I could not help but recognize so many of the names and characters in Bix’s book. This, in and of itself, is not unusual at all because I lived in Japan since birth in 1949 – nearly 4 years after the end of World War II – through 1972. “Ten-noh Heika,” or “His Majesty the Emperor,” as everyone in the country addressed him, was always present during the entire time I was there. Perhaps because of the emperor’s presence as the symbol of Japan, there was a sense of stability in the country. This rather peaceful external environment, however, was in direct contrast to my home, which was headed by a violent alcoholic, my father. Never did I connect the dots between these two, seemingly diametrically-opposed, conditions in Japan until I began writing my autobiography, which was published in March 2012.
Going back in time, at age 19 in 1968, I won the top prize in the Asahi Evening News Intercollegiate English Essay Contest. Asahi Evening News is an affiliate of Asahi Shimbun. This was a national event and, consequently, the beginning of some people in the Japanese establishment recognizing my existence. I was a student at Aoyama Gakuin Women’s Junior College (of a Christian faith) in Tokyo. I began being introduced to some of the either family members or actual people mentioned in Bix’s book.
The Saionji family, for instance, was well known in Japan. Having been too young at the time, what I did not realize was that they were well known partially because of their close relationship with the imperial family. If it were not for Bix’s book, I would never have known the reason. In 1971, I was introduced to Kinkazu Saionji, grandson of Prime Minister Kinmochi Saionji. The occasion was the visit by Dr. Elizabeth K. Comber, aka Dr. Han Suyin, who wrote “A Many-Splendored Thing.” Some of you may recall that this book was later made into a 1955 movie called, “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing.” Interestingly enough, however, by the time Dr. Han visited Japan, she had banned this book from further printing. The reason was that she believed the content was counter to the communist ideology of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. This revolution, which began in 1949, lasted until when Chairman Mao Tsetung died in September 1976. It makes me wonder if she supported the Cultural Revolution which, in the name of its own ideology, killed an estimated 40 million citizens – primarily those considered to be intellectuals and bourgeoisie, in order to protect her own life.
In any event, Dr. Han had close ties with China’s then Premier Zhoe En-Lai. My job was to escort Dr. Han and her then husband, Vincent Ratnaswamy, during their stay in Japan. She was being invited by Asahi Shimbun as a guest lecturer. Mr. Saionji, who worked tirelessly to help improve Japan’s relationship with China, was one of the few select individuals to be invited to small dinner parties held in Dr. Han’s honor.
Another individual to whom I was introduced was Yōko Matsuoka, the daughter of Yōsuke Matsuoka. He is best known for his defiant speech at the League of Nations in 1933, ending Japan’s participation in that organization. Asahi Shimbun chose Ms. Matsuoka as an interpreter for Dr. Han’s lectures, which she presented in English.
Shortly after Dr. Han’s visit, I began working for Bernard Krisher, who was the Bureau Chief of Newsweek Tokyo Bureau. He, too, is prominently mentioned toward the end of Bix’s book. Around that time in 1971, at age 22, my future trajectory was starting to take shape – if I were to have stayed the course in Japan, that is. (More on this in my future blog post, “A different path.”)
Asahi Shimbun was the only newspaper to which my parents had subscribed the entire time I was growing up and into adulthood at home. I never thought to question its contents as anything other than facts. I believed that the job of reporters was to seek and present facts to the public without any judgment or ulterior motives. In fact, I always felt a sense of indebtedness to Asahi Shimbun because of its role in making my future a very bright one. As a young female in Japan, the role this national essay contest had played was significant. It gave me confidence that I could do anything I chose to do in life. It is an under-statement, therefore, to say that I was shocked to find out that merely a quarter century prior to the contest, i.e., during WWII in the 1940s, Asahi Shimbun was a major propaganda machine, with its top brass being responsible for its skewed contents. Forty-some years later, this revelation is coming to me via Bix’s book. This proves the point that, in order to find the truth, one needs to be open to learning from various sources, even from those who have opposing views from one’s own belief system. No matter how one thinks or feels, the truth is the truth.
Over the years, I have learned to take what I read and/or hear in the major American news media with a grain of salt. Just as I used to believe Asahi Shimbun as a trusted source, many in the United States still believe the sound bites of what they hear in the news as “the truths.” Whether it is right, wrong, or indifferent, the media has the power to influence people’s thoughts and behaviors. It takes strong, independent minds to think for themselves AND to adapt appropriately to the changing environment in which we all live today.
Is what I believe today truth or fiction? I am not 100% sure. I only know that my thoughts and behaviors have been shaped by what I believe to be true.
