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Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan by Herbert P. Bix (2000, Hardcover)
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherHarperCollins
ISBN-10006019314X
ISBN-139780060193140
eBay Product ID (ePID)19038740851
Product Key Features
Book TitleHirohito and the Making of Modern Japan
Number of Pages816 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicRoyalty, Military / World War II, Asia / Japan, Modern / 20th Century, World / Asian, Military
Publication Year2000
IllustratorYes
GenrePolitical Science, Biography & Autobiography, History
AuthorHerbert P. Bix
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height1.8 in
Item Weight47 Oz
Item Length9.2 in
Item Width6.1 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN99-089427
ReviewsA historical bombshell...Compelling...The most controversial book yet on Japan's previous emperor., "A historical bombshell...Compelling...The most controversial book yet on Japan's previous emperor." -- The Economist "The author's virtuoso scholarship and accessible narrative invite us into Hirohito's world and change the way we think of recent history; his portrayal of a monarch rationalizing evil is superb." -- The New Yorker ""The triumph of Mr. Bix is that of a tailor able to assemble disparate scaps of material and sew them into a seamless whole."" -- The New York Times "Myth-shattering...[T]his superb biography should jog loose a few suppressed memories." -- Newsweek "Nothing published since the Berlin Wall's fall quite comes up to Herbert Bix's new book...It's a startling work--awesomely ambitious, faultlessly researched, daring in its thesis, and profound in its implications." -- Business Week "Persuasive. . . . Bix proves, in an immensely readable 800 pages, that good imperial biography is still possible." -- The Times Literary Supplement
Dewey Edition21
Dewey Decimal952/.033/092
SynopsisWinner of the Pulitzer Prize In this groundbreaking biography of the Japanese emperor Hirohito, Herbert P. Bix offers the first complete, unvarnished look at the enigmatic leader whose sixty-three-year reign ushered Japan into the modern world. Never before has the full life of this controversial figure been revealed with such clarity and vividness. Bix shows what it was like to be trained from birth for a lone position at the apex of the nation's political hierarchy and as a revered symbol of divine status. Influenced by an unusual combination of the Japanese imperial tradition and a modern scientific worldview, the young emperor gradually evolves into his preeminent role, aligning himself with the growing ultranationalist movement, perpetuating a cult of religious emperor worship, resisting attempts to curb his power, and all the while burnishing his image as a reluctant, passive monarch. Here we see Hirohito as he truly was: a man of strong will and real authority. Supported by a vast array of previously untapped primary documents, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan is perhaps most illuminating in lifting the veil on the mythology surrounding the emperor's impact on the world stage. Focusing closely on Hirohito's interactions with his advisers and successive Japanese governments, Bix sheds new light on the causes of the China War in 1937 and the start of the Asia-Pacific War in 1941. And while conventional wisdom has had it that the nation's increasing foreign aggression was driven and maintained not by the emperor but by an elite group of Japanese militarists, the reality, as witnessed here, is quite different. Bix documents in detail the strong, decisive role Hirohito played in wartime operations, from the takeover of Manchuria in 1931 through the attack on Pearl Harbor and ultimately the fateful decision in 1945 to accede to an unconditional surrender. In fact, the emperor stubbornly prolonged the war effort and then used the horrifying bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, together with the Soviet entrance into the war, as his exit strategy from a no-win situation. From the moment of capitulation, we see how American and Japanese leaders moved to justify the retention of Hirohito as emperor by whitewashing his wartime role and reshaping the historical consciousness of the Japanese people. The key to this strategy was Hirohito's alliance with General MacArthur, who helped him maintain his stature and shed his militaristic image, while MacArthur used the emperor as a figurehead to assist him in converting Japan into a peaceful nation. Their partnership ensured that the emperor's image would loom large over the postwar years and later decades, as Japan began to make its way in the modern age and struggled -- as it still does -- to come to terms with its past. Until the very end of a career that embodied the conflicting aims of Japan's development as a nation, Hirohito remained preoccupied with politics and with his place in history. Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan provides the definitive account of his rich life and legacy. Meticulously researched and utterly engaging, this book is proof that the history of twentieth-century Japan cannot be understood apart from the life of its most remarkable and enduring leader.
LC Classification NumberDS889.8.B59 2000
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