ENGLISH

In the Realm of a Dying Emperor

By Norma Field

Book information

Publisher
Pantheon
Year
1991
ISBN
0679405046, 9780679405047
Language
english
Format
MOBI
Filesize
649 kB (664986 bytes)
Pages
273\0
Time added
2013-11-06 18:42:03

Description

When the Emperor Hirohito died in 1989, Japanese newspapers had to use a special, exalted word to refer to his death, and had to depict his life uncritically, as one beginning in turbulence but ending in magnificent accomplishment. To do otherwise would have exposed them to terrorism from the vigilant right wing. Yet this insightful book by a Japanese-American scholar who grew up in both cultures reveals the hidden fault lines in the realm of the dying emperor by telling the stories of three unlikely dissenters: a supermarket owner who burned the national flag; an aging widow who challenged the state's "deification" of fallen soldiers; and the mayor of Nagasaki, who risked his career and his life by suggesting that Hirohito bore some responsibility for World War II.

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