Allied evaluations of the enemy’s intentions and capabilities.” He also examines the language of the conflict, which means how the war and race words come together “in a manner in which did not reflect the savagery of the war, but truly contributed to it…” (11) The first chapter: Patterns of a Race War, Dower examines the role played by the propaganda that both sides use. He goes on to explain how the “Know Your Enemy: Japan” movies commissioned by the War Department and directed by Frank Capra, and the Japanese works “Read this and the War is Won” and “The Way of the Subject” assist in forming the perception of each side. He also takes a look at the primitive emotions that the war produced and how these emotions leaked into the behavior of the war especially in the cruelty and the war crimes that were generated by the hatred of both sides. He recaps the targeted bombings of civilians by both sides and how these bombings were seen as “barbaric” by the other side when it was their turn to be the victim. (48) Dower also talks about the ferocity of the war and how for the Americans the war brought forth “emotion’s forgotten since our most savage Indian wars.” (33) He counteracts this with European war, especially how the Japanese and their doings were perceived in Western media, but similar actions by the Germans, such as the Holocaust, were put to the side by Western media. (35) Lastly, he uses this section to examine the fundamental arrogances of the Japanese toward the allies as being weak and “psychologically incapable of recovery” taken in regard of the Pearl Harbor attack and the allied view of them as “treacherous.”
In the second section “The War in Western Eyes,” Dower explains the attitudes and actions of the Americans and British toward their Japanese enemy.
He takes a look at the idea that the Japanese were always viewed as less than human and so often depicted as apes or monkeys. The belittling of the Japanese is seen clearly in the titles used in this section. Apes and others, (77) Lesser and Superman, (94) Primitives, Children, Madmen (118). Dower uses cartoons and illustrations in military publications and well-known magazines to further describe these actions. In this chapter Dower begins his examination as the Japanese went from being referred to as “the one time “little man” into a Goliath… Super-human, tough, disciplined and well equipped.”(113) Also Ambassador Joseph Grew, described on his return from Japan, that the Japanese were; “sturdy,” “Spartan,” “clever and dangerous,” and that “his will to conquer was “utterly ruthless, utterly cruel and utterly blind to the values that make up our civilization….”” (113) In this chapter Dower also examines how some Americans and British described the Japanese “National Character,” their tactics in war, and behavior during the war from Freudian psychiatry as well as Anthropology and other social and behavioral sciences. Dower cites many experts of the time and their understandings of the Japanese national character, although “itself questionable,” (124) the fact is that the implementation of these philosophies is what had a major …show more content…
influence on the Allied war against Japan. Part three: The War in Japanese Eyes does just as the title says, gives the reader the perception of the war through the eyes of the Japanese. It begins with “The Pure Self” which is the way that the Japanese viewed themselves. The major component of Japanese racism against Westerners was influenced by the “impurity” of the Westerner. This “ as also happened to their enemies, their prejudices affected the war conduct: the way they evaluated and frequently misjudged…” (203) While the Japanese “were occupied far more exclusively with elevating themselves,” (205) they viewed their opponent as having a “selfish desire for world conquest.” (205) This led to late war developments such as the training of Kamikaze pilots, which was also associated with the fundamental idea of purity. In the next chapter of this section Dower explains how the Westerners were always seen as the dark side of the stranger, which would manifest itself in beastly or atrocious behavior. He then continues to explain the story of the idea of the Co-Prosperity Sphere, which was an entity, which was supposed to establish Asia as a belonging of Japan. Dower explains that racism which saw Japan at the middle of this Pan-Asiatic world "reflected Western intellectual influences as well as Western pressures", and that the "patterns of supremacism" embedded in Japanese writing about other Asian races was "analogous" to Western racisms (265). Finally the last section of Dowers “War without Mercy” is the Epilogue. The Epilogue explained how rapid the transformation of racist ideas one, of the other was. Dower says, “How could the race hates dissipate so quickly?” (301) The fact was that it was simple, the racist perceptions each of one had for the other, were wrong. “The Americans were not demons… And the Japanese were more diversified and far more war-weary than their enemies had been led to believe.” (301) Although peace was made, Dower also explains to us how evil perceptions of each other were not dismissed; they were just put to the side. For the Japanese “ this is the side of the demon that prevailed: large, powerful, human, protective, awkward, vaguely forbidding, generally but not entirely trustworthy.” (305) As well as for the Americans, they once saw the Japanese as “simian” enemies, which changed and instead saw themselves as parents to their Japanese children. “Racial undertones, however muted, have been present on all sides in the postwar relationship… and it is predictable that harsher racist attitudes reminiscent of the war years will again arise at times of heightened competition or disagreement.” (312) Dower concludes this section with a critical reminder that “World War Two in Asia has become central to our understanding not only of the past, but of the present as well.” (317)
In “War Without Mercy,” John Dower argues that racism on both the American and Japanese sides made it feasible to advance a war, which was significant for its bloodiness and brutality.
It is seen clearly in the book that both sides were so much alike, and then critiqued for the same things. This hypocritical aspect is what led to the war but the Americans, like the Japanese were too preoccupied with winning that they could not focus on the wrongdoings they each were committing. For example, in America Frank Capra was asked to prepare a series of orientation films or American troops to watch. The “simple working motto that decisively shaped the style and texture of the films: Let the enemy prove to our soldiers the enormity of his cause-and the justness of ours.” (16) While simultaneously the Japanese soldiers were given a booklet titled: “Read This and the War is Won.” It’s purpose- was to spiritually mobile the Japanese for a protracted conflict and inspire them to take up and “shield and spear” to destroy evil, bring about justice, and protect the country’s “shining history” of 2,600 years. Another similarity in their propaganda methods was of course under-mining of each another. The image of the Japanese superhuman depicts an American soldier being the hero and has a comment on the top where a women is reading to her child that says “And so brave Jack defied the Giant Ogre…” (188) In “people of the Southern Region” a photo signifies “many of the ways the Japanese
signified their superiority.” (200) In both images both sides make themselves the superior. The logic behind both methods of propaganda was undoubtedly alike, as well as the troops commitment to their country. Just like the “Japanese fighting men did not surrender,” (67) a U.S combatant stated that his primary goal was to “simply kill as many Japanese as possible.” (53) Not only did these ideals sound alike, but their war and hate crimes made by each side proceeded to be in the same manner. Dowers most powerful argument in the book is “Even the most basic attitudes toward life and death, which many participants in the war claimed were fundamentally different among Japanese and Westerners, prove on closer scrutiny not to have been so drastically unalike.” (11) The book “War Without Mercy,” by John W. Dower is a very informative and illuminating analysis that focuses exclusively on the racist aspects of the Pacific War. When I first picked up the book I thought it would be a recap of what we were learning throughout the semester. Fortunately enough, this book is actually the opposite. Although it does tie in to key points we read about, it unveils a side of history that most of us American students are shielded away from. Reading this book has informed me of a very different side of American War tactics, and although some might assume this makes the book biased, it is actually not. New to my knowledge “many of these deaths occurred in the final year of the conflict, after Japans defeat was already assured.” It is surprising to me that the U.S had taken advantage of the Japanese, in a way that the U.S criticized Japan for behaving. Dower does an amazing job in explaining how the Americans perceived the Japanese, and how the Japanese perceived the Americans, and how these perceptions altered the wartime conflicts that went on. Just as Dower concludes his book by saying “World War Two in Asia has become Central to our understanding not only of the past, but of the present as well” sits with us as we contemplate on how our world continues to move forward politically. Like he has also stated throughout his book, these perceptions of one another have not been thrown out, but merely pushed to the side, and it is only a matter of time before either side does something horrible for it to be brought up again.