Cultural Policy during the Japanese Occupation | Dr. Ricardo T. Jose

Summary

This script explores the cultural policies imposed by Japan during their occupation of the Philippines in World War II, highlighting the conflict between cultures and the attempts to integrate the Philippines into the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere. It discusses the introduction of Japanese educational principles, the effort to replace American and European influences with an Asian perspective led by Japan, and the challenges faced due to cultural differences. The narrative also touches on the Filipino resilience and adaptability, using humor and local ingenuity to survive and subvert the imposed cultural changes.

Takeaways

• 🌐 The speaker discusses the cultural policy during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, emphasizing the conflict among cultures and the introduction of Japanese influence.
• 📚 The Japanese aimed to replace the U.S. cultural influence and European traditions with an Asian perspective led by Japan, as part of the Greater East Asia co-prosperity sphere.
• 🏫 The Japanese implemented educational principles to reshape the cultural and educational system in the Philippines, promoting the learning of Japanese language and Filipino traditions.
• 👥 There was an attempt to foster a sense of unity and discipline among Filipinos, with the Japanese introducing their own concepts such as love of labor and dignity.
• 🔄 Despite the cultural policy, the Japanese occupation was primarily military, and the cultural aspects were overshadowed by the harsh realities of war and resistance.
• 🤝 The Japanese tried to establish a cultural connection with the Filipinos, but their actions, such as physical punishment, often contradicted their intentions and damaged relations.
• 🏙️ The occupation led to a cultural disconnect, as the Japanese did not understand certain aspects of Filipino life, such as Western toilets and bathing customs.
• 📈 The cultural policy had mixed success, with some Filipino intellectuals showing interest in Asian history and practices, but the general population was resistant to the imposed hierarchy.
• 🗣️ The Filipinos adapted and used the Japanese language as a form of resistance, twisting words to convey hidden meanings and maintain their identity.
• 🍅 The occupation led to the development of local resources and substitutes for imported goods, such as the creation of banana ketchup, showcasing Filipino ingenuity.
• 💪 The speaker concludes by highlighting the resilience of the Filipino people, who managed to adjust, survive, and even benefit from the cultural changes brought about by the Japanese occupation.

Q & A

What was the primary goal of Japan's cultural policy during their occupation of the Philippines?

The primary goal was to bring the Philippines closer into what they called the Greater East Asia co-prosperity sphere by replacing the US cultural influence and minimizing the European tradition with an Asian perspective led by Japan.

How did Japan attempt to restore normalcy in the Philippines after their military occupation?

Japan tried to restore normalcy by reopening movie houses, allowing newspapers to resume, and restarting radio stations. They also introduced their cultural policy through educational principles about a month later.

What were the main points of the educational principles introduced by the Japanese during their occupation?

The educational principles included removing the traces of the United States, minimizing the European tradition, promoting an Asian perspective led by Japan, encouraging the study of Filipino traditions to fit into the Asian mold, and introducing Japanese concepts like love of labor and dignity.

How did the Japanese occupation affect the teaching of languages in the Philippines?

The Japanese introduced the idea that students had to learn Japanese, but they also promoted the learning of Filipino languages, emphasizing pride in both the Asian concept and the Filipino version of it.

What was the impact of the Japanese cultural policy on the hierarchical structure in the Philippines?

The Japanese cultural policy reinforced a hierarchical structure where the Japanese were number one, the Filipinos were number two, and the Japanese language was prioritized over Filipino languages.

How did the Japanese attempt to instill discipline and a sense of hierarchy among Filipinos?

The Japanese emphasized following teachers and superiors without question, promoting a Confucian society that prized hierarchy and discipline, which was quite different from the Filipinos' previous exposure to Spanish and U.S. democratic traditions.

What was the reaction of some Filipino intellectuals to the Japanese cultural policy?

Some intellectuals saw the policy as an opportunity for the Philippines to learn Asian practices, languages, and history, and to become part of the Asian world, which they believed was overdue.

How did the Japanese cultural policy affect the daily lives of Filipinos during the occupation?

The policy led to the inculcation of an Asian orientation and a more Philippine identity, but it also brought about cultural disconnects, such as the Japanese not understanding Western toilets and their unfamiliarity with local customs.

What was the role of humor and resistance in the Filipino response to the Japanese occupation?

Filipinos used humor and wordplay as a form of resistance, such as altering the Japanese greeting 'Ohayo-gozaimasu' to a Tagalog word with a different meaning, to subtly undermine the Japanese authority.

How did the Japanese occupation influence the development of local products in the Philippines?

The occupation led to the creation of substitutes for imported goods, such as banana ketchup, which was invented as a local alternative to the ketchup that was no longer available from the United States.

What is the overarching theme of the speaker's discussion on the Japanese occupation's cultural policy?

The overarching theme is the resilience and adaptability of Filipinos in adjusting to the cultural changes imposed by the Japanese, and how they managed to survive and even benefit from the situation by incorporating and adapting the imposed cultural elements to their own advantage.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 Cultural Policy and Conflict During Japanese Occupation

This paragraph discusses the complex cultural dynamics during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, which lasted for three years. The speaker highlights the introduction of Japanese cultural policies aimed at replacing American and European influences with an Asian perspective led by Japan. The policy was multifaceted, involving educational reforms, language learning, and the promotion of traditional Filipino culture within an Asian context. The paragraph also touches on the challenges of implementing these policies amidst a military occupation and the resulting cultural conflicts.

05:02

📚 Japanese Educational Reforms and Discipline in the Philippines

The second paragraph delves into the specifics of the Japanese educational reforms, emphasizing the introduction of discipline and hierarchy in the classroom and society. The Japanese aimed to instill a sense of order and obedience, viewing the Filipinos as undisciplined. The narrative also explores the intellectual response to these changes, with some Filipinos seeing potential benefits in learning about Asian history and culture. However, the harsh realities of military rule and cultural misunderstandings often undermined the Japanese efforts to foster cultural harmony.

10:02

🛡️ Cultural Disconnect and Resistance During the Occupation

This paragraph examines the cultural disconnect between the Japanese occupiers and the Filipinos, focusing on everyday life and the challenges of adapting to each other's customs and practices. It discusses the Japanese soldiers' unfamiliarity with Western amenities and the hierarchical bathing practices that shocked the Filipinos. The paragraph also highlights the resistance that emerged from these cultural clashes, with the Filipinos using language and humor as a form of defiance against the Japanese occupation.

16:02

🏝️ Filipino Resilience and Cultural Adaptation

The final paragraph reflects on the resilience of the Filipino people during the Japanese occupation, emphasizing their ability to adapt and even benefit from the changing times. The speaker shares anecdotes about language adaptation for resistance, making jokes to cope with hardships, and the invention of local substitutes like banana ketchup. The paragraph concludes by celebrating the Filipino spirit of survival and the cultural legacy of the occupation era.

Keywords

💡Cultural Policy

Cultural Policy refers to the strategies and guidelines implemented by a government or authority to influence or manage cultural affairs and expressions. In the video, the cultural policy of Japan during its occupation of the Philippines is a central theme, illustrating how Japan attempted to impose its cultural values and erase American influence, aiming to integrate the Philippines into the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

💡Japanese Occupation

This term denotes the period during World War II when Japan controlled the Philippines, which is a significant historical backdrop for the video. The Japanese Occupation is characterized by military rule and an attempt to reshape the cultural landscape of the occupied territories, as discussed in the script.

💡Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

This was a political and economic concept promoted by Japan during World War II, aiming to create a self-sufficient bloc of Asian nations led by Japan. The video discusses how Japan's cultural policy was part of a broader strategy to draw the Philippines into this sphere, emphasizing an Asian identity over Western influences.

💡Educational Principles

In the context of the video, these principles were part of Japan's cultural policy, outlining the goals and values to be instilled in the education system of the occupied Philippines. They were used to promote Japanese cultural superiority and diminish the influence of the United States and European traditions.

💡Cultural Battlefield

This metaphorical term from the script describes the cultural conflicts and struggles that occurred during the Japanese occupation, indicating that the imposition of Japanese culture was met with resistance and adaptation by the Filipino people.

💡Hierarchy

Hierarchy, as mentioned in the script, is a key aspect of Confucian society and was reflected in the Japanese cultural policy. It implies a ranked system of social order where everyone has a defined place. The video explains how this concept was imposed in the Philippines, affecting language, culture, and social interactions.

💡Confucian Society

Confucian Society refers to a social structure influenced by the teachings of Confucius, emphasizing morality, social harmony, and respect for authority. The video describes how the Japanese, coming from a Confucian background, attempted to instill these values in the Philippines, affecting cultural interactions and societal norms.

💡Resistance Movement

The Resistance Movement in the video represents the opposition against Japanese rule, both militarily and culturally. It highlights the Filipinos' efforts to maintain their identity and resist the imposition of foreign cultural practices, using examples such as language adaptation for covert resistance.

💡Banana Ketchup

Banana Ketchup is a Filipino innovation mentioned in the script, which arose as a substitute for traditional tomato ketchup during the scarcity caused by the war. It symbolizes the resourcefulness and adaptability of the Filipino people in the face of adversity, turning a cultural policy's failure into a local success.

💡Haiku

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that the video script mentions as an example of cultural exchange. The Japanese encouraged the study of their art forms, and Filipino writers began experimenting with the haiku form, adapting it to express Philippine themes, thus demonstrating cultural adaptation rather than mere imposition.

💡Tagalog

Tagalog is the national language of the Philippines, as highlighted in the script. The Japanese policy of promoting the learning of both Japanese and Tagalog reflects an attempt to blend the imposed culture with local identity. However, the script also illustrates how the Filipinos used their language as a form of subtle resistance.

Highlights

Introduction to the cultural policy during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.

Conflict among cultures during the Japanese occupation, which was also a cultural battlefield.

The Japanese aimed to bring the Philippines into the Greater East Asia co-prosperity sphere.

Efforts to restore normalcy included reopening movie houses, newspapers, and radio stations.

Cultural policy was introduced through educational principles to replace US influence with Japanese.

Japanese policy aimed to remove traces of the United States and minimize the European tradition.

Policy encouraged looking back at Filipino traditions to fit into the Asian mold led by Japan.

Japanese concepts like love of labor and dignity were introduced alongside the Japanese language.

Cultural policy in schools included learning both Japanese and Filipino to foster a sense of Asian identity.

Japanese hierarchy and discipline were imposed, with the Japanese language and culture at the top.

Intellectuals saw the potential in learning Asian practices, languages, and history during the occupation.

The University of the Philippines introduced an Asian history course for the first time.

Cultural disconnects arose from differences in daily practices and societal norms.

Japanese military rule and its harsh realities overshadowed the cultural policy's intentions.

Filipinos adapted by using the Japanese language as a form of resistance and humor.

Cultural policy failed due to the harsh realities of war and the imposition of Japanese societal norms.

Filipinos showed resilience and adaptability by adjusting to the changing times and making the best of the situation.

Banana ketchup was invented as a local substitute for the unavailable American ketchup.

The occupation highlighted the importance of Filipino identity and the ability to adjust and benefit from change.

Cultural policy's impact on Filipino society and its lasting effects on identity and resilience.

Transcripts

[Music]

Grandin happens in Omaha good afternoon

minna-san konnichiwa I have greeted you

in three different languages this

afternoon because what I intend to talk

about is the cultural policy during the

Japanese occupation a period of time

where it lasted variable short it was

three years but this was a period of

time where you have a conflict among

cultures it was not just a military

occupation it was also a cultural

battlefield and so I'd like to introduce

this to you we're commemorating 75 years

of this war having started this coming

December but during the war we were very

exposed to the United States we had

strong Spanish cultural influence still

our own cultural tradition we knew a

little bit of it but it was not entering

the school system it was more popular

culture rather than formal culture what

the Japanese did was they tried to bring

in their own perception of culture they

brought in a military occupation they

brought in their economic policies but

they also brought in with them an

economic and cultural policy that would

bring the Philippines closer into what

they called the Greater East Asia

co-prosperity sphere when the Japanese

landed they brought in for soldiers they

got in their food they brought in their

own techniques they brought in their own

practices and when they in when he took

over Manila one of the first things they

did was to try to restore normalcy

normalcy in the sense that movie houses

would be reopened newspapers would be

allowed to reopen radio stations again

broadcasting about a month later they

put out their cultural policy in the

form of educational principles the

educational principles basically were

about four or five points the first of

which was that the US was no longer a

cultural power the u.s. was gone

the u.s. period of period of rule of the

US had gone and so replacing this was

Japan and the cultural policy that the

Japanese did was therefore first to

remove the traces of the United States

remove in fact or minimize the European

tradition in the Philippines and replace

this with an Asian perspective an Asian

perspective led by

Japan and then secondary to that

bringing us into the fold by letting us

look back and examine our own traditions

and bring that tradition back so that

will fit into the Asian mold and then as

a subsidiary to that the odd Japanese

also tried to bring in their own

concepts things like love of Labor

decency dignity and all of this it

sounded very nice on paper and when they

tried to implement this in the field it

also started to be interesting insofar

as the peaceful relations between

Japanese individuals and Filipinos was

concerned when they introduced this in

school they did bring in the idea that

you had to learn Japanese but they also

brought in the idea that you had to

learn Filipino yet to learn Tagalog yet

to be proud of both the Asian concept

and the Filipinos version of that which

was Filipino so the Japanese would have

had a very fertile ground to bring this

on and as the tea as the schools opened

in 1942 you did have this culture policy

coming in quite strong not only in the

schools but even in the government

offices government officials were told

to take some supplementary classes they

were asked to learn Japanese and even

Japanese soldiers in the streets

sometimes tried to teach their own

language this would have been fine again

but this was war and so we were

introduced to a different system that we

had not been exposed to before we belong

to Southeast Asia

we had been trained we had been reared

in Spanish tradition u.s. democratic

tradition when the Japanese came in here

it was quite different Japan comes from

East Asia this is a Confucian society

and the Confucian society prized

hierarchy yet people on the top people

in the middle people in the bottom and

you had to know your place in society

and therefore when the Japanese brought

in this cultural concept we would be

under the Japanese the Japanese were

number one we were number two Japanese

language was top

Filipino was second so there was that

hierarchy built in the second thing that

the Japanese also tried to bring in was

a sense of discipline and

audience you had to follow the teachers

you had to follow the superiors you had

to accept that without question and so

on and so forth they felt that it was

good because people in the Philippines

were seen as undisciplined and therefore

if that sense of discipline and

responsibility would be brought in the

Philippines could become a better place

to live in

again nice to say this on paper and some

Filipinos at that time did see there was

a possibility of the Philippines looking

into a different perspective coming into

a different world view some of the

intellectuals did see that that they saw

we had not become part of the Asian

world and that they thought it was high

time to learn Asian practices Asian

languages Asian history even U P at that

time u P opened in 1943 and U P began

look into the implementation of an Asian

history course for the first time prior

to that we only had world history which

was largely European history American

history and Philippine history but

during the Turkish occupation we began

to look into Asian history Chinese

history Korean history Japanese history

and we had not known about that at all

up to that point in time so again it

sounded nice on paper it sounded very

good it was a good policy intellectuals

looked into Japanese art they looked

into bonsai they looked into haiku and

all of this and it did seem something

interesting we couldn't some of our

writers began experimenting writing

haiku in Filipino or writing haiku in

English but on Philippine themes so the

cultural front was very wide open for

discussion the problem was well you

might discuss this in school and you

might meet occasional Japanese who would

point through the skin and say we are

the same skin color we belong to the

same race the problem was outside the

schools outside this friendly in

Japanese that one occasionally met the

rule of the Japanese was essentially

military rule and what was the priority

at that point was culture not too much

of importance it was important but it

was not top right

what was most important was the military

crushing the guerrillas and crushing

resistance and also getting the economic

benefits of Japanese control so what

people remember from the war is not so

much the cultural policy but they

remember the Japanese soldiers slapping

their mother or their father on the

streets that undid what the Japanese

were trying to do well the teachers were

trying to say we belong to the same

group of people we have a similar

cultural base the soldier who slapped at

Filipino in the street undid that all

the soldier who slapped the chopper of a

Filipino did not know that he was doing

harm to the Japanese to the Philippine

Japanese relationship they were

following what they had been trained in

the Japanese army it was believed that

slapping was the most minor of the

punishments that a soldier could be

given if he broke the rules so to a

Japanese soldier a slap was something

normal but in our culture a slap meant

something much deeper than that

your whole person was affected by it and

so well the Japanese were trying to

bring in their culture they also brought

in parts of their culture that didn't

fit into our own cultural sensibilities

one thing that Japanese for example did

because again the cultural background

was so different they didn't know how to

use Western toilets they didn't talk to

use Western bathrooms and so one part

one person I interviewed sometime ago

said that when the Japanese entered

their house they looked at the toilet

they didn't know what it was and they

washed their faces in the toilet bowl

and then they looked at the sink the

Navajo they didn't know what it was for

they stood on it and there they urinated

so they didn't know how these things

worked and so when you have a conquering

people doing these things because they

didn't know what they meant you wanted

what kind of conquerors are these and we

also this cultural disconnect because

how did the Japanese take a bath for

example the Japanese took a bath in hot

tubs and what they did was they clean

themselves outside and then they put

tubs of water on

of stones put lit fire under this and

then they took the bath out afterwards

the problem with this was it was done in

that hierarchical system that we talked

about earlier the Confucian system the

officer was the first to enter the tub

after which the second-in-command

entered the tub and then the whole

platoon followed suit after that so to

us who were so familiar with taking a

bath every day by ourselves seeing them

go through one tub of water 10 people a

hundred people wonderful

what kind of what kind of superiors are

these this we could simply not accept

which is why although there was this

good there were the good policies that

the Japanese trying to implement they

did fail what was more successful was

the inculcation of an Asian orientation

and more successful still the

inculcation of a more Philippine eyes

identity not so much aligned with Japan

but more aligned with Philippines and

this also aligned itself with the

resistance movement and others who were

outside the Japanese controlled area so

when we look at the Japanese occupation

we do see there's all this fighting that

took place there was a lot of violence

but there was also a cultural aspect to

it and one thing that the occupation

short as it was showed us and is still

relevant to us today is how Filipinos

can adjust to fast changing times adjust

make dough survive and even make a

benefit out of this what were some

examples I might give here we learn the

language yes the Japanese language we

learn bits and pieces of it but we

twisted it so that it could be a form of

resistance so instead of accepting the

Japanese way we made it a weapon of our

own example of this was the words that I

said earlier

konnichiwa that is Japanese for a good

day good morning in Japan is

ohayo-gozaimasu and when you bound to

the Sentry you said Oh hiya gozaimasu

but some Filipinos in Manila found out

if you added one letter to Ohio it

became a Tagalog word which meant

totally different so the other the

letter P after Ohio in the bowels DPS

wanted to the japanese guard saying Ohio

or ohayo-gozaimasu and the Japanese

soldier would say very good Filipino

very obedient but actually we had won

over him we were cursing him and say hi

up god that kind of thing

so there were these reactions that we

were doing and we did survive the war we

made fun of the Japanese we made jokes

out of them we made jokes out with

Americans earlier on we made jokes

during martial law it's a point of

continuity that we see we are able to

survive by laughing at these things we

also survived even though there was all

these difficulty there were shortages

the Japanese controlled the economy

there everything was had to be rationed

so one joke that came up during the

Japanese occupation was annoying

Donnellan and Monica stealin it was a

Filipinas really human annoying dinner

on a manga americano it was a Pilipinas

education enduring dinner done among

upon de cosas at a rush on because

everything was Michonne and they said we

should change the name Pilipinas to

Pilipinas because everywhere he went to

had to line up for soap for rice for

sugar for everything else so we survived

by making stalks out of that and even

though we had the shortages we did try

to subsist on what we had we discovered

our own local resources and we made our

own substitutes for former goods that we

imported and just to mention one item

that still very much on the market is

banana ketchup

before the war nobody touched that did

not exist during the war no ketchup came

from the United States we wanted the

taste of ketchup somebody invented it

and advertised it as new it was called

the inventor was model of Francisco and

the brand became my friend banana

ketchup and that's why we have banana

ketchup today 1942 Philippine ingenuity

and so cultural proper the cultural

policy of the Japanese might not have

worked exactly the way they wanted it to

work but we took over in a sense in

mediate work in our

own sense showing that we were still the

boss of everything else so with that

thank you very much for listening and

good afternoon

konnichiwa megundal happens I mean that

[Music]

[Applause]

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you

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