Mood of confusion before ww2

Ringo Shina (Ringo means apple in Japanese, it's a very cute name ) is an artist. Her mood is a little eccentric and her emotional lyrics are cool. She was a solo singer, but a few years ago she formed a band called "Tokyo Jihen" with four other members. You can see their "Shuraba" here. and more in this ringoblog

Jihen means incident in Japanese and its mood is a little old. Many japanese might remember the "Mukden incident"in 1931 because of their band name. I think that they also named the band to recall the confused, chaotic mood of Japan just before ww2. (check their CD design). In those days, Japan was not only full ofpatriotic militarism, but western influence was also getting stronger after Taisho chic. It was a time mixed with gloom, darkness, decadence and hedonism.

The band name "Tokyo Jihen" also reminds me of Tokyo Rose. Tokyo Rose is a second-generation Japanese-American. While she visited her aunt in Japan, ww2 began and she could not return to the U.S.. To earn money, she worked for a branch of NHK (Japanese national channel) and started to broadcast Japanese propaganda radio programs with Australian and American p.o.w.’s After the war, she was jailed in "Sugamo prison", but she was released from custody for lack of evidence. She wanted to return to the U.S. but she was indicted on charges of treason by the U.S. government. The judicial trial is said to have been filled with racial prejudice. She received a 10 year prison sentence, but the trial was called in question in the 70s and later she was finally pardoned by President Gerald Ford. Her story is interesting, you may read her entire story in this site. I heard she is still living in Chicago.

By the way my favorite band "Ego Wrappin" (Sikisai no bruce, Psychoanalysis) has a similar mood to Tokyo Jihen, dark and hedonistic. But as far as their band name in English, my image could be "after ww2". It's somewhat confusing...:-r ne?

Comments

[cheap oakley sunglasses]

GOOD

[emily]

hey i need some ideas for a story and the feelings of live in japan. have any ideas?

hey yaz! cool band

[claire]

good

[Mari]

Hi there
Ms Toguri was just a tool for Japan, and also for the U.S. It's very sad story.

[Martin]

Dali, you are right, the military really must have wanted to find her, and I agree that they were the ones who did injustice to her. I meant in the very early days, it was a news magazine that put up money as a finders' fee. It became a news story, and judging from the photos during the Sugamo inprisonment the media harassed her a lot. There is a photo of Ms Toguri behind bars that really upset me. Anyway, media obviously had orders, too. Her story is very interesting.

[BlogPetのtokiokun]

こうさぎなどをofpatrioticすればよかった？

[I am Dali]

martin: do you mean decades after the war, after she'd already been imprisoned, detained, fined, slandered, harassed?

which parts of the "media" are you asking me about, and at which point in history?

the answer is no, i don't think the "media" took advantager of her, compared to what the military and civil authorities did to her.

[Marshdrifter]

Yeah, I didn't realize all that behind Tokyo Rose. If Taro is talking about the store that I'm thinking of, I've been shopping there for years and never made a connection with the name. Weird.

[Martin]

Actually, I am Dali, it seems the US media really took advantage of her, don't you think? And it is interesting that there was not one "Tokyo Rose" but several. I wonder what happened to the others... Too bad NHK has no information, at least not in English!

[I am Dali]

iva yoguri never did anything wrong. everybody knew that, except the hysterical, vindictive racists after the war.

the racist politicians and the hysterical military/civilian officials in america who perpetrated internment should have been indicted and sentenced for their crimes (which appear to be an actual betrayal or act of "treason").

the same kind of people also helped drop a lot of bombs on innocent people.

[Martin]

Great video, what a bass player! Perfect for a sunny, chilly November day...

[taro]

I heard Tokyo Rose is still living in Chicago.

Ms Toguri aka Tokyo Rose ran a "goods from the orient store" and let me tachi-yomu/read all her manga when I was a teenager. The store, which is on the Northside of Chicago around the corner from Belmont Station, still exists but is always closed since Toguri-san is well over 75 years old (she lives above the store). Nice lady and even in the 1950s everybody in the neighborhood was protective of her since the injustice was well known by then.

[Ude]

I'm a fan of Shiina and Tokyo Jihen, so the little background info of the band's name was interesting to read. I always wondered what was there a story behind it. Thanks for clearing it for me!

[Chris]

i didn't know the whole "tokyo rose" story. very sad. :-(

Chris