Summary:

Tuula Okkonen - Jari Okkonen, American attitudes towards cultural resources during the first year of the occupation of Japan.

Cultural resource management deals with the preservation and sustainable management of cultural resources such as museums, archives, archaeological sites, monuments, architecture and the built environment. The self-awareness of a nation can be measured by how it takes care of the cultural heritage and the remains of its past. Today cultural resource management is often a component of development cooperation and capacity building policy.

Wartime has always been destructive to cultural resources, and there has been looting of cultural objects since the Roman times and before. The first international convention concerning the preservation of cultural resources in wars was formulated in the early 19th century. Modern warfare, with its potential for massive damage, has caused serious devastation. Recent history has witnessed severe post-war damage to cultural resources. When the United States led coalition occupied Iraq in 2003, the occupiers were unable to prevent the looting of the National Museum of Iraq and its national treasures.

The Second World War ended in August 1945. Japan capitulated after the total destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and almost all of Japan’s urban areas had been bombed by the United States air forces. Japan was occupied by the United States and the Allied Powers controlled the occupation. The General Headquarters of the Allied Powers put in place policies aimed at removing the Japanese war potential. The demilitarization of Japan was supported by the democratization of the country and the reorientation of the Japanese people. The American planners of post-war Japan were aware of the relationship between national heritage, cultural resources and Japanese nationalistic feelings and self-awareness. The aim was to control the collective consciousness of the Japanese for the purpose of re-casting the militaristic and ultranationalistic Japanese into a peaceful nation that would respect the interest of other nations and the victors. The cultural resources of Japan became an instrument for demilitarization and democratization of the country.

Since the very beginning of the occupation, the Arts and Monuments Branch of the Civil Information and Education Section investigated the damage that the war has caused to cultural property. The aim was the preservation and protection of Japanese heritage. The other target of the work was the restitution of the looted property.

Despite recent failures, it is evident that the concept of cultural resource management has been used successfully in the demilitarization process. The control of cultural property means control of processes which are linked to nationalistic and militaristic feelings and senses. It is also evident that the Americans sincerely wanted to protect the Japanese cultural heritage and national treasures.