Japan Views the Philippines: 1900-1944 by Lydia N.

Yu-Jose
Review by: Motoe Terami-Wada
Philippine Studies, Vol. 40, No. 4 (Fourth Quarter 1992), pp. 536-540
Published by: Ateneo de Manila University
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 STUDIES
PHILIPPINE

This attitudeis similarto ningascogon,but Amadorcalls it "typhoonmen-

tality"and urgeseveryoneto abandonit. Also partoř the Filipinopsyche
is thepuedena dispositionwhichAmadorconsiderssettlingformediocrity
and definitely discourages.She also recommends a reassessment of values
likeutangna loobso thattheydo notbecomeweaknesses.On theotherhand,
AmadorrecognizesFilipinocharacteristics thatdeservecommendation. On
top of the list is "Pinoy Service/'generosity with a smile.Others are the
Filipinosense of humor,familyties,and simplejoys in thecountryside. A
fewselectionsdwell on rusticsettingsand experiencèsof countryside hos-
pitality.Amongall the Filipinocharacteristics mentionedin theessays,the
one thatstandsout is thepeculiarbalatomentality, thefeelingof havingthe
right to share in the good fortuneof another.It has neverreallybeen paid
attention to, muchless broughtto thelevelof seriousreflection as Amador
has done. By venturing intoan explanation of this,she has opened an ave-
nue fordiscussionof thisone otherfacetof theFilipinopsyche.
Nothingthathas been said hereas a broadintroduction can approximate
the satisfaction one gets fromreadingthe essays. One can begin reading
fromany pointwithinterest as the guidingfactor.Amador'sfriendly dis-
position takes care of the rest.
She her
invites readers to hearher side,de-
lights them with her wit and humor, and enriches them with her literary
allusions.Her languageis fluid,the turnsof phrasessubtleand precise,
capturingan animatedconversational style.Exitsand Entrances is guaran-
teed to makereadingbothprofitable and pleasurable.

Ma. Luz C. Vilches

EnglishDepartment
Ateneode ManilaUniversity

Japan Views the Philippines: 1900-1944. By Lydia N. Yu-Jose.

Quezon City:Ateneode Manila University
Press, 1992. 195 pages

This book is based on the author'sPh. D. dissertationsubmittedto the

Sophia University in Tokyoin 1988.It attemptsto explorehow theJapa-
nese, includingboth the government authoritiesand the civilians,viewed
the Philippines,whichwas thenunderthe colonialadministration of the
UnitedStates.
In her desire to give a comprehensive view, the authorwentthrough
numerousdocuments - reports,
travelogues,speeches,memoirs, and articles.
These were written by government officials,
civilians,researchers,
scholars,
students, immigrants, and businessmen whohad eithercome fora shortstay
or lived in thePhilippines.
Aftercarefully goingthroughthem,she selectedtheimportant ones,and
categorizedthemas government, semi-government, or civilianviews.Then

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 BOOKREVIEWS

she put themintochronological orderin threeparts:1900-1920, 1921-1935,

and 1936-1945.This periodization, based on the developmentof Japanese
economicactivitiesin the Philippines,is adequatelydone.
It is interestingto note thatthe opinions,attitudes,and views of the
government, semigovernment, and civilianentitiesdiffered on certainmat-
ters.Amongthemwere the Philippineindependenceissue,the economic
importanceof the Philippinesvis-a-visJapan,achievementsof the U.S.
colonialrule,and the culturallevel of the Filipinos.Howeverthesediffer-
ences would disappearin the 1940s at the eve of Japan'sinvasionof the
Philippines.
Studieson Philipine-Japanese relationshave been scarce;thereis a series
of pioneeringworksby GrantK. Goodman,which encompassJapanese
immigration, particularlyto Davao, pan-Asianists, and Japaneseculturaland
economicactivitiesin thePhilippines. The significance of Dr. Yu-Jose's
work
lies in the following:It is the firstattemptin the area of Philippine-Japa-
nese relationsto compilean anthologyon theJapanesewritings concerning
thePhilippines. Secondly,it takesup materialsheretofore notmuchutilized
in previousstudies,such as memoirsof privateJapanesecitizens.Another
importance of thisbook is the factthatit is writtenby a Filipinoscholar.
Thereis in the U.S. a long historyof Japaneseresearchof a consistent
highstandardin practically all of the socialsciences.Some Americanschol-
ars are able to use Japanesedocumentswritten in classicalJapaneseor Chi-
nese, with which Japanese scholars themselves have Otherscan
difficulties.
read classicalliteraryworksand translatethemintoEnglish.
In comparison,Philippinestandardsrelatingto Japanesestudieshave
lagged way behinduntilabout thepast fiveyears,whentremendous prog-
ress was shown,as seen in a worksuch as this.It is indeeda landmarkin
Japanesestudiesin the Philippines.
In JapanViewsthePhilippines : 1900-Ī944,the authorposes some intrigu-
ing questions:
1.Did theJapaneselaborerscome to the Philippinesto lay the founda-
tionforfuturemilitary invasion?
2. Did theJapanesefailor succeedin imparting theircultureto the Phi-
lippines?
3. Did JapanbecomeaggressivetowardthePhilippinesbecauseitspeace-
fuleconomicexpansionfailed,and thus,was the war startedto pro-
tecttheeconomicgains made by theJapanesein the Philippines?
The firstquestionwas answeredby the authorthus:The competition
among the Japanesebusinessmenin the abaca industryin Davao, forin-
stance,illustrates thatno such grandschemeexistedon the partof Japa-
nese authorities, includingthemilitary.
As to the second question,the authorpointsout thattheJapaneseleft
hardlyany significant influence,despite the factthat therewere sizable

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 STUDIES
PHILIPPINE

Japanesecommunities in Davao, Manila,and Baguio.This was becausetheir

stay in the Philippineswas temporary in nature,and theylived in closely
knitcommunities. Theyavoidedsocialand culturalcontactswiththeFilipi-
nos,notto mentioninter-cultural marriages.
It was in the mid-1930s, when the Japaneseexperienceddifficulty in
expanding their economic interests,that they startedundertaking cultural
exchangewiththeFilipinos.However,theactivitieswere largelyone-sided
and hardlyany attemptsweremade to learnabout Philippineculture.Ac-
cordingto theauthor,thiswas mainlydue to thefactthattheJapaneseaim
was to use cultureto advancetheireconomicgains.At thesame time,they
feltthatJapaneseculturewas superiorto thatof the Philippines,and that
therewas nothingto learnfromthe latter.Besides,as an imperialpower,
Japanhad all the resourcesto propagateitsown culture.One wondersifit
is stillthecase today,althougha changein attitudecan be seen.
To thethirdquestion,Dr. Yu-Jose'sanswerseemsto implythatsomeof
the objectivesof the Japaneseinvasionof the Philippineswere to protect
economicinterests(p. 159) and to secureraw materialforfactoriesback
home(p. 110).Whileit is notthemainpurposeof thisbook to discusswhat
theJapanesemotiveswereforoccupyingthePhilippines, it is, nevertheless,
an interesting and important issue. Japaneseeconomicinterestswould be
protected and raw materialsfromthe Philippineswöuld be shippedto Ja-
pan iftheoccupationweresuccessful.
However,1 believethattheansweris notas simpleas it was laid out in
thebook. In orderto draw out some explanations, we mustalso look into
themilitary sources.
This workcan bé seen as not only a partof the modernJapanesehis-
toryof southwardexpansionin thefirstpartof thiscentury.It can also be
readas Philippine history,ofhow thecolonialas wéll as theCommonwealth
governments dealt withalien residentsand theireconomicactivities. More-
over it presentsitselfas good sourcematerialforculturalanthropology in
the sensethatit gives insightsintotheJapanesepsychologyregardingfor-
eignculture.
Needlessto say*thisbook is a veryvitalcontribution to the studynot
onlyof Philippine-Japanese relations,butalso ofthemodernhistories ofboth
countries.
Notwithstanding the significance of thisstudy,I have certaincomments
and suggestionsforfuturestudies.The Japaneseimmigrants to whatwas
thenreferred to as Nanyo(today'sSoutheastAsia) werebasicallymotivated
by personaleconomicgain. The Philippinesattractedmanyof themat the
turnof thecenturymainlydue to a so-called"colonialboom'' of infrastruc-
turebuilding,creatinga need forcheap labor.
The ambitiousand poor sons of farmers could have learnedabout this
needby wordof mouthfromimmigration or mayhave beenlured
officials,

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 BOOKREVIEWS

by successfulstoriesoř theirrelativesor villagemates.Some wereinspired

by reading"dream-come-true" storiesappearingin popularmagazinesoř the
time.Dr. Yu-Joseincludesa sampleoř suchan article(p. 14).
Besides these,popular novels writtenat thattimecould be added as
sourcematerialsto be analyzed.In thelatterpartoř the 1880s,popularfic-
tioncreateda genrecalled "NanshinBungaku"or "Kaiyo Bungaku"(Ad-
vanceto theSouth,or Ocean,Literature). The storiescenteredaroundsome
Japanesewho on purposeor accidentally wentto theSouthSeas area and
ended up openinga new agricultural řrontier.The storiesstressedthatby
doingso, these Japanese were contributing to the buildingořJapan.Around
theend oř the 1890s,such storiesbegan to deal notjust withtheSouthin
general,but specifically withthePhilippines.
The PhilippinestruggleřorindependenceagainstSpain stirredthepatri-
otic řeelingsoř boththeJapanesefictionwritersand thereaders,especially
the youth.At the same time,thiseventmade some writersřeelthatcolo-
nizingthe Philippineswas notentirelyimpossible,especiallysinceTaiwan
was thenunderJapanesetutelage,whilethe Philippineswas about to get
rid oř Spanishoppression.
WhentheU.S. tookoverthePhilippines, a deép sympathy was expressed
in thesestories,especiallytowardGeneralEmilioAguinaldo.Therewas a
collectionoř poems as well as a novel,both entitled"Aginarudo"(Agui-
naldo),publishedin early1900.These literary worksmusthave had rather
strongimpact on the minds oř theJapaneseyouth,whichencouragedthem
to go to theSouth,includingthePhilippines.
Even iř its influencemighthave been minimal,thé řactremainsthatthe
popularfiction did deal withsuchstories,and thisis something to be noted.
JapanViewsthePhilippines : 1900-1944ends in 1945,thetermination oř the
JapaneseOccupation oř the Philippines. It was the periodwhen the direct
and most intensecontactsbetweenthe Japaneseand the Filipinosin the
historyoř Philippine-Japanese relationstook place. And yet the author
allottedto thisthesame space as řorotherchapters.
The above chapteris a finework,fortheauthorwritesoř theroleoř the
Japaneseresidentsin the Philippines, oř the PhilippineResearchCommis-
sion, and oř the New PhilippinesCulturalInstitute.These were the key
pointsoř thegrandschemeořJapaneseculturalpropaganda,and theauthor
discussesand analyzestheviewson thePhilippinesoř thepeopleinvolved.
Therewas anothergroupoř Japaneseintellectuals who playeda rather
important role during this period. It was the PropagandaCorps, whose
memberswrotetheirimpressionson the Philippinesand senttheseto Ja-
pan, to be read by theJapaneseať home.Some oř themwroteoř theirex-
periencesařterthewar,whichamountto a halřdozen or so.
The inclusionoř the writingsoř Miki Kiyoshi,a memberoř the Propa-
ganda Corps oř theJapaneseimperialArmy,in thischapteris correct, as

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PHILIPPINE
STUDIES

his observationson the Philippinesand its cultureare unique and rather

profound, and did have a certaininfluenceon otherJapaneseintellectuals.
(He was not sent specificallyas a memberof Pen Corps. He arrivedin
Manilaalong withthesecondbatchof thePropagandaCorps at theend of
February, not in Januaryas mentionedin p. 152. Rather,therewere close
to twentywritersincludingtwo femalewriterswho had been sentforPen
Corps purposes,and theyarrivedin Manila in mid-December1942 fora
four-month sojourn.)Had theauthoradded theviewsand impressions writ-
tenby otherPropagandaCorpsmembers, it would have rriadethischapter
even moreinteresting.
As theauthorstates,the culturalpolicyof theJapaneseImperialArmy
was to imposeJapan'sown cultureand ideologyon the Filipinos.At the
same time,however,it encouragedthe developmentof Philippineindige-
nous and traditionalculture,unlikethe Spanish and Americancolonial
powers.It was afterall partof thepropagandascheme,fortheobjectiveof
winningthe heartsof Filipinos.Nevertheless, it gave some Filipinosan
excuseto workfortheJapanese,fortheformer's survival,physicaland oth-
erwise.It also gave themshieldsto protectthemselvesfrombeingaccused
of being Japanesecollaborators;theycould say that they were proud
nationalistswho triedto protectPhilippineculture.
This periodis too complexto be treatedin just one chapter.For that
matter,a bookcan be written solelyon how theJapanese,bothmilitary and
thecivilianpersonnel, viewedthePhilippines and itspeopleduringtheshort
periodof thethree-year occupation.
The above comments are simplysomesuggestions forfutureresearchon
thisand relatedsubjectmatters. Theydo notin any way detractfromthe
standingofJapanViewsthePhilippines: Ī900-1944as one of thebest written
in thisfield.It is a muston thereadinglistof everyonewithan interest in
Philippine-Japanese relations.

Motoe Terami-Wada

Politics and Policy Making in Developing Countries. Edited by

Gerald M. Meier.San Francisco;ICS Press,1991. 369 pages.

ProfessorGeraldMeierhas givenus an excellentcollectionof articles,some

of whichdirectly
addressPhilippine
issues,on a new economictheorycalled
'The New PoliticalEconomy."New PoliticalEconomyrefersto a veryex-
citingdevelopmentin economytheory.It is theattemptto use theanalyti-
cal frameworkof mainstream economicsto explorethe role of politicsin

540

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