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Hiraizumi Kiyoshi, 1895-1984
Kiyoshi Ueda
其他書名
'Spiritual History' in the Service of the Nation in Twentieth Century Japan
出版Library and Archives Canada = Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 2008
ISBN04944474359780494447437
URLhttp://books.google.com.hk/books?id=PG1CtAEACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api
註釋Why and how can some Japanese remain "un-repentant" about their wartime history and even reaffirm the righteousness of Japan's military actions during the Second World War? Both Japanese and foreign observers have been puzzled by "outrageous" statements and "unjustifiable" historical interpretations, often concluding that Japan is unable to come to terms with its recent past. While liberal and Marxist historians in Japan have made pioneer studies of the consequences of Japan's military actions and the victims of Japan's wartime ideology, few have tried to identify the source of the logic underlying "Japan's un-repentant" views or to pursue the subject critically and constructively, neither blindly romanticizing nor dogmatically condemning it. This dissertation examines the role of "spiritual history" in the service of the nation in 20 th century Japan. More specifically, it identifies a view of medieval history which state authorities actively promoted in the prewar period as the "ethical, moral, historical, and religious" backbone of "Japan's un-repentance" in the postwar period. It locates the source of this view of medieval history in the 19 th century, when the Japanese government promoted the ethical and moral principles underlying the "southern court" view of history (Nancho seit o ron shikan), a 17 th and 18 th ethical and moral interpretation of 14 th century Japan (and a core component of spiritual history), as guiding principles for the moral education of imperial subjects. This set of principles was applied to the relationship between individuals and the state. It set Japan's overseas expansion within the context of Japanese mythology and shaped Japan's perceptions of the war until 1945. Despite American efforts to erase Japan's prewar values, some wartime proponents of the southern court view of history preserved these principles and used them to influence national debates in the postwar period. This set of principles continues to function as a source of the logic behind the illogicality of Japan's "un-repentance" today. The thesis follows the life of "spiritual" historian Hiraizumi Kiyoshi (1895-1984), chief professor of the Nation's History at Tokyo Imperial University from the late 1920s to Japan's defeat in 1945. Hiraizumi played a key role in the inheritance (before 1920s), revitalization (1920s and early 1930s), application (1930s), reinforcement (1940s), and continuation (from 1945 to 1984) of these principles in the service of the imperial nation. The study places him in the centre of the intellectual history of 20 th century Japan, using empirical methods to determine a cause of the ongoing postwar historical controversy. The study is intended to serve as a model for the future study of Japanese national history from inside.