Accession No. RARE.2018.0095: Purchased, 2016 December
[identification of item], Scrapbook of Photographs Taken During the American Occupation of Japan, SPEC.RARE.0247, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Mackenzie Sommers, 2018 December; Finding aid written by Sara Fuetter, 2018 February; Mackenzie Sommers, 2018 December.
From the end of World War II in 1945 until 1952, American-led Allied forces occupied Japan in order to reconstruct the country’s economy and government. Headed by General Douglas McArthur, the occupation was divided into three stages: punishment and reform (1945–1947), economic revival (1947–1950), and the building of an alliance with Western nations (1950–1952). The constitution that was signed in 1947 by the Allied powers and Japan led to a large-scale restructuring of the Japanese government, including demilitarization, reducing the status of the emperor to that of a figurehead leader, and granting more power to National Diet, Japan's bicameral legislature. Along with the introduction of the constitution, further societal changes were also enacted during the occupation by the Allied forces. Among these were land reforms designed to redistribute power from landowners to tenant farmers and the granting of more civil privileges to women. The occupation was officially ended with the signing of a peace treaty called the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952.
The Scrapbook of Photographs Taken During the American Occupation of Japan contains two scrapbooks filled with photographs that were taken during the American occupation of Japan, which lasted from 1945–1952. It also contains one menu for a Chinese restaurant in the United States. Common themes among the photographs include sightseeing pictures taken in Japan, and Japanese and South Korean locals. There are also photographs of leisure activities, such as baseball, and United States military bases and shipyards in Japan, South Korea, and the United States. There are also some personal family photographs. The creator of the scrapbooks is unknown. Collection materials are from circa 1945-1952.