This study examines postwar Japanese photography and the influence of World War Two, the Allied Occupation (1945-1952), and social and economic transformations during the Era of High-Speed Growth (1955-1970) on ways in which photographers approached and depicted reality. In the late 1940s, censorship erased the reality of a devastated society and evidence of the Allied Occupation from photography magazines. Once censorship ended in 1949, photographers reacted to miserable living conditions, as well as the experience of producing wartime propaganda, by confronting reality directly. Finally, photographers responded to social transformations and resulting challenges during the Era of High-Speed Growth by shifting from an objective reporting to a subjective critique of reality. A study of photography from 1945 to 1970 not only demonstrates how socio-historical forces influence photography but also reveals key changes in Japanese society and the urban landscape as Japan transitioned from a defeated, occupied nation to an economic powerhouse.

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Koreans resident during the Allied Occupation of Japan (1945-1952) were in a complex position. They remained Japanese nationals until a sovereign Japan and “Korea,” which was divided into two ideologically opposed states, negotiated their nationality status. Though most Koreans in Japan held family registers in South Korea, both North and South Korea claimed them as nationals, and most Koreans in Japan came to support Kim Il-sung’s North Korea. Moreover, racists in the Allied and Japanese governments used the Koreans as convenient scapegoats. Race, nationality, and ideology thus converged to create a difficult situation for all parties concerned. The hardships Koreans faced during the Occupation have often been blamed on Japanese and American racism. Though race played a significant part in their treatment, this dissertation argues that the mixing of race and nationality as categories of analysis, as well as the mixing of Western legal facts with Japanese ones, has misconstrued the history of Koreans in Occupied Japan. For a fuller understanding of this complex period, this dissertation uses nationality as a lens through which to examine the origins and the growth of the Korean community in Japan in their own words and to analyze the meaning and use of race and nationality as they were employed during the Occupation; and incorporate the American, Japanese, and South Korean point of view by placing the Korean experience in Japan in a wider geographical and political context of the early Cold War. All parties in Japan, including Koreans in Japan, pursued their political goals by employing the concept of nationality in their own ways. / Graduate

During the Second World War, Japanese Canadians were uprooted from their homes along the coast of British Columbia and forced to leave the province. In 1946, almost 4,000 individuals were exiled to Japan. The Canadian government deemed their departure ‘voluntary,’ and labelled them ‘disloyal’ to Canada. However, a close reading of the evidence illustrates that ‘loyalty’ had little to do with their departure, and exposes the intent of federal and provincial officials to forcefully remove Nikkei from B.C. For those exiled to occupied Japan, life was filled with hardship and many were forced into difficult or unfamiliar situations. Many longed to return to Canada, but faced numerous restrictions, while others prospered and stayed in Japan for the duration of their lives. This thesis examines the experiences of many of those exiled to Japan, and explores the process by which the Canadian government facilitated their forced removal from B.C. and Canada. / Graduate

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Après la Seconde guerre mondiale, plus de 6,5 millions de sujets japonais, dont la moitié était des civils résidant dans les territoires japonais d’outre-mer, ont été rapatriés au Japon. Le Japon n’avait pas prévu l’éventualité d’un rapatriement en cas de défaite, et les Alliés, s’ils avaient planifié le retour des soldats japonais, n’avaient pas préparé le retour des civils. Pourtant, le rapatriement des civils japonais fut, dans sa majeure partie, rapide et efficace. Entre octobre 1945 et décembre 1946, 5,1 millions de Japonais purent rejoindre le Japon. Pour d’autres, le processus put durer jusque la fin des années 1950. Une fois au Japon, les rapatriés, confrontés à un Japon en ruines, se virent imposer une nouvelle identité, celle de hikiagesha, personne rapatriée. La mémoire et l’identité des rapatriés, confrontés à l’hostilité et la méfiance de la population de métropole, connurent plusieurs mutations pour finalement se réintégrer au sein du mémoriel discours dominant sur la guerre. Après une analyse des processus de rapatriement, cette thèse se penchera donc sur la formation de l’identité des rapatriés en tant que groupe, leur mémoire, et comment ce groupe au départ marginalisé est parvenu à intégrer son récit mémoriel au sein du discourra officiel. / After the Second World War, Japan saw the return of more than 6.5 million Japanese nationals, of which about half were civilian overseas residents of Japan’s colonial empire. Japan had no plan for the evacuation of foreign territories in the event of defeat, and but although provisions had been made by the Allies for the repatriation of the military personnel, the return of civilians was initially outside their scope, and left to the Japanese. The Allies would later assign military transports to help with the task of ferrying millions of men, women and children back to the mainland. However, despite this lack of previous planning, the repatriation of Japanese nationals was fast and efficient: between October 1945 and December 1946; over 5.1 million Japanese were brought back to the mainland. Some, however, had to wait until the second half of the 1950s. Once in Japan, the returnees found that a new identity had been imposed on them, one that stemmed from their shared experience as returnees: that of hikiagesha, or repatriates. Joined by their war experiences, they found themselves part of a heterogeneous group with an identity that still awaited definition. The meaning of the memory of their experience was shaped by the very way in which they defined and re-defined themselves and their experience, as they encountered marginalisation, hostility and distrust as they reintegrated to mainland Japanese society. After analysing the process of repatriation, this thesis will attempt to map out the process by which this initially marginalised group became acceptable, by integrating its narrative within an official discourse.

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