“Literary ambassadors”:

American literature and its role in the US and Japanese national identity formation in the Cold War era

Abstract

How did American literature get involved in the United States’ Cold War diplomacy? With this focal point in mind, this paper pursues how American writers and their literary works were related to the US Cold War policies, focusing on three prominent American writers－William Faulkner, Pearl S. Buck, and Laura I. Wider. This paper shows these American writers and literature played a significant role in constructing the US and Japan’s national identity in the postwar era.