Heart Publishing Co., Ltd.
The timeless masterpiece of brutal propaganda that depicts the roots of the Nanjing Massacre propaganda, the Belgian Massacre, has been republished. The commentary was provided by journalist Miki Otaka. “Expose the enemy’s despicable acts,” “Have people from neutral countries spread the word,” and “Use testimonies from enemy military personnel as material.” This book is a textbook for understanding these brutal propaganda techniques, and an antidote for reducing the effectiveness of propaganda.
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[Image 1: https://prtimes.jp/i/49367/124/resize/d49367-124-c9799fda7a4e03da49f1-0.jpg&s3=49367-124-8c9d3542ca60b1ee4f8c933c1d36c925-970×600.jpg] The film East of Eden, starring James Dean, is set before and after the United States enters World War I. In this movie, there are scenes where citizens complain about the brutality of the German military and German-Americans are persecuted.
During World War I, Britain carried out anti-German propaganda around the world in order to increase anti-German public opinion. In an effort to encourage the United States to join the war, Britain placed particular emphasis on propaganda in the United States. “East of Eden” depicts this situation.
This book, “Are You a Samurai?” is also part of British anti-German propaganda worldwide, and is an anti-German document sent by Britain to Japan.
The entire film depicts the brutality and inhumanity committed by the German military against Belgian women, children, and the clergy. The title “Are you a samurai?” asks the question, how do Japanese people who possess the spirit of Bushido view Germans who have no trace of Bushido?
[Image 2: https://prtimes.jp/i/49367/124/resize/d49367-124-44767cb0dfdcf5623b2c-0.jpg&s3=49367-124-2d5baf73f7b6de13b24145fecc743109-970×600.jpg] Tokumasa Ikeda (grandson of the 15th Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu), who led Japan’s strategic broadcasts against the United States during the Greater East Asia War, called this book “a timeless masterpiece of brutal propaganda.” Ikeda studied this book and learned from it the essence of advanced British propaganda techniques and propaganda, but he says that the book forever distorted his view of Germans. The power of this book was so great that it was structured to create a psychological aversion to Germans in the reader through the effective placement of Ramakur’s macabre caricatures. Many famous novelists, poets, playwrights, and scholars such as H.G. Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Rudyard Kipling were involved in the production of these anti-German propaganda. Of course. This British worldwide propaganda determined the outcome of the war, and Germany was said to have been defeated.
This brutal propaganda technique, which was a great success, was later used in anti-Japanese propaganda. The “Nanjing Massacre” propaganda was adapted from the Chinese Kuomintang’s propaganda techniques. The words “Rape of Belgium” were replaced by “Rape of Nankin,” and German soldiers bayoneting babies were replaced by Japanese soldiers. Japan was condemned by the world, and China received sympathy. The Kuomintang’s propaganda more than fulfilled its purpose.
[Image 3: https://prtimes.jp/i/49367/124/resize/d49367-124-8fcd26c2d863b3d25ea7-0.jpg&s3=49367-124-9e29d2717ec2218410bda38ad3d1200d-970×600.jpg] After World War II, GHQ used this brutal anti-Japanese propaganda at the Tokyo Trials in order to instill a sense of redemption among the Japanese people and facilitate political control of Japan. Communist China and South Korea (North Korea) also inherited it after the restoration of diplomatic relations. Through anti-Japanese propaganda such as the “Nanjing Massacre,” “POW abuse,” “Unit 731,” “comfort women,” and “recruited labor,” the brutality of the Japanese military became entrenched throughout the world.
This book is an extremely valuable document in visualizing the existence of brutal anti-Japanese propaganda, and it also serves to reduce the effectiveness of that propaganda. It can be expected to be effective as an antidote to anti-Japanese brutal propaganda. The original translator was Kunio Yanagida, a folklorist. The author, British Robertson Scott, was visiting Japan to research rural Japan when he was asked by the British ambassador to Japan to carry out anti-German pro-British propaganda activities. The author and his wife were close friends with Kunio Yanagida, who was the chief secretary of the House of Peers at the time, and Yanagida, who was asked by his wife to introduce a translator, agreed to do the translation himself on the condition of anonymity.
[Image 4: https://prtimes.jp/i/49367/124/resize/d49367-124-8af41eae13ec6bcae566-0.jpg&s3=49367-124-249ac6c86e3fe3b933647abc04bd8f06-970×600.jpg] ·profile
Author: J.W. Robertson Scott
British journalist and author. He came to Japan in 1915 under the pretext of researching rural areas, and in March 1916, at the request of William Cunningham Green, the British ambassador to Japan, he became an anti-German pro-British propaganda agent for Japan, writing the propaganda document Japan, Britain and the World. He was the author of “A Study of English and British Temperament,” and this book.
Painter Louis Ramacas
Dutch caricaturist. After the German army invaded Belgium, newspapers vividly described the atrocities of the German army and portrayed the Germans as barbarians. The British War Propaganda Office contacted Ramakarth and used his work to spread anti-German propaganda worldwide. In the United States, his works were published in over 2,000 newspapers and hundreds of millions of copies, and had a great influence on the formation of anti-German public opinion. The dissemination of his work is considered the greatest propaganda effort of World War I.
[Image 5: https://prtimes.jp/i/49367/124/resize/d49367-124-3ed47c82f110fc2477b3-0.jpg&s3=49367-124-472670d97a69dbcaf2e6ddb2e3b20fa7-1058×1500.jpg] ・Book information
Book title: Koredemo Samurai?
Author: J.W. Robertson Scott
Illustration: Louis Ramacas
Modern language translation: Mitsutsugu Wanaka
Commentary: Miki Otaka
Specifications: A5 size, average size, 336 pages
ISBN: 978-4-8024-0175-3
Release: 2024.04.02
Main unit: 2,200 yen (excluding tax)
Publisher: Heart Publishing
Book URL: https://www.810.co.jp/hon/ISBN978-4-8024-0175-3.html More details about this release:
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