Papers by Masakazu Matsuoka
When Japan occupied Singapore during the Second World War, the Japanese military administration s... more When Japan occupied Singapore during the Second World War, the Japanese military administration sought to “Japanise” the local people, and Japanese intellectuals were mobilised for this purpose. The poet Jimbo Kōtarō was one of the intellectuals who played a central role in Japanese language education in the early stages of the occupation. This chapter explores the ideological aspect of Japanese language education, which was part of Japan’s cultural policy in wartime Singapore. By examining the “Nippon-Go Popularising Week” campaign, which was organised by Jimbo and the Propaganda Department, it argues that Jimbo’s ultranationalistic view of Japanese language and culture was partly based on an inferiority complex about Western civilisation.
From February 1942 to September 1945, Singapore was under the rule of Japanese Army. Japanese int... more From February 1942 to September 1945, Singapore was under the rule of Japanese Army. Japanese intellectuals requisitioned by the Army were put in charge of conducting the propaganda and cultural policies in Syonan-to, which is the war-time name of Japanese-occupied Singapore. This paper examines some aspects of Japanese cultural policies in Syonan-to with a focus on a Japanese cartoonist Matsushita Kikuo. In particular, it aims to highlight the natures and the boundaries of the cultural policies in Syonan-to through exploring Matsushita’s works.
After the breakout of the Pacific War, Matsushita was sent to Singapore to work for the fine art section of the Propaganda Department and later moved to Borneo. In Singapore, he drew cartoons and illustrations for a Chinese newspaper the Syonan Jit Poh (Zhaonan Ribao) and an English newspaper the Syonan Times. In 1944 he published a book of drawings, Minami wo Mitekure (Look at South), which he created based on his experiences in Southeast Asia.
Matsushita’s Minami wo Mitekure contains a series of episodes from his own experiences in Syonan-to, Sumatra and Borneo with many illustrations. Although he called this book of drawings “political cartoons”, its focus is on the unique exotic scenes he got interested in rather than political and military issues. Similarly, the central subject matter of his cartoons and illustrations in the two newspapers published in Syonan-to was not the Japanese people who were expected to lead the Empire but the local people. Even in the illustration of the enemies, he
did not draw the Japanese soldiers who beat them. Rather, the cultures and the products he encountered in Southeast Asia were his major concerns in his works.
Most of Matsushita’s works are, regardless of the cliché of war propaganda in his statement and in his Minami wo Mitekure, non-political. The propaganda policies in Syonan-to lacked consistent principles, as it primarily depended on the personality and ability of each intellectual. Thus, Matsushita’s war-time works reflect his way of conveying a Japanese intellectual’s perception of Southeast Asia.
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Papers by Masakazu Matsuoka
After the breakout of the Pacific War, Matsushita was sent to Singapore to work for the fine art section of the Propaganda Department and later moved to Borneo. In Singapore, he drew cartoons and illustrations for a Chinese newspaper the Syonan Jit Poh (Zhaonan Ribao) and an English newspaper the Syonan Times. In 1944 he published a book of drawings, Minami wo Mitekure (Look at South), which he created based on his experiences in Southeast Asia.
Matsushita’s Minami wo Mitekure contains a series of episodes from his own experiences in Syonan-to, Sumatra and Borneo with many illustrations. Although he called this book of drawings “political cartoons”, its focus is on the unique exotic scenes he got interested in rather than political and military issues. Similarly, the central subject matter of his cartoons and illustrations in the two newspapers published in Syonan-to was not the Japanese people who were expected to lead the Empire but the local people. Even in the illustration of the enemies, he
did not draw the Japanese soldiers who beat them. Rather, the cultures and the products he encountered in Southeast Asia were his major concerns in his works.
Most of Matsushita’s works are, regardless of the cliché of war propaganda in his statement and in his Minami wo Mitekure, non-political. The propaganda policies in Syonan-to lacked consistent principles, as it primarily depended on the personality and ability of each intellectual. Thus, Matsushita’s war-time works reflect his way of conveying a Japanese intellectual’s perception of Southeast Asia.
After the breakout of the Pacific War, Matsushita was sent to Singapore to work for the fine art section of the Propaganda Department and later moved to Borneo. In Singapore, he drew cartoons and illustrations for a Chinese newspaper the Syonan Jit Poh (Zhaonan Ribao) and an English newspaper the Syonan Times. In 1944 he published a book of drawings, Minami wo Mitekure (Look at South), which he created based on his experiences in Southeast Asia.
Matsushita’s Minami wo Mitekure contains a series of episodes from his own experiences in Syonan-to, Sumatra and Borneo with many illustrations. Although he called this book of drawings “political cartoons”, its focus is on the unique exotic scenes he got interested in rather than political and military issues. Similarly, the central subject matter of his cartoons and illustrations in the two newspapers published in Syonan-to was not the Japanese people who were expected to lead the Empire but the local people. Even in the illustration of the enemies, he
did not draw the Japanese soldiers who beat them. Rather, the cultures and the products he encountered in Southeast Asia were his major concerns in his works.
Most of Matsushita’s works are, regardless of the cliché of war propaganda in his statement and in his Minami wo Mitekure, non-political. The propaganda policies in Syonan-to lacked consistent principles, as it primarily depended on the personality and ability of each intellectual. Thus, Matsushita’s war-time works reflect his way of conveying a Japanese intellectual’s perception of Southeast Asia.