Subtle Rewards

 (Two of the Hiroshima Maidens)

After World War II, Europe and East Asia were under reconstruction as a result of massive destruction of infrastructure and, in the case of Japan, the atomic bombs. The U.S. played a major role in the reconstruction initiatives, specifically with economic policies, such as the U.S. Marshall Plan.   The U.S. was able to virtually redesign the political and economic guidelines of Europe and Japan.  However for this rehabilitation to occur, there had to be some sort of mutual agreement (even if it was not mutual in the strongest sense because the U.S. took advantage of recently ruined states). In the case of Japan, the U.S. created an occupational government that reorganized the economic and political structure and pushed toward a “new Japan”. David Serlin in “Reconstructing the Hiroshima Maidens”, not only tells of the women who came to the U.S. from Japan for plastic surgery as a result of severe burns and disfiguration of their face by the effects of the Atomic bomb, but shares how this project greatly displays the themes and ideas of the time of occupation. One may question the intent of the U.S. to aid these nations in remobilization of their assets, but Chris Maier, the author of “The Politics of Productivity: foundations of American international economic policy after World War 11”, addresses that regardless of intent, the U.S. was only able to help as a result of their own rehabilitation under internal policies like the New Deal. These policies pushed the U.S. out its own economic depression and toward a more imperialistic, expansionistic mindset. Maier also mentions that the U.S. had realized by the end of the war that helping the economies of other nations would, in long term, would impact the value of the American dollar. Whether the intentions, the U.S’s imperialistic and expansionist ideals took advantage of states like Japan, by not only pouring billions of dollars into their country but also, exposing them to the western world through tangible rewards, like the Maidens of Hiroshima project -which is pictured above. These initiatives, although rejected by some, allowed the people of Japan to essentially “buy in” to Western culture.

                In “The Politics of Productivity”, Maier discusses why the U.S. had so much influence on foreign states such as Japan. Maier discusses the overarching themes that even lead to the expansionistic ideas that lead the U.S. to completely restructure the government, social norms, and the infrastructure of Japan. Maier does not tell of the small specific social movements but describes how their initial plan impacted the state a more national level. Maier states that the U.S. pushed their political agenda by “more subtly reward[ing] a generation of centrist “Atlantic” oriented European leaders (and Japanese Liberal Democrats) who found the American preferences rational and humane” (Maier 631). The subtle influences aided the longevity of western influence in Japan. These subtleties could easily be compared to the “rewards” given to the Maidens of Hiroshima. Perhaps, the U.S. knew this was the way to slowly increase “buy in” to Western culture outside of forced Occupation.

In “Reconstructing the Hiroshima Maidens”, Serlin discusses the contrasting sentiments of Westernization in Japan. Although Japanese groups often resisted this influence, it was inevitable because of the immense occupation, which had an impact of politics, economics, and even social norms. Serlin discusses the unwanted Western aid in designing the new Peace Memorial Park, of which Japan felt only they could truly understand the horrors of the atomic bomb on their city of Hiroshima. Serlin uses this point to show a standard of comparison when talking about the project of Hiroshima women to receive facial reconstruction in the U.S.. Serlin states that the disturbing effects of the bomb displayed on the physical appearances of the women affected their acceptance and normalcy in Japan. This greatly impacted the support for Westernization, especially in terms of Western medicine. While the women were in the United States, Serlin emphasizes the womens’ fascination with Western architecture, he states even at the very least “the maidens were portrayed as enthusiastic supporters of modern architecture, repeatedly commenting that they had never seen an American sky scraper before” (Serlin 76). This fascination could be justified because Serlin adds that in Hiroshima, the buildings were no higher than 7 stories. The stories told of their journey and new fascinations with architecture were precisely written to display the extent of the “buy in” to Western culture. This “buy in” was result of wanting something new and wishing to rid themselves of the tragedies of their recent history. Serlin describes how the surgeries did this physically while, the influence of the “new” or Western ideas such as architecture gave way to a new era that replaced the old ruins of Japan. To the maidens, Western medicine changed their life but, as whole, “the maiden project embodied many of the complex goals of foreign policy used by the United States in Japan” (Serlin 78).

In retrospect, the inquiry of intentions must be a subject of discussion but most importantly how this affected the nations under the U.S. “hegemony”.  Chris Maier, the author of The politics of productivity: foundations of American international economic policy after World War 11, addresses the difference in opinion on whether the efforts of the U.S.  was an “enlightened idealism or a nationalistic and capitalist expansionism” (Maier 608) . Most would argue that the results of the rebuilt architecture and economic systems of westernized influence would have the same results regardless of intentions. However, whatever the intention, the U.S. needed to constantly, yet subtly enforce “buy in” which they did through rewards and social projects. The U.S. knew occupation wasn’t completely enough to promote long-term industry and a future economic partner.

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http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue24/jacobs.htm