One day in 1945, MacArthur, a five-star American general, met Setsuko Hara, Japan's "first goddess", at a ball, and was deeply attracted by her beauty.
Interestingly, this scene turned out to be a "state gift" specially prepared for him by Emperor Hirohito.
Aida Masae, formerly known as Setsuko Hara, was born in 1920 into a poor family with eight siblings. In order to help her family, she had to drop out of school at an early age and go to work to earn money.
However, she did not give up her pursuit of art, and eventually became a high-profile Japanese actress, loved by the audience, and known as the "eternal saint".
Her outstanding appearance caught the attention of her brother-in-law, Kumagai Hisatora, who was also a director, and he decided to introduce her to the entertainment industry and make her an actress. In 1935, at the age of 15, she began her acting career and played a role in her first film, which she took the character's name "Setsuko" as her stage name, which is where Setsuko Hara came from.
Setsuko Hara has made remarkable achievements in the Japanese entertainment industry, participating in a number of films, including a German-Japanese co-production called "Shinto", which was highly praised by Hitler.
It is worth noting that many of the films in which Setsuko Hara participated at the time were "national policy films" aimed at promoting militarism and fascism to promote Japan's aggression.
At that time, such an atmosphere permeated the entire Japanese entertainment industry.
When Japan declared defeat, on August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito made a statement"Yuyin broadcasts", announcing the unconditional surrender to the entire population.
Soon, U.S. troops landed on the Japanese mainland and planned to transform it. Five-star General Douglas MacArthur was appointed head.
The United States sent him as commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in Japan at that time, demanding deep reforms in Japan, which made Emperor Hirohito most anxious. As the supreme ruler of Japan, his signature appears in all the orders for aggression, so he will be the prime suspect if the war criminals are tried.
In order to protect himself, Hirohito used the "beauty trick" because intelligence showed that the new commander-in-chief was lustful. MacArthur had multiple girlfriends during his time in military school, was married twice, and had a large number of lovers.
Although his abilities are not outstanding, he himself is extremely lustful, which is his weakness.
In order to win MacArthur's protection, he decided to send a brilliant "assistant" to take care of his daily life. After many screenings, he chose Setsuko Hara. As the "first goddess of Showa" at the time, she still enjoyed a high reputation even after the war, and her gentle temperament was just right for MacArthur's taste.
Japan arranges for Hara Setsuko to meet MacArthur at a ball, hoping to avoid overly harsh reforms by pleasing her MacArthur. Setsuko Hara worked hard for this, but she was also rewarded handsomely, including fame and fortune, becoming a women's representative, and entering the Japanese Diet.
This decision also opened up a romantic relationship experience for Setsuko Hara.
At a Japanese-arranged ball, Setsuko Hara was only 26 years old, while MacArthur was 66 years old, and although the two had a 40-year age difference, they still came together.
Subsequently, Emperor Hirohito's life was preserved, and with the help of the United States, many Japanese war criminals were not brought to justice. Therefore, many people think that Hirohito's beauty trick played a role, but this is not the case.
Although Setsuko Hara's beauty is admirable, for this battle-hardened general, ordinary beauty tricks cannot shake his determination. MacArthur's acceptance of Hara Setsuko was not motivated by love, but by his strategic considerations.
By the time he landed in Japan, MacArthur had a clear goal: to overthrow the emperor and break Japan's millennial faith.
Although the Japanese militarists during World War II were so fanatical about their faith that they even committed suicide attacks and seppuku, the manipulators behind it took their lives very seriously.
In particular, Emperor Hirohito, not only did he not cut his stomach, but he was even willing to become MacArthur's "godson" in order to save his own life, and obeyed him.
Immediately after MacArthur arrived in Japan, he made the decision to arrange a meeting with the emperor. At that time, the emperor had never appeared in public, and to the Japanese people, he was like a divine being.
Even at the end of World War II, the Japanese people only heard the emperor's voice for the first time, so MacArthur wanted to take this opportunity to show this "god" in front of the entire Japanese people.
At that time, the emperor's entourage** warned MacArthur that because the emperor was sacrosanct, the two sides should not shake hands when they met. However, MacArthur not only violated this rule, but also posed for a photo alongside the emperor.
In contrast, the diminutive Emperor Hirohito looked like MacArthur's son. This scene caused the old worldview of the Japanese people to collapse in an instant.
MacArthur commented on Emperor Hirohito: "Emperor Hirohito was better than I expected, he was like my son." Emperor Hirohito was also very cooperative, and as a result, as an obedient puppet, MacArthur decided not to get rid of him, because the "carrot and stick" strategy needed to be implemented at the same time.
The United States sheltered major war criminals in the hope that Japan would be grateful to them so that they could better control Japan. Hara Setsuko was given to MacArthur in order to show favor and obtain information, and Hirohito thanked him for this.
Ever since Hirohito became MacArthur, he has become Japan's "Emperor", although he has brought some benefits to Japan.
On New Year's Day 1946, Emperor Hirohito of Japan issued the Declaration of the World. In the manifesto, he admits that he is not a god, but an ordinary person like ordinary people.
This move began MacArthur's comprehensive transformation of Japan. This transformation not only included the demotion of the emperor's status, but also further control of Japan's propaganda departments, including newspapers, **, and film and television.
This led to a more advanced media system in Japan during the Showa period, which contributed to the prosperity of cultural propaganda. Moreover, Emperor Hirohito sheltered some war criminals and used his influence to change his cronies politically at will, so that ** was completely subordinate to him.
After the war, the United States had planned to try a large number of war criminals, but MacArthur protected them privately. However, he has shown great financial courage.
He reorganized the Mitsubishi, Yasuda, Mitsui and other big chaebols, and arranged his own people among them, so as to achieve the purpose of closely linking American capital with these chaebols.
He brought many benefits from the war, such as more advanced industrial technology and large-scale industrial transformation, which were inseparable from the outbreak of the Korean War. In order to support and maintain** on the front lines, MacArthur brought some of his industrial technology to Japan and had local workers do the repairs.
This move allowed post-war Japan to accumulate technology and capital.
In order to ensure the stability of Japanese society under his rule, he deliberately imported food and aid from the United States, so that Japan could survive the post-war reconstruction period.
The financial system and the ** system he founded have developed to this day, and are even closely related to the prosperity of the Japanese bubble era after that.
MacArthur's reform of Japanese law, especially the post-war constitutional amendments, brought about a fundamental change in the overall orientation of Japanese society. He transformed the original emperor from the role of a ruler"Mascot"This change has had a profound impact on the development of Japanese society.
In addition, legal reforms such as the right to vote, freedom of the press, and gender equality have all been carried out with reference to advanced countries such as Europe and the United States, which has undoubtedly promoted the improvement and development of Japan's legal system.
MacArthur's dominance in Japan brought him many privileges, he suppressed the opposition, and disposed of the emperor and ** at will. American GIs stationed in Japan enjoyed a special status and were not subject to Japanese law, and even had women to serve them.
Again, this is the case in South Korea.
In the eyes of MacArthur, the "Showa Goddess" Hara Setsuko, is just an "eternal saint" in the eyes of the Japanese people. Although she was highly praised, she did not attract much attention in MacArthur's mind.
MacArthur's reforms in Japan were deeply rooted and still influential today, but his ability as a five-star general was not remarkable. However, this did not affect his inner pride.
During his career, he left a brilliant moment by controlling the emperor, suppressing rebellions, and protecting prisoners of war. He was the most high-profile general of the post-World War II era and a national hero, with supreme power and fame, and his pride could not be concealed.
His ego led him to lose on the Korean battlefield to countries and opponents he had originally despised, and he fell from the altar in just five years. In 1951, he was dismissed from his post and returned home because of his disagreement with the United States ** Truman on the Korean battlefield, and gave a farewell speech to Congress, saying the classic line: "Veterans do not die, but gradually wither." ”
MacArthur was a minor performer, but he had excellent marketing talents, and his distinctive military uniform and corn pipe styling were eye-catching. His popularity was evident in both the United States and Japan, with demonstrations in support of him taking place across the United States, while the Japanese public was deeply saddened by his departure.
Setsuko Hara, who was once hailed as a "national gift", was richly rewarded in her brief lover relationship with MacArthur. During MacArthur's years in Japan, she not only appeared in Kurosawa's films and won the Best Actress award, but also became the most recognizable actor of her time through several films.
Her posters were even populated on the streets, and she became MacArthur's assistant, and her status was further enhanced.
After MacArthur's departure, she gradually faded out of show business, attending the funeral of director Yasujiro Ozu in 1963, and has since disappeared from public view. Until his death in 2015, at the age of 95.
Setsuko Hara never married, and it is believed that she had a relationship with Yasujiro Ozu, so she held a wake for him after his death and made the decision to stop the film completely.
Her later years seemed very lonely.
We have to understand that although her films were used to promote aggression, she was essentially trying to protect Japan, and so did her feelings with MacArthur. Her experience has not only become the talk of history, but also reveals the fact that Japan escaped trial after the defeat of the war, and the final transformation was not complete.
It is not so much "serving the king with Israel" as it is "aiding and abetting".