American Shogun: General Macarthur, Emperor Hirohito and the Drama of Modern Japan

by Robert Harvey

Book Overview

Confronts the enigma of MacArthur's struggle against--"and rebuilding of--"Emporer Hirohito's Japan. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585678910
• ISBN13: 9781585678914
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

In the end, the power structure is still there

Although the subtitle implies the book is about the intertwined fates of MacArthur and Hirohito, and there are biographical elements to it, the book is really a comparison between Japan's pre-war and post-war culture and power structures. Essentially this is a narrative history of the internal and external politics than led to Japanese aggression against Russian and China, which led ultimately to Japan's attacks across the rest of Asia and against the United States in December 1941. The author argues that Japan's internal politics, economic concerns, and the power dynamic of the Emperor, the military, the bureaucracy, and the zaibatsu led to its wars against virtually all of its neighbors. He goes on to argue that after the war, despite MacArthur's best efforts, that same Japanese power structure survived and still exists today. And it's a power structure that believes it was the victim, that its invasions of its neighbors were justified, and that Japan was not militarily defeated but that it had to surrender because the US had nuclear weapons. Another very interesting point the author makes is the amazing difference in the way the allies treated the Japanese after the war vs. Germany. Aside from a few show trials, there were no major war crimes efforts in Japan. At the same time, while Germany was subject to a rigorous de-Nazification program, the Japanese power structures were left intact. This is an excellent, easy to read narrative history that puts everything in context. It begins with a brief history of Japan, especially covering the period between the time Japan was forcefully exposed to the world, through to WWII. It then has an overview of the war itself, followed by and interesting analysis of post-war Japan. If you like WWII, you will want to read this book in order to understand the context of Japan's aggression.