Ancient tales tell of Japan`s creation in the Age of the Gods, and of Jinmu, a direct descendant of the Sun Goddess and first emperor of the imperial line. These founding myths went unchallenged until Confucian scholars in the Tokugawa period initiated a reassessment of the ancient history of Japan. The application of Western theories of modern scientific history in the Meiji period further intensified the attacks on traditional beliefs. However, with the rise of ultranationalism following the Meiji Constitution of 1889, official state ideology insisted on the literal truth of these myths, and scholars who argued otherwise soon met with public hostility and government suppression. In Japanese Historians and the National Myths, John Brownlee examines how Japanese historians between 1600 and 1945 interpreted the ancient myths of their origins. These myths lay at the core of Japanese identity and provided legitimacy for the imperial state. Focusing on the theme of conflict and accommodation between scholars on one side and government and society on the other, Brownlee follows the historians` reactions to pressure and trends and their eventual understanding of history as a science in the service of the Japanese nation. This is the first comprehensive study of modern Japanese historians and their relationship to nationalism. It breaks new ground in its treatment of Japanese intellectual history and provides new insights into the development of Japan as a nation. Japanese Historians and the National Myths will prove invaluable to scholars of Japanese history on both sides of the Pacific, as well as to those interested in political ideology, nationalism, censorship, and mythology.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references (p. [237]-249) and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 952.03/07/22
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 21
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- a-ja---
- ISBN
- 9780774853613 0774806443
- LCCN
- DS834.7
- LCCN Item number
- B75 1997eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaBNVSL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (viii, 256 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)jme00326735 (OCoLC)180704225 (CaOOCEL)404261
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaBNVSL
Table of Contents
- Contents 6
- Acknowledgments 8
- Note on Usage 10
- Introduction 14
- Part 1: The Tokugawa Period 24
- 1 Hayashi Razan (1583-1657) and Hayashi Gaho (1618-80): Founders of Modern Historical Scholarship 26
- 2 Dai Nihon Shi [History of Great Japan] 40
- 3 Arai Hakuseki (1657-1725) and Yamagata Banto (1748-1821): Pure Rationalism 53
- 4 Date Chihiro (1802-77): Three Stages in the History of Japan 65
- 5 The Resistance of the National Scholars 72
- Part 2: The Modern Century 80
- 6 European Influences on Meiji Historical Writing 82
- 7 The Beginning of Academic History 92
- 8 The Kume Kunitake Incident, 1890-2 103
- 9 The Development of Academic History 118
- 10 The Southern and Northern Courts Controversy, 1911 129
- 11 Eminent Historians in the 1930s: The Betrayal of Scientific History 142
- 12 The Commission of Inquiry into Historical Sites Related to Emperor Jinmu, 1940 191
- 13 Tsuda Sokichi (1873-1961): An Innocent on the Loose 197
- Epilogue: Historical Scholarship, Education, and Politics in Postwar Japan 212
- Notes 228
- References 248
- Index 262
- A 262
- B 262
- C 262
- D 263
- E 263
- F 263
- G 263
- H 263
- I 264
- J 264
- K 264
- M 265
- N 265
- O 266
- P 266
- R 266
- S 266
- T 266
- U 267
- V 267
- W 267
- Y 267
- Z 267
- Illustrations 27
