post-war ventriloquism
Image:
A
few days after the surrender of Japan to Allied forces, a diminutive
Hirohito paid a visit to General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander
of the Allied Forces. MacArthur arranged for this one photo to be
taken, sending that the Japanese people an indisputable message
that their Emperor was, in fact, a small man, and leaving no doubt
about who was in charge. Later, on the Battleship Missouri,
a formal ceremony would be held in which representatives of the
Emperor would sign documents of surrender. Hirohito was spared execution
for his war crimes, because the Allies felt that as a purely symbolic
Emperor, he could be useful to them in carrying out their plans
for post-war Japan. Under MacArthur's tutelage, Hirohito announced
that he was not a god, but merely a normal man. MacArthur and the
Americans prepared a new Constitution for Japan which is still in
use today. (credit: unknown)
Music montage: The
Japanese National anthem, Kimigayo, begins and is at once
interrupted by General
Douglas MacArthur announcing the surrender of Japan
accompanied by a rousing rendition of Star Spangled Banner, the
national anthem of the U.S. A fragment of the Japanese anthem reappears
and fades away. (credit: sound montage by L. Fisher combines fragments
from Star-Spangled Banner, Kimigayo, and the voice
of General MacArthur (United Newsreel, National Archives, USA)
--Load
time: ~17 sec.
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(c) 1999 John Borneman
& Linda Fisher, All Rights Reserved
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