020 Occupied Kyoto

Let's Talk Japan Podcast

In this episode, Nick sits down with Washington, D.C. native Jan Evans Hauser to discuss her experience living in Kyoto, Japan during the American occupation following WWII.

At the time, Jan’s step-father was Brigadier General Eugene Harrison, who was the Chief of Staff to Major General Joseph Swing, the commander of the U.S. Army’s 1st Corps. During the occupation, 1st Corps was headquartered in Kyoto and responsible for administering the Southern half of occupied Japan.

Together Nick and Jan discuss what life was like in Japan immediately after the war and how Kyoto captivated her imagination, just as it has so many others.

To learn more about the Daimau Villa and its architect, click HERE. If you’re a fan of victorian architecture and find yourself in Washington, DC, I highly recommend a tour of the Heurich House Museum, built by Jan’s grandfather.

For great reads about Kyoto, generally, and the American occupation of Japan, specifically, check out the following titles:

The Heike´ Story, by Eiji Yoshikawa

The Lady and The Monk, by Pico Iyer

Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden

Kyoto Machiya Restaurant Guide, by Judith Clancy

Embracing Defeat, by John W. Dower

Kyoto Journal

If you enjoyed this interview, you should also listen to Episode 4, in which I interviewed a close family friend about surviving the Hiroshima atomic bomb blast and life in Japan during and after the war.

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