoes, pickled salmon, Dried chestnuts, soybeans, honey, rice and rice cakes.
In January 1951, in order to celebrate MacArthur’s 71st birthday, officials and gentry of Kanagawa Prefecture presented a bronze bust of MacArthur in the name of the people of the county and took a group photo in front of the bronze statue.
A Japanese baker cried and asked the Allied High Command to bake bread for MacArthur. A group of Ainu people, the indigenous people of Hokkaido, Japan, killed a deer and offered its antlers and antlers, claiming that it was Expressing "his gratitude to our people for defending our territory and establishing a society of law and order," an old Japanese woman sent a dozen live chickens, someone else a canary with a black cross on its head, and someone else a canary with a black cross on its head. Bible copied in Chinese characters.
The Americans made laws for Japan. A man copied the laws on a fan and gave it to MacArthur. A 10-year-old boy recorded the growth of the pumpkin he was going to give to the general every day. His father I drew a picture of a pumpkin, and my mother wrote a warm letter of thanks and sent it to the Allied Commander.
Some people begged MacArthur for help. Some people requested timely repatriation because their family members were still overseas. Some people accused others of being militarists and demanded that the US military bring them to justice. High school and college students reported on their teachers, some former Japanese soldiers were reported for hiding swords as souvenirs, and some alleged that neighbors had anti-American sentiments and demanded severe punishment. In short, the Japanese who once claimed to be patriotic are now keen to inform the Allies and betray their compatriots.
Other people wrote letters asking the United States to turn Japan into a colony and occupy it forever. Some people wrote letters asking for the retention of the emperor, while others asked for the abolition of the emperor system. One letter writer said that "the emperor of Japan is the biggest egoist" and a "vampire", and another asked for the hanging of at least 100,000 militarists. MacArthur is extremely deified in the hearts of Japanese people. The Asahi Shimbun called him "our father", and some Japanese women simply expressed their wish to "give you a child."
Japan experienced earth-shaking changes during that period, and was almost forcibly brought into modern society by MacArthur. The spiritual world that the Japanese were once proud of was eventually replaced by the United States with its powerful force, abundant materials and advanced technology. Overwhelmed by civilization.
At that time, Japanese painter Kenro Endo had a cartoon in which a lame Japanese veteran encounters an American soldier accompanied by a Japanese woman. The contrast in the body shapes of the two is huge. Kenro Endo gave this picture The painting has a long title: How much has changed in the world since these two met on Guadalcanal a few years ago.