MacArthur was undoubtedly an important figure in the U.S. Army, and his deeds were widely circulated after World War II. During his tenure as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Japan, he was in the limelight and became a high-profile figure for a while.
He was once a prominent figure, but he had an emotional entanglement with a Japanese actress. Who is this actress? What kind of ambiguous relationship does the two have?
All of this stems from the history of the Showa goddess after Japan's defeat in World War II. On August 15, 1945, a day that will be remembered by the whole world, Japan announced its unconditional surrender and World War II ended with the victory of the Allies.
However, although the war ended, the remaining problems needed to be solved urgently, and how to deal with the defeated countries and war criminals became an important task for MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Japan.
The penalties faced by defeated countries often have a serious impact on them, so the best way to do this is to reduce them as little as possible. At that time, both Germany and Italy were duly punished, and Japan should have been, especially as some countries called for the execution of Emperor Hirohito.
Hirohito was reluctant to be executed, he wanted to find a way out rather than sit idly by. After MacArthur was stationed in Japan, in order to get as much preferential treatment as possible, Hirohito made a special visit, but he was almost closed.
After that, the two met in secret for more than an hour, and although the details are unknown, it is certain that Hirohito did not achieve his goal.
In order to achieve his goal, Emperor Hirohito used the beauty trick and chose the actress Setsuko Hara, who was a smash hit at the time, as a bargaining chip and dedicated it to MacArthur. So, why did he have such a choice?
And how did Setsuko Hara succeed in convincing MacArthur? Let's get to know Setsuko Hara, who was born in 1920 in Kanagawa Prefecture. Despite her talent, she dropped out of high school after only two years due to her family's poverty.
However, with her outstanding appearance, she was introduced to the showbiz by her brother-in-law Kumagai Hisatora. In 1935, Hara Setsuko participated in her first film, playing a character named Setsuko, and then used Hara Setsuko as her stage name.
In 1936, at the age of 16, Setsuko Hara was attracted to a Nazi director for her acting skills and outstanding beauty, and asked her to play the lead role in a Japanese-German co-production, which, despite its intended promotion of Nazism, was widely popular and made Hara famous.
Later, she also visited Germany as a "Goodwill Ambassador for Japan". Since then, Setsuko Hara has appeared in a series of films, but most of them are fascist propaganda.
Her acting skills are perfect, her appearance is youthful and beautiful, and her posture is dignified and elegant, which has attracted a large number of fans and made the Japanese people deeply attracted, thus becoming a veritable "Showa Goddess".
Setsuko Hara's acting career was not disturbed by the war at all after the end of World War II, and as a goddess in the hearts of the Japanese people, she starred in Akira Kurosawa's ** work "I Have No Regrets About Youth".
The film is an anti-war work that criticizes the fascism that was prevalent in the country at the time. In this movie, Setsuko Hara plays Koeda, who is very different from the traditional Japanese women of the past, she is a new era woman who has experienced pain but still insists on pursuing beauty, independent and strong.
Although Setsuko Hara's career is going well, her love life is not going well.
MacArthur and Setsuko Hara After the end of World War II, MacArthur, as commander of the U.S. forces in Japan, began to solve post-war problems and carry out a series of reforms in Japan.
In order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, the United States is determined to carry out comprehensive reforms. Although Japan was already a capitalist industrialized country before the reform, the incomplete nature of the reform method meant that the emperor still controlled the military and political power, and the remnants of feudalism still existed.
The land issue is also a major problem facing Japan, with many people still having food and clothing to eat, and the relatively small domestic market, making it very difficult to carry out thorough reforms.
The wars in Japan's history have had a profound impact on the country, especially the long-term wars that have led to the devastation of the country and the severe shortage of young and middle-aged male labor, which makes it extremely difficult to change the status quo in Japan.
However, MacArthur's mission in Japan included not only rectification, but more importantly how to deal with Emperor Hirohito, who was the culprit in Japan's war of aggression and an out-and-out executioner who resulted in the loss of many innocent lives.
However, his crimes were ultimately treated with immunity from trial, much to the surprise of many. The official explanation is that this is because of the intervention of the United States. This so-called "meddling" may be out of consideration for the current situation in Japan or for the benefit of the United States.
In conclusion, Japan's recent history is full of complexities and twists and turns.
Hirohito, in order to avoid punishment and receive preferential treatment, decided to use the beauty trick to get close to MacArthur. After discussion, it was decided that Setsuko Hara, who was young and beautiful, would carry out this plan.
Both Hirohito and the minister agreed that this plan was feasible, and if it succeeded, Hara Setsuko would be their talisman. Hirohito immediately informed Setsuko Hara, and instead of refusing, she expressed her willingness.
Hara Setsuko said that she will definitely complete her task and strive for preferential treatment for the country. The plan has been decided, and all that remains is to arrange the encounter between Setsuko Hara and MacArthur.
Setsuko Hara is in the limelight in a glamorous dress. She danced for MacArthur on stage, and her eyes were on him from time to time. MacArthur smoked his pipe, admiring the graceful dancer, the corners of his mouth raised, and he nodded repeatedly.
After the banquet, Hara Setsuko approached MacArthur on her own initiative, and MacArthur could not refuse in the face of her overtures. The two began dating, and Setsuko Hara became MacArthur's lover.
However, in MacArthur's mind, Hara Setsuko could only be his lover. Because he already has a family and a son in the United States, he will not give up his family for a dancer.
In order to convince MacArthur of her sincerity, Setsuko Hara chose to stay with him, and it was also a quick way for her to achieve Hirohito's goal. Although she became MacArthur's golden house and canary, she still insisted on her acting career.
With MacArthur's help, her acting career flourished, and her gentle and thoughtful and "actor" talents were fully displayed in her relationship with MacArthur, which made MacArthur obsessed with her.
Hirohito's beauty tricks were indeed clever, and MacArthur gradually indulged in her gentleness. Setsuko Hara sensed that the time had come, and at the right time blew wind in MacArthur's ear, guiding him towards her goal.
Hara Setsuko's superb speech skills caused him to completely change his original intention, not only did not depose the emperor, but hoped to help Hirohito escape justice. MacArthur came to agree with Hara Setsuko's view that Japan was a strategic location for the United States overseas, which would be of great benefit to him in the future.
However, when the United States urged him to take action, he did so perfunctorily, resulting in many Japanese war criminals escaping punishment under his protection. Although he was originally very disgusted with Japan, under the influence of Hara Setsuko, he began to protect Japan and became a little confused.
On January 25, 1946, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Dwight D. Eisenhower received a letter from MacArthur. Two main points were made in the letter. First, the prosecution of the emperor would provoke discontent within Japan and could lead to **, which would undoubtedly increase the cost of repression.
Secondly, the emperor was only a puppet and had no actual military and political control, which was only used to sign documents. Although many countries called for sanctions against the emperor at the time, the United States still insisted on its own views out of its own interests, and even MacArthur defended Hirohito, claiming that he was not primarily responsible for World War II.
MacArthur, as commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in Japan, convinced the United States** of his advice, so in the end Japan's emperor system was preserved, and Hirohito was not put on trial.
According to Cheng Zhaoqi's article "From the Tokyo Trial to the Tokyo Trial", there are a large number of historical facts and documents that show that during World War II, Hirohito had the right to decide, with the power to issue orders and make speeches, far more than the United States ** said only the right to sign, so Hirohito cannot be exempted, the United States only did this for its own interests.
All this proves that MacArthur's reform of Japan was not thorough, not only preserving the Japanese emperor system, allowing Hirohito to escape punishment, but also helping and supporting Japan to a certain extent.
As a result, instead of being depressed, Japan quickly rose to become an industrial powerhouse. Eventually, the Japanese constitution confirmed that the emperor was only a symbolic role and no longer had supreme right to rule, and the country was democratized.
In fact, the emperor still enjoys some influence in the country. At this point, Setsuko Hara fulfilled her mission and became an indisputable heroine of Japan, widely admired by the people, known as the "Showa Goddess".
At that time, her ** was hung on the streets and alleys, and her reputation was far and wide. At that time, Setsuko Hara participated in Japan's first parliamentary election as a female representative, and hundreds of thousands of people voted for her, which shows her high status in Japan.
However, this is not the case with Setsuko Hara's wishes, and she has a deep love for acting.
In 1951, MacArthur's defeat in Korea took him out of power and he returned to the United States to be punished. This made Setsuko Hara's life return to the original, and she no longer appeared frequently in the public's field of vision until ten years later when she starred in "Loyal Ministers".
Her acting career ended after that, when she was only 31 years old. Although MacArthur's departure was inconsequential to Setsuko Hara, he had lost his value.
In Setsuko Hara's acting career, there is one person who must be mentioned, and he is Yasujiro Ozu. Yasujiro Ozu is a director, as well as her noble and confidant, who has participated in 6 films directed by Yasujiro Ozu, the most famous of which are "Late Spring" and "Mai Qiu".
In Yasujiro Ozu's heart, Setsuko Hara is a unique existence, and she is highly evaluated, and she can be called a rare actress in his directorial career. Setsuko Hara and Yasujiro Ozu are each other's Bole and Maxima, appreciate each other, achieve each other, and write a wonderful stroke in the history of film.
Setsuko Hara, a famous Japanese actress, has hardly been involved in any relationship between men and women in her life. In her life, the only two people she has officially dated are MacArthur and Yasujiro Ozu.
After the death of Yasujiro Ozu, Setsuko Hara completely retired and lived an idyllic life. In 2015, Setsuko Hara died of pneumonia at Kanagawa Prefectural Hospital at the age of 95 and was never married.
Her beauty and acting skills are unquestionable, but she didn't get the love she expected. Hara Setsuko's life may be a persistent pursuit of love, but in the end, she can only choose to face the ups and downs of life alone.
Setsuko Hara's relationship with Yasujiro Ozu is unclear, but it is certain that she is willing to keep a vigil for him, suggesting that there is some kind of special affection between them. Some speculate that there may be unknown feelings between them, or it may simply be mutual appreciation and understanding.
But what the truth is, we can't know. As a Japanese, Setsuko Hara made a great contribution to Japan, helped Hirohito escape punishment, and made Japan receive support and help from the United States, so she was called in the hearts of the people"Lady Showa"。
However, I believe that her helping war criminals escape punishment is an aid to abuse, which is unfair to the country and innocent lives that have been brutalized by Japan. Therefore, we have to look at historical figures rationally, although Setsuko Hara has excellent acting skills, some of her behaviors are difficult to accept.