japanese feelings

[persian893]

In the thread about japanese morals, Maciumo said that because of the
japanese ethics of seeing the vanquisher as right and justified, it has been
easy for Japan to adopt a large part of the winners lifestyle and attributes
after WW2. But my question is - no indiscretion intended - is the friendly
smile only superficial, i.e. is there really no grudge, no deep rooted desire for
compensation, for "vengeance" if you will, in japanese people? I just cant
imagine there should not be any such feelings after the horrible nuclear
catastrophe of 1945.

best regards,
P.


add:
I must ask pardon for my forwardness, if you feel asking this question is an indiscretion for a foreigner. In this case please just leave this thread unacknowledged.

[Mandylion]

From my experience, I would say in some people there might be a feeling of anger at how the war turned out, or rather the course that Japan has taken away from nationalism since the end of WWII. But these people tend to be right-wing thinkers and do not represent the majority.

For the vast, vast, vast remainder of the Japanese public, the bombs and the war were tragic, and deserve to be remembered as acts of great horror and sadness (including Japanese invasions of other countries) but they belong to the past. For a country as rich in history as Japan, if people know about history at all (fewer than you think do), there is a distinct line between then and now which might provide the emotional safety switch that keeps feelings from turning from saddness to rage.

But I'm just going off my own experience. Even in the deep countryside, I have never been approached by someone of that era (WWII) and blamed for what happened. But it is not because they don't remember - in a hill not too far from my house are two abandoned bomb shelters, constant reminders to anyone who knows what they are - rather because they know I had nothing to do with it.

Similar to Maciamo's great topic, the Japanese often don't visit the sins of the grandfather on the son (nor even the father's, but there are cases where they can). But this is a double edged sword - it feeds the misunderstandings over places like Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo and dealing with China and Korea over WWII.

Just my two cents.