Background
Sodei was born on March 9, 1932 in Kogotamachi, Miyagi, Japan; the son of Hiraku and Un (Hamada) Sodei.
(This unique book compiles some 120 remarkable letters fro...)
This unique book compiles some 120 remarkable letters from Japanese citizens to General Douglas MacArthur during the postwar occupation of Japan (1945–1952). Painstakingly culled from a vast collection, these letters evoke the unfiltered voices of people of all classes and occupations during the tremendous upheaval of the early postwar period, when the Japanese were coming to terms with the devastating losses of the war, adjusting to a new political system, and creating the framework for economic and social recovery. Written by people of all ages and walks of life, the letters raise issues ranging from Japanese war crimes to the future of the emperor system, from the behavior of American occupation troops to pleas for the United States to annex Japan. Some writers offered to serve as spies for the occupation forces; others appealed for help in solving individual problems, protested allegedly unfair treatment by the occupation, or made detailed recommendations for the reform of Japanese society. Sodei's running commentary places the letters in their historical context, and the substantive foreword by John W. Dower, who drew upon Sodei's research for his Pulitzer Prize-winning Embracing Defeat, further assesses the significance of the letters in understanding Japan's occupation experience.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0742511162/?tag=2022091-20
2006
(In August 1945, the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hi...)
In August 1945, the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What is hardly known is that 4,000 Nisei (Japanese Americans), the sons and daughters of Japanese immigrants who had been sent back to Japan to be educated before World War II erupted, were caught in the Hiroshima bombing. This extraordinary book commemorates the 3,000 Nisei who died from the atomic blast in Hiroshima and documents the plight of another 1,000 hibakusha (survivors of the bomb) who returned to the West Coast after the war. Branded as ?foreigners? in wartime Japan and as ?enemies? in postwar United States, their existence as victims of the atomic blast has not been recognized by either the Japanese or the U.S. government, both of which have refused to alleviate the medical and political problems of the survivors. Drawing on primary sources and rich interview data, Rinjiro Sodei has contributed an original scholarly work to the literature on World War II and the Asian-American experience. This book bears witness to the human calamities of the nuclear age and to the dignity of these Japanese Americans striving to obtain their rights and sustain their bicultural identity.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CYXDS6M/?tag=2022091-20
2018
Sodei was born on March 9, 1932 in Kogotamachi, Miyagi, Japan; the son of Hiraku and Un (Hamada) Sodei.
Sodei received a Bachelor degree in Political Science in 1954 and a Master degree in Political Science from Wased University in 1956. Eight years later he earned his Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Los Angeles. In 2004, he was given a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Political Science from Hosei University.
Sodei began his career as an executive assistant to honorary Sugiyama, Deputy Speaker of Lower House in 1956 and held it for three years. In 1965, he took a position of a research fellow of Journal Social and Political Ideas in Japan, where he worked until 1968.
In 1976, Rinjiro became a Professor of politics and history at Hosei University in Tokyo. Since 1999, Rinjiro has been a professor emeritus at the same university. Sodei was a member of board directors at Maruki Gallery for Hiroshima Panels from 1976 to 1990.
(This unique book compiles some 120 remarkable letters fro...)
2006(In August 1945, the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hi...)
2018Sodei is a member of Japanese Political Science Association, Japan Peace Studies Association, Japan Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists Association.
On June 27, 1964 Rinjiro Sodei married Takako Kato.