Tóquio - Japão
Acervo National Archives Estados Unidos
Fotografia
On September 27, 1945, Emperor Hirohito paid a visit to US Army General
Douglas MacArthur at the United States Embassy in Tokyo. Except for the
Emperor's personal translator (he spoke the Imperial Dialect of Japanese, which
was difficult for native Japanese to understand) his entourage was politely,
but effectively, shut out of the meeting. The two met for minutes and one photo
was taken. Hirohito accepted responsibility for the conduct of the war, unaware
that MacArthur, over the objections of Stalin and the British, has removed his
name from the list of war criminals, fearing guerrilla actions if he were to
stand trial. The next day, the photo was run in newspapers in Japan and the
United States. A faction of the Japanese people believed Hirohito was forced
into the meeting, but the Tenno Emperor asked MacArthur for the meeting.
Hirohito was key to the smooth transition from militaristic autocratic
government into a Western-style democracy. MacArthur said after the meeting
that Hirohito was "a sincere man and a genuine liberal," high praise
from the General. Hirohito's evaluation of MacArthur remain unclear, but he
published poems in newspapers subtly encouraging the Japanese public to
cooperate with the occupation. Hirohito visited MacArthur twice per year until
MacArthur's retirement. His endorsement of Supreme Command Allied Powers (SCAP)
directives afforded the Americans the stamp of legitimacy in a country
conditioned to Imperial deference.
FEW AMERICANS fighting and dying in the jungles of the Philippines 44 years ago this spring could foresee that some day an American president would journey to Japan to honor the very Emperor Hirohito whose nation had brought war to half the world. One important American, however, saw Hirohito not as a hated enemy who must die for war crimes but as the key to democracy in Japan and to an enduring peace in the Pacific. President Bush's attendance at Hirohito's funeral next Friday will confirm the validity of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's extraordinary vision. As MacArthur's personal physician, aide-de-camp and sometime confidante since 1943, I had become accustomed to moments when the general would, in a burst of talkativeness, sort out his thoughts with me, and then as suddenly withdraw into himself again. One day in May 1945 I rode in the back of MacArthur's jeep as we visited a sector near Manila where the Japanese were putting up strong resistance. MacArthur turned around and, poking a finger into my chest, said he wanted peace to bring democracy to Japan. Further, he thought the emperor was a captive of Tojo and the warlords, that they were really responsible for the war and that Hirohito would be instrumental in permanently changing the structure of the Japanese government. He explained that the emperor had studied at an American university, understood English and was, of course, deified by his people. The war ended sooner than I anticipated. On Aug. 7, we arrived at headquarters to find a special edition of Stars and Stripes which described the awesome destruction of Hiroshima by the first atomic bomb. MacArthur commented solemnly that the bomb would seem almost supernatural to the Japanese and that it would give the emperor and his people a "face-saving opportunity" to surrender quickly. And they did. A few days later, I stood with other staff aides on a sunny Manila airstrip and watched as more than a dozen Japanese emissaries in uniform arrived to talk about the truce. That night MacArthur was quiet, and as we got out of the car he said simply, "No more shooting, Doc, no more shooting." The surrender was signed on Aug. 14, and two weeks later I flew with MacArthur to Atsugi Air Base. By that evening, there were 6,000 U.S. troops in the area; within 40 miles were 2 million Japanese troops, still armed. Winston Churchill later called this MacArthur's most dangerous landing. But the emperor had given his word to control the army, and MacArthur trusted him. He worried more about Washington than about the Japanese army and said he hoped the Pentagon and President Truman realized how important the emperor would be to the Japanese transition from feudal state to democracy. MacArthur's staff immediately pressed him to request that the emperor come to see him, and indeed some urged him to treat Hirohito as a war criminal. But MacArthur felt this was a time for patience and waited for the emperor to ask to call on him. Hirohito soon did so, and a meeting was set for Sept. 27. MacArthur explained to me that he wished to show the emperor courtesy, respect and an understanding of his situation. Above all, it would be important to establish mutual trust for the rapid creation of a "new Japan." On this and subsequent visits, he wanted to talk with the Emperor alone without the usual coterie of advisers. After all, if MacArthur had his officers present, Hirohito would want his. MacArthur felt that he and the emperor possessed all the authority needed to set up a new government, and he was afraid that if they did not move quickly, its shape might be unduly influenced by the Soviets and others who didn't care about the Japanese culture. MacArthur decided to meet with the emperor in the great hall of the American embassy. He had a large Chesterfield brought in and placed in the middle of the room. On the day of the meeting, the general had me shift the sofa several times until I got it at just the right angle. We set a chair near the sofa for a Japanese interpreter; MacArthur felt sure that the emperor did not need an interpreter but thought that having one would give him a little extra time to consider his answers. The general was still arranging the room when we heard the emperor's car in the courtyard. MacArthur had forgotten to station someone outside. He turned to me and said, "You go out and meet him, Doc. You know what to do." So I went out and opened the emperor's limousine door, and there he sat, wearing a cutaway with striped trousers, silk hat in his lap. A Japanese official sat opposite him on the jump seat. Hirohito stepped out, the titular leader and godhead of a nation with whom we had been at war for nearly four years. A full foot shorter than I, he nodded slightly in response to my greeting, his face utterly expressionless. He put on his silk hat perfectly straight. I felt it would be impolite to extend my hand, so I showed him the entrance to the hall. Inside, the general came toward the emperor with a hint of a smile and they shook hands. As MacArthur showed the emperor to his seat, I left the room and joined Mrs. MacArthur, who in a mischievous moment, suggested we watch this historic meeting from behind the heavy curtains on the balcony above the room. Thus Jean MacArthur and I, unknown to the general at the time, sat secretly, like impish children, catching momentary glimpses through gaps in the drapes. We could not hear much of the conversation but gathered from the general's tone of voice and facial expression that it was a friendly encounter. The emperor, nonetheless, remained solemn throughout. MacArthur later expressed his satisfaction with this first meeting. He said he had spoken frankly and that the emperor had quickly assumed total responsibility for the war and its consequences. "I knew I was dealing with the first gentleman of Japan," MacArthur wrote in his reminiscences. And I, watching them that day, knew that MacArthur's sensitivity to and trust in the emperor would do much to lay the groundwork for a democratic Japan and the birth of friendship between two bitter enemies that now has endured for almost half a century. Roger Egeberg was assistant secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in the Nixon administration.
FEW AMERICANS fighting and dying in the jungles of the Philippines 44 years ago this spring could foresee that some day an American president would journey to Japan to honor the very Emperor Hirohito whose nation had brought war to half the world. One important American, however, saw Hirohito not as a hated enemy who must die for war crimes but as the key to democracy in Japan and to an enduring peace in the Pacific. President Bush's attendance at Hirohito's funeral next Friday will confirm the validity of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's extraordinary vision. As MacArthur's personal physician, aide-de-camp and sometime confidante since 1943, I had become accustomed to moments when the general would, in a burst of talkativeness, sort out his thoughts with me, and then as suddenly withdraw into himself again. One day in May 1945 I rode in the back of MacArthur's jeep as we visited a sector near Manila where the Japanese were putting up strong resistance. MacArthur turned around and, poking a finger into my chest, said he wanted peace to bring democracy to Japan. Further, he thought the emperor was a captive of Tojo and the warlords, that they were really responsible for the war and that Hirohito would be instrumental in permanently changing the structure of the Japanese government. He explained that the emperor had studied at an American university, understood English and was, of course, deified by his people. The war ended sooner than I anticipated. On Aug. 7, we arrived at headquarters to find a special edition of Stars and Stripes which described the awesome destruction of Hiroshima by the first atomic bomb. MacArthur commented solemnly that the bomb would seem almost supernatural to the Japanese and that it would give the emperor and his people a "face-saving opportunity" to surrender quickly. And they did. A few days later, I stood with other staff aides on a sunny Manila airstrip and watched as more than a dozen Japanese emissaries in uniform arrived to talk about the truce. That night MacArthur was quiet, and as we got out of the car he said simply, "No more shooting, Doc, no more shooting." The surrender was signed on Aug. 14, and two weeks later I flew with MacArthur to Atsugi Air Base. By that evening, there were 6,000 U.S. troops in the area; within 40 miles were 2 million Japanese troops, still armed. Winston Churchill later called this MacArthur's most dangerous landing. But the emperor had given his word to control the army, and MacArthur trusted him. He worried more about Washington than about the Japanese army and said he hoped the Pentagon and President Truman realized how important the emperor would be to the Japanese transition from feudal state to democracy. MacArthur's staff immediately pressed him to request that the emperor come to see him, and indeed some urged him to treat Hirohito as a war criminal. But MacArthur felt this was a time for patience and waited for the emperor to ask to call on him. Hirohito soon did so, and a meeting was set for Sept. 27. MacArthur explained to me that he wished to show the emperor courtesy, respect and an understanding of his situation. Above all, it would be important to establish mutual trust for the rapid creation of a "new Japan." On this and subsequent visits, he wanted to talk with the Emperor alone without the usual coterie of advisers. After all, if MacArthur had his officers present, Hirohito would want his. MacArthur felt that he and the emperor possessed all the authority needed to set up a new government, and he was afraid that if they did not move quickly, its shape might be unduly influenced by the Soviets and others who didn't care about the Japanese culture. MacArthur decided to meet with the emperor in the great hall of the American embassy. He had a large Chesterfield brought in and placed in the middle of the room. On the day of the meeting, the general had me shift the sofa several times until I got it at just the right angle. We set a chair near the sofa for a Japanese interpreter; MacArthur felt sure that the emperor did not need an interpreter but thought that having one would give him a little extra time to consider his answers. The general was still arranging the room when we heard the emperor's car in the courtyard. MacArthur had forgotten to station someone outside. He turned to me and said, "You go out and meet him, Doc. You know what to do." So I went out and opened the emperor's limousine door, and there he sat, wearing a cutaway with striped trousers, silk hat in his lap. A Japanese official sat opposite him on the jump seat. Hirohito stepped out, the titular leader and godhead of a nation with whom we had been at war for nearly four years. A full foot shorter than I, he nodded slightly in response to my greeting, his face utterly expressionless. He put on his silk hat perfectly straight. I felt it would be impolite to extend my hand, so I showed him the entrance to the hall. Inside, the general came toward the emperor with a hint of a smile and they shook hands. As MacArthur showed the emperor to his seat, I left the room and joined Mrs. MacArthur, who in a mischievous moment, suggested we watch this historic meeting from behind the heavy curtains on the balcony above the room. Thus Jean MacArthur and I, unknown to the general at the time, sat secretly, like impish children, catching momentary glimpses through gaps in the drapes. We could not hear much of the conversation but gathered from the general's tone of voice and facial expression that it was a friendly encounter. The emperor, nonetheless, remained solemn throughout. MacArthur later expressed his satisfaction with this first meeting. He said he had spoken frankly and that the emperor had quickly assumed total responsibility for the war and its consequences. "I knew I was dealing with the first gentleman of Japan," MacArthur wrote in his reminiscences. And I, watching them that day, knew that MacArthur's sensitivity to and trust in the emperor would do much to lay the groundwork for a democratic Japan and the birth of friendship between two bitter enemies that now has endured for almost half a century. Roger Egeberg was assistant secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in the Nixon administration.
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