Japan's imperial house in the postwar era, 1945-2019 / Kenneth J. Ruoff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ruoff, Kenneth J. (Kenneth James), 1966- author.

Series:

Harvard East Asian monographs ; 432.

Harvard East Asian monographs ; 432

Standardized Title:

People's emperor

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Monarchy--Japan--History--20th century.

Monarchy.

Democracy--Japan--History--20th century.

Democracy.

Constitutional history--Japan.

Constitutional history.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts ; London : Harvard University Asia Center, [2020]

Summary:

With the ascension of a new emperor and the dawn of the Reiwa Era, Kenneth J. Ruoff has expanded upon and updated The People's Emperor, his study of the monarchy's role as a political, societal, and cultural institution in contemporary Japan. Many Japanese continue to define the nation's identity through the imperial house, making it a window into Japan's postwar history. Ruoff begins by examining the reform of the monarchy during the U.S. occupation and then turns to its evolution since the Japanese regained the power to shape it. To understand the monarchy's function in contemporary Japan, the author analyzes issues such as the role of individual emperors in shaping the institution, the intersection of the monarchy with politics, the emperor's and the nation's responsibility for the war, nationalistic movements in support of the monarchy, and the remaking of the once-sacrosanct throne into a "people's imperial house" embedded in the postwar culture of democracy. Finally, Ruoff examines recent developments, including the abdication of Emperor Akihito and the heir crisis, which have brought to the forefront the fragility of the imperial line under the current legal system, leading to calls for reform. -- Publisher

Contents:

Copyright Page / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

Dedication / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

Figures / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

Acknowledgments / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

Abbreviations / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

Introduction / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

chapter 1 The Monarchy, "660 BCE"-1945 / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

chapter 2 The Constitutional Symbolic Monarchy / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

chapter 3 Ministerial Briefings and Emperor Hirohito in Politics / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

chapter 4 Imperial War Responsibility and Apologies / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

chapter 5 Nationalistic Movements to Restore Cultural Symbols of the Monarchy / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

chapter 6 The "Monarchy of the Masses" / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

chapter 7 From the Heisei Era to the Reiwa Era / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

chapter 8 The Abdication of Emperor Akihito and the Fragility of the Imperial Line / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

Conclusion / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

Notes / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

Works Cited / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

Index / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff

Harvard East Asian Monographs (most recent titles) / Author: Kenneth J. Ruoff.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Revision of The people's emperor : democracy and the Japanese monarchy, 1945-1995.

ISBN:

1-68417-616-6

OCLC:

1182805212

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9781684176168 DOI