Kawaisouna Zou (Poor Elephants) by Yukio Tsuchiya: A True Story of Animals, People, and War

Kawaisouna Zou (1951) is a sad story by Yukio Tsuchiya about three elephants in Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo during World War II, that has been made into a children's anime tv series. It is interesting to note the two "different" book covers. Above is the book as it was issued in Japan, and below is the book as it was issued in the United States. Realizing it was the style of clothes worn during the era, with the khaki and green colors and half boots, the zoo keeper looks an awful lot like an Imperial soldier with a swagger stick? I wonder if it was an American attempt at "subliminal suggestion?"