Introduction
Background of the study
A biography or memoir is a written or recorded description of an individual’s life or events as narrated by the first person. There are different forms of memoirs, which include essays, books, videos, and films, among others. The biographic details can range from mere personal details such as the level of education, marital status, and work experiences to major experiences during certain historic events. The biography can also present the personality details of the narrator and they are mostly non-fictional. However, depending on the writer or narrator, biographies are not necessarily the truth. This is because most biographies entail elucidations and making arguments about the narrator or an individual’s successes and experiences.
Most biographies influence the history of contemporary societies in different aspects. However, some studies indicate that the same biographies may be containing some pitfalls particularly when using them as evidence for past events. This essay seeks to explore the merits in using biographies or memoirs as evidence for past events such as wars and economic prosperity. Reference will be made to different accounts in which specific chosen chapters will be analyzed relative to their significance in addressing the merits of biographies. In addition, the essay presents the relevance of the topic in the history of ancient and modern Japan and annotations of the sources accessed.
The Significance of the Topic to History
Many Historians argue that for any society to have a future, it must have a past. The past represents history in the contemporary society and in order for the society to look at its past, there is the need to logically analyze the past events. Moreover, assessment of the past events provides important facts about the society, which can guide individuals represented in that society in tackling various complex situations.
Additionally, most ancient personalities who were famous during their time will always act as role models for the current generations. Therefore the contents of biographies can have far-reaching consequences in the modern society. The aim of this article is thus to provide a wide range of factual materials and guidelines that can be accessed by different individuals in the society. In so doing, these individuals are provided with the opportunity of weighing the importance against the pitfalls in using biographies as evidence for past events.
The merits of using Biographies as Evidence in History
As stated in earlier discussions, there is the need for human beings to make reference to or acknowledge the significance of certain individuals in the society. These individuals include presidents, war veterans, engineers, soldiers and scientists among a host others. Referring to the article, ‘When I made Balloon Bombs,’ as narrated by the first person, the reader is given the opportunity to learn how the minds behind the Balloon bombs of World War II managed to craft such unimaginable devices.
A person going through such a story will come to appreciate the importance of being inventive and innovative in the contemporary society. The merit of such a description in history is that it influences the events that happen currently in Japan. The creativity observable in the modern Japan can be attributed to the forefathers who survived the two World wars to tell their stories.
Still on the importance of employing biographies as evidence for past events, it is worth noting that biographies provide events as they happened on the ground. For instance, biographies can be employed in warning individuals in the contemporary society about the negative effects of war. In this case, history serves two fundamental purposes in the society. Firstly, history reminds people of the positive achievements of those who lived before them. Secondly, history ensures that the current generations do not repeat the past mistakes committed by their forefathers.
Referring to the article, ‘It doesn’t seem too bad,’ a reader gets the opportunity of receiving first hand information on the disastrous events of the war after the bombing of Japan. The narrator provides a detailed account of the war experience from different perspectives. In so doing, it is possible to achieve the sympathy of the reader besides creating mixed feelings in the reader. Studies indicate that in such a case, the reader is bound to weigh both the positive and the negative effects of the war and come up with a conclusion. In case war breaks out, the reader will look back at history and make a sound decision before joining the war.
Another area of significance affected by biographies is the economic history and prosperity of a country. Research studies indicate that most economists and their counterparts in political science rely heavily on statistical data particularly when measuring development and economic prosperity in a certain country. However, they ignore the importance of biographies of senior personalities who survived through the great depression decades ago to see what can be called the current flourishing economies.
The importance of these narrations mostly presented in books and essays is that they can influence the way of life in the current societies. It is undisputed that the modern society has advanced technologically, which also can be considered to be a factor that has contributed to economic growth. On the other hand, there are certain activities and ways of life that were practiced by the ancient people, which can be beneficial in the current society.
The importance of biographies in measuring the economic prosperity of a country is evident when comparing the two accounts provided in the book, ‘Through Japanese eyes.’ The first account, ‘Ten comparisons between Japan and the United States,’ presents a scenario whereby statistical data is employed in making comparisons between the geographical areas, population, and the economies of the two countries.
The second account, ‘Contemporary Japan: Three novels,’ presents the narrations of three authors who lived from 1987 through 2002. The authors provide the picture of contemporary Japanese society from different angles as opposed to the first article, which provides the history from one angle. This then shows the importance of using biographies rather than statistics in finding out the truth about certain inestimable events and human values such as love, family life and happiness.
Annotated Bibliography
Fowale, Tongkeh, J. Biography and historical writing: understanding the link between biography and history. New York: Oxford University press, 2009, 9-23.
The source provides grounded facts interlinking biography and historical writings. The author explores a wide variety of writings besides providing the characteristics and different forms of biographies employed in historical writings. The author further argues that biographies are important to history on grounds that they enable writers to provide the society with important virtues of ancient persons to choose from in building the contemporary societies.
This also allows the consumers of history to avoid the recurrence of vices that can be detected in those who lived before them. This book is relevant to the topic of this essay in the sense that it provides evidence showing how biographies influence the society positively through historical events narrated by the first persons. This is a merit to the society in terms of ensuring the continuity of good practices and the elimination of vices from the current social organizations.
Gibney, Frank. Senso: the Japanese remember the Pacific War, letters to the editor of Asahi Shimbun. USA: Pacific Basin Institute, 2007, 181-207.
This source provides the two accounts, ‘When I made Balloon bombs’ and ‘It doesn’t seem too bad.’ These are letters written by the first persons addressing their respective experiences during World War II. The first article provides the narrative of a war veteran who participated in crafting the balloon bombs used in the war while the second account is written by an observer who witnessed the events of the war. The relevance of the two articles to the current topic is that they present scenarios whereby biographies are important in influencing the actions of individuals living in the contemporary societies.
Gaddis, John, L. The landscape of history: how historians map the past. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, 17-53.
This source provides a wide range of factual materials addressing the importance of biographies in building the history of prominent personalities, places, events, and cultures. The author addresses this topic from different angles including looking at the time and space of different accounts among other interdependent variables that affect the construction of chronological historical events. The author indicates that the idea of using biographies for such purposes has proven to be the most explicit one for most historical studies. Therefore, this book becomes relevant to the current topic as it concurs with the idea that biographies do influence history positively. Moreover, this shows that the events and occurrences of the past do affect the future through history.
Hicks, George L. Japan’s war memories: amnesia or concealment? California: Ashgate Publishers, The University of California, 1997, 13-33.
The author explores a variety of renewed perceptions towards the events of the WWII as brought out by the media. The author first looks at how these issues were brought to rest during the Cold War and the various provisions that were put in place in order to ensure that there will be no other world war. In order to achieve his objectives, the author has utilized a variety of biographies and memoirs concerning the war events.
In this way, the author discovers renewed perceptions of the Japanese people towards the post war events particularly the treaties and constitutions put in place. Many people feel that the treaties and constitutions including the current history books based on Japan should be changed or revised. The author succeeds in showing the importance of memoirs and biographies in uncovering forgotten or concealed historical events.
Minear, Richard, H. Through Japanese eyes. New York: The Apex Press, 2008, 7-25.
The source provides the two articles, ‘Ten comparisons between Japan and the United States’ and ‘Contemporary Japan: Three novels,’ which are employed in this case with the aim of showing the merits of employing historical narratives of the first persons rather than the statistical accounts as evidence for past events. The author presents a detailed account of three novels addressing the status of modern Japanese societies. Additionally, the author accounts for the statistical findings showing the history of Japan. The author indicates that the three novels present a wide variety of facts about Japan as compared to the statistical data. Therefore, the source becomes relevant to the topic in that it shows the merits of biographies in providing additional facts about love, happiness and the livelihood of the Japanese people, which cannot be provided by statistical analyses.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. On the advantages and disadvantages of history for life. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1980, 6-25.
This source highlights the importance of history to life besides providing the most probable disadvantages of history. The author manages to show that history is an important tool in realigning the human actions and behavior. In this way, history contributes to preservation, conservation and transmission of positive virtues from one generation to another. The author further shows that history is built because of historical events as narrated by people who lived during the time when such events took place. This book serves to summarize almost all the points discussed in other sources thereby providing the most conclusive data addressing the current topic.
Seaton, Philip A. Japan’s contested war memories: the memory rifts in historical consciousness of the World War II. London: Routledge, 2007, 23-45.
Many historians who had reviewed the post war events in Japan indicated that many Japanese people were ignorant and in denial of the benefits and effects of WWII. However, a closer look at the memoirs and biographies of the Japanese people creates a sharp contrast between the previous statements and the state of affairs in the Japanese contemporary communities. People are aware of the benefits and effects of the war and the role played by their country in the war.
In fact, many Japanese people are struggling to come to terms with the events that followed the end of WWII. The author brings out the importance of following the right guidelines and principles in building modern history. Thus, the source is relevant to the current topic because it indicates the importance of memoirs and biographies in providing historians with a variety of ideas and facts and allows them to have an open mind-set when accounting for such historical events.
Trefalt, Beatrice. Japanese Army stragglers and memories of the war in Japan, 1950 1975. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003, 13-24.
The author of this book acknowledges the importance of using memoirs and biographies of the survivors and stranglers of the Second World War in highlighting the post war historical events. The book explores documented memoirs in the period when the war veterans were returning home from New Guinea and Taiwan. In addition, the period marks the era of Japanese economic prosperity and a period characterized by varied attitudes and perceptions towards the benefits and the impact of the war. The public was divided between Japan’s past and the importance of the war veterans who clearly reminded others of their past. Thus, this book is relevant to the current topic in that it provides tangible evidence showing the link between the past historical events and the Survivors’ memoirs. In addition, the book explores important facts in the history of Japan, which had not been accounted for by many history books.