On June 10, 1948, Sun News/サンニュース submitted a news photograph to the Civil Censorship Detachment (CCD) entitled, “Emergency Supplies from Brazil for Japanese Orphans” (Prange Call No. S127).
According to the description that accompanies the photograph, the members of 日本戦災同胞救援会 sent 65 boxes of emergency goods to Japan. The boxes first arrived at the Japanese Red Cross office and were full of items for children, such as pencils and towels.
The June 2019 issue of the National Diet Library of Japan (NDL) Newsletter features three NDL staff members staying in the Unites States (Boston, New York, and Washington D.C.). The title of their article is “A Tale of Three Cities on the US East Coast – Boston, New York, and Washington D.C..” The staff member staying in the Washington D.C. mainly works in the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration as well as in the Prange Collection. His report is available to download from the NDL’s website.
In our preservation series, we have featured removing paper clips and unstapling prior to scanning. Though less common, we occasionally encounter materials that are tied with paper cords. Removing them takes skill. Check out the slideshow below to see how it’s done. These items are tests on various subjects, including IQ tests. They are part of our of education-related materials.
The Prange Collection exhibit, “Crossing the Divide: An American Dream Made in Occupied Japan, 1945-1952,” will be on display in the Maryland Room Gallery, Hornbake Library North, University of Maryland, through July 2019. Each month, we will feature one or two items from the exhibit. For other Featured Exhibit Items of the Month, please visit here.
Our eighth Featured Exhibit Item of the Month is the article, “Dancer Life,” published in the November 1949 issue of Fotogurafī [Photography].
“Dancer Life” is a photographic essay that depicts a day in the life of a taxi dancer. Using a ticket-a-dance system, the “taxi dancers” (like a taxi driver who provides a specific service for a specific period of time) would dance with any man who was willing to pay the price.
According to the photographer, “Yuri is 22 years old and was born in Hokkaido. She is one of those people who was tormented by the war. While her grandfather had a kimono store and she had a comfortable upbringing, the wartime controls imposed by the government forced her family to move to Tokyo. Her father tried to provide the best education for her. . . . After graduation, she worked at a government agency. . . . With inflation, she soon had to work at the agency during the day and at a cabaret at night. . . . More than having two jobs, what was very hard for her was the harsh criticism from her coworkers at her day job. Soon she started to work only at night.”
You can read the full-text of the article in the online exhibit.
On Saturday, April 27, beautiful weather (though blustery!) and over 400 activities drew thousands of visitors to the University of Maryland for the 21st annual Maryland Day, the University’s open house.
Prange Collection staff welcomed hundreds of those visitors to Hornbake Library North for origami. This year, we made origami hearts. Members of the University of Maryland Origami Club joined us. They displayed their own origami creations and assisted visitors.
We also provided tours of the Prange Collection exhibit, Crossing the Divide.
If you missed Maryland Day this year, catch us next year! Maryland Day 2020 will be held on April 25.
This post is part of a continuing series on the Censored Newspaper Articles (CNAs).
On May 14, 1947, Kyodo Tsushin submitted an article to the Civil Censorship Detachment (CCD) with the headline, “久し振りに楽しむ豪華ファッション・ショウ” [Gorgeous fashion show: People enjoy first in long time]. The article passed the censorship examination (Prange Call No. 47-loc-0152).
According to the article, Colonel Gadis of the Civil Information and Education Section (CI&E) of GHQ/SCAP hosted the show at his home. The event was sponsored by the YMCA, and wives and daughters of GHQ officers and civilians participated as models. In the Japanese handwritten manuscript, it says that Mrs. Gadis was the MC. Afternoon dresses, evening dresses, and swimsuits were showcased.
This article has been digitized. In addition to being available in digital form at the University of Maryland, it is also available onsite at the National Diet Library of Japan (NDL) through NDL’s Digital Collection.
[This is a guest post written by Naritada Miura, a Student Assistant in the Prange Collection. This is the last post of the series of Constitution of Japan. See Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV, and Part V]
For my final blog post, as this series mainly cited “Zukai Kenpo” and “Charles L. Kades Paper”, I would like to recommend other useful sources for those who are interested in this topic.
Ito, Hirobumi. (1901). “Teikoku Kenpo Koshitsu Tenpan Gikai” [Explanation of the Imperial Constitution and of the Laws of the Imperial Household] (Fourth ed.). Tokyo: Kokka Gakkai. 伊藤博文（1901）『帝国憲法皇室典範義解』国家学会.
Hirobumi Ito was the first prime minister of Japan. With the help of Kowashi Inoue and others, they took more than 10 years in writing the Imperial Constitution of Japan. I would recommend you to compare this book with the current constitution.
Kawamura, Matasuke. (1946). “Shin Kenpo Gaisetsu” [Explanation on the New Constitution]. Fukuoka City, Fukuoka: Nishi Shinbunsha. 河村又介（1946）『新憲法概説』西日本新聞社.
Matasuke Kawamura was a legal scholar who wrote his book on the new constitution. Though he was firmly against the US occupation, all of his criticism against the US were suppressed or deleted under by the GHQ’s censorship. At the Prange Collection, there are unpublished galleys proofs with the CCD Documents. (Prange Call Number JQ-9035g)
Kenpo Fukyu-kai Hyogo-ken Shibu (Ed.). (1947). “Nihon koku Kenpo” [The Constitution of Japan]. Kobe city, Tokyo: Kenpo Fukyu-kai Hyogo-ken Shibu. 憲法普及会兵庫県支部（編）（1947）『日本国憲法』憲法普及会兵庫県支部
As the GHQ encouraged Japanese people to familiarize with the new constitution, similar types of books were distributed for free. One could see how the Japanese government, along with the GHQ, desperately wanted to promote this new constitution. (Prange Call Number JQ-0051)
Kurayama, Mitsuru. (2015). “Teikoku Kenpo Monogatari” [The Story of the Imperial Constitution]. Chiyoda, Tokyo: PHP Kenkyusho. 倉山満（2015）『帝国憲法物語』PHP研究所．
Mitsuru Kurayama is a legal, historical, constitutional scholar, and a writer. In his book, he writes the origin of the Imperial Constitution of Japan and its significance. The book goes up to amending the constitution in 1946.
Minobe, Tatsukichi. (1950). “Shin Kenpo Chikujo Kaisetsu” [Article by Article Explanation of the New Constitution]. (First ed. Nineteenth copy). Tokyo: Nippon Hyoronsha. 美濃部達吉（1947）『新憲法逐条解説』日本評論社.
Tatsukichi Minobe was a professor at Imperial University of Tokyo, teaching constitution. He is currently known for his “Organ Theory”, which caused a huge dispute during the wartime. This book explains what kinds of changes were made in the new constitution. (Prange Call Number JQ-0131)
Oka, Masayoshi. (1946). “Kenpo ni tsuite” [About the Constitution]. Shibuya, Tokyo: Nihon Kyosanto Shuppanbu. 岡正芳（1946）『憲法について』日本共産党出版部.
Masayoshi Oka was a former official of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP). In this book, he explains the manifests of the JCP. At the Prange Collection, there are unpublished galley proofs that were suppressed or deleted by the CCD. (Prange Call Number JQ-0149)
Sato, Isao. (1948). “Kenpo Kaisei no Keika” [The Processo of Amending the Constitution] (First ed. Second copy), Tokyo: Nippon Hyoronsha. 佐藤功（1947）『憲法改正の經過』 日本評論社.
Isao Sato was a legal scholar who was involved in ratifying the constitution. This book follows the whole amending process from the beginning of 1946 and all the way to the end of 1946 when the constitution passed both parliaments. (Prange Call Number JQ-0165)
“Sharaku” Henshubu (Ed.). (2013). “Nihonkoku Kenpo”[Constitution of Japan] (Second ed. Second copy). Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo: Shogakukan. 「写楽」編集部編（2013）『日本国憲法』小学館．
Children’s guide-book for the Constitution of Japan. Each page consists an article and footnotes. Also, the final pages of this book have the previous constitution and English translation of the current constitution.
Takeda, Tsuneyasu. (2016). “Nihonjin no Genten ga Wakaru “Kokutai” no Jugyo” [Understanding the Roots of the Japanese People, Lesson on “Nationalism”], Eto, Tokyo: PHP Kenkyusho. 竹田恒泰（2016）『日本人の原点がわかる「国体」の授業』PHP研究所.
Tsuneyasu Takeda is Emperor Mutsuhito’s great-great-grandson and a constitutional scholar. He explains the term “Kokutai”, usually translated as “constitution” or “national identity”. Because this term has become obsolete, this book tries to define the word, “Kokutai”, using relevant terms.
