The state, modernity and the fate of liberalism in prewar Japan

Article Abstract:

Japanese liberalism originated in early and middle Meiji period. The liberals advocated the realization of human potential through maximization of individual freedom. They considered the eradication of the political exclusiveness of Meiji bureaucratic and aristocratic elite as essential to their struggle for democracy. Taisho liberals differed from Meiji liberals regarding advocacy of individual autonomy vis-a-vis state and society. Taisho liberals adapted Western liberalism with considerable diversity. The differences in viewpoints were resolved in prewar Japan in favor of the state as a kind of moral community and a legitimate instrument for social change.

author: Hoston, Germaine A.
Beliefs, opinions and attitudes, Political science, Liberalism, Political philosophy

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How to 'jibunshi': making and marketing self-histories of Showa among the masses in postwar Japan

Article Abstract:

The Showa period covering the years 1929-1989 was one of restraint and self-censorship in which criticism levelled at the government was virtually unthinkable, most especially after the war. However, a form of historical writing emerged: the jibunshi, or self-history. Jibunshu writers have provided historians a clearer picture of the Showa period since they not only record daily life, but also connect it to national and even international events. Jibunshi has become a commercial practice in the late 1990s.

author: Figal, Gerald
Historiography

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Teaching about home: geography at work in the prewar Nagano classroom

Article Abstract:

Issues are presented concerning the influence which the teaching of geography in the classroom in prewar Nagano, Japan, has had on the development of nationalist ideology. The study of local regions by schoolchildren is discussed.

author: Wigen, Karen
Social policy, Study and teaching, Geography, Nagano, Japan

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subjects list: Japan, History, Japanese history
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