Historical Revisionism

 

The Past is Unpredictable
   The author of the book pictured above wrote recently an "Opinion" piece about "The Myth of Mass Sexual Violence" referred to in the subtitle of his book which is due out in mid-June. It is not unusual for an author to write an article to call attention to a forthcoming book. It is somewhat different, however, when the article offers an indictment of the profession of history as now practiced, and the "myth makers" who may review it will not be happy. 
   My prediction, however, is that the author need not be worried since the book will likely not be reviewed. I have noticed recently that books presenting interpretations that run counter to current ones are largely ignored. It would be interesting to see scholarly reactions to the arguments made by Walsh, but there will probably not be many. One is left with the comments of those who read the article in the Washington Post and there are over 300 of them, which simply show how divided we are. 
   Given the lack of scholarly engagement between those on different ideological teams, I will offer some extracts from the piece by Walsh and some information about the book. At least you will learn about his interpretation which will be ignored rather than rebutted.

The Myth
   The title of the article sets the tone: "How an Outrageous Smear of U.S. Troops Wound Up in History Books: Remarkably, the Propaganda Has Come Into Academic Vogue on Both Sides of the Pacific," Brian P. Walsh, Washington Post, May 29, 2024. The tone continues:

  The enlightened self-interest of the United States toward its conquered foe was a source of pride to most Americans. But in a corner of Japanese society, sensationalist left-wing propagandists had already begun to paint a distorted and often invented picture of widespread atrocities by U.S. occupation forces, atrocities that bore a striking resemblance to Japan’s own wartime outrages. Remarkably, much of this propaganda has now been incorporated into mainstream academic literature on both sides of the Pacific. Otherwise dry and theory-sodden history texts, groaning from prestigious university presses, routinely amplify sloppy, biased and downright dishonest scholarship in a race to describe horrors that have no basis in primary sources….
  Thus, academic readers today are told that upon entering Japan, U.S. servicemen “engaged in an orgy of looting, sexual violence, and drunken brawling” and that during the first 10 days of the occupation, there were 1,336 reported cases of rape in Kanagawa Prefecture alone. Not true. They are told that American officers demanded that the Japanese government set up brothels for their troops and that after embarrassed officials in D.C. forced the brothels closed, GIs went on a rampage and that reported rapes of Japanese women skyrocketed from an average of 40 to 330 cases a day. But no one has found or produced those alleged reports.

 If one investigates primary sources instead of rehashed propaganda, quite a different story emerges....

Why, then, does a narrative that essentially inverts reality enjoy such currency? The politicization of academic history has become so severe in U.S. higher education that even relatively unbiased historians cannot avoid being influenced by the prevalent anti-American bias in the field. Worse, many academic historians have come to see this bias as a virtue rather than a flaw. One fashionable bias holds that the United States and especially its military are repressive and reactionary forces and thus incapable of bringing about any positive change in the world.

 

The Book

  The "Rape" of Japan... can be purchased from Amazon where this information is found:

  Brian P. Walsh, a Princeton-educated scholar, thoroughly debunks this false narrative in a brave and compelling book that reflects his in-depth research into both American and Japanese primary sources....
Walsh sets the records straight.... 

 The “Rape” of Japan is a long-overdue refutation and exposure of a relentless propaganda campaign that has persisted for more than seven decades. 

  More details are provided by the publisher, the U.S. Naval Institute Press, a fact that a hostile reviewer would seize upon. A link is provided, so you can assess the publisher at your leisure. Also found are reviewer comments provided by the USNIP and again, an unfriendly critic would note that some of the reviewers have military connections. It would be interesting to see these reviews and the book assessed in scholarly journals, but that probably will not happen.

“This deeply researched and carefully documented study conclusively refutes the myth of mass rape by American soldiers in occupied Japan after World War II.  Walsh shows that projection by Japanese men in a patriarchal society, anti-American propaganda by Japanese communists and socialists, and the image of rape as a metaphor for conquest and submission created a false memory of sexual predation that was in reality far less common among American occupation forces than the legend.”—James M. McPherson, George Henry Davis Professor of History Emeritus, Princeton University

"Seldom has a scholar displayed such courage in refuting an egregious falsehood so deeply implanted in accepted historiography. Brian Walsh systematically dismantles an error-filled absurd myth perpetrated by self-serving propagandists, which was then, as is too often the case, compounded in subsequent sloppy scholarship. Walsh backs up his argument every step of the way with rock-solid, previously ignored primary source documentation. For a historian, such fearless pursuit of the truth is a superpower. The “Rape” of Japan should be required reading for students at every level and anyone who appreciates historical accuracy."—Ann Todd, Ph.D, Historian

"This striking original study of the American occupation of Japan refutes the general depiction of American troops as violent assailants of Japanese women.  Deep research and penetrating analysis, including broad use of Japanese sources, easily destroys the widespread myths of mass rapes spread by Japanese communist propaganda."—Dr. Stanley L. Falk, Former Chief Historian, USAF       

“The legend that American commanders orchestrated the mass rape of Japanese women by U.S. service members during the occupation of Japan inverts the axiom that the victors write the history. With meticulous excavation of original source material and an epic demolition of the construction and spread of this mythology, Brian Walsh exposes not only this mendacious narrative, but also provides a timeless warning of how too many historians suspended their critical facilities.”—Richard B. Frank, military historian and author of Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War: July 1937-May 1942

“Over many years, it has been widely and persistently reported that American servicemen in the armed forces occupying Japan after World War II engaged in an orgy of sexual violence against Japanese girls and women. In The ‘Rape’ of Japan, historian Brian Walsh demolishes this myth. By carefully and thoroughly examining Japanese and American records, he exposes a lie born of shame, revenge, and sloppy scholarship. Walsh writes clearly and convincingly. The ‘Rape’ of Japan is a tour de force of debunking—and a compelling story of how and why lurid myths can take hold.”—Evan Thomas, author of Road to Surrender: Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II.

This striking original study of the American occupation of Japan refutes the general depiction of American troops as violent assailants of Japanese women. Deep research and penetrating analysis, including broad use of Japanese sources, easily destroys the widespread myths of mass rapes spread by Japanese communist propaganda. —Dr. Stanley L. Falk, Former Chief Historian, U.S. Air Force

   It is the author's indictment that interests me and its strident tone is found also in some of the reviewer comments directly above. One hopes that those indicted will respond in a manner that will help us learn more about current historiographic standards.