Voices of the Vanquished

      The immediate postwar years were a turning point in Japanese history and laid the foundation for Japan as we know it today. This exhibit of materials from the Gordon W. Prange Collection explores the postwar period from various vantage points—from politics to culture to everyday life. Diverse Japanese voices are expressed in the books, magazines, and documents displayed here.

     This exhibit was inspired by Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II by John Dower, Professor of History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Published in 1999, it remains the seminal work on the Occupation of Japan. The book garnered numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize in Letters for General Nonfiction, National Book Award in Nonfiction, Bancroft Prize in American History, John K. Fairbank Prize in Asian History, Los Angeles Times Book Prize in History, Mark Lynton History Prize, and L. L. Winship/PEN New England Prize. Professor Dower utilized the Prange Collection in writing Embracing Defeat. Now, Embracing Defeat lends structure to this exhibit. The book and the collection are mutually enriching.