The Japanese and the War: Expectation, Perception, and the Shaping of Memory

Japanese memories of World War II exert a powerful influence over the nation’s society and culture. Concentrating on the years immediately before and after the war (1937 to 1952), Michael Lucken explores in The Japanese and the War how WWII manifested in the literature, art, film, clothing, and education reform of the time, creating an idea of Japanese identity that still resonates in everything from soap operas to the response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Lucken defines three layers of Japan’s distinct memory of WWII: the population’s expectations at the beginning of the war, the trauma caused by conflict and defeat, and the politics of memory that arose after Japan lost to the Allied powers. Emphasizing Japanese-language sources, Lucken writes a narrative of the making of Japanese cultural memory that moves away from Western historical modes and perspectives. His approach also paints a new portrait of the U.S. occupation, while still maintaining a cultural focus. Lucken sets out to capture the many ways people engage with war, but particularly the rich range of encounters Japan experienced, which, Lucken argues, the Japanese state has yet to fully confront, leading to a range of tensions at home and abroad.