Dr.Seuss and Fujita Tsuguharu

Introduction




In this post, I would like to continue with Fujita Tsuguharu, but in comparison with the former American propagandist, now adored worldwide as children’s favorite cartoonist - Dr.Seuss, or Theodor Seuss Geisel.



While Fujita had begun his propaganda activities by the 1933, Dr.Seuss had only started producing art for the government in the 1940s. Although Dr.Seuss may not be as relevant to the time frame of our blog, I had decided to include some of his art to compare Western propaganda with Japanese propaganda through Fujita and Dr.Seuss.




Both Fujita and Dr.Seuss succeeded in developing a new persona after the war, putting their alternative face as a propagandist aside. But to be fair, as opposed to Fujita, Dr.Seuss made effort in undoing his past works that consisted of racist messages. He went to Japan and interacted with Japanese children, and stated that he was regretful of some of his cartoons that were racist.





As mentioned in the previous post, Fujita’s infamous activities that contributed to the war primarily in the home front had been almost imperceptible, due to his decision to flee Japan for France in the midst of war crime charges.




It is notable that Western propaganda is contrasting with Japanese propaganda, therefore, this post will compare them through shedding light on these two artists.




Japanese Propaganda and Fujita Tsuguharu




The Japanese propaganda had two main styles. One was Western-style (洋画) where it aimed to capture images in an accurate way. Japanese artists and critics compared these paintings with masterpieces of Western history paintings as means to wipe off Western inferiority complex. They were also diverse in style, which made it flexible for artists to create any kind of art as long as it was for the nation. Another was Japanese-style (日本画) which lacked reality, hence was ostensibly non militaristic. However, as Asato Ikeda mentions, the Japanese-style paintings depicted symbols of nationalist divine spirit and the absence of battle scenes made it appealing to traditional art patrons.




Fujita’s artworks were primarily Western-style.






“Battle of Harbin riverside” in the 1930’s




According to Asato Ikeda, Fujita’s artistic style was unique in a way that it embraced the “true” meaning of senso-ga, which was that it depicted sincere historical records and suffering by the Japanese. It is interesting that Fujita’s style was different from other propaganda paintings, conveying the brutal and gruesome nature of war.




Some art critics such as Natsubori Masahiro even argue that Fujita’s art had no militaristic tone, and they simply express “the universal truth that underlies patriotism” with his “unique expression of life.” Nomiyama Gyoji goes as far as asserting that Fujita’s work was rather anti-war.




Given these, one may ask, why did Fujita collaborate with the government?




There are several different arguments regarding this question. Ozaki Masaaki connects Fujita’s relations with the Mexican artist and friend, Diego Rivera, who strongly encouraged Fujita’s motivations to paint for a larger audience. Kuraya Mika claims that painting senso-ga drew lots of attention to represent three-dimensional space and realistic portrayal of human anatomy. In other words, rather than a militarist and imperialist attempt, they both believe that it was Fujita’s artistic ambitions that made him produce these art for the government.




However, this argument is dangerous in that it does not consider the virtue of death that is portrayed in many of Fujita’s works. Ikeda challenges the aforementioned views by examining the beauty of self-sacrificing soldier and wartime military aesthetics.



American Propaganda and Dr.Seuss




American propaganda had more range in the style it was presented, such as but not limited to advertising, newspaper, posters, books, televisions, cartoons, etc.




There were series of propaganda films, “Why We Fight” which aimed to justify US involvement in the war, and the Office of War Information was established to connect the battlefront and civilian communities.






↑　The Dr.Seuss we are familiar with




Dr.Seuss had been conveying strong political messages through his cartoon propaganda that was on the New York Times magazine.




These were certainly not nice. They were extremely racist toward African Americans and Asians in general. They promoted war effort by messages that would raise morale in the homefront. They demonized and dehumanized others.




Here are two of Dr.Seuss’s propaganda art. Enjoy!

(For more https://library.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dswenttowar/#1941)






“Wipe that sneer off his face!” Published by PM Magazine October 13, 1942




This is an obvious example. The Japanese were always portrayed based on racist, stereotypical images. They were all pig-nosed, with small eyes.






“Don’t let them carve THOSE faces on our mountains.” Published by PM Magazine, December 12, 1941




This one caricatures Adolf Hitler and a Japanese man. They are both grinning in a condescending posture, and conveying that people should buy US saving bonds and stamps to mark victory against these ugly people. Dr.Seuss’s cartoon relies on the simplicity of the message, by emphasizing characteristics of historical figures and generalizing the whole race.




Dr.Seuss also shifted his focus on action documentaries in 1944, which consisted of messages like the untrustworthy nature of Germans, and though this one was withdrawn due to MacArthur’s order, he also wrote a script, “Know Your Enemy - Japan” and “Our Job in Japan.”





Bibliography


Deb Sopan and Minear Richard. "The Dr.Seuss museum and His Wartime Cartoons about Japan and Japanese Americans." The Asia-Pacific Journal. Japan Focus. Volume 25, Issue 16, Number 3. 15 August, 2017.

Ikeda, Asato. “Fujita Tsuguharu Retrospective 2006: Resurrection of a Former Official War Painter,” Josai University Review of Japanese Culture and Society, vol. 21 (December 2009): 97-115.

Ikeda, Asato “Japan’s Haunting War Art: Contested War Memories and Art Museums,” disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, vol. 18 (April 2009): 5-32.

“The Political Dr. Seuss.” Springfield Library and Museums Association.<http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/1aa/1aa291.htm>.

Minear,  Richard H. Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel (New York: The New Press, 1999)