How World War II Influenced my Culture and my Thought

In 1939, World War II was occurring all over the world. Japan was damaged by the war. A lot of people died, and historical buildings and houses were completely burned. America destroyed the city of Tokyo which is the heart of Japan, and dropped two atomic bombs one in Nagasaki and one in Hiroshima. My great uncle died in the World War II. My grandfather was also in the war. World War II influenced my family, the Japanese culture and my thought.

First, World War II influenced my family with a single letter. This letter was sent by the Japanese government to each man of the house, to notify them that they must go to the war. Even young teenage boys must to prepare for the war. However, majority of the men did not come back to their families. My grandfather was one of the young boys, but he had a bad health condition at the time, so he could come back from the war early. On the other hand, my great uncle was different. He was a “ kamikaze” which meant human-bomb. His duty was to go war to die for his country. To die for the country meant an honor at the time. This is unbelievable history, but a lot of young teenagers and adults were just like my great uncle.

After 1945, World War II changed the Japanese culture. Japanese culture was more flexible after the war. Japan recovered completely; Japanese people had developed the economy rapidly within sixty years. Foods, fashion, and some trends came from other cultures. My family grew up in this mixed culture generation eating foods like India curry, Chinese fried rice, Italian spaghetti and American foods. Now Japan is open to accepting other cultures more because of the Influenced of World War II.

Third, World War II influenced my thought by giving me a chance to see how different other cultures are. Before World War II, Japanese people married to Japanese people. Now a day people are getting married outside of their race. I am an example of the effect of the war. I am marred to an American native. If there was not a World War II, I realized that I would not have met my husband. I believe that it effected me a positive way, and it gave me a chance for my future.

Finally, World War II influenced my family, the Japanese culture and my thought. In just two years, the war had changed one small island’s future. The war changed us in both ways good and bad. The affluent society has changed Japanese which World War II had brought. People in America think war was ended, and people think America helped Japan to finish the war. On the other hand, it is not done yet because still there are a lot of a-bomb victims alive in Japan. I think world should consider about them more because only my country received two atomic bombs, and people are still influenced by World War II. In addition, we have to hand down this fact to next generation. We cannot forget the story of World War II for peace of the world.