The Fifteen Years' War was a period of great unrest and uncertainty in Japan. Various facets of the country were tested and pushed to their limits. During the occupation, race and gender began to evolve in ways never seen before. The war had a tremendous impact on every aspect of a Japanese citizen's life. Men and women began to fill roles that were completely new to them. Race became part of the definition of who people were. As the war progressed and American troops landed on Japanese soil to occupy it, more drastic changes occurred. Economic hardship and rations hit the population of the Land of the Rising Sun. Prostitution began to rear its ugly head and rapes took place. Through memory, research and keen creativity, the development of Japan during the Fifteen Years' War can be analyzed with great attention. Grave of the Fireflies is a tragic film from the late 1980s that draws on issues of war and presents them explicitly to the audience. It follows the story of Seita and his younger sister Setsuko as they fight to survive during the air raids of World War II. The film addresses several issues related to war, but the two most prevalent are gender and race. Race is seen much less in the film than gender. It is criticized with great subtlety and almost tact on the part of the filmmakers. The role of the male gender is the one that is most emphasized throughout the film. Men are expected to embody the masculine standard and even women are inadequate unless they exude manly strength, hard work and courage. While the roles of men and women were completely and precisely separated before the war, Tomb of the Fireflies offers a second vision of the era. While men have become one hundred percent... middle of paper ...... direct assistance from a man. In Comfort Women, Japan, the “weakness” of women is visible again. Rape and the sex trade have become a power play exercised by men at the highest levels of government. But it was also a story of strength and courage on the part of the female victims. The Pacific War changed many things in Japan, and the evolution of the institutions of Japanese society occurred rapidly. The changes, however radical, however horrific, however painful, have shaped Japan's history and future. Works Cited Grave of the Fireflies. DVD. Directed by Isao Takahata. 1988; Japan: Toho Company, 2000. Cooke, Haruko Taya. & Cook, Theodore F. Japan at War: An Oral History. New York: La Nouvelle Presse, 1992. Tanaka, Yuki. Japan's Comfort Women: Sexual Slavery and Prostitution During World War II and the American Occupation. New York: Routledge, 2002.