Emperor Hirohito and Showa Japan: A Political Biography (Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies Series) - Softcover

Large, Stephen

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9780415153799: Emperor Hirohito and Showa Japan: A Political Biography (Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies Series)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415153794 ISBN 13: 9780415153799

Publisher: Routledge, 1997

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Emperor Hirohito reigned for more than 60 years, yet we know little about him or the part he really played in the turbulent history of Showa Japan. This text draws on a wide range of Japanese and Western sources to examine Hirohito's political role in Showa Japan (1926-89). This analysis focuses on key events in the Emperor's career, such as the extent to which he bore responsibility for Japanese aggression in the Pacific in 1941; and explains why Hirohito remains such acontested symbol in Japanese post-war politics.

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From the Back Cover:

Few historical subjects have aroused as much passionate debate as the Showa Emperor, Hirohito. This book, based on extensive research in Japanese and English sources, impartially explores how far Hirohito was responsible for war, why he emerged as a contested 'symbol emperor' in postwar Japan, and his legacy to Japan today. In reconstructing and evaluating Hirohito's prewar and wartime political role, Dr. Large portrays the Emperor's personality, world view and political style while carefully elucidating the byzantine political context in which he operated, all against the background of momentous crises both within Japan and overseas. The author then examines Hirohito's long career following the defeat of Japan in 1945: his exemption from trial as a war criminal and role during the Occupation; his image-making by the government and the media; his overseas tours, to Europe in 1971 and America in 1975; and contrasting popular reactions to his death in January 1989. Written for the general reader as well as specialists in Japanese Studies, Emperor Hirohito and Showa Japan also offers broad insights into the religious and secular nature of imperial authority, power and influence, the political culture of the Japanese aristocracy, the dynamics of the modern Japanese State, and the intricate interplay of nationalism and democracy in Japan since the Pacific War.

About the Author:

Stephen Large is Lecturer in Modern Japanese Studies at Cambridge University.

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