Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms : The Militarization of Aesthetics in Japanese History

Why did almost one thousand highly educated "student soldiers" volunteer to serve in Japan's tokkotai (kamikaze) operations near the end of World War II, even though Japan was losing the war? In this fascinating study of the role of symbolism and aesthetics in totalitarian ideology, Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney shows how the state manipulated the time-honored Japanese symbol of the cherry blossom to convince people that it was their honor to "die like beautiful falling cherry petals" for the emperor. Drawing on diaries never before published in English, Ohnuki-Tierney describes these young men's agonies and even defiance against the imperial ideology. Passionately devoted to cosmopolitan intellectual traditions, the pilots saw the cherry blossom not in militaristic terms, but as a symbol of the painful beauty and unresolved ambiguities of their tragically brief lives. Using Japan as an example, the author breaks new ground in the understanding of symbolic communication, nationalism, and totalitarian ideologies and their execution. Machine generated contents note: Introduction 1 Part 1: THE SYMBOLISM OF CHERRY BLOSSOMS IN PRE-MEIJI JAPAN The Field of Meaning, Images, and Aesthetics 27 Part 2: THE ROAD TO PRO REGE ET PATRIA MORI: NATURALIZATION OF IMPERIAL NATIONALISM 2 The Emperor's Two Bodies: Sovereignty, Theocracy, and Militarization 61 3 The Militarization of Cherry Blossoms: Cherry Blossoms as the Souls of Fallen Soldiers 102 4 The Militarization of the Masses 125 Part 3: THE MAKING OF THE TOKKOTAI PILOTS 5 The Tokkotai Operation 157 6 Five Tokkotai Pilots 186 Part 4: NATIONALISMS, PATRIOTISMS, AND THE ROLE OF AESTHETICS IN MECONNAISSANCE 7 State Nationalism and Naturalization Processes 245 8 Patriotism: Global Intellectual Currents as Its Source 261 9 The Crooked Timber of the Cherry 279 Summary 299 Appendix: List of Readings by Four Pilots 307. The Symbolism Of Cherry Blossoms In Pre-meiji Japan -- The Road To Pro Rege Et Patria Mori: Naturalization Of Imperial Nationalism -- The Making Of The Tokkōtai Pilots -- Nationalisms, Patriotisms, And The Role Of Aesthetics In Méconnaissance. Emiko Ohnuki-tierney. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 373-399) And Index.