I was watching a very interesting program on the history channel on the battle of Attu. This was during the Aleutian Islands campaign during world war two. What makes this story most interesting is that the Aleutian islands were the only part of the United States to be occupied by a enemy millitary power during the second world war. The story began after Pearl Harbor, a group of Japaneese soldiers, supported by air and sea support occupied two Aleutian Islands off the cost of Alaska. The main force was at Kirska but a smaller force was assembled at Attu. The US army organized itself at the Island of Atka and dispatched members of the 8th army Infantry, which had trained in California. While occupying these islands the Japaneese carted off the 40 civilian inhabitants of the islands, and killed one man, a teacher at the local school who became the first US civilian casualty during the war.

After spending a very cold winter stranded on the Island of Atka the US forces were ready to attack by spring of 1943.
The US forces, hoping not to engage the superior force at Kirska, landed at Attu. Defended by 2 to 3 thousand troops, the Japaneese forces were vastly outnumbered. All the same they inflicted many casualties on the US forces. When the Japaneese ran out of amunition and supplies, the fixed bayonettes and charged the US forces and engaged in hand to hand combat. In the end only 43 Japaneese men survived the fight. Many Japaneese committed sappaku rather than surrendering. Later the US landed at Kirska only to find the island abandoned.

The bonsai charge of the Japaneese infantrymen was an incident which was later to be repeated throughout the war. In Iwo Jima, in Okinowa and everywhere, the Japaneese preferred death to surrender.

During such incidents as the Bataan Death March, in which Japaneese marched american prisoners, bayonetting and beheading them along the way, the Japaneese earned a reputation for cruelty. It is often remembered though that Japaneese regarded surrender as dishonorable.

I have often though, what can motivate people to put their sense of honor above all else. The Japaneese who survived the war rebuilt their nation and it is now an industrial superpower. It is hard to immagine the Japaneese people of today to be the same people who fought, killed and died with such abandon.

What I find particurly odd is that a people who were so devoted to war and had an ancient warrior culture can also produce such art and beauty. The Temple Gardens of Kyoto are legendary. Japeenese art and music are also well known. Japaneese religion and philosophy stress oneness with nature and submission to the natural forces.

Just from what I noticed when I was in Japan...

The Japanese culture doesn't embrace individuality or any sense of every man for himself. The culture is strongly based on duty, loyalty of and within a group, rather than the individual's personal wants.

Like I said, this is just what I've noticed about the Japanese people I've met over there.

Lack of individuality......sounds like a certain military service.....USMC!:D

Live to fight another day...anything less is foolish.

Exactly...there is a sense of uniformity. Asiatic societies emphasise collectivism. This also pertains to Japaneese business ethics. In the Japaneese economy, employees serve their companies. One is expected to devote their entire career to a corporation.

I do love one thing about the Japaneese in particular and that is Japaneese art. I think that this nation has produced some of the greatest art in the world. The Japaneese garden in particular is an integration of nature and man made environment.

There is a certain gentleness in this type of culture. Paradoxically the competitiveness of the Japaneese economy forms and interesting contrast. I suppose that oriental philosophy does offer an explaination for this. There is a ying for every yang. Ballance is acheived by blending contast.

Originally posted by Criminal
Exactly...there is a sense of uniformity. Asiatic societies emphasise collectivism. This also pertains to Japaneese business ethics. In the Japaneese economy, employees serve their companies. One is expected to devote their entire career to a corporation.

I do love one thing about the Japaneese in particular and that is Japaneese art. I think that this nation has produced some of the greatest art in the world. The Japaneese garden in particular is an integration of nature and man made environment.

There is a certain gentleness in this type of culture. Paradoxically the competitiveness of the Japaneese economy forms and interesting contrast. I suppose that oriental philosophy does offer an explaination for this. There is a ying for every yang. Ballance is acheived by blending contast.
Very good points...;)

As I recall, the emperor was "God On Earth", and the suicides & suicide missions were a fore-runner to the current batch of Islamic religious homocide bombers/maniacs.

careful, dont get too sentimental & misty eyed when describing the orient. most japanese were lied to in massive propaganda campaigns preceeding WW2. inside the intense militaristic school system, japanese folks were routinely told that white americans were boorish, dumb brutes who held very little esteem for the life of a colored man.

in fairness, we gave them reason to believe the hype. US had slavery, near genocide of indians & hearst's san francisco was brutal for japanese immigrants. the militaristic japanese saw themselves as champions of the dark skinned world. few african americans even privately rooted for the japanese. "the great brown hope" ironic, considering japanese mostly had contempt for africans & chinese.

the japanese saw us in very much the same way european colonizers saw africans. they preferred death to surrender because their captors were savages. capture=torture and a slow, painful death. i suspect it had very little to do with honor. their literature was sprinkled w/ stories like 47 ronin. but weve got ajax. and dont forget romeo & juliet.

Originally posted by Noffy
careful, dont get too sentimental & misty eyed when describing the orient. most japanese were lied to in massive propaganda campaigns preceeding WW2. inside the intense militaristic school system, japanese folks were routinely told that white americans were boorish, dumb brutes who held very little esteem for the life of a colored man.

in fairness, we gave them reason to believe the hype. US had slavery, near genocide of indians & hearst's san francisco was brutal for japanese immigrants. the militaristic japanese saw themselves as champions of the dark skinned world. few african americans even privately rooted for the japanese. "the great brown hope" ironic, considering japanese mostly had contempt for africans & chinese.

the japanese saw us in very much the same way european colonizers saw africans. they preferred death to surrender because their captors were savages. capture=torture and a slow, painful death. i suspect it had very little to do with honor. their literature was sprinkled w/ stories like 47 ronin. but weve got ajax. and dont forget romeo & juliet.
All the same the Japaneese were not all that humain to other asiatic people. In China, during the capture of Nanking, they raped, murdered and tortured chineese people in masses. The orgy of bloodletting lasted two days.

The Japaneese had a particularly low regard for black american soldiers. When the POW camps were liberated following the war no black prisoners were found. This is because the Japaneese usually killed black prisoners outright.

true, true. japanese had their own ideas about race. japanese were at the top, whites somewhere in the middle, blacks were the bottom of the heap.