blame the younger generations for their loss of interest or loss of identity as Japanese. However, the very cause of this issue is fabricated stories created and told by Japanese media as if their stories were true and common sense. This part is never open to the public.
Even after 70 years, Japanese people should never forget who petitioned from the bottom of his heart for Japanese people to Douglas MacArthur in 1945. It was the Emperor Showa, Hirohito. It was not Hideki Tojo who asked for petition for ordinary Japanese people. Tojo did not apologize for his deeds during the Pacific War. In fact, Hideki Tojo, who confined the Emperor and shut him out all the information during the Pacific War, said that the Emperor had every responsibility for the war. However, thanks to Douglas MacArthur, the Imperial Family of Japan has become “the symbol of peace and unity of Japan apart from politics.”
Regarding the 9.11 Attack in 2001 and U.S. Military missions overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries, Japanese journalism has been very critical about the United States and called their missions U.S. unnecessary military intervention.
This long line of history of lawless activities and criticisms of major Japanese media started back in 1920s. A lot of documentaries and books released by major Japanese media clearly state that the United States is dominating as “superpower” and “invading” other countries and territories. This leads to huge misunderstanding of peace-keeping operations of the United States Military because of Japanese media.
Looking back to the Attack on Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War, Japanese media were the key player to hold information and provide information to the Japanese Empire Military Regime. They are still making excuses for writing the articles relevant to the cause of the Pacific war during and after the Pacific War. The “person,” who asked for petition under solid determination to accept capital punishment, was the Emperor Showa, Hirohito, not Hideki Tojo. At the same time, the Emperor never called himself a god, which is commonly told by history teachers. The abuse of authorities and the information controlled over by the media have affected Japanese people in many ways throughout the post-war history in Japan.
Together with Hideki Tojo, I still wonder why even a single journalist who instigated the Pacific War could shirk facing the Tokyo trials in spite of their radical articles. At the same time, the journalists who were the children of the old regime from the War era still believe that they can get through the criticisms from by the side of the general public making up stories and blaming ordinary citizens for causing the expanding policy of invasive Japanese Empire policy.
It is not too much to say that most of the people in Japanese society have been tricked by the Japanese media, Japanese educators and educational institutions. Something is missing in Japan now. This is something completely ignored by most of the Japanese people, which is supposed to be remembered all the time. It is a sad truth that Japanese national identity based on the traditional culture is missing these days.
Chapter 2: Role of the Emperors (Tenno)
Shinto and Tenno
The two concepts, Shinto and Tenno, sound completely different when those who do not have any knowledge of Shinto hear the terms, Shinto and Tenno. The fact is that, in Japanese culture, Tenno has been defined as the highest priest in the world of Shinto. What do you think was the real nature of the military regime of the Japanese Empire? Or, what do you think was the real nature of the regime of the Japanese Empire after the Meiji Restoration (1867) was like when Tenno started to be “redefined” as the ruler of the Japanese Empire, the Emperor, before the Pacific War?
Even though Japanese people say the definition of the Imperial System in Japan, has been changed since the end of the Pacific War, the very essential role of the present Tenno and that of Showa Tenno to perform Shinto rituals has not been so different from that of Tenno since the early days of Japanese history, even though there were some interruptions. This role was true of the Emperor Meiji, the Emperor Taisho and the Emperor Showa.
Many Japanese people think, in modern Japanese definition, the role of Tenno, has been changed drastically in many ways since the end of the Pacific War by MacArthur’s order. Until then, many Japanese tended to think the Emperors were absolute rulers of the Japanese Empire.
Traditionally, the main role of Tenno has served as mediating or moderating conflicts between strong clans to avoid wars within Tenno’s kingdom. Therefore, the role of the “emperor,” as the “supreme existence” in a bureaucratic system like the Qing Empire based on neo-Confucianism between the Meiji Restoration and the end of the Pacific War (1868-1945) had not been existed with a few exceptions throughout the Japanese history.
The definition of Tenno is written in chapter one in the present Constitution of Japan because the role of Tenno in Japan is crucial for Japanese national identity. I will discuss this in the later chapter regarding the most important role of Tenno in the society which, in fact, has not changed throughout Japanese history.
It may be hard to understand not only the role of Tenno but also the Chapter one in the present Constitution of Japan just by reading about Tenno. Some just say Tenno was the “sole” dictator of Japan with no background knowledge of Japanese culture.
This is because the revision of the Chapter one of the present Constitution was not drafted by the Japanese bureaucrats after the Pacific War. The previous version written by the post-war Japanese bureaucrats was read through by the Supreme Commander, Douglas MacArthur, and thrown away into the garbage on the spot. He handed out MacArthur’s version of the key parts of the imperial system drafted by the splendid young researchers, who were selected by him and had a clear understanding of idealisms of Democracy.
Taking the definition of “Tenno” under the new democratized regime into consideration was something especially crucial for Supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur. He wanted to avoid political confusion in Japan after the Pacific War. He understood that the definition of Tenno had to be restored back to the original role. As I mentioned before, one of the major roles of Tenno was to moderate the confrontations among clans which were based on blood stream. Douglas MacArthur thought Tenno was set to be defined as the symbol of unity and peace in Japanese society just like the British Monarchy after the Glorious Revolution.
Why do you think Japan could revive from the disaster of the war so quickly? It was not just because of the collective will of Japanese people. It had a lot to do with GHQ measures, which took enormous time for social research and data analyses on Japanese culture. It is well said that GHQ members understood Japanese culture and identity better than most of the Japanese. Their purpose was not to seek “revenge and conquer” the country but to “democratize” the country, where people have the right of freedom and are emancipated from slavery.
Ruth Bennedict’s Great Feat: The Discovery of the Memo “Senjin-Kun”
At the beginning of the Pacific War, Japanese Military Regime started to make a memo, “Senjin-Kun.” “Senjin” means “battlefield,” and “Kun” means “instruction.” In this memo, there were two goals. One goal was that the Military Regime had intention to let the world know, “how brave Japanese soldiers are.” The other goal was that they let the world know how well-organized, merciful Japanese soldiers are. However, this memo had lines indicating Japanese Empire soldiers should not behave shameful conducts. Actually, Senjin-Kun was drafted by the Military Regime. However, Senjin-Kun was proclaimed under the name of Hideki Tojo’s Cabinet.
In the memo, all soldiers were ordered to kill themselves to avoid being captured by the enemy, because they were told, “It is a shame to live in captivity.” The soldiers were all made to believe that the suicide order was an absolute order from the Emperor. The fact is that the Emperor has never ordered soldiers to kill themselves in the battles. What do you think of the fact that Tojo was captured alive at the end of the war when he was arrested by GHQ? He killed not only so many enemies but also his own people with no sense of responsibility.
Ruth Benedict, who was a leading cultural anthropologist, was