Masako Taorezu

Date: 1945

Region: Asia

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion

Medium: Literature


Artist: Japanese writers

Confronting Bodies: The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), the Detachment of Civil Censorship in occupied Japan.

Dates of Action: August 1945 through 1949

Location: Japan

Description of Artwork: Information that showed the social, infrastructural and medical aftermath of the atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

The Incident: The United States' occupation forces censored information that described the consequences of the atom bombs throughout the occupation of Japan, from 1945-1952. Masako Taorezu (Masako Does Not Collapse), that described the explosion and results of the blast, were banned from publication.

Results of Incident: Masako Taorezu was published in 1949.

Source: Censorship, A World Encyclopedia, ed. D. Jones