The People's Emperor: Democracy and the Japanese Monarchy, 1945-1995 (Harvard East Asian Monographs)

Few institutions are as well suited as the monarchy to provide a window on postwar Japan. The monarchy, which is also a family, has been significant both as a political and as a cultural institution. This comprehensive study analyzes numerous issues, including the role of individual emperors in shaping the institution, the manner in which the emperor's constitutional position as symbol has been interpreted, the emperor's intersection with politics through ministerial briefings, memories of Hirohito's wartime role, nationalistic movements in support of Foundation Day and the reign-name system, and the remaking of the once sacrosanct throne into a "monarchy of the masses" embedded in the postwar culture of democracy. The author stresses the monarchy's "postwarness," rather than its traditionality. Ed Wright - South China Morning Post Kenneth J. Ruoff's scholarly yet lucid account of the emperor's role in post-war Japanese society is a timely addition to the literature on this intriguing institution. It also provides a fascinating insight into post-war Japan's political struggles...This is an excellent work of accessible history. Sensitive to the nuances of an enigmatic political culture, it is perhaps best recommended for those already with an interest in Japan. "Few institutions are as well suited as the monarchy to provide a window on modern Japan. Since the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japanese supporters as well as opponents of the throne have used it to define themselves and their nation. After Japan's defeat in 1945, the American occupation authorities forced the Japanese to re-examine the relationship between the monarchy and the nation by imposing a new, "democratic" constitution on Japan that stripped the emperor of his powers and redefined the institution as a symbol. Despite the many changes, however, the monarchy, which is also a family, remains significant both as a political and as a cultural institution." "In this, the first full-length English-language study of the monarchy in Postwar Japan, Kenneth J. Ruoff examines not only its reform during the Occupation (l945-52), but also, more important, its evolution in the decades since the Japanese regained the power to shape their monarchy and polity. In order to understand the monarchy's function in contemporary Japan, the author analyzes the role of individual emperors in shaping the institution; interpretations of the emperor's new constitutional position as symbol; the emperor's intersection with politics; the issue of the emperor's and the nation's responsibility for the war; nationalistic movements in support of cultural symbols of the monarchy; and the remaking of the once-sacrosanct throne into a "monarchy of the masses" that is embedded in the postwar culture of democracy."--Jacket The People's Emperor Democracy and the Japanese Monarchy, 1945'1995 Acknowledgments Contents Illustrations Abbreviations Introduction 1 The Monarchy, "66o B.c."-1945 The making of the modern monarchy The monarchy after World War I The emperor system and the Fifteen-Year War, 1931-45 2 The Constitutional Symbolic Monarchy The symbolic monarchy as Japanese tradition Interpreting the emperor's new role The imperial decoration system Contesting the symbolic monarchy Officiallegitimization The "constitutional symbolic monarchy under popular sovereignty" 3 Ministerial Briefings and Emperor Hirohito in Politics Briefmgs under the new constitution and the Occupation, 1947-52 The post-Occupation period 4 Imperial War Responsibility and Apologies Emperor Hirohito's new clothes Emperor Hirohito and General Charles de Gaulle: referents for sanitized memories of the war in Japan and France The right's endorsement of the symbolic monarchy Imperial apologies and the constitution 5 Nationalistic Movements to Restore Cultural Symbols of the Monarchy The Foundation Day re-establishment movement The movement to perpetuate the reign-name system 6 The "Monarchy of the Masses" Hirohito, emperor of the people? The emergence of Crown Prince Akihito An imperial"love match" Backlash against the monarchy of the masses The warm, fuzzy Heisei monarchy Conclusion Reference Matter Notes Works Cited Index Harvard East Asian Monographs Few institutions are as well suited as the monarchy to provide a window on postwar Japan. The monarchy, which is also a family, has been significant both as a political and as a cultural institution. Ruoff analyzes numerous issues, stressing the monarchy's "postwarness" rather than its traditionality.