The Case of Tokyo Rose: Discovering The Themes of Race and Gender

Naoko Shibusawa’s article Femininity, Race and Treachery: How ‘Tokyo Rose’ Became a Traitor to the United States after the Second World War, presents a historical analysis of the trial of Toguri d’Aquino as Tokyo Rose . Tokyo Rose was the pseudonym of an unidentified Japanese radio host who was hated in the U.S. during World War II. The author explains Tokyo Rose was most likely not a single person, rather an identity employed by various female, English speaking, Japanese announcers. In 1947 Toguri D’Aquino, a Japanese American was falsely convicted despite the fact that there was very little evidence, and the prosecutors originally recommended the case be dismissed. Shibusawa prevents a multifaceted and nuanced analysis of the historical factors that lead to this conviction. This analysis would be stronger if he had more thoroughly justified both his inclusion of certain historical factors over others, and his characterization of those involved. Additionally, his inclusion of ‘alternate histories’ is a poor historiographical practice that does little to support his thesis. Overall, however, his analysis is incredibly holistic and convincing. Additionally, his presentation of the event helps to inform historians’ understanding of the relationship between race and gender in the pacific war.

In his article, Shibusawa attempts to answer the historical question; What social and political factors caused the US government to so doggedly pursue and convict Toguri when there was little evidence and despite the fact that she did not match the profile of Tokyo Rose? To answer this question, he presents several social and political influences which lead to Toguri’s conviction. Primarily, sensationalized wartime narratives of race and gender perpetuated by the media made her an ideal target. He emphasizes the media’s role in demonizing Japanese female sexuality as treacherous and dangerous, and creating the expectation of passive patriotism from Japanese women. A combination of these two factors lead to a mistrust of Toguri’s active patriotism. However, he also emphasizes political factors, claiming; “The media’s reinforcement of popular notions about feminized and orientalised treachery operated in tandem with the prosaic and political motivations of key characters in her case.” The Cold-War political climate which emphasized loyalty and condemned traitors created strong motivations for the U.S. government to pursue her case. Essentially, he claims that American conceptions of race and gender created during World War Two informed the U.S. Government's view of and response to traitorism.

Shibusawa’s argument; that the media’s narratives regarding gender and race strongly influenced the case, is strong. He explains the significance of the Tokyo Rose character, as a representation of the American view of the inscrutability of Japanese and the dangerous femininity of Japanese women. Additionally, he explains that the media perpetuated an idea that Japanese-American women should show their patriotism through passive loyalty and cooperation. Therefore, active patriotism by women such as Toguri was not trusted, which led to her demonization despite her clean record. However, although he mentions it, Shibusawa does not adequately address the role that Toguri herself played. He explains; “Toguri signed a contract that Brundidge drew up naming her as ‘the one and original “Tokyo Rose” who broadcast from Radio Tokyo’ with ‘no feminine assistants or substitutes”. However, he only includes this incredibly significant detail in his recount of the events, and does not consider it as a factor in his analysis. Additionally he claims the only evidence against her was “the false testimony that the FBI extorted from two of Toguri’s Japanese co-workers”, despite the fact that this signed contract seems likely to have surfaced in court. Further evidence that her confession did not make a large impact on the government’s selection of her as a candidate for prosecution or her subsequent conviction would have strengthened Shibusawa argument that social and political influences played a critical role in the case. Overall, the author’s nuanced intersectional analysis of the relationship between the American views of femininity and the Japanese racial character makes his explanation for why Toguri was targeted very convincing. However, it would be stronger had he given evidence that minimized other factors.

Shibusawa’s presentation of political, in addition to social, factors on the case makes his analysis historically holistic. He argues that the Cold War led to a domestic emphasis on loyalty and a hatred of traitors, which explains why the Tokyo Rose case was reopened after it had been dismissed earlier. The inclusion of this explanation broadens his analysis to answer not only the question of why Toguri was convicted, but also why the U.S. government chose to pursue the case at all. However, his dismissal of the post-war desire to justify internment as a factor seems unfounded considering this holistic approach. Furthermore, while he addresses the changing political climate due to the Cold War, he fails to consider how the American racial view of the Japanese also may have changed during that time period as they became allies in the fight against communism. Shibusawa’s consideration of multiple factors makes his analysis strong, but he fails to thoroughly justify his emphasis of these factors over others.

Although his use of evidence is strong. Shibusawa inclusion of alternate histories to justify his conclusion weakens his argument. For example, he presents alternative candidates who could have been prosecuted but were not, such as Manilla Rose and Axis Sally. He also claims that Tokyo Rose could have had an ‘alternate tale as a heroine even at the time’. The notion that as a historian looking back, he could possibly understand what ‘could have’ happened and why it did not is unconvincing. Therefore, his inclusion of these alternatives does little to support his analysis of the actual events.

Shibusawa’s claims show a strong similarity with those made by John Dower in War Without Mercy . Specifically, both authors claim that racial stereotypes associated with the Japanese influenced the treatment of Japanese-Americans by the U.S. government during and after the war. Both these sources claim these stereotypes caused negative treatment of members of these sub-populations. Fujitani’s essay Right To Kill , in contrast, claims that the government’s use of bio-power during wartime caused the Japanese to move from the outside to the inside of the American population, and experience passive rather than active racism. Shibusawa’s claim that Toguri was seen as racially alien, and therefore treacherous, after the war, seems to directly counter Fujitani’s thesis. All of these sources however, attempt to understand the influence of the War on the way Japanese were viewed and subsequently treated in America. Femininity, Race, and Treachery helps to prove historically significant insight on this subject, and on the greater issue of the historical impact of war on minority populations.

The strength of Shibusawa’s argument comes from his ability to consider a single event through multiple historic lenses. This reveals the necessary complexity of historical analysis. To understand why something happened, historians must examine not only the intricacies of the event, but also the social and political climate surrounding the event. Historical understanding cannot be complete if we only understand how something happened without attempting to explain why. Additionally, the convincing nature of the article shows the importance of an intersectional approach to history. When historical conceptions of race and gender are considered in combination, they yield a deeper understanding of events. By applying these methods, Shibusawa was able to use a single event, like the case of Tokyo Rose, as an opportunity to understand larger concepts regarding the relationships between race, gender, and war.