Teeth and skulls were the most commonly taken "trophies".

Teeth and skulls were the most commonly taken "trophies".

The phenomenon of "trophy-taking" was so widespread that discussion of it featured prominently in magazines and newspapers.

On May 22, 1944, Life Magazine published a photo of an American girl with a Japanese skull sent to her by boyfriend and she is writing thank-you-note for the Jap skull he sent her. this picture was reprinted in the Japanese media and presented as a symbol of American barbarism, causing national shock and outrage. The news was widely reported to the Japanese public, where the Americans were portrayed as "deranged, primitive, racist and inhuman".