Postwar Japan and the Shifting Value of Popular CultureCondry / 21F.039 Japanese Popular CultureLecture 3: February 12, 2003Postwar Period at a Glance• 1945 - "burned plains" (yaki no hara)• 1955-74 high growth period• 1974 - oil crisis, restructuring• 1980s - "Bubble Economy"• 1990s - Recession• 2000s - Economic doldrums, but pop culture vitalityMeaning of "Japan" depends on eraAllinson (1997) Japan's Postwar HistoryFor him, "postwar history" starts in 1932• end of long agricultural depression• end of industrial depression• Occupation not the all-important factorThree assumptions of AllinsonGary Allinson, History Dept., Univ. of Virginia• context must be both cross-national and international• monocausal explanations fail to capture historical dynamism – economic growth important, – but also political changes (1930s, 1950s, and 1980s)– material deprivation of 1920s, population changes in 1970s• stereotypes jeopardize our understanding of Japanese historyFrom Small Agrarian Society to Industrial Giant• Currently second largest economy in the world• One of longest life expectancies• But troubled by ongoing recessionyear population life• 1935 69M, 47 years• 1945 72M• 1955 89M• 1965 98M, 68 years• 1975 112M• 1985 121M• 1995 126M, 79 yearsJapan’s Population PyramidPopulation Shift in Postwar Japan• baby boom after war• then decline birth rate• “clump generation” 1970sAntecedents, 1932 - 1945• Meiji Restoration 1868• Inequality pervasive in pre-war Japan– imperial household– aristocracy– rural/urban status divisions– bottom of society: young, women, migrants, burakuminEmperor Hirohito, the Shôwa Emperor from 1925 - 89Social changes• prewar economic growth led to urbanization• cities’ population increased by 50% 1930-35, and doubled by 1940• urbanization largely unplanned and uncontrolled• political instability• military combativeness tinged w/ racismProblems on horizon . . .War before Pearl Harbor• Manchuria euphoria• terrorism at home• fear of ABCD• nativism in education, media• 1937, southward• Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl HarborSee Reischauer (1964) p. 190"Co-Prosperity Sphere"1937, Japanese troops in ChinaImperialismThe Rise and Collapse of the Japanese EmpireSource: Dower, Embracing DefeatUSS Bunker Hill after kamikaze attackEnd of War• 1942 - Allies use incendiary bombs on Japanese cities• 1942 = height of Japanese conquests• 3 factors in Japanese defeat– small economy– naval blockade– ineffectual manpower programs• Aug. 6, 1945 Hiroshima; Aug. 9, Nagasaki• Surrender Aug. 15, 1945Revival, 1945-55• Devastation of war• Allied Occupation 1945 - 1952– reshape Japan on Euro-American political values– punitive attitude gives way in 1947 to “reverse course” (n.b., Soviets in Europe, Communist victory in China)Young boys, 1946 (Dower)John Dower (1999) Embracing DefeatDemocracy arrives from the skyOccupation as SaviorCutting the chains of militarism and business.Source: Dower (1999)Peace / AdvertisingRecovery of early 1950s• mid-1950 Korean War boosts demand• 1951 Peace Treaty - Japan gains autonomy following year• Virtuous cycle: – Korean war increased demand, – profits to invest, – new jobs, consumption and savings– more investmentGrowth, 1955 - 1974• era of high speed growth • preconditions for growth– occupational and demographic structures– skills and motivations of laborers– experience of war and reconstruction– corporate organizations primed for economic advanceTokyo 1945 and todayDemographic factors for growth• abundant supply of young workers– Population growth rapid• 1940 63 Million• 1945 72 Million• 1950 83 Million• attributes of workers also contribute to growthMoving Forward, Looking Up• SAKAMOTO Kyû– Ue o muite arukô or "Sukiyaki"• Pop song of 1961 becomes #1 Hit on Billboard charts in U.S.• Japan on the rebound• Japanese goods can make it the U.S.Pop Music• Key points:• Sign of era: recovery from devastion• Production style– in house writers and studio musicians– cute idol in front• What Americans hear may be different from what Japanese hearDiscussion of Readings• What is of value in popular culture?– i.e., what exactly are Adorno and Horkheimer'scriticisms and how might we respond?• How should we think about "authenticity" in popular culture?– Treat: popular culture is heterogeneous, like Japanese society, and this enables politics– Atkins: jazz and the authenticity