The other main component of the 1940s axis was the Empire of Japan. Headed by Emperor Hirohito and military commander Tojo, the Empire served as the conqueror of the Pacific and all of Southeast Asia during the second world war. At their disposal was an army so infamous and influential, that it would annihilate its own kind if only to strike fear and casualties into the hearts of its enemies.
A relatively late entry to the war, Japan made its entrance known with the devastating 1941 attack of Pear Harbor, a United States naval base in Hawaii.
A relatively late entry to the war, Japan made its entrance known with the devastating 1941 attack of Pear Harbor, a United States naval base in Hawaii.
As the dumbfounded United States began declaring war on the formed axis, the Japanese Empire suavely turned back to its objectives in the pacific theatre. Soon, the Manchurian regions of China and much of eastern Asia would answer directly to Tokyo.
In their conquest of the Pacific theatre, the Japanese utilized the aspect of their militaristic elite that is, without a doubt, the strongest theme and implication that can be tied to modern day culture surrounding the military. This was the Japanese system of battle honor.
“As the left disintegrated, ultra-nationalism began to loom large. Japanese nationalism was born at the end of the nineteenth century. During the Meiji period, industrialisation, centralisation, mass education and military conscription produced a shift in popular allegiances. Feudal loyalties were replaced by loyalty to the state, personified by the Emperor.”
http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/imperial-japan
In Japanese culture, the essence of the military was one with the wishes of the people. A draft was simply not seen as something to be feared or dreaded, rather it was a divine honor to serve one's empire in the field of battle. The Japanese adopted their code of undivided honor into nearly every aspect of their existence. Every waining moment of their training was an internal journey as well as an external aptitude heightening. They learned tact, valor, the use of their war machines, and more along side the honor of their emperor. Along with this theme of honor came the infamous Kamikaze.
In their conquest of the Pacific theatre, the Japanese utilized the aspect of their militaristic elite that is, without a doubt, the strongest theme and implication that can be tied to modern day culture surrounding the military. This was the Japanese system of battle honor.
“As the left disintegrated, ultra-nationalism began to loom large. Japanese nationalism was born at the end of the nineteenth century. During the Meiji period, industrialisation, centralisation, mass education and military conscription produced a shift in popular allegiances. Feudal loyalties were replaced by loyalty to the state, personified by the Emperor.”
http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/imperial-japan
In Japanese culture, the essence of the military was one with the wishes of the people. A draft was simply not seen as something to be feared or dreaded, rather it was a divine honor to serve one's empire in the field of battle. The Japanese adopted their code of undivided honor into nearly every aspect of their existence. Every waining moment of their training was an internal journey as well as an external aptitude heightening. They learned tact, valor, the use of their war machines, and more along side the honor of their emperor. Along with this theme of honor came the infamous Kamikaze.
The goal of a Kamikaze initiate was to utilize all of their munitions and firepower against their enemy, and once all of their projectile munitions were spent, they would use the fuselage of their own craft was a high-velocity rocket aimed to eviscerate a final critical target of choice. The way of the kamikaze was a tactic used in the Japanese Empire in abundance, and has certainly taken its claim as an infamous tactic through which destruction of the adversary is achieved.
The effects had by the Japanese profound perception of honor by death were visible even as the war was progressing. To combat and nullify the Japanese suavity, the United States went to work demonizing the Asian Empire. To this day, an offset of shameless racist tropes and stereotypes exist due to the initial reactionary response to the Japanese war effort. While insanely effective at the time, the Japanese would ultimately pay more than their dues for the wars of the past with a seemingly endless onslaught of western bigotry.
In summative terms, the unorthodox ways by which the Japanese Empire waged war during the 1940s mixed with a terrified western culture, and created a bizarre legacy of social and racial apartheid that in some ways still exists today.
"In terms of specific examples, we see the example of Jeremy Lin, Taiwanese basketball player...
There have been high-profile Asian-American athletes before, Michelle Kwan and Tiger Woods being the most obvious. There have also been Asian players in the NBA before, such as the now-retired 7ft 6in Yao Ming. But Lin is the first American in the league of Chinese or Taiwanese descent and this, it turns out, has been a difficult concept for some to grasp.
One shouldn't expect thoughtful sensitivity from professional athletes or the most hysterical wing of the sports media, but the racist language and even flat-out racism directed at Lin has been quite something to behold."
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/21/jeremy-lin-racism-asian-americans
In summative terms, the unorthodox ways by which the Japanese Empire waged war during the 1940s mixed with a terrified western culture, and created a bizarre legacy of social and racial apartheid that in some ways still exists today.
"In terms of specific examples, we see the example of Jeremy Lin, Taiwanese basketball player...
There have been high-profile Asian-American athletes before, Michelle Kwan and Tiger Woods being the most obvious. There have also been Asian players in the NBA before, such as the now-retired 7ft 6in Yao Ming. But Lin is the first American in the league of Chinese or Taiwanese descent and this, it turns out, has been a difficult concept for some to grasp.
One shouldn't expect thoughtful sensitivity from professional athletes or the most hysterical wing of the sports media, but the racist language and even flat-out racism directed at Lin has been quite something to behold."
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/21/jeremy-lin-racism-asian-americans