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It is true both countries were already industrious, but it was far from a given they could go back to their former self. They were both utterly destroyed, and t
by cdavid 2y ago
It is true both countries were already industrious, but it was far from a given they could go back to their former self. They were both utterly destroyed, and things could have gone really badly, especially in Japan.
I can't find the reference right but I remember reading average adult calorie intake to drop to ~1200 kcals in 1947/1948 in "embracing defeat" by John Dower. That period has a huge influence on Japan to this day, including architecture of Tokyo through black market.
Both Japan and Germany had strong military govt culture, and became reliably democratic at the end of the allies occupation.
- csomar 2y agoSure things could have gone wrong. They did, for example, for Ukraine or most of Eastern Europe. But my point is, were these countries not previously industrialized, they probably wouldn’t have fared as they did now.
- uticus 2y ago> …adult calorie intake to drop… Thus, Ramen
- nox101 2y agoI guess this was a joke? But if not, fyi, ramen is from China. Sure, the Japanese have made it their own but even the Japanese don't list it in restaurant guides as Japanese food. There's a section for "Japanese food (和食)" and a separate section for "Chinese Food and Ramen" (中華閭里とラーメン) or it's in a separate category. It's still often called "Chinese Soba" (中華蕎麦） https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A1%E3%83%B3 https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A1%E3...
- uticus 2y agoNot a joke, but I should have worded it better. ‘Thus’ incorrectly implies invention, I meant it as consequence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramen#Post-war_popularization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramen#Post-war_popularization
- seanmcdirmid 2y agoIt’s funny that ramen is literally lamian (拉面), but the Chinese will distinguish between Chinese lamian and Japanese ramen in their own country, it is considered foreign food although it is easy to find the Chinese food it descends from.