Essay Sample on The Second World War: Sacrifices by Civilians and Militarists

Introduction

The Second World War affected both the civilian population and the militarists. As it progressed, the war led to many deaths and injuries among the casualties, irrespective of whether they were directly involved in it or not. The impact of the war is still debatable especially in postwar Japan where there is an ensuing argument on whether militarists were solely responsible for the violence. The Japanese people, regardless of whether they were civilians or militarists, made sacrifices for the love of the Emperor and their nation, practiced what the education system had instilled in them, followed military strategy, and influenced each other during the war as evident in both the film, Dr. Akagi and selected survivors' testimonies. Although the Japanese civilian population and military were separate, they interacted at various points, thus contesting the notion that militarists alone were responsible for the atrocity and violence associated with World War II.

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The Japanese people made many sacrifices for the love of their nation and emperor. In the film, Dr. Akagi, the main character, Dr. Akagi, struggles to contain a Hepatitis outbreak by taking a door-to-door campaign against the disease and carrying out crucial tests (Imamura). As he undertakes his duties, he chances upon a military training exercise that involves civilians. This scene makes the audience aware of the military presence in the area and it demonstrates the inadvertent interaction between the civilian population and the military. The people are ready to make sacrifices. A survivor of the war, Miyagi Kikuko, who was among the student corps mobilized to work in the military hospital, states that apart from digging out caves that would serve as their hideouts, they continually declared in song "Give your life for the sake of the Emperor, wherever you may go" (Cook 355). These words made them endure difficulties as they faithfully undertook their duties. Miyagi adds that the youth sometimes ask them why they had to participate in such a war and she responds that for them, 'the Emperor and the Nation were supreme. For them, one should not withhold one's life' (Cook 363). Ienaga Saburo notes that the submission to the emperor was evident in 1989 following Emperor Showa's death when 'the mass media were flooded with reports on the Emperor, and tens of thousands of people went to the Imperial Palace to pay their respects' (Cook 444). This reaction demonstrates the sacrifices people had to make even in postwar Japan for the sake of their emperor. Even the ending of the war did not come as a result of the Japanese people's will but the promoters of the war who 'thought that if they let the war continue, the kokutai - the Emperor system- would be in danger' (Cook 444). Such intrigues show that the military and civilians interacted in the process of protecting the emperor system thus both were responsible for the violence.

The education system seems to have greatly contributed to the vanishing line between military activity and civilian involvement in the war. In the school system, the Japanese children were taught that patriotism was compulsory and that Americans were their enemies. In the Film, Dr. Akagi, the doctor and his classmates attend the conference in which it is evident that Japan has lost to the enemy yet none of them wants to talk about it since education has instilled the aspect of nationalism in them in such a brutal way that they would rather rot from inside than face the truth (Imamura). This perspective is emphasized by Kinjo Shigeaki in his testimony that 'the soldiers and the civilians were to fight as one united body and expend their last efforts together' to protect their dignity as a country (Cook 364). They even refused to be rescued by the American forces. Miyagi testifies that when the Americans offered to rescue the Japanese civilians trapped in a narrow island, they declined because they only thought of them as their enemies. She affirms, 'we thought we were hearing the voices of demons. From the time we'd been children, we'd only been educated to hate them,' and regrets that 'what we had been taught robbed us of life. I can never forgive what education did to us! Had we known the truth, all of us would have survived' (Cook 360). Miyagi adds, 'We'd been taught, and firmly believed, that we Okinawans, Great Japanese all, must never fall into the hands of the enemy (Cook 361). Civilians influenced each other to support the military because they believed they had to be patriotic. Kinjo Shigeaki emphasizes that he, his brother, and an age-mate of theirs debated about their impending deaths. The boy told them that since 'we're going to die anyway, let's at least kill one enemy,' and adds, 'We knew that if we were captured, we'd be chopped to pieces. They'd cut off our noses, our ears, chop off our fingers, and then run over our bodies with their tanks. Women would be raped' (Cook 365). Such debates and beliefs made the violence escalate. It also demonstrates that the militarists alone cannot be held responsible for the atrocity.

The Japanese regarded the military as sacred. Therefore, the interaction between the state and civilians was unquestionably undertaken to fulfill the military strategy. In the film, Dr. Akagi, the Japanese soldiers capture Piet, a Dutch soldier, accuse him of espionage, and torture him as they force him to give information about any secrets the enemies might have about Japan (Imamura). By the time Piet gets to Dr. Akagi for treatment, he is badly injured. The medics, as testified by Miyagi, were ordered to withdraw to Ihara and they had no choice despite having a host of injured soldiers whom they were ordered to leave behind (Cook 357). The Japanese military strategy was so concealed that the seriously injured soldiers would be 'murdered to protect military strategy' since the military feared that these immobile fighters might be captured by the Americans and be forced to reveal the Japanese army's situation (Cook 357). Postwar Japan is in denial of the fact that they lost the war because 'from the viewpoint of the Japanese state system, the military remained above criticism. The Emperor led the military. Thus the military was seen as sacred, although the army and navy were merely state organizations. There were, in fact, no institutional limitations or mechanisms to check the military in cases where it acted on its own discretion' (Cook 442). This freedom demonstrates that there was a very thin line between civilians and the military during the war. As the soldiers fought to protect military strategy, civilians were given orders that they had to follow. The interaction, therefore, casts doubts about the military alone being responsible for the war.

Conclusion

In summary, although the civilian population and militarists are distinct, there is a very thin line between them. The interaction between the two entities, as demonstrated in both in the film, Dr. Akagi, and survivors' testimonies, complicates the postwar argument that militarists alone were responsible for atrocity and violence in World War II. Apart from revering the military, the education system had instilled the aspect of patriotism and made the Japanese people believe that Americans were enemies in whose trap they must never fall. Ienaga Saburo even asserts that in postwar conversations, it is evident that 'a large number of people still believe that the war was for the sake of the nation, or that Japan was driven to a corner and had no other choice' (Cook 444). As the war progressed, both the militarists and civilians suffered but they endured it all for the sake of their emperor and nation since they believed they had been provoked thus had to take action. Therefore, the interaction between them, as evident in the testimonies and the film, casts doubts upon the notion that militarists alone were responsible for atrocity and violence.

Works Cited

Cook, Haruko Taya, and Theodore F. Cook. Japan at war: an oral history. The New Press, 1993.

Imamura, Shohei. Dr. Akagi. Imamura Productions. 1998.