World War II caused massive damage in most countries that were in the war, particularly Japan, as the war came to an end due to the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These hade a huge impact on Japanese society, but did it affect Japanese Art? In my essay I will be looking at the extent of effects of WWII, and how they affected Japan; were they solely negative, and left a gaping wound on the society, or impacted in a positive way and acted as a catalyst for contemporary movements? In the context of this essay, “art” refers to Japanese art, including fine art, sculpture, ink painting on silk or paper, and Japanese created manga and anime. Japan is the only country that has gone through large-scale suffering due to impact and aftermath of atomic weapons, making it a worthwhile topic to investigate. The direct impacts of the atomic bombings were catastrophic for Japan, not only physically, but it also left a gaping scar in the Japanese society. Total casualties were over 135,000 in Hiroshima and 64,000 in Nagasaki. …show more content…
However, their culture prohibiting them from criticizing authority or “openly discussing emotions”, and thus scarcely any non-fiction works were produced expressing the pain and shock in the post-WWII period. Art and literature provided an alternative to indirectly convey grief and emotional pain in an abstract way. In fact, before Japan could even accept the fact that they lost, art and literature lead the beginning of slowly accepting the loss in