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History Honored and Dishonored Guests: Westerners in Wartime Japan

Honored and Dishonored Guests: Westerners in Wartime Japan (Harvard East Asian Monographs)

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The brutality and racial hatred exhibited by Japan's military during the Pacific War piqued outrage in the West and fanned resentments throughout Asia. Public understanding of Japan's wartime atrocities, however, often fails to differentiate the racial agendas of its military and government elites from the racial values held by the Japanese people. While not denying brutalities committed by the Japanese military, Honored and Dishonored Guests overturns these standard narratives and demonstrates rather that Japan's racial attitudes during wartime are more accurately discerned in the treatment of Western civilians living in Japan than the experiences of enemy POWs.

The book chronicles Western communities in wartime Japan, using this body of experiences to reconsider allegations of Japanese racism and racial hatred. Its bold thesis is borne out by a broad mosaic of stories from dozens of foreign families and individuals who variously endured police harassment, suspicion, relocation, starvation, denaturalization, internment, and torture, as well as extraordinary acts of charity. The book's account of stranded Westerners - from Tokyo, Yokohama, and Kobe to the mountain resorts of Karuizawa and Hakone - yields a unique interpretation of race relations and wartime life in Japan.

About the author

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W. Puck Brecher teaches courses on East Asia and specializes in early modern and modern Japanese social and cultural history. His past research projects have focused on Japanese thought, aesthetics, urban history, race, private spheres, autonomy, as well as contemporary environmental issues. Currently, he is working on several projects pertaining to the history of Japanese animal care and hunting.

Item information

Category
History
Added by
JREF
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632
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Additional information

Author
W. Puck Brecher
Publisher
Harvard University Asia Center
Year of publication
10 August 2021
Number of pages
372
Price
USD 24.95
ISBN
978-0674260214
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