After the war, an American relief organization gave us a round, five-pound canister of dried powdered egg which sustained us. We would mix it with water to make scrambled eggs and ate it every day for a long while as there was nothing else to eat, not even a single green onion. Food supplies continued to remain short years after the war had ended.
When the fall season arrived, Japanese officials under the command of American General Douglas MacArthur signed a document of surrender while aboard an American ship that was docked in Tokyo Bay.
American soldiers came to occupy Japan and there were soldiers everywhere walking around the Ginza district: American, English, Russian, and Australian. Under General MacArthur's direction, Japan began the long process of rebuilding itself. Hungry merchants set up tents along the Ginza to sell their wares to the Allied soldiers who roamed the streets, purchasing souvenirs for loved ones back home.
General MacArthur had given orders that no soldier was to assault a Japanese person. Although we had been defeated, the American soldiers were friendly, kind and respectful toward us. We would see American soldiers in the shops and restaurants greeting owners: "Hello mama-san, how are you?" or "Good morning, papa-san!"
It was known that General MacArthur visited the Emperor at his palace and would show his respect by bowing to him. MacArthur had arranged to have a woman tutor the Emperor's son, Akihito (now the current Emperor of Japan) who was a little boy at the time, in English. Likewise, the Emperor arranged for MacArthur's son to be tutored in Japanese. As the years of Occupation passed and progress was slowly made, the Japanese people began to trust and love General MacArthur.
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Author's note: Akihito officially abdicated the throne (stepped down from his position as Emperor) on April 30, 2019. This was a major event in Japan as he was the first monarch to step down in 200 years.
Akihito's son, Naruhito, ascended the throne on May 1, 2019, ushering in the beginning of a new era in Japan known as Reiwa.
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Forged In Fire: Stories of wartime Japan
Non-FictionForged In Fire is the true story of a young girl's childhood in pre-WW II Tokyo; her schoolgirl dreams; the violence, starvation and desperation of wartime that drove her family out of the city; and the American Occupation that shaped Japan's future...
