The Pacific War

History classes in the U.S. absolutely make sure to cover WWII, but more attention is always given to the European conflicts, with the Pacific War taking a back seat. When the Pacific War is mentioned, it is usually just to talk about either Pearl Harbor or the atomic bombings. Those obviously are important events in our history, but there was much more to the American and Japanese conflict during the Pacific War than those popular events.

Pictured above is a section of Tokyo after being firebombed by the U.S. These firebombings are not as popular of a topic to cover about the war in the U.S., but in Japan they remain a topic discussed in history classes. These firebombings happened frequently all over Japan during the war and the civilians of Japan dreaded every siren that went off, signaling a bomb warning.

Grave of the Fireflies is a movie and novel that depicts the lives of war orphans who went through the firebombing of Kobe. What makes this story exceptionally powerful is how much detail is given describing the misery of the orphans' lives, no matter how horrible. In Japan, these movie was marketed along side My Neighbor Totoro, a children's film. The intended audience of the film says a lot about the education of Japanese on topics such as this. This film was my first encounter with the firebombings in Japan and, not knowing the history that I know now, I can say it only becomes more powerful with the more you learn.

This is just one example of the Pacific War as taught to Japanese youth, but it is a very effective example. The people who watch it, regardless of nationality, are moved by the efforts of the characters and their struggle. Even if Americans can be moved by the story without being familiar with the historical setting and significance, it is important to look further into what happened in the Pacific War for the film to have its full impact.