"Akage no An" (Red Haired Anne), as Shirley is known in Japan, is an extremely popular cultural icon in that country. From the time of the Meiji Restoration until 1945, the Japanese educational system (which was run jointly by the Army and Navy ministries) was designed to indoctrinate the students into "Bushido" ("the way of the warrior") as the fierce warrior code of the Samurai is called as the purpose of schools in Japan from the Meiji Restoration until the end of World War II was to train the boys to be soldiers. The Japanese educational system unabashedly glorified war as the highest form of human activity and the idea that the Emperor of Japan was a living god, with the boys being taught it was the greatest honor to die for the Emperor while the girls were taught it was the greatest honor to have sons to die for the Emperor. Alongside the militarism of the educational system went a mood of marked xenophobia and outright racism with Japanese teachers during World War II telling their students that the Anglo-American "white devils" were cannibals whose favorite food was Asians. As part of the educational reforms during the American occupation (1945–52), it was decided that Japanese students needed something somewhat less militaristic and xenophobic to read than texts glorifying "Bushido" and "Anne of Green Gables" was made mandatory reading in Japanese schools in 1952. Additionally, as part of the educational reforms in Japan, there was an effort to reduce the previous rampant xenophobia that characterized Japanese teaching until 1945, and it was felt the wholesome, lovable character of Anne Shirley would provide Japanese students with an example of how people in the West were not "white devils" as their government had told them during the war. As there were many orphans left over from World War II in 1952 Japan, the character of Shirley instantly caught on in Japan and she has been one of the most loved characters in Japan since that time. Much of the appeal of "Akage no An" lies in her ability to rise above any situation due to her pluck and her willingness to challenge "that most formidable of Japanese dragons, the bossy older matron."