Nationalisms in Japan

by Naoko Shimazu (Editor)

Overview

Nationalisms in Japan brings together leading specialists in the field to discuss how notions of ‘nationalism’ in modern Japan impinges on all aspects of social, political and cultural understanding of the Japanese nation or the Japanese state. This book is clearly presented and jargon-free, and encompasses a chronological period of roughly two hundred years, beginning with a discussion of some of the early Japanese national thinkers of the Mito School, and ending with a contemporary discussion of the official visits made by Prime Minister Koizumi Jun’ichiro to the highly controversial Yasukuni Shrine. This wide chronological period allows for important observations about the evolution of nationalism, suggesting that Japan actually houses multiple ‘nationalisms’.

Presenting new insights and understanding, this is a valuable addition to those working on modern Japan and nationalism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134146338
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/27/2006
Series:	The University of Sheffield/Routledge Japanese Studies Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	415 KB

About the Author

Naoko Shimazu lectures on modern Japanese history at the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Birkbeck College, University of London. She is the author of Japan, Race and Equality: The Racial Equality Proposal of 1919 (Routledge, 1998).

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Japanese National Doctrines in International Perspective 2. Reading the Diaries of Japanese Conscripts: Forging National Consciousness during the Russo-Japanese War 3. Internationalism and Nationalism: Anti-Western Sentiments of Japanese Foreign Policy Debates, 1918-1922 4. Japanese Nationalist Extremism 1921-1941 in Historical Perspective 5. The Making of Ainu Moshiri: Japan’s Indigenous Nationalism and its Cultural Fictions 6. The Battle for Hearts and Minds: Patriotic Education in Japan in the 1990s and Beyond 7. The National Politics of Yasukuni Shrine. Conclusions: Towards Nationalisms in Japan

Editorial Reviews

'This volume makes an important contribution in its emphasis on illuminating the complexities of Japanese nationalism and its commonalities with other states' 'national thinking'...All the chapters are extremely accessible and superbly written. Their rich empirical contents would be of interest to a very wide range of scholars.' - Shogo Suzuki, East Asia: An International Quarterly, Volume 24

'[E]ach one of the the individual investigations conducted by the contributing authors exhibits solid scholarship, and the editor, Naoko Shimazu, deserves special praise for ensuring consistent quality over such a wide range of themes and, by bringing these essays together, for successfully highlighting the pluralistic (and perhaps even conflicting) nature of nationalisms in Japan.' - Koichi Nakano, Monumenta Nipponica, 62:4

From the Publisher