A major concern of this book is Hirohito's failure to publicly acknowledge his own moral, political, and legal accountability for the long war fought in his name and under his active direction, both as head of state and supreme commander. Hirohito did not abdicate when disaster came, for he believed himself to be a monarch by divine right, and the indispensable essence of the Japanese state. He lacked all consciousness of personal responsibility for what Japan had done abroad and never once admitted guilt for the war of aggression that over thirteen years and eleven months cost so many lives. Believing that his debt was to his imperial ancestors, he resolved to rebuild the empire to whose destruction he himself had contributed so much. American policy and the Cold War helped him to remain ... (查看原文)
Above all koso koso (こうそこうそう 皇祖皇宗) expressed Hirohito's sense of himself as a ruler who had inherited the spiritual authority of his dead ancestors, and was more morally accountable to them than he was to his subjects, who after all were not the source of his authority but rather its objects. Acknowledging responsibility to his imperial ancestors rather than to his "subjects" would always be a significant feature of Hirohito's character. (查看原文)
Very helpful to understand Japan history and reflective on current political challenges Japan government faces both domestically and on international issues. Even though Shōwa era has long passed, Japan had to continue its heavy burden for refusing the con...
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Claire-Corning
Harper Perennial2001版
还没人写过短评呢
还没人写过短评呢