America's Geisha Ally: Reimagining the Japanese Enemy

by Naoko Shibusawa

Overview

During World War II, Japan was vilified by America as our hated enemy in the East. Though we distinguished "good Germans" from the Nazis, we condemned all Japanese indiscriminately as fanatics and savages. As the Cold War heated up, however, the U.S. government decided to make Japan its bulwark against communism in Asia.

But how was the American public made to accept an alliance with Japan so soon after the "Japs" had been demonized as subhuman, bucktoothed apes with Coke-bottle glasses? In this revelatory work, Naoko Shibusawa charts the remarkable reversal from hated enemy to valuable ally that occurred in the two decades after the war. While General MacArthur's Occupation Forces pursued our nation's strategic goals in Japan, liberal American politicians, journalists, and filmmakers pursued an equally essential, though long-unrecognized, goal: the dissemination of a new and palatable image of the Japanese among the American public.

With extensive research, from Occupation memoirs to military records, from court documents to Hollywood films, and from charity initiatives to newspaper and magazine articles, Shibusawa demonstrates how the evil enemy was rendered as a feminized, submissive nation, as an immature youth that needed America's benevolent hand to guide it toward democracy. Interestingly, Shibusawa reveals how this obsession with race, gender, and maturity reflected America's own anxieties about race relations and equity between the sexes in the postwar world. America's Geisha Ally is an exploration of how belligerents reconcile themselves in the wake of war, but also offers insight into how a new superpower adjusts to its role as the world's preeminent force.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674057470
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	09/30/2010
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Naoko Shibusawa is Associate Professor of History at Brown University.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Women and Children First 13

2 "Like a Boy of Twelve" 54

3 Sunday at Hirohito's 96

4 A Transpacific Treason Trial 140

5 A Kamikaze Goes to College 176

6 Channeling Atomic Guilt 213

7 Hollywood's Japan 255

Epilogue: Rising Sun Redux 288

Notes 299

Acknowledgments 375

Index 379

What People are Saying About This

A significant contribution to both American cultural history and international relations. As she shows Americans' use of hierarchical notions of gender and maturity to "re-imagine Japan," Shibusawa never lets the reader forget that such public ideologies play critical roles in American foreign relations.

Beth Bailey

A significant contribution to both American cultural history and international relations. As she shows Americans' use of hierarchical notions of gender and maturity to "re-imagine Japan," Shibusawa never lets the reader forget that such public ideologies play critical roles in American foreign relations.
— Beth Bailey, Temple University

Mari Yoshihara

A wonderfully compelling history that demonstrates the historical, political, and moral complexities of Cold War liberalism. The book builds a much-needed bridge between U.S. history, Japanese history, and Asian American history.
— Mari Yoshihara, University of Hawaii

Andrew J. Rotter

This superb book shows how ideas about gender and maturity allowed Americans to reconstruct the Japanese as well-intentioned and cooperative, if not their equals altogether. Sophisticated and imaginative, America's Geisha Ally is as delightful to read as it is compelling in its arguments.
— Andrew J. Rotter, Colgate University

Michael Schaller

America's Geisha Ally is a rarity: a sophisticated historical study that combines theory, archival research, and literary grace. Insightful and highly original, the book shows how popular culture reshaped the samurai and kamikaze villain into the innocent and seductive geisha and "oriental" child of the western imagination. How Americans came to terms with their victory over Japan is a marvelous counterpart to the literature on how postwar Japan came to terms with defeat.
— Michael Schaller, University of Arizona

Akira Iriye

An unusually interesting book that traces the parallel transformations of Japan and the United States after their long war. As the American occupation personnel were teaching the defeated Japanese how to reform their ways, the American people also were learning, through their occupation experiences, how to become racially tolerant, liberal "world citizens." A major addition to the literature on post-1945 U.S. and international history.
— Akira Iriye, Harvard University

Editorial Reviews

An unusually interesting book that traces the parallel transformations of Japan and the United States after their long war. As the American occupation personnel were teaching the defeated Japanese how to reform their ways, the American people also were learning, through their occupation experiences, how to become racially tolerant, liberal "world citizens." A major addition to the literature on post-1945 U.S. and international history.

Akira Iriye

A significant contribution to both American cultural history and international relations. As she shows Americans' use of hierarchical notions of gender and maturity to "re-imagine Japan," Shibusawa never lets the reader forget that such public ideologies play critical roles in American foreign relations.

Beth Bailey

This superb book shows how ideas about gender and maturity allowed Americans to reconstruct the Japanese as well-intentioned and cooperative, if not their equals altogether. Sophisticated and imaginative, America's Geisha Ally is as delightful to read as it is compelling in its arguments.

Andrew J. Rotter

Shibusawa provides a fascinating account of how the U.S. image of the Japanese in the decades after 1945 underwent a remarkable change from hated enemy to valuable ally needing guidance towards democracy...[A] sophisticated cultural history.

Choice - M. D. Ericson

America's Geisha Ally is a rarity: a sophisticated historical study that combines theory, archival research, and literary grace. Insightful and highly original, the book shows how popular culture reshaped the samurai and kamikaze villain into the innocent and seductive geisha and "oriental" child of the western imagination. How Americans came to terms with their victory over Japan is a marvelous counterpart to the literature on how postwar Japan came to terms with defeat.

Michael Schaller

Ingeniously combines social history and domestic history by discussing how American citizens contributed to the process of incorporating Japan into the US-led liberal capitalist framework in the years immediately after the Second World War. By analyzing a range of cultural texts, this book provides a nuanced understanding of the ways in which postwar ideologies in the United States supported American foreign policy.

Journal of American Studies - Yujin Yaguchi

Naoko Shibusawa, assistant professor of history at Brown University, has written an entertaining and erudite account...of the evolution of American views of Japan in the years following Japan's surrender in August 1945...I wholeheartedly recommend this book to specialists and nonspecialists alike. Shibusawa's training in U.S. history, not only intellectual history but popular culture, enables her to offer insights into the process by which Americans reconceived a hated racial foe into an eager pupil in need of paternalistic tutoring.

Asahi Weekly - Kenneth J. Ruoff

A wonderfully compelling history that demonstrates the historical, political, and moral complexities of Cold War liberalism. The book builds a much-needed bridge between U.S. history, Japanese history, and Asian American history.

Mari Yoshihara

America's Geisha Ally is a rarity: a sophisticated historical study that combines theory, archival research, and literary grace. Insightful and highly original, the book shows how popular culture reshaped the samurai and kamikaze villain into the innocent and seductive geisha and "oriental" child of the western imagination. How Americans came to terms with their victory over Japan is a marvelous counterpart to the literature on how postwar Japan came to terms with defeat.--Michael Schaller, University of Arizona

A significant contribution to both American cultural history and international relations. As she shows Americans' use of hierarchical notions of gender and maturity to "re-imagine Japan," Shibusawa never lets the reader forget that such public ideologies play critical roles in American foreign relations.--Beth Bailey, Temple University

An unusually interesting book that traces the parallel transformations of Japan and the United States after their long war. As the American occupation personnel were teaching the defeated Japanese how to reform their ways, the American people also were learning, through their occupation experiences, how to become racially tolerant, liberal "world citizens." A major addition to the literature on post-1945 U.S. and international history.--Akira Iriye, Harvard University

An entertaining and erudite account (a rare combination!) of the evolution of American views of Japan in the years following Japa''s surrender in August 1945...Shibusawa's sparkling prose makes America's Geisha Ally a fun and enlightening read.--Kenneth J. Ruoff "Asahi Weekly" (5/5/2007 12:00:00 AM)

Ingeniously combines social history and domestic history by discussing how American citizens contributed to the process of incorporating Japan into the US-led liberal capitalist framework in the years immediately after the Second World War. By analyzing a range of cultural texts, this book provides a nuanced understanding of the ways in which postwar ideologies in the United States supported American foreign policy.--Yujin Yaguchi "Journal of American Studies" (12/1/2007 12:00:00 AM)

Naoko Shibusawa has written an entertaining and erudite account (a rare combination!) of the evolution of American views of Japan in the years following Japan's surrender in August 1945...Shibusawa's sparkling prose makes America's Geisha Ally a fun and enlightening read.--Kenneth J. Ruoff "Asahi Shimbun" (5/5/2007 12:00:00 AM)

Naoko Shibusawa, assistant professor of history at Brown University, has written an entertaining and erudite account...of the evolution of American views of Japan in the years following Japan's surrender in August 1945...I wholeheartedly recommend this book to specialists and nonspecialists alike. Shibusawa's training in U.S. history, not only intellectual history but popular culture, enables her to offer insights into the process by which Americans reconceived a hated racial foe into an eager pupil in need of paternalistic tutoring.--Kenneth J. Ruoff "Asahi Weekly" (5/5/2007 12:00:00 AM)

Shibusawa provides a fascinating account of how the U.S. image of the Japanese in the decades after 1945 underwent a remarkable change from hated enemy to valuable ally needing guidance towards democracy...[A] sophisticated cultural history.--M. D. Ericson "Choice" (10/1/2007 12:00:00 AM)

This superb book shows how ideas about gender and maturity allowed Americans to reconstruct the Japanese as well-intentioned and cooperative, if not their equals altogether. Sophisticated and imaginative, America's Geisha Ally is as delightful to read as it is compelling in its arguments.--Andrew J. Rotter, Colgate University

A wonderfully compelling history that demonstrates the historical, political, and moral complexities of Cold War liberalism. The book builds a much-needed bridge between U.S. history, Japanese history, and Asian American history.--Mari Yoshihara, University of Hawaii

From the Publisher

Ingeniously combines social history and domestic history by discussing how American citizens contributed to the process of incorporating Japan into the US-led liberal capitalist framework in the years immediately after the Second World War. By analyzing a range of cultural texts, this book provides a nuanced understanding of the ways in which postwar ideologies in the United States supported American foreign policy.
— Yujin Yaguchi

Journal of American Studies

Shibusawa provides a fascinating account of how the U.S. image of the Japanese in the decades after 1945 underwent a remarkable change from hated enemy to valuable ally needing guidance towards democracy...[A] sophisticated cultural history.
— M. D. Ericson

Choice

Naoko Shibusawa has written an entertaining and erudite account (a rare combination!) of the evolution of American views of Japan in the years following Japan's surrender in August 1945...Shibusawa's sparkling prose makes America's Geisha Ally a fun and enlightening read.
— Kenneth J. Ruoff

Asahi Shimbun

An entertaining and erudite account (a rare combination!) of the evolution of American views of Japan in the years following Japa''s surrender in August 1945...Shibusawa's sparkling prose makes America's Geisha Ally a fun and enlightening read.
— Kenneth J. Ruoff

Asahi Weekly

This is a bold book in which the author quite openly discusses the racial and gender prejudices of Americans toward the Japanese during World War II and the early Cold War. Americans recognized that there were "good" and "bad" Germans -- the latter limited largely to the Nazis themselves -- but the Japanese were more generally demonized with blatantly racist terminology. Even liberal scholars joined in the attacks on the Japanese by discussing the Japanese "national character" in quite negative terms. During the occupation, the U.S. military depicted the Japanese as immature people who needed instruction in many dimensions of modern life. Even with the advent of the Cold War, the treacherous, myopic, bucktoothed "Jap" continued to appear in American popular culture. Shibusawa makes the telling point that Americans eventually had to change their views of the Japanese in part because of feelings of guilt about dropping atomic bombs on two defenseless Japanese cities. American GIs also helped change the image of the Japanese, especially as many married Japanese women. Yet a degree of ambivalence lingered on, and there was some uncertainty as to what role Japan could best play in the emerging international system. This is a significant study that combines analysis of popular culture with judgments about international relations.

Foreign Affairs