Tuesday, January 18, 2022
The Hirohito Question
Adolph Hitler is rightly looked at by most Americans as perhaps the most vile person in history. He earned it, too-- initiator of the Holocaust, populist promoter of ethnic superiority, warmonger-- there was a lot of awful in there.
It's odd, though, that Japan's leader during World War II, Emperor Hirohito, is rarely mentioned in the same way. Like Hitler, he believed in the ethnic superiority of his people, initiated horrible war crimes, and began wars-- including an unprovoked attack on the United States. While there was nothing directly analogous to the Holocaust, the victims of Japan's war and occupation in China, Korea, and other places suffered terribly. Hirohito personally authorized the use of poison gas, and made the decision to attack Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong and the Phillipines in December, 1941.
It might be surprising to some that Hirohito was not displaced as the 124th Emperor of Japan after the war, but in truth he remained as Emperor until 1989!
Why, do you think, he suffers barely a fraction of the judgment we (properly) give Hitler? I'm not sure I know the answer to that.
Comments:
<< Home
I am going out on a limb here but the US was founded primarily by Western Europeans so our education systems have not focused on the histories of other continents. The early Africans and Asians in the US were thought of as a lesser person and were here in the states as slaves or laborers. What I know of Korea and Vietnam is due to minimal television news coverage due to wars and their portrayal in just a few films and television shows. Growing up, Japan was represented by Godzilla and Godzilla vs... films. I am sure in retrospect those characters have much deeper meaning.
Post a Comment
<< Home
