HIS 272H,
CULTURAL INTERACTIONS: JAPAN

INITIAL DATED ENTRY: Cultural interactions between groups with widely divergent civilizations aren't always conducted on the best of terms. Consider what role you think the nature of cultural interactions between Japan and the West prior to the 1930s played in the Japanese decision for war. Were these "external" factors more or less important than those generated by internal conditions and circumstances?

SECOND DATED ENTRY: How did the nature of historical cultural interactions between Japan and the West play into the Occupation era? Were the Japanese reactions to Occupation policies at all influenced by how these cultural interactions (including the Pacific War) were condicted in the past?

THIRD DATED ENTRY: How would you evaluate the lasting impact (up to the present day) of both the Pacific War and the Occupation era in both Japan and the United States in terms especially of the nature of subsequent cultural interactions. Ultimately did this era appear more to help or harm our ongoing relationship?