I was once told by a Taiwanese person who lived through the Japanese occupation that the arrival of the nationalist army was a shocking experience.
He didn't idealize the Japanese occupation, but said that the main negative aspects he remembered were one or two local cases of police brutality and the fact that Taiwanese weren't allowed to eat rice during the war, instead subsisting on taro. Even late into the war, the Japanese soldiers he regularly saw were well-kempt and professional in appearance, owing to the specific role that Taiwan played in the Japanese war effort. He spoke fluent Japanese and Taiwanese, and passing Mandarin.
When the KMT army arrived, they had spent a decade fighting, and were at that time in the process of losing a civil war. They were, he said, haggard, hungry, and dressed in irregular clothing, sometimes close to rags. The contrast between the Japanese soldiers that had lost the war and the Chinese soldiers that had "won" was mind-boggling to the people in his town.
I could imagine the Taiwanese memory of the Japanese colonial era is heavily colored by what came after. I think it would be hard to maintain an accurate memory of the hardships of Japanese colonial rule during the 30-40 years of what was essentially a period of even more brutal Chinese colonial rule, complete with cultural assimilation methods and government posts primarily reserved for non-natives.
hi tripp, thanks so much for reading and sharing your friend's history and perspective. My sense is that the narrative you've laid out sounds about right, though it's worth stressing that the Japanese violently removed and ethnically cleansed indigenous people. btw, the historical transition is also detailed in Peng Ming-Min's A Taste of Freedom, where he talks about this time period in detail. At one point when the KMT arrived, his father was tasked with organizing a welcome ceremony for the soldiers. Then, when they arrived and started immediately inquiring about how much money the city had, he realized with shock that the Taiwanese were being treated as a conquered people. At that point on, he stopped calling himself "Chinese."
Thank you. Fascinating essay. Do you think that the women in the great hall at Baitou were being nostalgic for Japan rule or simply admiring their kimonos? As an American, I admire classic Japanese architcture (as for example in your photo) and at the same time detest what their government did. My parents could not hold these two views because WWII. Separating arts and crafts from government actions seems reasonable (just as we don't blame citizens for the crimes of their states). But to do so, you need to have some distance. Your essay suggests that Taiwanese people have acquired that distance faster than Koreans. This doesn't mean necessarily that the occupation was any less severe; responses differ. Of course, enjoying kimonos could reflect ignorance of history or some kind of actual nostalgia (Stockholm syndrome??); those are obviously less salutary. Maybe a combination...
As always, i really appreciate your reading the substack tobias, and i'm so curious about what your parents experienced (and how they processed it in relation to japanese imports and culture!). Which part of the US are they from and did they have a military background? i think a lot of people in taiwan would agree with you—that it's possible to acquire distance from colonial history and to adapt its cultural legacy to one's contemporary native time and place. Others would reply there's been no real reckoning. And still more would say that "reckoning" has to be broader than vengeance and entail a restorative vision. So: complicated! But pretty fascinating stuff, and I think esther's work is valuable to show us how descendants of another former colony of japan experiences taiwan.
Michelle, Albert, thank you for reply. I find your substack powerful, informative, and fun (not necessarily in that order!). Ester's piece was no exception. Thank you for continuing to communicate with your far flung readers. So since you asked, my dad was born in 1922 and grew up in Brooklyn NY. His father had immigrated from Ukraine (or somewhere around there, not sure); he was a rabbi and his first call was to Salt Lake City Utah in 190-something—there's a story. My dad grew up in NYC where his dad had moved. But when WWII was raging and my dad was flunking out of art school he enlisted. But he was, so the stories go, not really military matierial and he wound up serving on the Merchant Marine (these were ex-soldies assigned to merchant ships). He was in the Pacific for a few years during the war but he didn't see "action" (I mean he was not a solider; I am not sure what the Merchant Marine did, but i think it was mostly extra workforce to handle cargo, in some cases probably mitarly cargo hitching a ride). I was born in 1957. During my childhood and later, my dad did not revile Japan but rather ignored the country. However, once in a while he would let fly with a completely caustic bit of racial sterotyping. My dad was literate, our house teemed with books and art, but I can remember nothing from Japan. There were things from China (including food). I don't think he would have had any first-hand experience of Japan, those ships would not have docked in Yokohama. I remember zero stories of relatives who were killed as soliders. But maybe those years in scary bleak conditions out on the Pacific were enough to turn him off permanently? My step mom is very much my mom; she joined the family when I was 6, but is 20 years younger than dad. [Yes, she was a student, very uncool, but fwiw they stayed happily married til he died (in 2000).] So she is one generation younger than my dad. I never heard her say anything racist about Japan but on the other hand she also expresses zero interest in the country or culture. I lived in Japan in 2008 and my mom responded as if I were no more than around the corner. I have never explored this with her; perhaps it is spousal loyality? She is deeply engaged with things (the history of women at work) so it could be a question of bandwith.
I think reckonings become more and more difficult with time. How do you reckon with crimes that were committed by people no longer alive? I don't know. The only thing that seems clear is that history matters. People do need to know what went on. Maybe that is the most we can hope for? An intellectual reckoning? Is that enough? Anyway thank you for your wonderful work. TB
I agree with Tobias that the women in the great hall at Baitou were not necessarily being nostalgic for Japan rule although it could. The author seemed to jump into these kind of conclusions throughout her article. She also did not understand how Taiwanese' great suffer under KMT rules. My mother told us how Taiwanese whole-hearted welcomed the KMT army thinking they were saved from the Japanese rule only to face more persecution, oppression, and discrimination. The KMT took most resources from Taiwan thus resulted in hyperinflation. The currency plummeted overnight. 40,000 old dollar became 1 new dollar. My parents were not naive that things were not right under Japan rule, but it was much worse when the "fellow country men" arrived. You can't blame them for siding with Japan.
Thanks so much Su-Mei for reading! I appreciate your perspective and am really curious about that time in history. I would love to talk to you more about your family experiences.
Thank you for always giving voices to those underserved, beginning from "Reading with Patrick", at least that was how I got to know you. You attended Taiwanese American Next Generation conference years ago. I participated in the first generation TACEC program but got a copy of your book.
Thank you for this piece! As a native of China, I find Taiwan and Korea's differing relationships with Japan and their colonial past very interesting, and it was great to hear a Korean-American perspective on Taiwan.
Really enjoyed this piece by Esther. I learned so much! As someone who spent many years growing up in Taiwan, I honestly don’t even realize what is Japanese or what isn’t, so I appreciated the essay pointing out all these daily details of Taiwan I did not even realize (fish in water situation). I have some close Korean friends and through those friendships learned of our contrasting experiences and relationships to Japan. Also just traveling through China, well... that was a big thing. I think it’s interesting to think about how nationalism is upheld and reinforced in the context of how nation-states today use colonial history as a reminder to todays people to be more nationalistic, but often it results in creating an oppressive and xenophobic society. Taiwans positionality is especially interesting given its history being colonized by different empires and the way its stuck in between global powers today...how does one preserve and acknowledge ones past as colonial victims without romanticizing and comparing empires to each other, picking sides, and projecting it onto modern times ? Felt like Esther’s piece shared a really valuable perspective and was also really informative !
I was once told by a Taiwanese person who lived through the Japanese occupation that the arrival of the nationalist army was a shocking experience.
He didn't idealize the Japanese occupation, but said that the main negative aspects he remembered were one or two local cases of police brutality and the fact that Taiwanese weren't allowed to eat rice during the war, instead subsisting on taro. Even late into the war, the Japanese soldiers he regularly saw were well-kempt and professional in appearance, owing to the specific role that Taiwan played in the Japanese war effort. He spoke fluent Japanese and Taiwanese, and passing Mandarin.
When the KMT army arrived, they had spent a decade fighting, and were at that time in the process of losing a civil war. They were, he said, haggard, hungry, and dressed in irregular clothing, sometimes close to rags. The contrast between the Japanese soldiers that had lost the war and the Chinese soldiers that had "won" was mind-boggling to the people in his town.
I could imagine the Taiwanese memory of the Japanese colonial era is heavily colored by what came after. I think it would be hard to maintain an accurate memory of the hardships of Japanese colonial rule during the 30-40 years of what was essentially a period of even more brutal Chinese colonial rule, complete with cultural assimilation methods and government posts primarily reserved for non-natives.
hi tripp, thanks so much for reading and sharing your friend's history and perspective. My sense is that the narrative you've laid out sounds about right, though it's worth stressing that the Japanese violently removed and ethnically cleansed indigenous people. btw, the historical transition is also detailed in Peng Ming-Min's A Taste of Freedom, where he talks about this time period in detail. At one point when the KMT arrived, his father was tasked with organizing a welcome ceremony for the soldiers. Then, when they arrived and started immediately inquiring about how much money the city had, he realized with shock that the Taiwanese were being treated as a conquered people. At that point on, he stopped calling himself "Chinese."
Thank you. Fascinating essay. Do you think that the women in the great hall at Baitou were being nostalgic for Japan rule or simply admiring their kimonos? As an American, I admire classic Japanese architcture (as for example in your photo) and at the same time detest what their government did. My parents could not hold these two views because WWII. Separating arts and crafts from government actions seems reasonable (just as we don't blame citizens for the crimes of their states). But to do so, you need to have some distance. Your essay suggests that Taiwanese people have acquired that distance faster than Koreans. This doesn't mean necessarily that the occupation was any less severe; responses differ. Of course, enjoying kimonos could reflect ignorance of history or some kind of actual nostalgia (Stockholm syndrome??); those are obviously less salutary. Maybe a combination...
As always, i really appreciate your reading the substack tobias, and i'm so curious about what your parents experienced (and how they processed it in relation to japanese imports and culture!). Which part of the US are they from and did they have a military background? i think a lot of people in taiwan would agree with you—that it's possible to acquire distance from colonial history and to adapt its cultural legacy to one's contemporary native time and place. Others would reply there's been no real reckoning. And still more would say that "reckoning" has to be broader than vengeance and entail a restorative vision. So: complicated! But pretty fascinating stuff, and I think esther's work is valuable to show us how descendants of another former colony of japan experiences taiwan.
Michelle, Albert, thank you for reply. I find your substack powerful, informative, and fun (not necessarily in that order!). Ester's piece was no exception. Thank you for continuing to communicate with your far flung readers. So since you asked, my dad was born in 1922 and grew up in Brooklyn NY. His father had immigrated from Ukraine (or somewhere around there, not sure); he was a rabbi and his first call was to Salt Lake City Utah in 190-something—there's a story. My dad grew up in NYC where his dad had moved. But when WWII was raging and my dad was flunking out of art school he enlisted. But he was, so the stories go, not really military matierial and he wound up serving on the Merchant Marine (these were ex-soldies assigned to merchant ships). He was in the Pacific for a few years during the war but he didn't see "action" (I mean he was not a solider; I am not sure what the Merchant Marine did, but i think it was mostly extra workforce to handle cargo, in some cases probably mitarly cargo hitching a ride). I was born in 1957. During my childhood and later, my dad did not revile Japan but rather ignored the country. However, once in a while he would let fly with a completely caustic bit of racial sterotyping. My dad was literate, our house teemed with books and art, but I can remember nothing from Japan. There were things from China (including food). I don't think he would have had any first-hand experience of Japan, those ships would not have docked in Yokohama. I remember zero stories of relatives who were killed as soliders. But maybe those years in scary bleak conditions out on the Pacific were enough to turn him off permanently? My step mom is very much my mom; she joined the family when I was 6, but is 20 years younger than dad. [Yes, she was a student, very uncool, but fwiw they stayed happily married til he died (in 2000).] So she is one generation younger than my dad. I never heard her say anything racist about Japan but on the other hand she also expresses zero interest in the country or culture. I lived in Japan in 2008 and my mom responded as if I were no more than around the corner. I have never explored this with her; perhaps it is spousal loyality? She is deeply engaged with things (the history of women at work) so it could be a question of bandwith.
I think reckonings become more and more difficult with time. How do you reckon with crimes that were committed by people no longer alive? I don't know. The only thing that seems clear is that history matters. People do need to know what went on. Maybe that is the most we can hope for? An intellectual reckoning? Is that enough? Anyway thank you for your wonderful work. TB
I agree with Tobias that the women in the great hall at Baitou were not necessarily being nostalgic for Japan rule although it could. The author seemed to jump into these kind of conclusions throughout her article. She also did not understand how Taiwanese' great suffer under KMT rules. My mother told us how Taiwanese whole-hearted welcomed the KMT army thinking they were saved from the Japanese rule only to face more persecution, oppression, and discrimination. The KMT took most resources from Taiwan thus resulted in hyperinflation. The currency plummeted overnight. 40,000 old dollar became 1 new dollar. My parents were not naive that things were not right under Japan rule, but it was much worse when the "fellow country men" arrived. You can't blame them for siding with Japan.
Thanks so much Su-Mei for reading! I appreciate your perspective and am really curious about that time in history. I would love to talk to you more about your family experiences.
Thank you for always giving voices to those underserved, beginning from "Reading with Patrick", at least that was how I got to know you. You attended Taiwanese American Next Generation conference years ago. I participated in the first generation TACEC program but got a copy of your book.
Love
Thank you for this piece! As a native of China, I find Taiwan and Korea's differing relationships with Japan and their colonial past very interesting, and it was great to hear a Korean-American perspective on Taiwan.
thank you so much for reading—it means a lot to us! <3
Really enjoyed this piece by Esther. I learned so much! As someone who spent many years growing up in Taiwan, I honestly don’t even realize what is Japanese or what isn’t, so I appreciated the essay pointing out all these daily details of Taiwan I did not even realize (fish in water situation). I have some close Korean friends and through those friendships learned of our contrasting experiences and relationships to Japan. Also just traveling through China, well... that was a big thing. I think it’s interesting to think about how nationalism is upheld and reinforced in the context of how nation-states today use colonial history as a reminder to todays people to be more nationalistic, but often it results in creating an oppressive and xenophobic society. Taiwans positionality is especially interesting given its history being colonized by different empires and the way its stuck in between global powers today...how does one preserve and acknowledge ones past as colonial victims without romanticizing and comparing empires to each other, picking sides, and projecting it onto modern times ? Felt like Esther’s piece shared a really valuable perspective and was also really informative !