Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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In the wake of World War II, a group of white women was brought to Japan to “liberate” its women. They spoke little or no Japanese and didn’t know much about the country. But these “occupationaires,” as they were called, had a tall mandate: Set Japanese women free by introducing them to the American way of life. Michiko Takeuchi explores the work of these women, who colonized Japanese kitchens even as they themselves defied their mission.
The occupationaires were members of the US Women’s Army Corps (WAC), and the country they encountered in 1945 was literally in ruins. Years of ruthless Allied bombings had taken their toll, and up to 3.1 million Japanese people had died both in battle and on the homefront. Poverty and homelessness were rampant. Not least, the country was reeling from the devastation of two atomic bombs.
..... Images of modern kitchens and the prosperous, well-fed women who cooked in them served many purposes, writes Takeuchi: They reminded Japanese people who had won the war and even served to explain the loss. Japanese kitchens, which contained wood-fired stoves, were presented as inferior and inefficient—a symbol for the inefficiency and inferiority that the American occupiers implied had caused Japan to lose the war.
daily.jstor.org
The level of propaganda geared towards the kitchen is incredible. Send in a bunch of white, single women that didn't speak the language and traveled around the world to teach American style domesticity is fantastic and arrogant with a bow.
The occupationaires were members of the US Women’s Army Corps (WAC), and the country they encountered in 1945 was literally in ruins. Years of ruthless Allied bombings had taken their toll, and up to 3.1 million Japanese people had died both in battle and on the homefront. Poverty and homelessness were rampant. Not least, the country was reeling from the devastation of two atomic bombs.
..... Images of modern kitchens and the prosperous, well-fed women who cooked in them served many purposes, writes Takeuchi: They reminded Japanese people who had won the war and even served to explain the loss. Japanese kitchens, which contained wood-fired stoves, were presented as inferior and inefficient—a symbol for the inefficiency and inferiority that the American occupiers implied had caused Japan to lose the war.
The Unlikely Role of Kitchens in Occupied Japan - JSTOR Daily
After World War II, "occupationaries" tried to spread American-style domesticity to Japanese women.
daily.jstor.org
The level of propaganda geared towards the kitchen is incredible. Send in a bunch of white, single women that didn't speak the language and traveled around the world to teach American style domesticity is fantastic and arrogant with a bow.
