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The Distortion and the Revision of History in Postwar

Japanese Textbooks, 1945-1998

OKAMOTO, Tomochika (1998)

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Objectives and Significance
Background of the Study
Research Questions
Methods and Data Sources
[Table 1.] List of Textbooks to be Analyzed
[Table 2.] Numbers of Changes of Contents
Period 1: The Era of Postwar Democracy, Defeat to 1956
Period 2: Revision of Nationalism, 1957-1963
Period 3: Reconstruction of Nationalism, 1964-1972
The Start of Trials Brought by Professor Ienaga
to Protest the Ethnocentric Educational Policy
Period 4: The Peak of Postwar Japanese Nationalism, 1973-1982
Period 5: Dissolution of Nationalism and Development of Internationalism, 1983-
1993
Period 6: After 1994: Turning to Transnationalism
Conclusion
The Transformation of History Textbooks in Postwar Japan
Transnationalism and Japanese History Education

Notes
Appendix A: 237 Historical Items Examined for Changes
Books Cited
Sources of Censoring Opinions on Textbooks by the Ministry of Education

Summary in Japanese
About the Author
Mail to the Author

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The contents of this web page are based on my master's thesis submitted to the
Sociology Department of Queens College, CUNY, in the Fall 1998 semester. This thesis
would never have reached completion without the contribution of many people. I wish to
express my sincere thanks to my advisers, Dr. Pyong Gap Min and Dr. Dean Savage at
the Department of Sociology for reading the draft and making a number of helpful
suggestions. I also thank other faculties and my friends at Queens College for their
helpful advice and encouragement.

*****

INTRODUCTION

Objectives and Significance

People study history from textbooks in school, believing that the history is the
"truth." However, the "truth," or the contents of textbooks, is always changing, and is
affected by the changes in society as a whole. Therefore, it can be a subject matter for
sociology to analyze the transformation of the contents of history textbooks.

This study is a content analysis of history textbooks used in Japanese high

schools in the postwar era. This study has two main objectives. One is to review the
changes in contents of high school history textbooks in postwar Japan. The other is to
analyze the transformation of history education in terms of the rise and fall of postwar
Japanese nationalism. For the second major objective, I will focus on two phases: 1) the
effects of postwar ethnocentric Japanese nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s on history
textbooks, and 2) the new movement of history education toward "transnationalism" after
the mid-1980s.

One of the contributions of this study is its extensive examination of primary

materials. Many researchers in previous studies have neglected to examine the concrete
contents of textbooks actually used in Japanese education. Moreover, this study is also
of theoretical significance in connection with the concept of transformation of
nationalism. Dealing with the contents of history textbooks as one of the expressions of
nationally defined "historiographical consciousness,"1•j it examines how postwar

2
Japanese nationalism has changed by describing the historical transformation of the
contents of history textbooks. Although a large number of studies have been conducted
on this theme, most of them have used very limited primary materials and do not extend
past the mid-1980s.2•j Only Hyun Sook Kim has recently studied some Japanese
history textbooks used in the 1990s,3•j but she has not examined how Japanese history
textbooks were transformed in the 1990s. This study has analyzed a number of history
textbooks as primary sources to show the actual changes in contents of specific
historical texts over times, and to explain their reasons.

It is especially important to explore the recent change of textbooks after the

1980s,4•j because Japanese society has been rapidly internationalized after the 1980s,
and because such social changes affected the contents of textbooks in ways which
researchers have not yet studied. By these examinations, this study shows the total
image of the "nationally defined historiographical consciousness" in Japan in the second
half of the 20th century.

In an effort to achieve the intended objectives, this study will consider the change
in the environment of a nation-state as the key to explaining the change in the contents
of history education in the nation-state. I assume that the change in the environment for
Japan as one community could have an impact on Japanese nationalism, and could
further cause the change of the contents of history education. In this study,
internationalization of the postwar Japanese society is supposed to be the major
independent variable,5•j and the transformation of history textbooks is used as a
dependent variable.

Background of the Study

As Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger have pointed out, many devices to create
national identity among people have been invented6•j in many nation-states since the
19th century. The national history education in modern Japan after the Meiji Restoration
(1868) can be judged as one of the devices. Through the national history education,
people who were living in far eastern islands had become "Japanese people" and
embraced Japan as a modern nation-state. This phenomenon of modernization is
common to all modern states. The development of common historical consciousness
among all people within a state is one of the necessary conditions for the formation of a
modern nation-state. According to Benedict Anderson, "uniform textbooks, standardized
diplomas and teaching certificates, a strictly regulated gradation of age-groups, classes
and instructional materials"7•j were promoted by the modern state to create a self-
contained, coherent universe of experience. Moreover, "pilgrimages" inside the modern
school system had special functions. Anderson remarks:
From all over the vast colony, but from nowhere outside it, the tender pilgrims made their
inward, upward way, meeting fellow-pilgrims from different, perhaps once hostile,
villages in primary school; from different ethnolinguistic groups in middle-school; and
from every part of the realm in the tertiary institutions of the capital. And they knew that
from wherever they had come they still had read the same books and done the same

3
sums.... To put it another way, their common experience, and the amiably competitive
comradeship of the classroom, gave the maps of the colony which they studied a
territorially specific imagined reality which was every day confirmed by the accents and
physiognomies of their classmates.8•j
Such concepts as "their common experience" and "imagined reality" are important
in this context, because they are nothing else but the national feelings of a newly born
nation-state. And the nationally defined "historiographical consciousness"9•j is one of
these feelings which have been formed among people through formal education. It is the
consciousness to divide time and space. For example, in early modern Japan, the
consciousness had arisen which mixed "Aino history" and "Ryukyuan history" with
"Japanese history," but which distinguished "Korean history" and "Chinese history" from
it. The formation of such consciousness reified invisible borderlines between modern
nation-states as if they were visible. "National history" was brought into the
consciousness of the people, not merely special and national ceremonies, "but also
through reading-rooms and classrooms."10•j Every modern nation-state has
experienced these phenomena.

Anderson's argument regarding the modern nation-state is sociologically

important, because he reconstructs the "nation," which is usually felt to be external and
constraining by individuals, in terms of the process by which members imagine it, and
deals with it as a imagined construction shared by members through their
interactions.11•j Continuation of the nation-state as a total society requires that all
people inside the nation share the same national identity.

Like Anderson, Max Weber once stated that "one of the important aspects of the
existence of a modern state, precisely as a complex of social interaction of individual
persons, consists in the fact that the action of various individuals is oriented to the belief
that it exists or should exist, thus that its acts and laws are valid in the legal sense."12•j
He pointed out that the belief in every collective existence in people's daily thinking
would reify the real social existence of the collectives. Therefore, "a 'state,' ceases to
exist in a sociologically relevant sense whenever there is no longer a probability that
certain kinds of meaningfully oriented social action will take place.... It is impossible to
find any other clear meaning for the statement that, for instance, a given 'state' exists or
has ceased to exist."13•j According to Weber, when all people have a common national
identity and behave with their subjective orientation concerning the existence of their
nation, a society in the form of the modern nation-state can be formed.14•j

Anderson divides such a belief into two stages in terms of its characteristics. The
first is the "popular linguistic-nationalism," which arose from the dissolution of cultural
systems such as religious communities and dynastic realms. Such cultural systems
existed before nation-state systems were transformed into modern nation-states by the
start of print capitalism15•j and establishing movements of national languages.16•j
People came to conceptualize nations as communities with boundaries and
sovereignties, and to recognize the world to be the total of such parts. This stage of
nationalism wells up in people "from below," and People often want to make their
communities independent with this stage of nationalism. This kind of nationalism is the
"thought to esteem the nation-state system itself."

4
 The second stage is the "official nationalism," where power groups, who could
avoid to be ejected by the common people, start to manage and lead the popular
nationalism.17•j Here the following widely known definition of nationalism by Ernest
Gellner becomes valid:
Nationalism is a theory of political legitimacy, which requires that ethnic boundaries
should not cut across political ones, and, in particular, that ethnic boundaries within a
given state ... should not separate the power-holders from the rest.18•j

In other words, this is the nationalism "from above" to make people have a higher
regard for the nation to which they belong than any other nations in this stage. People
also might be influenced by power-holders in this stage of nationalism to have some kind
of hostility against other nations. According to Anderson, national history education is
one of the devices in modern nation-states to make this kind of nationalism possible.
Once historiographical consciousness is defined nationally through the modern school
system, people start to distinguish "their own" nation's history from "other's," and to
believe that the boundary and sovereignty of their nation have continued to exist from
the earliest times.19•j One nation is reified unconsciously as a result of interactions of
members in the nation. Therefore, the "official nationalism" can be defined as the
"thought to distinguish the home country from other countries and to esteem one's own
country especially."

The content analysis of this study examines the transformation of history

textbooks in Japan on the basis of this sociological perspective on nationalism.
Especially, this study is concerned with this second phase in postwar era. The defeat in
1945, the rise of the "official nationalism" in the mid-1950s and its fall in the mid-1980s,
and the spread of liberal education after the 1980s provide the stage for this study.

Research Questions

The effort to develop common national consciousness have been embedded in

the Japanese educational system for a long time. After the family of the Emperor of
Japan moved to Tokyo from Kyoto in the first year of Meiji (1868) and became
"Japanese," "Japanese history" started to be narrated nationally by looking back to more
than two thousand years ago when the first ancestors of the Emperor were believed to
establish the first Japanese imperial court in the western part of Japan. This narrative
was officialized by the promulgation of the Educational System in 1873. In other words,
this was an "invention of tradition" in modern Japan.20•j

This historiographical consciousness was one key to the formation of the modern
Japan, and soon became the target of control by power-holders. This process of
officialization of modern historiographical consciousness in Japan has been analyzed by
many studies of social history using contents of education.21•j Tomitaro Karasawa and

5
others pointed out that history textbooks were the most efficient media for spreading the
official nationalism among Japanese people in prewar Japan, especially after the
beginning of the adoption of the state-designated textbooks in 1904, and that the people
who developed loyalty to the Emperor and love of country through history education in
turn came to support the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.22•j Scholars inside
as well outside Japan seem to reach a consensus on this view concerning prewar
Japan.

However, there are few studies of Japanese history education in the postwar era,
and their conclusions do not reach any consensus on postwar Japan. For example,
Shiro Baba, a sociologist of education and one of the founders of the Japan Society for
the Study of Educational Sociology, once conducted a curricular analysis on history
textbooks in 1963.23•j In his study, Baba divided modern history education into four
periods, and compared the contents of history textbooks in every period:

1) 1872-1885, period of the first Educational System,

2) 1886-1903, period of the screening of textbooks,

3) 1904-1945, period of the government-designated textbooks for elementary

school,

4) 1946-1960, period of postwar educational system.

Baba defined nationalism as the "idea or the movement in which people recognize
their own nation as separated existence from others, and intend to unify, establish, and
develop their own nation."24•j This definition is similar to the definition of the official
nationalism in this study. Baba picked up some historical items such as "Emperor" or the
"Japanese military," and interpreted the contents of textbooks as follows: for example,
regarding the mention of the Emperor himself, if a textbook expresses him as "Living
God," it can be judged as favorable to nationalism; if the expression of the "Emperor" is
used, the textbook can be judged as neutral to nationalism; and if the expression the
"Emperor as human being" is used, the textbook can be judged as negative to
nationalism. From this analysis, Baba found that prewar Japanese nationalism had been
almost the same from Period 1 to Period 3, while postwar Japanese nationalism in
Period 4 was totally different from the earlier periods. Pointing out that history textbooks
in the postwar era mentioned people's benefits more and national tradition less, Baba
concluded that the postwar years seemed to be a period of disruption of Japanese
nationalism.

This was a pioneering study concerning the history education in postwar Japan,
although its content analysis had a limited focus. Also, Baba's study lumped from 1946
to 1960 together and failed to pay attention to the change "inside" the postwar period. As
my study shows later, the postwar days as a period of disruption of Japanese
nationalism finished substantially in 1956, and history textbooks after that had changed.
Baba's work missed this change.

6
 Since Baba's study, other scholars have extended Baba's work to examine more
recent periods. Many have found evidence of continued nationalist patterns. For
example, Sanjun Kan pointed out the transformation of postwar Japanese nationalism
expressed in school textbooks after 1970.25•j He stated that even in postwar Japanese
textbooks the "thought of 'a hundred million servants' worshipping the Emperor and the
lack of awareness of war responsibility against Asian countries during World War II have
existed as before."26•j Analyzing Japanese high school history textbooks, Kan
concluded that the "We" feeling, which strengthened ethnocentrism, had been surely
existing in postwar Japan.

Kan's article, however, had the shortcoming that he examined only textbooks
which had been approved around 1980. Moreover, the focus of his examination was
limited to the "image of Korea" in Japanese textbooks. Thus, his study cannot be
understood as an entire analysis of the nationalism of postwar Japan.

Other scholars and writers outside Japan have presented opinions similar to
Kan's. Many American scholars have already pointed out the existence of ethnocentric
history education in postwar Japan, as the following excerpts show:
By the 1980s they felt that the brightness of the original sengo [postwar] was now in full
eclipse, the initial promise of the postwar betrayed by the bureaucratic state and
conservative middle-mass society. They remained in opposition to the intrusions and
revisions of the prewar past, but their place in the sun --and the television forum-- was
increasingly taken by conservative intellectuals who supported rather than opposed the
postwar status quo.27•j
Even though nobody openly supports a militarist revival, many Japanese nationalists
feel the need to defend traditional Japanese culture against uncritical emulation of the
West.28•j

Soothing perception of history still finds its way into Japanese history textbooks,
which have either ignored the massacre at Nanking altogether or put a decidedly
Japanese spin on the actions of the military. At the far end of the political spectrum,
Japanese ultranationalists have threatened everything from lawsuits to death, even
assassination, to silence opponents who suggest that these textbooks are not telling the
next generation the real story.29•j

However, most of their works do not include primary materials or data on history
education in Japan. And even if their reasoning is basically true, their arguments about
postwar Japan are limited to the 1970s and, at most, the early 1980s, leaving the
impression that same situations are continuing even in the 1990s. They do not take
account of the transformation of textbooks after the 1980s, when the drastic
internationalization of Japanese society began to affect textbooks.

The final aim of my study is to show the total image of "nationally defined
historiographical consciousness" in Japan in the second half of the 20th century. In
order to achieve this aim, this study proposes to take up the textbooks with the greatest
number of readers, and to include textbooks published after the 1980s. The
shortcomings of the previous studies set two assignments for this study. One is to show

7
the actual changes in contents of textbooks in postwar Japan as thoroughly as possible
from the time-series viewpoint, verifying and modifying the opinions of previous studies.
The other is to explain the reasons for the transformation. This study explains these
reasons in terms of the rise and fall of postwar ethnocentric nationalism, as well as many
aspects of the social situations in Japan which had effects on changes in the contents of
textbooks, such as the change of the trend of arguments in social sciences, the court
cases on the textbook screening system, and the monitoring of the Japanese
educational administration by other Asian nations.

Thus, this study poses the following research questions: 1) what were the
differences in the characteristics and background of postwar Japanese nationalism
expressed in history textbooks immediately after the defeat and after the 1960s?; 2) how
have the situations of Japan after the mid-1980s changed Japanese school textbooks?

Methods and Data Sources

I adopt the method of time-series analysis of a long-lived textbook, which was

used in Frances FitzGerald's work on U.S. history textbooks.30•j This is because, as
FitzGerald said, "if you look through the various editions of the very long-lived texts, you
will see the book changing like a Brunswick stew or a customized stock car. After thirty
years or so, the latest edition will show very little trace of the original."31•j She also
explained how social changes in the U.S. affected the contents of textbooks. This seems
to be the best way to show the transformation of textbooks and to understand the
reasons of the change.32•j

Moreover, I refer to the various instruments of textbook analyses that have been
developed and used in Grant and Sleeter's studies.33•j They show several different
ways of content analyses of textbook in detail. Their six analyses are: picture analysis,
anthology analysis, "people to study" analysis, language analysis, story-line analysis,
and a miscellaneous category. Although their concerns are race, class, gender, and
disability, their ways of content analyses, especially the "language analysis" and the
"story-line analysis" inform me which and how descriptions should be analyzed. Grant
and Sleeter explain: The language analysis involves examining language in the text for
sexist usage, "loaded" words that contain racial or sex stereotypes, and words or
phrases that obscure viewpoints or possible conflict situation. The story-line analysis is
used primarily with social studies texts. It involves analyzing which group receives the
most sustained attention (whose story is being told), which group(s) resolves problems,
how other groups appear, the extent to which these other groups cause or resolve
problems, and who the author intends the reader to sympathize with or learn most
about.34•j

Converting their concerns to the one of my own, nationalism in Japan, I follow

these two ways of analyzing the texts. Because other four methods are to analyze the
texts in fragments, they are not appropriate for this study to examine the transformation
of one textbook chronologically.

8
 The main textbooks examined in this study are authorized textbooks for high
school education entitled World History published by Yamakawa Publishing. I have
collected forty-seven editions of this textbook. By examining this long-lived text, I can
grasp which historical events have been taught and or not taught for 50 years in
Japanese high school education. The textbook shows clearly a part of the results of the
reflexive monitoring by Japanese people on the world and on their nation.

There are four reasons why I use Yamakawa Publishing's World History for this
study. First, this textbook have the largest share of history textbooks among Japanese
high schools. As of 1998, there are 18 world history textbooks for high schools in Japan.
Yamakawa's World History has been adopted by almost 70 percent of Japanese high
schools in the postwar days. This means almost 70 percent of Japanese people have
studied history using this textbook. It has greater numbers of readers than any other
textbook. Therefore, this textbook can be considered as the national standard history
textbook in Japan.

Second, some people may wonder why I use textbooks of World History, not
Japanese History for this study. This is because after the sixth revision of the Study
Guidelines by the Ministry of Education in 1989, "World History" became a required
subject for all high school students, while "Japanese History" became an elective
course. In other words, in present Japan, students have more opportunity to learn the
nationally defined "historiographical consciousness" through World History education,
than through Japanese History education.

Third, throughout its existence, this textbook has been written by the almost same
big-name historians: Kentaro Murakawa, Namio Egami, Tatsuro Yamamoto, and
Kentaro Hayashi. Thus, by using Yamakawa's textbooks, I can avoid much of the bias
caused by change of authors in the analysis of transformation of contents of the
textbooks. There have been some changes: the first version published in 1951 was
written only by Murakawa and Egami, and recent versions after 1994 were written by
Egami, Yamamoto, Hayashi, and Osamu Naruse, instead of Murakawa, who had died.
But there are no other textbooks in Japan which almost the same authors have
continued to revise for almost fifty years. Using Frances FitzGerald's term, this textbook
is the best "Brunswick stew" by same cooks.

Fourth, I use textbooks for high school education, not for primary- and middle-
school education. In Japan, pupils study basic knowledge in all subjects by the end of
junior high school. In high school, they study the same kind of knowledge in more detail.
Therefore, in history education for high schools, students can receive more subtle
knowledge with which they can make more detailed images of the world and their nation.
From above mentioned reasons, Yamakawa's World History is the best choice for this
study.

Table 1 shows the forty-seven versions of World History I have collected.

9
 [Table 1.] List of Textbooks to be Analyzed

Code # Pub. Year Title Date of Official Approval

1951 1951 World History •@
1952a Mar. 1952 World History, revised Jul. 23. 1951
1952b June 1952 World History, 2nd ed. Sample for 1953
1953a 1953 World History, 2nd ed. •@
1953b June 1953 World History, 3rd ed. Sample for 1954
1954 June 1954 World History, 4th ed. Jul. 30. 1952; Sample for 1955
1955 June 1955 World History, 5th ed. Jul. 30. 1952; Sample for 1956
1957 Apr. 1957 World History, revised Apr. 30. 1956
1958 May 1958 Detailed World History •@
1960a Mar. 1960 World History, 6th ed. Apr. 30. 1956
1960b Mar. 1960 World History, 2nd ed. Apr. 30. 1956; Apr. 30. 1958
1960c Mar. 1960 Detailed World History Apr. 30. 1958
1962a Mar. 1962 World History, 6th ed. Apr. 30. 1956
1962b Mar. 1962 World History, 2nd ed. Apr. 30. 1956; Apr. 30. 1958
1962c Mar. 1962 Detailed World History Apr. 30. 1958
1964a Mar. 1964 World History, new ed. Apr. 20. 1963
1964b Mar. 1964 Detailed World History Apr. 20. 1963
1967a Mar. 1967 World History, new ed. Apr. 20. 1963
1967b Mar. 1967 World History, new ed., 2nd ed. Apr. 20. 1963; Apr. 11. 1966
1967c Mar. 1967 Detailed World History Apr. 20. 1963
1967d Mar. 1967 Detailed World History, revised Apr. 20. 1963; Apr. 11. 1966
1970a Mar. 1970 World History, new ed., 2nd ed. Apr. 20. 1963; Apr. 10. 1969
1970b Mar. 1970 Detailed World History, 2nd ed. Apr. 20. 1963; Apr. 10. 1969
1971 Mar. 1971 World History, new ed., 2nd ed. Apr. 20. 1963; Apr. 10. 1969
1973 Mar. 1973 Detailed World History, new ed. Apr. 10. 1972
1974 Mar. 1974 Detailed World History, 2nd ed. Apr. 20. 1963; Apr. 10. 1969
1975 Mar. 1975 Detailed World History, new ed. Apr. 10. 1972
1976 1976? Detailed World History, revised Sample for 1977
1977a Mar. 1977 Detailed World History, new ed. Apr. 10. 1972
1977b Mar. 1977 Detailed World History, revised Apr. 10. 1972; Apr. 10. 1976
1980a Mar. 1980 Detailed World History, 2nd ed. Apr. 10. 1972; Mar. 31. 1979
1980b Mar. 1980 Detailed World History, 2nd ed. Apr. 10. 1972; Mar. 31. 1979

10
 1982 Mar. 1982 World History, new ed. Mar. 31. 1981
1983a Mar. 1983 World History, new ed. Mar. 31. 1981
1983b Mar. 1983 Detailed World History, new ed. Mar. 31. 1982
1983c 1983? Detailed World History, new ed. Sample for 1984
1983d 1983? Detailed World History, revised Sample for 1984
1984 1984? World History, revised Sample for 1985
1985 Mar. 1985 World History, revised Mar. 31. 1981; Mar. 31. 1984
1987 Mar. 1987 Detailed World History, revised Mar. 31. 1982; Mar. 31. 1984
1989 Mar. 1989 Detailed World History, 2nd ed. Mar. 31. 1987
1992 Mar. 1992 Detailed World History, 3rd ed. Mar. 31. 1987; Mar. 31. 1991
1994 Mar. 1994 Detailed World History Feb. 28. 1993
1995 Mar. 1995 Detailed World History Feb. 28. 1993
1996 Mar. 1996 Detailed World History Feb. 28. 1993
1997 Mar. 1997 Detailed World History Feb. 28. 1993
1998 Mar. 1998 Detailed World History, revised Mar. 31. 1997

I chose 237 historical events related to modern Japan, such as the arrival of Matthew
Calbraith Perry at Uraga, the Sino-Japanese War, the treaty of the annexation of Korea,
the Tripartite Pact, Atomic Bombs, the Potsdam Conference, and so on (see Appendix A
for a list of the events).35•j I counted the numbers of the changes of the descriptions on
the 237 historical items by comparing each text with the one directly before, because I
need to know the transformation as thoroughly as possible. For example, I compared
"1952a" with "1951," and "1952b" with "1952a." After 1957, the text branched off to
World History ("1957") and Detailed World History ("1958"). After that, I dealt with these
two texts separately. Therefore, I compared "1960a" with "1957," and "1960c" with
"1958." Also, I obtained only few editions of World History after the 1971 version,
because Detailed World History became the main publication among Yamakawa's
textbooks after this time and very few editions of World History continued in print. Thus, I
could nothing to do but compare "1982" with "1971."

I used the following criteria to count the changes of description: (A) addition of
explanation; (B) addition of new historical events not included in the former edition; (C)
deletion of historical events included in the former edition; (D) changes of expressions
and change of narrative (e.g., rephrase of "China" to "Shina," which has different political
and ideological meanings, as will be seen later); (E) changes of transcription (e.g., shift
from Kanji [Chinese ideograms used in Japanese writing] to Hiragana [Japanese cursive
syllables]; addition or deletion of punctuation marks, etc.). This category does not
include "deletion of explanation." Whenever an explanation of an historical event is
deleted, the historical event itself is deleted. So it is counted as (C).

By counting the numbers of changes of contents in a series of Yamakawa's World

History from the above stated viewpoints, Table 2. can be described.

11
 [Table 2.] Numbers of Changes of Contents

Code # (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) Sum

1951 •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ •@
1952a 3 1 •@ 8 25 37
1952b 1 1 2 25 30 59
1953a •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1953b 1 1 •@ 16 6 24
1954 •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1955 •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ •@0
1957 10 6 13 69 5 103
1958 25 9 12 68 7 121
1960a 5 6 10 54 2 77
1960b •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1960c •@ 1 •@ •@ 1 2
1962a •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1962b •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1962c •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1964a 64 46 13 44 2 169
1964b 20 8 1 27 7 63
1967a •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1967b •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1967c •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1967d •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1970a 6 •@ •@ 6 9 21
1970b 3 3 3 23 26 58
1971 •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1973 16 16 3 94 5 134
1974 1 •@ •@ 2 •@ 3
1975 1 •@ 2 6 •@ 9
1976 2 •@ •@ 1 1 4
1977a 1 •@ •@ •@ 1 2
1977b 2 1 •@ 2 1 6
1980a 3 •@ •@ 4 •@ 7
1980b •@ •@ •@ 1 •@ 1

12
 1982 14 20 22 79 •@ 135
1983a •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1983b 41 29 3 81 •@ 154
1983c •@ •@ •@ 1 •@ 1
1983d 8 1 2 13 •@ 24
1984 11 3 2 11 •@ 27
1985 •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1987 2 •@ 1 4 1 8
1989 19 12 3 51 12 97
1992 •@ •@ •@ 2 1 3
1994 51 31 2 100 10 194
1995 •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1996 •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1997 •@ •@ •@ •@ •@ 0
1998 6 7 •@ 4 1 18

Table 2 tells us that drastic revisions occurred in 1957, 1964, 1973, 1983, and
1994. Although the 1982 version of World History also has many changes in content,
this version had to be compared with the 1971 version for the already mentioned reason,
and thus reflects the cumulative changes for over ten years. So, this version is less a
drastic revision than the sum of many incremental changes. Therefore, it can be said
that the versions of 1957, 1964, 1973, 1983, and 1994 mark the significant revisions in
the contents of history education in postwar Japan.

In the following sections, I intend to analyze the concrete changes of description in

textbooks, paying full attention to these five major revisions. I will concentrate
particularly on the descriptions about history of the relations between Japan and China,
and between Japan and Korea, because these relations were most important to modern
Japan as a nation-state.

Importantly, this study pays special attention to censoring opinions on the

manuscripts of textbooks given by the Ministry of Education. In Japan, when authors or
publishers want to publish new textbooks or revise the former edition, they have to
submit new manuscripts to the Ministry of Education. Then Special Assistants in the
Ministry of Education give them editorial suggestions and censoring opinions to rewrite
or delete some descriptions. After repeating this process several times, the Ministry of
Education gives official approval to the new textbooks. The new textbooks are released
as "sample books," which are offered of each board of education to decide which ones
to adopt.

13
 I will discuss concrete instances of censoring opinions by the Ministry of
Education, based upon the publications of The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers.
This organization, in coordination of The Japan Teacher' Union, has been against the
textbook screening system controlled by the Ministry of Education. Of course, it cannot
be said that these publications are politically neutral because of the ideological
standpoint of the Labor Union of Publishers, but these are the best sources to help
understanding how the censoring opinions by the Ministry of Education have changed
over time. With these materials, I can show the transformation of the political and social
circumstances under which Japanese history textbooks have changed. I will use these
elements as indicators of the independent variables which have resulted in changes in
textbook content.

*****

PERIOD 1: THE ERA OF POSTWAR DEMOCRACY, DEFEAT TO 1956

In the main part of this study, I analyze the transformation of contents of history
textbooks in postwar Japan by paying attention to each boundaries of the epochs shown
in the previous section. I will also discuss the influence of the systems surrounding
textbooks and the censoring opinions by the Ministry of Education as reflections of the
rise and fall of the ethnocentric nationalism. The major periods of this study and the
distinguishing traits of each period are:

1) 1945-1956, the era of postwar democracy,

2) 1957-1963, revision of nationalism,

3) 1964-1972, reconstruction of nationalism,

4) 1973-1982, the peak of postwar Japanese nationalism,

5) 1983-1993, dissolution of nationalism and development of internationalism,

6) after 1994, turning to transnationalism.

The immediate postwar period was the era of postwar democracy. In postwar
Japan, new educational systems were established under the leadership of the General
Headquarters of the Allied Powers (GHQ), which governed administrative authority of
Japan from the defeat in August in 1945 until April in 1952. American theories of
education such as John Dewey's pragmatism came into Japan. The aims of educational
administration in this period were, for example, to abolish extreme nationalism or
patriotism, to decentralize the educational systems which were too centralized in the
prewar era, and to give each school or teacher more freedom to choose their
educational materials.36•j This was what was called "postwar democratic education."

14
 The Law of School Education, established in 1947, abolished the national
adoption system of textbooks, under which all textbooks for primary- and secondary-
education were written and published by the government and every student used same
textbooks all over The Great Japan Empire until 1945. After the establishment of the
new law of education, textbooks were produced not by the government or the Ministry of
Education, but by private publishers under the censorship by the Ministry of Education.
However, until the new school textbooks appeared, the Ministry of Education continued
to publish some textbooks for the postwar Japanese education. Among them, for
example, there is a textbook entitled Tales of the New Constitution,37•j a guide to the
newly enacted constitution for elementary and junior high school students. In the
textbook, the Ministry of Education explained the definition of democracy as follows:
The first fundamental idea of this constitution is democracy.... Suppose if you would
meet with many people and do something with them together. By whose opinion would
you decide matters? If all of your opinions were same, there would be no problem. If you
were divided in opinions on certain matter, what should you do? Do you decide the
matter by one person's opinion? Do you decide the matter by two persons' opinions? Or
would you decide the matter by many person's opinions? Which is the best?... The most
correct way would be deciding by the opinion of the majority, after fully discussing
everyone's own opinions first. Then the rest of people follow the opinion of the majority
gently. This is the best way. This way of deciding matters by the opinion of the majority
is the way of democracy.... Ruling a country is the same thing as this. It is not good to
rule by the opinion of a few people. The best way is ruling a country by the opinion of the
whole nation. In other words, a country should be ruled by all people; this is the way of
ruling with democracy.38•j

The textbook for high school students, entitled Democracy,39•j presented the
same kind of interpretation of democracy in more detail. The Ministry of Education
propagandized positively the ideas of democracy to Japanese pupils and students in this
period, under the leadership of the GHQ. As we can see from the passage quoted
above, this idea was at the opposite extreme from prewar political thought, which had
emphasized the essential primacy of the state.

Yamakawa's textbook of World History published in 1951 was affected by this kind
of democracy and pacifism too. In this textbook, all victorious countries of World War II
were called democratic countries which justifiably "fought for the defense of democracy
of their own countries." The defeated nations were described by such expressions as
"the evil of totalitarianism," and "brutal militarism." The war responsibility of the army
was denounced in many descriptions in this textbook. The basic characteristic of
Japanese textbooks immediately after the war was their anti-nationalistic principle, which
was equal to an ideology of the victorious countries. The following instance shows the
case. (In the following extracts of textbooks, the numbers in parentheses show the page
number of the textbook and italics show the emphases by the author of this paper).

15
 Totalitarianism and democracy
1951 (296-297) The reason why totalitarian countries primarily started to aggress
was to obtain raw materials and markets. Therefore, their war potential
reached its limit quickly. On the contrary, democratic countries had the
justification that they fought for the defense of their own countries and
democracy. American capitalism with huge natural resources and Soviet
socialism being developed by several Five-Year-Plans had the economic ability
and national potential power which were not to be expected in brutal militarism.
1952b (294) Soon the war potential of totalitarian countries reached its limit. On the
contrary, democratic countries stuck together more and more for the defense of
their own countries and democracy. The United States having huge natural
resources and the Soviet Union being developed by several Five-Year-Plans
soon displayed the economic ability and national potential power which were
far beyond those of militarist countries.
1958 (324) Soon the war potential of totalitarian countries reached its limit. The
United States having huge natural resources and the Soviet Union being
developed by several Five-Year-Plans soon displayed the economic ability and
national potential power which were far beyond those of militarist countries.
1964a (309) Soon their war potentials reached their limits. Democratic countries,
especially the United States and the Soviet Union, displayed the economic
ability and national potential power, and launched a counterattack from around
mid-1942.

What we should pay attention to here is that the word "aggress" was used in this
period. Later in the 1970s, censors forced a change to "advance." We can also note that
the victorious countries were lumped together as "democratic countries." At this point,
the U. S. and the Soviet Union were equally called "democratic countries." The fact that
the victory of "democratic countries" was accompanied with "justification" shows the
influence of the ideology of the victorious countries. This "justification" was banished
after the 1958 version, for reasons taken up in the next section of this study.

16
 Social conditions inside Japan before the Fifteen-year-war
1951 (290-291) In Japan after 1926 there was a financial panic, followed by the world
financial panic in three years. Under their influence, the economic world was confused,
and labor movements developed. In this social unrest, political parties under the
control of financial combines seldom considered lives of the general public, they were
concerned only about the interests of financial combines. Therefore, they lost people's
confidence, and the power of the military, suddenly taking advantage of this, became
conspicuous.

(291) The military had insisted on a active foreign policy for a long time. Dispatching
troops to Siberia was one of its expressions. Also, because the military had had strong
desire to get especially Manchuria, they supported Zhang Zuo-Ling, the head of a
feudal military clique in Manchuria, through the Kanto Army and conducted a relatively
smooth advance into Manchuria in the 1910s. However, in 1920 Zhang launched out
into politics in Beijing and joined hands with the Kuomintang, so that the thought of
anti-imperialism and recovery of national power, which had been insisted by the
Kuomintang, spread to Manchuria too. So after 1922, an anti-Japanese movement
increased also in Manchuria. This movement blocked Japanese advance into the
continent, and also it threatened vested interests of Japan. The assassination of
Zhang Zuo-Ling by the Kanto Army reflected such conditions of affairs. At this time the
military in capital approved the action of the Kanto Army, and opposed punishment of
its responsible persons. The Tanaka cabinet at that time could not control the military
and resigned in a body. Because of this incident, the military gained in its confidence
to stand up to political parties. Moreover, it made the government oppress liberalism
and socialism in the country, and tried to realize a military dictatorship, anti party
politics, and rejection of financial combines behind political parties, by conducting
active foreign policies. In the period of the next Hamaguchi cabinet, the military
opposed to the reduction of war expenditure and ratification of the London Navy
Treaty. Because they were prepared to use violence for the achievement of their own
purpose, Prime Minister Hamaguchi was assassinated by a person who opposed
disarmament, and the Japanese government lost its power to control the military.

(292) Although criticism against the action of the military increased inside Japan, the
military oppressed them, both directly and by using right-wing organizations. Prime
Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai, who gave an anti-military speech, was killed by a soldier on
the 15th of May in 1932 (the 5. 15 Incident). In this way, the military finally got to
control Japanese government.
1957 (278) In Japan after 1927 there was a financial panic, followed by the world financial
panic in three years. Under their influence, the economic world was confused, and
labor movements developed. In this social unrest, political parties seldom considered
the lives of the general public, and they continued competition for political power
pointlessly. Therefore, they lost people's confidence, and the power of the military,
suddenly taking advantage of this, became conspicuous.

17
 The textbooks published immediately after the defeat under the rule of the GHQ
included many descriptions which emphasized the military's being out of control. They
told that this was one of the reasons for the surrender of totalitarianism against
democracy. These sentences accused the responsibility of the military severely. Just as
all war responsibility was laid on the Nazis in postwar Germany, the same kind of logic
dictated that all war responsibility should be laid on the military in Japan in this period,
rather than on the nation as a whole. If postwar nationalism had not arisen in later years
in Japan, this kind of evaluation on the prewar military might have become fixed among
Japanese people as national consensus. As we will see in a later section in this study,
the Japanese people accepted the national feeling of war responsibility in the 1980s, in
order to overcome postwar ethnocentric nationalism. Defeated nations, German and
Japan, were put in the Cold War structure under the different conditions, which are
reflected in the evaluations of the past.

In the above mentioned so-called "postwar democratic period," the environment of

educational textbooks was affected by American educationists with their liberal and
democratic way of thinking. However, the Korean war occurred in 1950, the San
Francisco Peace Treaty and the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty were signed in September
1951, and the GHQ was dissolved by the San Francisco Treaty in April 1952. After that,
the effect of political re-nationalizing movements on education became remarkable in
Japan. The rebirth of the nationalism began to be expressed in textbooks.

The first of the movements was the campaign of the "deplorable textbook issue"
carried on by the Democratic Party from 1953. The Democratic Party included the
"standardization of government designated textbooks" in their party platform. In
November, 1955, the Democratic Party formed the third Hatoyama Cabinet by
combining with the Liberal Party, and strong conservative government by the newly born
Liberal Democratic Party was approved (the so-called "1955 System"). Then, the Liberal
Democratic Party started national control of textbooks for required subjects. Yasuhiro
Nakasone, who was the organization director of the bureau at that time and would later
become Prime Minister in the 1980s, led this movement. Thus, the idea of the
democracy which had been explained in Tales of the New Constitution was abandoned
by the government party. Pressures for national control of Japanese education mounted
after the approval of the "1955 System". It can be said that this movement was
supported by popular nationalism "from below," in which people wanted their nation to
be an independent country.

Also, in June, 1953, the participation of the Japan Teachers' Union in the
production of textbooks for social studies was discussed in the Diet. The Japan
Teachers' Union was criticized because it was assumed that some of the theories of
scholars of the lecturer group at the Education Research Meeting were anti-national.
The education policy immediately after the defeat based on democracy and pacifism
came to be criticized as "slanted education." Conservative people who supported the
1955 System started to denounce the educational policy immediately after the defeat
because it was ideologically biased by leftist thought. The background for this change
was the conversion of the policy of the U.S. government toward Japan and the Red
Purge under the establishment of the Cold War structure between the U.S. and the

18
Soviet Union. "By following the mutual agreement of the Ikeda-Robertson Conference,
the Ministry of Education first reinforced the suppression of a peaceful education, in
order to advance a more militarist education. From 1953 to 54, peaceful education was
called 'slanted (red)' education. Trying to teach 'nation's truth and real independence'
was assumed as 'anti-American and pro-Soviet' thought. Such examples were cited as
'slanted' education."40•j Therefore, the Soviet Union was not called a democratic nation
any more in history textbooks after this.

In addition, the Ministry of Education replaced the committee of the Textbook

Authorization Council in 1955. The execution of the authorization along "national policy
lines" for newborn Japan was reinforced. Under this situation, the textbook entitled
History of Japan of the Sanseido Publishing written by Saburo Ienaga, professor of
history at Tokyo University of Education, was rejected. In the rejection notice, there was
the following objections: This manuscript of Japanese History textbook for high school
education which was submitted for authorization on November 29, 1956, has the traits in
its composition, descriptions, and expressions, etc. However, the following defects are
observed in this manuscript, when we consider this would be a textbook for high school
education.... Because the author's zeal to try to arouse reflection on past historical facts
is excessively strong, this manuscript seems to go away from the aim of Japanese
History education that the efforts of the ancestors are recognized, Japanese
consciousness is improved, and abundant love for the race is brought up through the
study activities. The above-mentioned reason being considered, this manuscript is
hardly judged suitable as a Japanese History textbook for high school education.41•j

We can here perceive a policy obviously different from the former one in the age
of "democracy in the postwar days." About ten years after the defeat, postwar Japanese
nationalism as the official ideology began to revive. The campaign to control textbooks
by the ruling political party led to nationalist treatments of the Textbook Authorization
Council. The textbooks inspected under this policy would appear at educational sites
after 1957.

*****

19
 PERIOD 2: REVISION OF NATIONALISM, 1957-1963

The end of the "postwar days" was declared in the Study Guidelines which had
been revised by the Ministry of Education in October, 1958. Under the recognition that
"present educational courses were made in special circumstances under the occupation
in 1951," new educational courses were produced. This new policy appeared in the
following censoring opinions on textbooks in the 1960s.

First of all, changes in the names of historical events were pressed in these
various opinions. Against the "Japan-Chugoku ['China' in Japanese] Incident" in the
original manuscripts, opinions such as "Show it as 'the Shina Incident' for the reason it
was called the Shina Incident at that time"42•j began to be expressed around 1962 to
1963. The intention of this opinion was declared in the other opinion in 1964, "Cannot
the Japan-Chugoku Incident be expressed as the Japan-Shina Incident or the Shina
Incident? The name Chugoku is a name of the China side based on the Sinocentrist
thought. Express it as Shina."43•j

The Japanese word "Chugoku" has the meaning "central country." In other words,
"Chugoku" connotes that China is the central country of the world. The Ministry of
Education wanted to reject this concept. Also, the word "Shina" connoted the meaning
the "oppressed" and the "victimized" in the prewar days.44•j It is just like "Negro" in
English usage. According to NHK Broadcasting Glossary which NHK showed in 1983,
"Shina" was assumed to be a forbidden word or a word to be said in other ways in
broadcasting. The reason is "'Shina' has a sound of before the war."45•j The revival of
such a word in school textbooks in the 1960s to replace the word "Chugoku" is one of
the expressions of postwar ethnocentrism in Japan.

20
 The Yihetuan Rebellion
1957 (248-249) ...It is Yihetuan [Boxers] in Shang Dong who caused the incident by
using such a state. Yihetuan was about to approach Beijing and Tienchin in
1900, and to eliminate foreigners and foreign cultures from Shina. Therefore,
the Powers cooperated, sent troops, occupied Beijing, and rescued the
residents. It is called the Yihetuan Rebellion [the Boxer Rebellion]. As a result,
an enormous indemnity was imposed on Shina. Additionally, the residence of
foreign armies in Beijing and the abolition of defenses around Beijing, etc. were
forced on Shina (Beijing Protocol in 1901). As a result, Shina received the
interference of the Powers more strongly than before.

(250) Conservative and anti-foreign sects controlled the politics at the Qing
dynasty. However, after the Yihetuan Rebellion had failed, the Qing dynasty
began to comprehend it was unable to continue conservative and anti-foreign
principles at last.
1964a (264-265) The Yihetuan Rebellion(1) occurred finally, extended to various
places from Shang Dong to north Shina, and spread to Manchuria. This anti-
foreign disturbance,(2) which promoted the boycott of the Christianity, soon
came to persecute foreign residents in Beijing. Therefore, eight powerful
countries such as Japan, Great Britain, and the U.S. cooperated and sent
troops.(3) The conservative group inside the Qing dynasty openly supported this
disturbance, and declared the war against the Powers. However, the united
army occupied Beijing in the twinkling of an eye, suppressed Yihetuan, and
concluded peace with Qing (the Yihetuan Final Protocol in 1901). As a result,
Qing received the disgraces such as the burden of the enormous indemnity
and the admission of foreign armies stationed at Beijing etc. (4)

(1) Yihetuan is a kind of religious secret society called Yihetuan Jiao. It rose
around the Shang Dong District.
(2) At first, they insisted Fan Qing Fu Ming [resisting Qing dynasty and
reconstructing the Ming dynasty], but after the Sino-Japanese War, they came
to shout Fu Qing Mie Yang [supporting Qing and ruining the West].
(3) Five countries (France, Russia, Germany, Italy, and Austria) besides these
three countries were participating.
(4) At this time, the district of legations was set up; the Shina people were
prohibited to live in this area, which was guarded by the armies from the
foreign countries.

21
 The 1957 version and the 1964 version have the word "Shina." The world history
textbook of Yamakawa Publishing at this time expressed the Chinese continent as the
"Shina continent," and expressed Chinese people as "Shina people," following the
textbook censoring opinion given by the Ministry of Education.

Another big change in the textbook system at this time was the free distribution
system of textbooks. After 1963, all textbooks for the compulsory education courses
became free. The system of the large area adoption of textbooks was adopted at the
same time. Until then, the textbooks were adopted by each individual school. Now, the
system of adopting textbooks was switched to a system in which only one textbook was
adopted in the whole area or district over which one Board of Education or one
Educational Office had jurisdiction.46•j The reason given was a simplification of the
clerical work for the adoption. However, because of this, freedom of each school and
teacher was substantially abandoned. The pressure of bureaucratization as the basis of
a nation-state was given higher priority than the principle of democracy. The era of
postwar democracy was over.

*****

PERIOD 3: RECONSTRUCTION OF NATIONALISM, 1964-1972

In 1960, there was major opposition in Japan to the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation
and Security between Japan and the United States. At that time, "attachment to the
home country" was emphasized by both the parties of the right-wing and left-wing, each
from their own position. With this movement as the context, the Ministry of Education
began to exercise formal control over textbook content to affirm the "attachment."
Special Assistants for social studies textbooks in the Ministry of Education declared their
"policies for censoring of textbooks" in 1964. Jiro Murao first described his opinion in the
May 1964 edition of Board of Education Monthly Report as follows:
The Russo-Japanese War was a large war which Japan fought at the risk of the ruin of
the destiny of a nation. After World War II, the tendency, which defines this war as a war
of aggression, prevailed for some time. However, recently the theories assuming it to be
a defensive war are becoming powerful. Even if there are still some theories by which
this is assumed to be an aggressive war, the loyalty, bravery, and the order of people
who had died in the battlefield were the objects of praise from people all over the world
at that time. It is truly odd that children today grow up not knowing about such people
and only Diplomat Jutaro Komura from the Russo-Japanese War is memorized by
children.... What character should be taught and how to teach history education in the
sixth grade of elementary schools is left to the originality of each textbook author. But
what I strongly expect concerning the textbooks which would be renewed in the future is
that only the textbooks, in which the people's independent standpoints can be correctly
acquired, will be published.47•j

22
 Moreover, Special Assistant Minoru Watabe presented his 'Hope on the History
Textbooks' in the July 1964 edition of Materials for Elementary Education:
Concerning the history education in the sixth grade of the elementary schools, I think the
following is important for instance: ... I want to emphasize that the Constitution of The
Great Japan Empire of our country was enacted, going ahead of other Asian nations.
The Russo-Japanese War was an historical, serious event for our country. I think it is
necessary to give names such as the battle of Lu Shun, the battle of Fong Tian, and the
battle of the Sea of Japan during the Russo-Japanese War etc. Moreover, it is
necessary to take up in textbooks General Maresuke Nogi and General Heihachiro Togo
and others as important historical actors.48•j

Thus, in 1964, the change in the plan concerning the textbook authorization,
which had been affected by the start of strong conservative government by the Liberal
Democratic Party under the 1955 System, was open to the public all at once. Also, the
Central Education Council announced a report named "The Expected Image of
Humanity" in 1966. The from the report asserted that:
The defeat in World War II brought an important revolution to the nation and the society
in Japan and the way of thinking among Japanese people. Especially, the miserable
reality caused by the defeat produced Japanese misunderstanding as if Japan's past
and Japanese ideal ways were mistakes entirely. As a result, the history of Japan and
Japanese national character were disregarded there.49•j

Now, the primary nationalism which arose from "attachment to the home country"
among people was elaborated into the official nationalism, by which one's own nation is
distinguished from another, and its unification, independence, and development are
promoted, even in postwar Japan. The nationalism from below came to be managed by
the nationalism from above in this case.

In censoring opinions on textbooks by the Ministry of Education expressed at the

same time of the announcement of "The Expected Image of Humanity," their opinions
were as follows:50•j "Replace the word 'the Pacific War' with 'the Great East-Asian
War,'" "It is unnecessary for children to reflect on the war. Cut it down," "Do not write
'aggression' against China because it is a textbook of Japan," "Write that it is necessary
to win peace by power," "Peace movements are political plots by some political groups."

Additionally, some opinions such as "[The conclusion of World War II was] not an
unconditional surrender because there was a condition like the Potsdam Declaration.
Review this fact and rewrite it,"51•j were based on the desire to emphasize the
continuance of "sovereignty" which was a main element of a nation-state. The logic,
which the Ministry of Education had adopted here, was that it was not "unconditional
surrender" because Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration as a "condition," by which
"unconditional surrender" was recommended, when Japan surrendered. Because of this
opinion, the term "unconditional surrender" was rewritten to "surrender" in World History
of Yamakawa Publishing in all editions after 1973.

23
 The Surrender of Japan
1951 (298) Japan decided the acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration at the
Presence Conference on the 10th, and surrendered unconditionally on the
15th. Now, totalitarianism completely surrendered to democracy.
1964a (310) Japan decided the acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration at the
Presence Conference on August 10, surrendered to the Allies unconditionally
on August 15, and World War II was concluded here. Thus, the war ended as a
complete victory over the totalitarian countries by the democratic countries.
1973 (322) Japanese side decided the acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration at the
Presence Conference on the 10th, and surrendered on the 15th.

In addition, strict guidance was provided about the continuance of not only
"sovereignty" but also "territory" at this time. The censoring opinions against the
descriptions for the northern territories are the representative. In 1966, the instruction
was given to "Rewrite the expression of 'the issue of possession of South Chishima
Islands' to the 'Northern Territories Issue.'"52•j Here, the question of territorial
boundaries, which is one of main elements of a nation-state, is prominent. The following
censoring opinions were given in 1967: "Etorofu Island and Kunashiri Island are inside
Japanese territory[, although they have been occupied by Russia since the end of the
war]. Classify them clearly in the map,"53•j "Etorofu Island, Kunashiri Island, South
Sakhalin, Okinawa, and Ogasawara must be clearly described as the original Japanese
territories in the map."54•j Insisting on the validity of territorial boundaries is one of the
bases of nationalism. In the censoring opinions at this time, it is remarkable that they
assumed that South Sakhalin was also one of the "original Japanese territories,"
because ordinary Japanese people usually thought that this area had belonged to
Russia. In this case, the Ministry of Education insisted too large "original Japanese
territories." The "Territory problem" which Japan had with the Soviet Union in 1964 was
resulted in the history textbooks in this way. It became a way for the people to imagine
the "territory" of their home country.

24
 These references to "territory" were connected with detailed explanations about
the action of the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. Different from the time when
both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. intervened in Japanese policy under the Potsdam
system, the appearance of these censoring opinions were caused by Japan's integration
into the American camp under the Cold War structure: "Point out that the Soviet Union
broke the Japanese-Soviet Neutral Treaty,"55•j "Describe the Japanese-Soviet Neutral
Treaty,"56•j "The Soviet Union had advanced to Sakhalin. Specify the reason why the
Soviet Union declared war on Finland. Can the Soviet Union be called a democratic
country of the Allies?"57•j The Soviet Union was thought to be one of "democratic
countries of the Allies" in the 1950s. However, the Soviet Union was distinguished from
the democratic nations now.

Concerning the "aggression" of Japan on the continent, the following ideas began
to appear: "The word 'aggression' is not suitable from the standpoint of Japan. Rewrite
the expression because this is a Japanese textbook. The expression that Japan
advanced to Korea is one-sided. The other side should also have some responsibility.
Describe it."58•j Moreover, concerning the Japanese occupation of the continent, the
following guidelines were offered: "Include that Japan constructed the chemical fertilizer
factories in Hungnam and the power plants in Supung [in Korea],"59•j "Add that the iron
industry of China was built under the rule of Japan, so that pupils feel the sense of
familiarity for the land. Writing that Japan was ruling Korea is not suitable."60•j The
following expressions were added to the textbooks because of such recommendations:
the victory of Japan against Russia "gave a big stimulus to Asian nations" and
"stimulated various races under the rule of European and American powers," or "the
Japanese army expelled the European and American powers from Southeast Asia
during the war" urged Asian nations to be independent. These ethnocentric revisions of
historical knowledge appeared after the 1964 version.

25
 Aftereffect of victory of Japan in the Russo-Japanese War
1964a (266) When newly-born Japan achieved victory over a large country like
Russia, it gave a big stimulus to Asian nations which were under colonial rule,
and played a role in permitting race feelings in Asia to develop. On the other
hand, conditions in defeated Russia deteriorated further, and the country
moved toward revolution.
1964b (293) The influence, which the victory of Japan had produced on Asian various
races, was not small. Therefore, racial awakening was seen in various places.
1973 (288) The influence, which the victory of Japan had produced on Asian various
races, was large. Therefore, racial awakening was seen in various places.

One may say that the activities of Japan in Asia waged under the slogan of
colonial emancipation – despite the vast inconsistencies between Japanese words and
actions later during the Fifteen Year War – became a factor in demolishing the
foundation of the European system of colonialism. However, it is sociologically important
that such information appeared for the first time in the 1964 version of textbooks in
Japan. We can notice that the tendency to distinguish the home country from other
countries and to esteem one's own country especially began to be expressed at this
time.

The so-called "democratic period in the postwar period" up until the mid-1950s
partly can be called "the time when Japanese nationalism collapsed," as Shiro Baba
said. However, postwar Japan made a comeback to an independent nation-state by the
San Francisco Peace Treaty. As a result, descriptions not based on nationalism came to
be withdrawn from the 1957 version of history textbooks. In that sense, it can be said
that the declaration that "the 'postwar period' has already ended" in the Japanese
government's white paper in 1956 hit the mark. In addition, after the 1960s, the
nationalism expressed in the textbooks was controlled officially. We can point out a
revival of official nationalism from above in textbooks since the 1964 version. The
tendency develops further in the 1973 version.

26
 Comments on photographs of "soldiers of the Powers
which participated in the Yihetuan Rebellion"
1957 (249) [Sketch] The united army is chasing the Yihetuan, approaching a suburb
of Tienchin.
1964a (264) [Photograph] Soldiers of the united army which repressed the war of
Yihetuan. The mustering of the armies of the Powers which sent troops to
repress the Yihetuan Rebellion. The shortest one is a Japanese soldier, and
fought most bravely than any other countries' soldiers in this war.
1973 (287) [Photograph] Soldiers of the united army which repressed the Yihetuan
Rebellion. The mustering of the armies of the Powers which sent troops to
repress of Yihetuan. Great Britain, the United States, Russia, India, Germany,
France, Austria, Italy, and Japan from the left. It is said that Japanese soldiers
fought most bravely than any other countries' soldiers.
1983b (284) [Photograph] Soldiers of the united armies who were dispatched jointly to
the Yihetuan Rebellion.
1994 (274) [Photograph] Soldiers of the united armies who were dispatched to the
Yihetuan Rebellion. Soldiers from Great Britain, the United States, Russia,
British-territory-India, Germany, France, Austria, Italy, and Japan from the left.

What are excerpted here are the comments on the photographs of the Powers'
soldiers fixed to the line, who were dispatched to the Chinese continent at the Yihetuan
Rebellion [the Boxer Rebellion]. The description "Japanese soldiers fought most bravely
than any other countries' soldiers," which glorified Japan, appeared in the 1964 version
for the first time. So, it can be said that World History of Yamakawa Publishing became
a textbook "for Japanese" here at this point. Also, in the 1973 version, a negative phrase
for Japan "the shortest one is a Japanese soldiers" was deleted. This ethnocentric
tendency remained in this textbook until the 1983 version would be published.

The Start of Trials Brought by Professor Ienaga to Protest the Ethnocentric

Educational Policy

On the other hand, legal validity of textbook screening system was questioned in
the mid-1960s. Textbook lawsuits by Saburo Ienaga, a history scholar, became the
chance of this movement. As we have already seen, Ienaga had written the history
textbook entitled New Japanese History for high school education published from
Sanseido since 1952. However, he had been compelled by the Ministry of Education to
revise his textbook over and over since the end of the 1950s. Ienaga insisted that the
correction demanded by the Ministry of Education violated freedom of expression,
academic freedom, and freedom of education. He filed suit and appealed for

27
compensation for damages on June 12, 1965, because he "received emotional distress."
The following is an example of the effects of such censoring opinions that this filing suit
made public:61•j

[Original text] The war was glorified as the "Holy War", and all the defeats of Japanese
army and atrocities in the battlefields were concealed. Therefore, the majority of
Japanese people could not learn the truth. The people were in the circumstances where
they could do nothing but silently cooperate in the rash war.

[Censoring opinion] If you write "atrocity by the Japanese military," and if the assault by
Soviet army is not included in your text, it is one-sided. Also, the U.S.'s too. Historical
evaluation has not yet not decided about recent events like World War II. Therefore, it is
preferable for textbooks to describe the events as objectively as possible, taking a
careful attitude. It is not appropriate to evaluate them with the description, "the rash
war."

[Sample book] All sentences deleted.

The first decision on the Ienaga's lawsuit was given at the Tokyo District Court on
July 17, 1970. In the decision, it was assumed that the content of authorization was
unconstitutional, and the Ministry of Education lost the suit. In the field of the history
education in 1970 where the official nationalism had already become the main current,
this decision revived the basic idea of the "postwar democratic" education before 1956.
However, Chief Judge Sugimoto, who had delivered the decision, was demoted to a
trifling job by later personnel changes. This fact symbolizes the continuing power of
postwar Japanese nationalism.

Still, it was important that many of the standards of judgements of textbook

authorization, which had not been made public so far, were clarified during the process
of this trial. These standards had not been conveyed to the writers and the publishers of
the textbooks until then. Thus, the realities of authorization by the Ministry of Education
appeared on a public stage, and the part of the censor became visible. The movements
based on democracy and pacifism, such as the Ienaga's lawsuit, would succeed after
the mid-1980s, when a new generation of Japanese people would become the majority
of the nation.

*****

28
 PERIOD 4:
THE PEAK OF POSTWAR JAPANESE NATIONALISM, 1973-1982

It can be said that the decision in 1970 on the Ienaga's lawsuit was an exceptional
event, because Japanese nationalism initiated by the administration did not change
basically even in the 1970s. For example, the guideline to "Change 'unconditional
surrender' to 'surrender'" was gradually strengthened, and the idea had spread among
people.

From 1978 to 1979, there occurred the "controversy on unconditional surrender,"

which Jun Eto and other political commentators unfolded in magazines and newspapers
such as Gunzou, Sankei Shimbun, and Shokun!. Eto reexamined the newspaper articles
from the time of the defeat, and insisted that "not only Japanese people but also critics
from the U.S. had recognized that the surrender of Japan was not unconditional
surrender. The surrender of Japan were completely different from those of Germany
which had surrendered unconditionally, and the situation under the occupation was
different."62•j Eto argued that the end of the war happened as a result of Japan's
"conditional" surrender, and what happened after that was just the "security occupation."

After this controversy, the textbooks of Yamakawa Publishing also changed the
description concerning "surrender." Thus, the old-fashioned nationalistic thought
reasserted its influence concerning the contents of the textbooks inside Japan.

However, at the same time, the historical understanding among Japanese people
began to be questioned outside Japan. There was an increase in popular anti-Japan
movements in Southeast Asia. The San Francisco Peace Treaty, which was concluded
in 1951 and effectuated in 1952, left the problems between Japan and many Asian
nations unsettled because it was a peacemaking only between Japan and the West.
Afterwards, though compensation negotiations were concluded with each Asian
countries (with Burma in 1954, with the Philippines in 1956, with Indonesia in 1958, with
south Vietnam in 1959, with South Korea in 1965, and with Malaysia in 1967), these
were discussions about national compensation between governments of both sides.
What was agreed through these discussions was the gratuitous assistance and
economic cooperation in exchange for the abandonment of the claims on war
compensation. The compensations to individual victims were left to the governments of
each country. Dissatisfaction among individuals in Asia was held down by the
authoritarian ruling system in Asian nations which supported the anti-communist alliance
in the Cold War structure.63•j

A typical case where the dissatisfaction exploded all at once was, for instance, the
"Anti-Japan Riot" which broke out in Jakarta when Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei
Tanaka visited there on January 15, 1974. These kind of movements were a surprise for

29
ordinary Japanese people who had been taught about the distinguished services of
Japan to Asian nations. The lack of sensitivity among Japanese people to such
movements had been inculcated by the education in the postwar days, whose policy
was changed after 1957 under the Cold War structure.64•j

In addition, there was a change domestically. The U.S. policy toward Vietnam
became a big obstacle to intellectual exchange between Japan and the U.S. Information
about tragedies in Vietnam informed the academic atmosphere in which Japanese social
scientists reflected on Japan's former imperialism.65•j That is, the anti-Vietnam War
movement created the atmosphere in which the sins of the U.S. military were identified
with the sins of the former Japanese military. It also was an opportunity to reflect on the
economic invasion by Japanese companies in other Asian areas in the postwar period.

In such an atmosphere, new historical terms were to appear on textbooks to

enrich the descriptions of Asian history. Of course, the Ministry of Education did not
easily allow this tendency. For instance, some textbook authors tried to write in more
detail about Hong Kyongrae, a leader of a rebellion in Korea in 1811, to explain Korean
history in the early 19th century. But the Ministry of Education said there was "No need
to teach about Hong Kyongrae in Korean history in Japanese education."66•j However,
"Hong Kyongrae" was going to appear on World History for high school education
published by Yamakawa Publishing after the 1994 version, as will be shown later,
because this information is important to understand the circumstances of east Asia in
the 19th century. The conditions under which multi-national viewpoints would be
accepted began to be arranged, by efforts from the inside and outside Japan, in the age
of internationalism after the late 1970s.

It is needless to say that this caused revisions of the image of history on the
relations among China, Korea, and Japan, too. Many historians began to write about the
"Nanking Massacre" in their textbooks in the mid-1970s. Against this movement, the
Ministry of Education issued censoring opinions mainly from a standpoint which denied
"systematic slaughter:"
[Original text] After having occupied Nanking, the Japanese army murdered numerous
Chinese soldiers and civilians. This is called the Nanking Atrocity.

[Censoring opinion] It can be read that the army systematically slaughtered Chinese
immediately after the occupation. Neither the time of its occurrence nor the organization
of the slaughter have been determined academically yet.

[Sample book] The Japanese army occupied Nanking fanatically, defeating the violent
resistance of the Chinese army, and murdered numerous Chinese soldiers and civilians.
This is called the Nanking Atrocity.67•j
In this case, the phrase "fanatically, defeating the violent resistance of the
Chinese army" was added to the sample book. That is, this text connotes that the
victims of the massacre included not only Chinese soldiers and civilians killed after the
occupation, but also the "violent resistance" during the battle. This change reduces
tragic impression of the slaughter.

30
 The descriptions concerning Korea were more complicated. Though historical
studies to try to describe Korean history more objectively had increased, the Ministry of
Education understood that the condition of Korea (and Taiwan) before World War II was
different from those of other Asian regions. The reason was that Korea had been
included in the "Great Japan Empire" for 35 years after the annexation in 1910. The
Ministry of Education at this time treated Korean people as "Japanese," and tried to think
of Korean people as being different from other East Asians. For instance:
[Original text] Korean people and Chinese people who had been forcibly brought to
Japan were compelled to do severe works.

[Censoring opinion] At that time, Korean people were Japanese. They are not the same
as Chinese people.

[Sample book] People from Korea and Chinese people who had been forcibly brought to
Japanese mainland were compelled to do severe works.68•j

[Original text] Japan brought Korean people and Chinese people to Japanese mainland
by force, and forced them to overwork in the mines etc. (At least 600,000 or more
Korean people and about 50,000 Chinese people were forcibly brought from 1939 to
1945). The assimilationist policy into Japanese was promoted in Korea and Taiwan.
("Soshi-kaimei [Changing names into the Japanese style]," establishing the Shinto
shrines, and visiting shrines were required in Korea. By these policies, Korean people's
racial originality was denied, people were forced to speak the Japanese language, and
their names were forcibly changed into the Japanese style.)

[Censoring opinion] Distinguish Korean people from Chinese people. Korea was a
Japanese territory at that time. People from Korea were not brought forcibly, because
the National Mobilization Order was applied to them.69•j
The Ministry of Education used the strange logic here that the bringing was not
forcible because "Korean people were Japanese at that time." The Ministry of Education
in the postwar days followed the prewar Japanese Government's bureaucratic
assumption that Korean people were not brought "forcibly," if the "National Mobilization
Order" was applied to them:
[Original text] The Japan-China war broke out in 1937.... About 700,000 Korean people
were forcibly brought to Japan after the next year. They were compelled to do slave-like
labor, where human rights were completely disregarded, along with Chinese people who
were brought as captives of the Japan-China war.

[Censoring opinion] "Korean people were forcibly brought to Japan" might be so in

reality. However, because Korean people at that time were considered to be Japanese,
it was not forcible. Why don't you write "by the National Mobilization Order." Moreover,
"slave-like labor where human rights were completely disregarded" might have been so
in many cases, but it is necessary to examine whether or not all cases were so.70•j

Here the Ministry of Education intentionally expanded the concept of "Japanese,"

and applied the concept to "Korean people." By doing so, the Ministry of Education tried
to insist on the legitimacy of prewar Japanese behavior. It can be understood that the

31
postwar Japanese Government is consistent with the government at the prewar days
from this respect. The "official nationalism" is the nationalism from above to insist on the
legitimacy of a nation, looking back to the past. It can be said that this example is its
typical expression.

However, this kind of government-fostered nationalistic view of history began to

be the object of the mutual monitoring by other nation-states. As we will see next, the
"image of the world" among Japanese people expressed in the textbooks would come to
be questioned in the international community after 1982. It was the "Aggression-
Advancement" debate in 1982 that led the change. The Ministry of Education prepared
the basis of this debate by giving censoring opinions against the word "aggression" from
the latter half of the 1970s to 1981. The following opinion was given in 1980.
[Original Text] "aggression"

[Censoring opinion] We want you to use "invasion," "trespass," or "advancement."

"Aggression" contains the value judgment of badness.71•j

As Anthony Giddens pointed out, the nation-states are the systems which monitor
themselves mutually.72•j The monitoring reaches inside and outside of the border, and
brings information for the people to imagine the boundary of their community. Though
Japan as a nation-state invented the image "advancement to the continent" as the
material by which Japanese people imagine their home country, China and South Korea
as nation-states began to object to the Japanese image, because the materials are also
necessary for those two nation-states to imagine the past. That the word "advancement"
became the focus of the confrontation means that the international mutual monitoring
started operating in East Asia under the globalization of human activities.

*****

32
 PERIOD 5:
DISSOLUTION OF NATIONALISM AND
DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONALISM, 1983-1993

The contents of Japanese history textbooks keep changing. The following two
sections will focus on the second finding of this study, a new movement toward
"transnationalism" after the mid-1980s. Japanese history education was less
ethnocentric in these periods, because the internationalization of Japanese society
required multi-national point of views in education. During this period, there is the birth of
the new "nationally defined historiographical consciousness" in Japan. It is important to
note that this consciousness tries to make the contents of textbooks as objective as
possible, and required that "any person who belongs to any nation would write historical
events in a similar way" in textbooks.

Also, it is important that this phenomenon occurs after the mid-1980s. There are
two motives for this phenomenon. One is the mutual monitoring between nation-states,
and the other is the democratic and pacifist movements inside Japan. The discussion of
the history of the nation could not remain a merely internal affair after the mid-1980s,
because of the internationalization caused by a great advancement of information media
and transportation. The most significant event caused by the mutual monitoring between
nation-states was the "Aggression-Advancement" debate in 1982. Postwar Japanese
nationalism was conveyed overseas and criticized as a result.

This process was occasioned by criticism of textbooks by the financial world in

Japan between the end of the 1970s to 1981. People in the Japanese financial world
tended to be proud of themselves after rapid growth of the Japanese economy during
the late 1960s and the 1970s. Their pride in economic success was closely related with
their national identity as Japanese. They demanded that Japanese textbooks put more
emphasis on the value of loyalty to the country. Their textbook criticism was called the
"second campaign against slanted textbooks."73•j Censoring opinions to have
"aggression" against the continent rewritten as "advancement" were given early in the
1980s.

In June, 1982, one Japanese newspaper reported the existence of such censoring
opinions by the Ministry of Education. Following this report, China and South Korea
protested to the Japanese government that such censorship would distort history. As a
result, Kiichi Miyazawa, who was the secretary-general of the cabinet at that time,
promised corrections in the textbooks on China and South Korea. The passage "national
feelings of neighboring countries should be considered" was added to the Study
Guidelines in Japan.

The "Aggression-Advancement" debate influenced the situation in Japan.

Because of diplomatic pressures from China and South Korea, the Ministry of Education
could do nothing but open a part of the cases of authorization in 1982 and 1983 fiscal

33
year to the public. Moreover, the textbook writers also took the plunge and opened the
censoring opinions they had received to the public through the publications from the
Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers. As a result, attentions from ordinary people
were focused on to the censorship by the Ministry of Education.74•j

The second motive to cause the transformation of Japanese textbooks in the

1980s was that the trend occurred among Japanese people to consider many cabinet
ministers' speeches based on their superficial recognition of prewar Japan to be
"problematic" and to accuse them. For example, in September, 1986, Masayuki Fujio,
the Minister of Education in the Nakasone Cabinet at that time, created a hot discussion
by expressing his recollection of the prewar history.75•j Minister Fujio recalled the
annexation of Korea in a magazine by saying that "the annexation was approved by the
formal and substantial mutual agreement between Japan and Korea. There were some
responsibilities also on the Korean side."76•j Many Japanese attacked this version, and
he was dismissed by the Prime Minister three days after expressing his opinion.
Continuing in this vein, five congressmen in the minister class lost their positions
because of their "problematic" speech during ten years after 1986.

In other words, the new generation of Japanese people who had experienced
democratic education in their youth began to occupy important political, economic, and
social positions at that time. Also, the mass media in Japan helped the new generation
to criticize the old generation of Japanese, by relating with the media in China and South
Korea in the progress of the internationalization or so-called globalization. This new
trend was obviously different from the one in the former age. Cabinet ministers who had
received the education at the prewar days did not need to reflect on their historical views
until the mid-1980s. However, the new trend in which their recollections were considered
to be problematic was generated under the process of internationalization of Japan. In
the first campaign of the "deplorable textbook issue" in the 1950s, the people who
opposed national intervention in the education initiated by the Democratic Party were
powerless in fact. However, the influences from two different sides, inside and outside of
Japan, helped the producers of textbooks to speak out more in the 1980s.

Therefore, the censoring opinions by the Ministry of Education had to change. The
changes appeared in the descriptions of Japanese rule in Korea. The opinion "the
people were levied based on the National Mobilization Order," was withdrawn at this
time. Instead, the Ministry of Education started emphasizing that they were levied by
"free applications."

[Original text] Japan applied the Mobilization Order based on the National General
Mobilization Law to Korea, and brought Korean people to Japan forcibly with various
methods. The number exceeded 1,500,000. Also, 70,000 workers were brought from
China forcibly at this time. They were all forced to work in the places with severe tasks
and risks, such as the mines, the coal mines, and the dam construction sites, etc., and
many of them were killed or injured. Moreover, nearly 5,000,000 people were mobilized
in Korea. In addition, the number of the persons, who had been dispatched to the
various places in the south as soldiers or civilian employees exceeded 370,000.

34
[Censoring opinion] Submit the sources of "1,500,000," "70,000," "almost 5,000,000,"
and "370,000." As for forcible bringing of Korean people to Japan, the application of the
Mobilization Order was after 1944. Free applications were conducted after 1939, and
official mediations were conducted after 1941. It cannot be said that free applications
were forcible. In the book written by Park Kyongsik, too, it is sure the number was to be
written as 720,000.

[Sample book] Japan brought Korean people to Japan forcibly by applying the
Mobilization Order based on the National General Mobilization Law to Korea. The
number reached almost 700,000. Also, nearly 40,000 workers were brought from China
forcibly at this time. They were all forced to work in the places with severe tasks and
risks, such as the mines, the coal mines, and the dam construction sites, etc., and many
of them were killed or injured. Moreover, nearly 5,000,000 people were mobilized in
Korea. In addition, the number of the persons, who had been dispatched to the various
places in south as civilian employees reached more than 320,000.77•j

Now, the Ministry of Education could not praise the validity of the "Great Japan
Empire," and the textbook authorization came to focus mainly on the number of people
who had been brought to Japan. Although the Ministry of Education tended to minimize
the Japanese role, the stage for Japanese people to examine their history scientifically
was settled.

In the following, I intend to take up the descriptions of the "annexation of Korea" in

World History from Yamakawa Publishing. When Japan as a modern nation-state
established relations with other countries, Japan's first object was the Korean peninsula
located geographically close to Japan. Therefore, the history of the relation between
Japan and Korea had been described from the 1950s version of textbooks. The history
textbooks published by the 1970s had little detailed information on the circumstances in
which Japan had expanded into the Korean peninsula in the prewar days. Accounts of
this topic in the versions of the 1990s increased up to four times or more of those of the
1950s versions. When we see the descriptions of the modern history of the relation
between Japan and Korea in textbooks, it is noticeable that the amounts of the
descriptions continuously increased with time.

35
 History of the relation between Japan and Korea
from the Meiji Restoration to 1945
1951 (254-255) After the Restoration, Japan had requested Korea to open the country to the
world. However, Japan thought that it was dangerous to put Korea under the rule by
weak Qing, because Russia had gone southward. Japan was about to make Korea an
independent country, concluded the Jemulpo Treaty with Korea in 1876, and settled
the independence of Korea and opening Pusan Port. Since then, the trade of Japan
developed, and a Korean market was monopolized. On the other hand, in Qing, the
atmosphere to request the recovery of the Korean market and the reconfirmation of
the suzerainty had strengthened after 1880. Before long, the commercial supremacy
of Japan was expelled from Korea due to a private duel of the royal family in Korea.
Japan, which worried about this situation, opened the war with Qing by taking
advantage of the Tonghaktang Rebellion. The army of Qing exposed its weakness to
the Japanese army which had modernized equipment. Qing transferred Liao Dong
Peninsula and Taiwan to Japan, and admitted the independence of Korea by the
Shimonoseki Treaty. Soon Korea became a protectorate of Japan, became a part of
the Japanese Empire, and was ruled by Japan until 1945.

(263) Soon Japan took advantage of weakening of Korea at the Yi dynasty, and
pressed Korea politically and economically. In 1890, Japan annexed Korea, and built a
strong base in Manchuria too.
1957 (242) After the Restoration, Japan had requested Korea to open the country to the
world. To oppose Russia's going southward, Japan made an effort to make Korea an
independent country free from the rule by weak Qing. Because Qing had opposed this
movement, Japan was about to lose its economic position in Korean market. However,
Japan opened the war with Qing by taking advantage of the Tonghaktang Rebellion,
and defeated Qing by using modernized equipment (1894-95). Qing requested
reconciliation with Japan in Shimonoseki. Japan received Liao Dong Peninsula and
Taiwan, and made Qing admit the independence of Korea.

(249) Soon Japan took advantage of weakening of Korea at the Yi dynasty, and
pressed Korea politically and economically. In 1890, Japan annexed Korea, and built a
strong base in Manchuria too.
1958 (277-278) The collision of the interest between Japan and Qing caused the Sino-
Japanese War in Korea. Originally, Korea was subordinate to the Qing dynasty, while
associating closely with Japan. However, Korea was not ready to open the country
easily to follow its suzerain state, the Qing dynasty, and had not accepted the demand
by Japan to open the country to the world. After the Restoration, Japan had requested
Korea to open the country in order to secure Japan, and to built the market for
Japanese products in Korea. Japan wished for Korea to become an independent
nation free from the rule by the Qing dynasty. In 1875, Japan opened Korea to the
world by taking the opportunity of the Kanghwa Island Incident, and concluded the
treaty.* However, because the Qing opposed this movement, and because there were
factional disputes** inside Korea, conflicts frequently arose between Japan and Qing.
In 1894, the Rebellion by Tonghaktang, the secret society, occurred by chance in the
Chonra District and this became the chance for both Japan and Qing to begin a full-
scale war. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan had experienced a rapid modernization,
and had established a system which was several steps more advanced than that of
the Qing dynasty. Therefore, Japan broke down the army of Qing at once, and made

36
 peace with the Qing dynasty in Shimonoseki. Japan made the Qing dynasty admit that
Korea was an independent country. Japan inherited Liao Dong Peninsula and Taiwan
from Qing, and attracted the attention of the Powers.

* The Japan-Korea Amity Treaty (the Kanghwa Treaty).

** There were some factions such as Tokribtang [the Independent Party], a pro-
Japanese group, and Sataetang [the Conservative Party], a pro-Chinese group.

(285) Soon Japan took advantage of weakening of Korea at the Yi dynasty, and
pressed Korea politically and economically. In 1890, Japan annexed Korea, and built a
strong base in Manchuria too.
1964a (248-249) Because of the necessity for markets in foreign countries, Japan advanced
to the continent. Japan tried to make Korea become an independent country free from
Qing, after concluding a treaty of amity with Korea.(1) Therefore, Japan caused
conflicts with Qing, and the Tonghaktang Rebellion (1894)(2) finally caused the Sino-
Japanese War (1894-95). Newly born Japan broke Qing as a large country, and made
Qing admit the independence of Korea in the Shimonoseki Treaty.(3)

(1) Though the argument on subjugating Korea happened in Japan, Korea opened the
country to the world by the Kanghwa Treaty in 1876.
(2) This was a disturbance in Korea. However, because Japan and Qing sent their
soldiers to Korea, this disturbance had progressed to the Sino-Japanese War before
long.
(3) After its independence, Korea changed the name of the country to Taehan in 1897.
Therefore, it is called Hankuk in general.

[Photograph] The Shimonoseki Peace Conference. This conference started in March,

1895. Hirofumi Ito of Japan (the center face) and Li Hung-chang of Qing (in front of Ito)
attended this conference and signed the treaty.

(265) Japan, which had obtained the foothold in south Manchuria and Korea, started
active advancement as industrial revolution was advanced, and annexed Korea in
1910.
1973 (273) Korea having regarded Qing as its suzerain did not open the country to the new
government of Japan easily, although Korea had been associated with Japan during
the Edo Era. However, Japan succeeded in making Korea open the country to the
world, and concluded the treaty by taking the opportunity of the Kanghwa Island
Incident in 1875.* Because Qing opposed this movement, and because there were

37
 factional disputes inside Korea,** conflicts between Japan and Qing arose frequently.
Japan and Qing finally started the war by taking advantage of the Rebellion by
Tonghaktang, the religious secret society, which happened in the Chonra District in
1894 (the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95)). Japan, benefiting from the policies to enrich
the country and strengthen the military after the Meiji Restoration, broke the army of
Qing at once, and concluded the reconciliatory treaty next year (the Shimonoseki
Treaty). Japan obtained the clue of the advancement to Korea by making Qing admit
the independence of Korea. Also, Japan inherited Liao Dong Peninsula, Taiwan, and
Peng Hu Island from Qing, and the attention of the Powers turned to Japan.

* With the incident, in which the Japanese warship holding a demonstration in the
vicinity of Kanghwa Island was bombarded, as a trigger, the negotiation was carried
on between Japan and Korea. In the negotiation, both countries concluded the Japan-
Korea Amity Treaty (the Kanghwa Treaty) by which the independence of Korea, open
of the ports, and Japan's consular jurisdiction were approved.
** This means the confrontation between Tokribtang [the Independent Party], a pro-
Japanese group, and Sataetang [the Conservative Party], a pro-Chinese group.

(288) Soon Japan pressed Korea politically and economically by taking advantage of
the declining fortune of the Yi dynasty, and annexed Korea in 1910 (the Annexation of
Korea).

First of all, it is remarkable that there was very little description on the relation
between Japan and Korea in the textbooks published in the 1950s. But after economic
exchange between the two countries deepened in the 1970s (through the normalization
of Japan-South Korea diplomatic relation in 1965), the "past" relation between them
came to be narrated in more detail gradually, as Japan and South Korea came to relate
more intimately.

The phrase "advancement to the continent" was included in the 1964 and 1973
version. However, in the 1983 version, which was edited after the "Advancement-
Aggression" debate, the phrase was replaced by "aggression on the continent."

38
 History of the relation between Japan and Korea
from the Meiji Restoration to 1945
1983 (270) Although America and European countries urged Korea to open the country to the world
in the latter half of the 19th century, Korea refused this and tried to maintain exclusionism.
Japan approached Korea by taking the opportunity of the Kanghwa Incident(1) in 1875,
concluded the unequal Japan-Korea Amity Treaty (the Kanghwa Treaty) in 1876, which
included the consular jurisdiction etc., and made Korea open their ports such as Pusan.
Because Qing opposed this movement, and because there were political struggles inside
Korea, conflicts between Japan and Qing deepened and caused the Sino-Japanese War
(1894-95) starting with the Kapo Farmers War (the Tonghaktang Rebellion) in 1894. The war
ended in the victory of Japan and the Shimonoseki Treaty was concluded next year, by which
Qing admitted the independence of Korea, cession of Liao Dong Peninsula, Taiwan, and Peng
Hu Island to Japan, payment of compensation, and the privilege of Japan in the trade etc.
Japan thereafter built the foothold for aggression on the continent in Korea, and deepened
conflicts with Russia, which aimed at going south in East Asia.

(1) The incident in which the Japanese warship maneuvering off the coast of Korea collided
with Korean forces in the vicinity of Kanghwa Island.

(285) Korea after the Sino-Japanese War was aiming at substantial independence by changing
the name of the country to Taehan, and the title of King to the Emperor in 1897. However, the
violent acquisition of rights and interests by various foreign countries and political strife
between a pro-Russian group and a pro-Japanese group by interference of Russia and Japan
kept shaking Korea.

(286) Postwar Japan aimed at aggression on the continent, and annexed Korea in spite of
ardent resistance of the Korean side in 1910 (the annexation of Korea).

(304-305) After being annexed to Japan, Korea was ruled by the Korean governor-general, and
people's dissatisfaction had increased. On March 1, 1919, Korean people began a movement
for the independence from Japan under the influence of the Russian Revolution or Woodrow
Wilson's declaration of the Fourteen Points of Peace, which was repressed. This was called
the 3.1 Movement (the Mansae Incident), and became the starting point of the Korean
nationalist movement thereafter.

(305)

[Photograph] 3.1 Movement. This movement extended to the whole land, and was repeated
until May. However, this movement was suppressed by the Japanese military and police, and a
large number of people were killed and injured. This photograph shows the girl students
demonstrating in Seoul (present Seoul was called Kyonsong under the rule of Japan).

39
 In the 1983 version, the Kanghwa Island Incident was explained in the following
way: "the Japanese warship maneuvering off the coast of Korea collided with Korean
forces." That is, harm by Japan came to be emphasized here. What interfered in the
political struggles inside Korea was explained as "not only Russia but also Japan." Also
the photograph of the "3.1 Movement" which appeared in textbooks for the first time,
was accompanied with the information, "This movement was suppressed by the
Japanese military and police, and a large number of people were killed and injured,"
which connoted a negative impression of Japan.

Moreover, the international protest in 1982 became a chance to increase joint

researches, by which Japanese educators tried to verify historical relations between
Japan and other Asian nations, especially between Japan and South Korea, after the
mid-1980s.78•j In such a way, a trend was approved in Japan, in which the speeches of
many cabinet ministers concerning the prewar history were considered to be
"problematic." This tendency continued in the 1990s. We can conclude that the "second
campaign against slanted textbooks" was destroyed by re-examination of the history
based on the global monitoring between nations and between individuals.

In other words, the description of history based on the Japanese ethnocentrism

had changed in quality to more universal description gradually. The collision of
nationalist claims caused an objective re-examination of existing ethnocentric
nationalism. Such universal depictions can be thought to have more liberal
characteristics. We can understand this phenomenon as a conversion of nationalism to
"transnationalism" from a sociological aspect. According to Yasusuke Murakami, there
are two kinds of boundaries that must be overcome to avoid conflicts between nations.
The one is the visible boundaries such as barbed wire along national borders, border
garrisons, exchange control laws, and passports. It is this type of visible boundary that
people normally call a border. The other is the invisible boundaries. According to
Murakami:

More important in a certain sense is the second kind, the invisible boundaries in our
minds, which develop from such things as the unique structure of thought developed
through child-rearing and language, the knowledge and contents of information
produced by education, and the images handed down through the historical and literary
classics. One could say that this is what we broadly call ethos and tradition. The first
kind of boundary corresponds to territoriality and the second to cultural individuality.79•j

Also, Murakami calls "transcending" of these boundaries transnationalism and

points out that "since the horrors of the two world wars, the arguments for a
transnationalism that takes peace as its objective have gradually become influential."
What we deal with here is an example of the movement in Japan which exceeds the
"second boundary" in Murakami's terms. This kind of historiographical consciousness
began to be approved in Japan after the mid-1980s.

*****

40
 PERIOD 6: AFTER 1994: TURNING TO TRANSNATIONALISM

The end of the Cold War after the 1980s came to have a greater impact on the
historiographical consciousness among Japanese people, because "as the anti-
communist and authoritarian systems in Asian nations under the Cold War structure had
decreased their importance for the Far Eastern strategy of the United States, the
tendency of the democratization had advanced in those countries. The voices of people
who pursued the Japanese war responsibility, which had been frozen because of the
Cold War for a long time, had come to light."80•j There appeared mainly three issues of
compensation for the damage to people in Asia by the prewar Japanese military, such
as the "military comfort women," the "soldier assistants," and the "Laborer (Romusha)."
Reacting to these movements, the Ministry of Education came to take a more objective
standpoint when they give official approval to the textbooks in the 1990s.

In 1993, the Ministry of Education announced "Outline of the Censoring Opinions"

against the "descriptions concerning the military comfort women." It included the
following four sentences:

1) It is necessary to consider the number of the military comfort women taking account
of the situation of present research.

2) Neither the military comfort women nor the girl volunteering corps are distinguished. It
is necessary to separate the expressions to avoid causing misunderstanding.

3) It is necessary to describe the origins of the military comfort women accurately.

4) It is necessary to be clear about the forms of recruitment of the military comfort

women so as not to cause misunderstanding.81•j

Here, the nature of the force abductions was not denied any longer, and the
rhetoric about "lawful" mobilization because "Korean" were "Japanese" disappeared.
Though there was a tendency that documents other than official documents by
Japanese Government were not admitted as "materials with reliability," the Ministry of
Education came to admit the outline of the historical fact. In addition, the Ministry of
Education began to give the censoring opinions that were opposite to the ones in the
1960-70s:

[Original text] (Photograph) Instruction concerning the recruitment of the military comfort
women of the Japanese military/ Young women in Korea were mobilized as the military
comfort women by Japanese Government and the military. It was said that they were
50,000 or 200,000 people.

41
[Censoring opinion] 1) It is necessary to consider the number of the military comfort
women taking account of the situation of present research. 2) The term "mobilization" of
the military comfort women might be misunderstood as the mobilization by the National
Mobilization Order.

[Sample book] (Photograph) Instruction concerning the recruitment of the military

comfort women of the Japanese military/ Many young women were sent to the front as
the military comfort women by Japanese Government and the military.82•j

It can be pointed out that a big change took place here, when we compare
especially the second censoring opinion with the one given in 1980; "Korean people
were not brought forcibly to Japan, because the National Mobilization Order was applied
to them." The Ministry of Education cannot deny the forcibility of the bringing in the
1990s, because they must admit that the National Mobilization Order was not applied to
the former comfort women. It is not an exaggeration to say that this change represented
a conversion of the government policy. This change was, too, brought by the "reflexive
monitoring" by nation-states, and by the activities of the new generation who had
acquired a democratic view of the world from the 1980s. After the mid-1980s, the
Nanking massacre, the assimilationist policy, and the forcible bringing were handled as
self-evident facts in history textbooks in Japan.

Of course, each of such monitoring had its own interests based on each
standpoint. But by the collision of such interests, a tendency to make more general
information about history arose. This movement can be thought to have same kind of
basic characteristics as those of the "tendency to grope for the post-national identity in
place of the national identity with separated and exclusive nature,"83•j which we can
find in European Union where the united textbook History of Europe84•j for all middle
schools in Europe was invented through the long-term management of the International
Textbook Improvement. Especially in the 1994 version of the Yamakawa's World
History, the realization of less nationalistic consciousness was remarkable, which was
different from the "nationally" defined historiographical consciousness of the former
periods.

42
 History of the relation between Japan and Korea
from the Meiji Restoration to 1945
1994 (260) In Yitsi Choson [Korea governed by the Yi family] subordinate to Qing
after the 17th century, political instability had continued because of conflicts
between parties, and social anxiety had arisen in rural areas because of the
increase in the number of starving people due to a long spell of disasters etc.
The War of Hong Kyongrae (1811-12), which occurred at the beginning of the
19th century, was a typical peasant rebellion under the leadership of
discontented elements among the declining bureaucrats. In the 1860s, America
and European countries urged Korea, which had kept closing the country, to
open the door to the world. However, Taewonkun (1820-98), a regent of
Kojong Ritaewang (reign 1863-1907), refused this, and made efforts to expel
foreigners. Japan approached Korea taking the opportunity of the Kanghwa
Island Incident(1) in 1875, concluded the unequal Japan-Korea Amity Treaty
(the Kanghwa Treaty) in 1876. The treaty included the consular jurisdiction etc.
Also, Japan forced Korea to open three ports including Pusan. To oppose this,
Qing, which took the standpoint of the suzerain of Korea, tried to strengthen
management of Korea. At that time, Kim Okkyun (1851-94) and others in the
progressive faction were in conflict with Minssi and others in the conservative
faction, domestic conflicts such as the Military Riot of Imo (1882) (2) and the
Political Change of Kabsin (1884)(3) etc. got violent, and conflicts between
Japan and Qing intensified, too. Therefore, Japan and Qing concluded the
Tienchin Treaty in 1885, in order to promise withdrawal of both armies and
provision of advance notice when they send troops in the future, etc. However,
once the Kapo Farmers War (the Tonghaktang Rebellion) broke out in 1894
under the leadership of Chon Bongjun (1854-95) and others, both Japan and
Qing sent troops which led to the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95). The war
ended in the victory of Japan, and the Shimonoseki Treaty was concluded in
1895. Because of the Treaty, Qing admitted the independence of Korea,
cession of Liao Dong Peninsula, Taiwan, and Peng Hu Islands to Japan,
payment of compensation, and privileges to Japan in trades, establishment of
enterprises at open ports, and so on. As a result, Japan built a foothold for
aggression on the continent in Korea, and deepened conflicts with Russia
which aimed at going south in the Far East.

(1) The incident in which the Japanese warship maneuvering off the coast of
Korea collided with Korean forces in the vicinity of Kanghwa Island.
(2) Revolt of army which happened in Hansong (present Seoul). The event in
which the army of the Taewonkun's faction murdered a lot of important persons
of the Minssi's faction, burnt the Japanese legation, and killed Japanese. Qing
sent a large army, helped Minssi, caught Taewonkun, and reinforced the right
of leadership.
(3) Political change caused by the progressive faction in Hansong. Although
the progressive faction beat the conservative faction with the support of the
military power of Japan, they were defeated after three days by the advance of

43
the military of Qing.

(275) During and after the Russo-Japanese War, Japan had reinforced their
interference against Korea by making the three Japan-Korea agreement (1904,
05, 07). Especially in the second agreement, Japan decided to put the
supervisor(1) permanently in Seoul, which presented the Japanese
Government, and made the person to supervise the diplomacy of Korea. By the
third agreement, Japan came to interfere in the domestic administration of
Korea, and disarmed the Korean military. Although people in Korea developed
ardent anti-Japan struggles of the loyal soldiers against such Japanese
interference in various places, Japan suppressed them by its military power.
Japan made this country a territory in Japan by annexing it in 1910 (the
annexation of Korea). Japan ruled Korea through the Korean government-
general.

(1) Hirofumi Ito (1841-1909), the first supervisor of Korea, promoted the
annexation of Korea, and was assassinated by An Jungkun (1879-1910) in
Harbin in 1909.

(275)

[Photograph] Anti-Japan struggles of the loyal soldiers in Korea. People who

had voluntarily stood up at the crisis of the nation were called Euibyong [the
loyal soldiers] in Korea. The struggles of the loyal soldiers claiming the anti-
Japanese feeling were repeated from the end of the 19th century to the 20th
century.

(297-298) After being annexed by Japan, Korea was put by the Korean
government-general under a severe observation and control by the military
police. Strong measures were taken, including the dissolution of political
groups and the control of meetings and speeches. Therefore, Korean people
started resisting. On March 1, 1919, the demonstration demanding the
independence happened in Seoul under the influence of the Russian
Revolution or Woodrow Wilson's declaration of the Fourteen Points of Peace,
and extended to the whole land at once. Although the government-general
mobilized the military and repressed the movement,(1) this 3.1 Movement (the

44
Mansae Incident) became the starting point of the Korean nationalist
movements thereafter.
Afterwards, Japan loosened its political rule to some degree, and took the
policy called "cultural politics" by which assimilation was promoted. But
economic rule of Japan over Korea had become stronger.

(1) This was a suppressing action for one year. It is said that there were
several thousand dead and nearly 50,000 arrested among Korean people.

(297)

[Photograph] 3.1 Movement. This movement extended to the whole land, and
was repeated until May. However, this movement was suppressed by the
Japanese military and police, and a large number of people were killed and
injured. This photograph shows the girl students demonstrating in Seoul.

(315) Japan captured Hong Kong and Singapore for the first half a year of the
war. Java, Sumatra, the Philippines, and the Solomon Islands were occupied,
and Myanmar was conquered. Japan advocated the "Greater East Asia Co-
Prosperity Sphere," and established the pro-Japanese regimes in the
Philippines, Indonesia, and Myanmar under the occupation. Indo-China and
Thailand, etc. were forced to declare cooperation with Japan, too. The powers
of the military became more powerful in Japan after starting the war, and the
control of speech and report became stricter.(1)

(1) The rule of Japan in Korea had become still stronger before and after the
Japan-China war, and the assimilationist policies such as "Soshi-kaimei" to
convert Korean names into Japanese names were promoted. The forcible
bringing of the workers in Korea, in order to supplement the manpower
shortage of Japan under the war, and the conscription system were applied to
Korea at the last years of the war.

45
 The tendency to make information more detailed and more increased was
promoted further after the 1990s. For instance, "Hong Kyongrae" which was judged to
be "unnecessary" at the authorization in 1977 came to be explained in detail. And
internal circumstances in Korea got described more in relation with the expansion of the
Japanese power, by increase of the descriptions on "Taewonkun" and "Minssi." Three of
each "Japan-Korea Agreement" came to be explained, and therefore, the process that
Japan annexed Korea was clarified. Moreover, the number of victims during the 3.1
movement was shown in the 1994 version. In addition, the facts of "Soshi-kaimei" and
"forcible bringing" were described. They were the matters which received the following
censoring opinions before:

[Original text] (On aggression to Korea, the annexation of Korea) "Korean people were
deprived of land..." "They lost their land..."

[Censoring opinion] This contradicts the fact. The situation depended on the result of the
land investigation at that time.85•j

This kind of censoring opinions cannot be given in the 1990s. So, the textbooks of
the 1994 version became relatively free from the pressure of the authorization, and
acquired the feature of explaining fully about the history of the relation between Japan
and Korea. That is, less nationalistic "historiographical consciousness" came to be taken
into textbooks gradually in Japan. The same kind of generalization was shown in other
historical matters. For instance, the Nanking massacre:

From the Japan-China War to the Lu Gou Qiao Incident

1983d (317) ...Because Japan undervalued such a situation, and the military aimed at
the rule of the northern part of China, its aggression had been expanded taking
the opportunity of the Lu Gou Qiao Incident in July, 1937. Therefore, the
second cooperation of the Kuomintang and the communist army was formally
approved in September, and both Japan and China began the full-scale war
(the Japan-China War).(1) Though Japan occupied the important places in the
northern part of China and the Nanking area by the end of 1937, (2) the unity of
the Chinese side kept stiffly, moving their government from Nanking to Wu Han
and to Chungking to continue resistance. Though Japan occupied Wu Han and
Kuangchou in October, 1938, only important cities and the traffic lines which
had connected with the cities were secured, and its rule did not extend to wide
rural areas. The pro-Japanese regime of Wang Zhao-Ming (1883-1944), which
Japan had established in 1940 in order to oppose to the Chungking
Government, did not have much ruling power.

(1) At that time, the Japanese Government called this war the "Shina Incident."
(2) In occupying Nanking, the Japanese military slaughtered a lot of Chinese,
and invited criticism from the world (the Nanking Massacre).

46
 (317)

[Photograph] Occupation of Nanking by the Japanese military (December,

1937).

(321) Though Japan thought that they could solve the Japan-China War in a
short time, the Republic of China did not stop resisting, and the Japanese
military was annoyed by the guerrilla war especially with a skillful Chinese
communist military. The battlefield extended to a wide region in China, and
enormous military expenditure and troops had pressed the economy of Japan
strongly.
1994 (310) The Japanese military had expanded its aggression taking the
opportunity of the Lu Gou Qiao Incident in July, 1937, aiming at invasion to the
northern part of China. On the other hand, the second cooperation of the
Kuomintang and the communist army was approved in September in China,
and both Japan and China began the full-scale war (the Japan-China War).
Japan occupied the important places in the northern part of China and Nanking
by the end of 1937. Especially in occupying Nanking, they slaughtered a lot of
Chinese and invited criticism from the world (the Nanking Massacre). The
Chinese side kept undertaking support from Great Britain, the United States,
and the Soviet Union, moving their government from Nanking to Wu Han and
to Chungking to continue resistance. Though Japan occupied Wu Han and
Kuangchou in October, 1938, only important cities and the traffic lines which
had connected with cities were secured, and its rule did not extend to wide
rural areas. Japan hoisted the construction of the East Asian New Order in
1940, opposed the Chungking Government, and built the pro-Japanese regime
of Wang Zhao-Ming (1883-1944) in Nanking. However, Japan could not
receive wide support, and there was no knowing how the situation of the war
would develop at all.

(314) The speculation of short-term solution of the Japan-China War did not
come true because of the resistance of the Republic of China, and the
Japanese military was afflicted especially by the guerrilla war of the military of
the Chinese Communist Party (Ba Lu Jun Army). The necessity of enormous

47
 amount of military expenditure and troops had pressed the economy of Japan
strongly.

In the 1983 version, the term the "Japan-China [Chugoku] War" was used instead
of the "Japan-Shina Incident." This version explained that what happened between
Japan and China after 1937 was not a mere "incident" but a "war."

Additionally, it is meaningful from the sociological viewpoint that the Yamakawa

Publishing published the "Nanking Massacre" in its textbooks after the 1983 version,
because the textbooks from Yamakawa had not considered the "Nanking Massacre" to
be important until then. This was another result of the "Aggression-Advancement"
debate in 1982. Also, accounts of the "Nanking Massacre" were moved from the
footnotes into the main text in the 1994 version. Referring to the "assimilationist policy
into Japanese" or the "Nanking Massacre" in detail was an appearance of the
generalization of the historical narrative.

This tendency to generalize texts was shown in the change of descriptions about
Japan, too. For instance, about the atomic bombs:

Comments on the photograph of the atomic bombs

1951 (No photographs)
1957 (284) [Photograph] Explosion of the atomic bomb (Nagasaki).
1964a (310) [Photograph] Dropping of the atomic bomb (Hiroshima). The flash in the
sky of Hiroshima in August 6, 1945 ended tens of thousands of lives instantly,
and decided the defeat of Japan in fact.
1973 (321) [Photograph] The atomic bomb dropped to Hiroshima. Taken 20 minutes
after the explosion, 10 kilometers east from the Hiroshima City (offered by the
Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Material Pavilion).
1983d (324) [Photograph] Disastrous scene of the explosive center in Hiroshima.
During the five years from immediately after the atomic bombing to 1950, more
than 200,000 citizens in Hiroshima and about 140,000 citizens or more in
Nagasaki died. A lot of people are still afflicted due to the aftereffects of the
atomic bomb now. Several hundred thousands of citizens became the
sacrifices by the air raids on other cities.
1994 (317) [Photograph] The vicinity of the explosive center of Hiroshima. After the
war, the slaughter of civilians with an atomic bomb became a big humanitarian
issue internationally with the evil of the radioactivity which remained
afterwards. The photograph: the Industrial Encouragement Pavilion of the
Hiroshima Prefecture (the Atomic Bomb Dome) seen from the Hiroshima
Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (Photograph was taken by the U.S.
military in November, 1945)

48
 It was impossible for textbook producers to publish historical evaluations of the
atomic bombs under the Cold War structure, because the Ministry of Education forced
them to delete information of the atomic bombs from the textbooks so that Japanese
Government avoided conflicts with the U.S. government. Information about the damages
from the atomic bombs appeared in the textbooks after the 1980s, and came to be
explained in detail in the 1994 version which was published after the end of the Cold
War. This is one of cases of the tendency to make information more accurate.

As we have seen before, Carol Gluck expressed her image of postwar Japanese
nationalism as follows: "by the 1980s they felt that the brightness of the original sengo
[postwar] was now in full eclipse, the initial promise of the postwar betrayed by the
bureaucratic state and conservative middle-mass society. They remained in opposition
to the intrusions and revisions of the prewar past, but their place in the sun --and the
television forum-- was increasingly taken by conservative intellectuals who supported
rather than opposed the postwar status quo."86•j

However, we now are sure to understand some corrections are necessary for this
image of the postwar Japan, because this study has revealed the transformation of
Japanese nationalism after the 1980s and its influence on the history textbooks.
Although the revival of the official nationalism (nationalism from above) in the postwar
days changed the characteristics of the history education immediately after the defeat,
the globalization of Japanese society at the end of the 20th century has been eroding
the official nationalism since the 1980s.

49
 CONCLUSION
THE TRANSFORMATION OF HISTORY TEXTBOOKS IN POSTWAR JAPAN

The findings of the preceding six sections need to be discussed in terms of the
rise and fall of postwar Japanese nationalism. The changes of the nationalism in
postwar Japan can be summarized in the following five points.

First, when the occupation policy by the General Headquarters of the Allied
Powers (GHQ) was concluded, the so-called "postwar democratic" educational contents
were substantially abandoned. The split of the "victorious countries" shown in the
conclusion of the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the start of the Cold War took the
teeth out of this kind of "democracy of the postwar days" in Japan.

Second, what took the place of the "democracy of the postwar days" was
nationalism from below, which sought to esteem the nation-state system itself. This
tendency reappeared in the 1957 version of the textbook after the end of the occupation
policy.

Third, such a nationalism soon came to be managed by the "official nationalism"

from above as follows: "the idea or the movement in which people recognize their own
nation as separated existence from others, and intend to unify, establish, and develop
their own nation." This ethnocentric "postwar Japanese nationalism" came to be praised
in the 1964 and 1973 versions of the history textbooks.

Fourth, the movements inside Japan by people who were brought up in the
atmosphere of the "postwar democracy" and the tendency toward the globalization of
Japanese society had strengthened the operation of the reflexive monitoring between
nation-states. As a result, the "postwar Japanese nationalism" was questioned,
relativized, and canceled by the monitoring. The 1983 version of the history textbooks
expresses the transformation.

Fifth, such monitoring raised more universal historiographical consciousness

among Japanese people. That is, Japanese people began to search for ways of
presenting history by which any person who belongs to any nation would write historical
events in a similar way. We can see less nationalistic, or "transnationalized," history in
the 1994 version of the textbook.

In addition, I can point out two things which did not change through the postwar
era. One was the thought among Japanese educationists that the truth of the history
must be more important than the honor of their nation. This thought was supported by
the concept of democracy brought from the U.S. during the period immediately after the
end of the war. In the 1960s and 1970s, this thought remained in the movements to
criticize conservative educational policies, such as textbook lawsuits brought by Saburo
Ienaga. After the 1980s, being connected with the reflexive monitoring from other nation-
states, this thought took shape as a criticism of Japanese government. This can be

50
considered as the core of the educational thought in postwar Japan.

The other thing that did not change during recent five decades was the textbook
screening system. Even if policies of the Ministry of Education changed in each period,
textbooks had been controlled by the government to a greater or lesser extent. The
textbook screening system was a framework of postwar Japanese history education. If
Japanese education would include more liberal contents in the future, it would be
necessary to question significance of this system.

Transnationalism and Japanese History Education

To conclude this study, I would like to return to Anderson's argument about

nationalism again, and discuss the relation between globalization of nation-states and
the new "historiographical consciousness." In the foregoing paragraphs, I described that
the less nationalistic "historiographical consciousness" came to be established in the
history education of Japan at the end of the 20th century.

In the first place, the existing image of the nation which members of the nation
have internalized through history education or other subjects of social studies is one
which had been made through "a half-fortuitous, but explosive, interaction"87•j of the
technology of transportation and communication with political and economic situations of
the nation at the latter half of the 19th century. Anderson points out concerning the
establishment of the modern Japan that:
Fortunate to come to power in an era in which numbered accounts in Zurich lay in an
undreamed-of future, they [oligarchs having overthrown the Shogunate] were not
tempted to move the exacted surplus outside Japan. Fortunate to rule in an age when
military technology was still advancing at a relative amble, they were able, with their
catch-up armaments programme, to turn Japan into an independent military power by
the end of the century.88•j
The main means of transportation and communication were railways and ships in
the 19th century. The boundaries of human communities were determined by this level
of technology for human communications. Those are borderlines between existing
nation-states.

However, the technological, political, and economical environments surrounding

us at the end of the 20th century are very different. Not only the development of aircraft
and high-speed vehicles, but also of television and telecommunications has expanded
the range of human activity. Recently, the spread of digital media has accelerated the
expansion further. The means with which people "imagine" their communities are
modernizing.89•j With the diversification, speed-up, and the subdivision of the means of
transportation and communication, individuals can get the power to expand the width
and the depth of their understanding of the world. That is, it is possible for individuals to
determine the boundary of the community to which they belong outside of the existing
national borders. Therefore, conventional nationally defined historiographical
consciousness cannot be uniform.

51
 Certainly, there are many regions where sub-nationalism is rising in present world.
Bosnia-Herzegovina90•j and many countries in the former U.S.S.R. are examples of
the regions. But it is important to note that what they are now establishing is national
capitalism, not global capitalism. In such countries, national historical narratives are still
needed.

On the other hand, what regions with more advanced capitalism are now
experiencing is globalization of capitalism. Transcending national boundaries of
historical narratives seems to be one of the inevitabilities under the further development
of capitalism. In other words, the images of the world circulating in advanced societies
are hardly ethnocentric or nationalistic any more. I think all capitalist societies would
follow in the footsteps of more advanced capitalist societies.

As I have previously stated, EU nations made a united history textbook, trying to

merge many histories of each nation-state. Also, same phenomena have already
occurred in the U.S. As Meyer and Feinberg remarked, "from 1919 to 1950, American
education turned away from the use of languages other than English for instruction in
both the public and the private schools. This period in American history was marked by
intense nativism."91•j However, the intense nativism, or the social values and virtues of
white middle- and upper-class males were challenged by the minority revolution and
internationalization of U.S. society after the 1960s.92•j Glazer and Ueda described the
situation of U.S. history education in the 1970s as follows:

The new treatment of ethnicity in current textbooks changes a text from one with a single
and simple national perspective to one that incorporates a variety of group perspectives.
History can no longer be written from a single and unchallenged national point of view --
the common stance of the past-- when the histories of different ethnic groups become a
major thread of historical narrative.93•j

I would like to place the tendency toward transnationalism of Japanese history

education in the same context of changing historical narratives as those of European
countries and the U.S. For example, in 1998, accounts of the Nanking Massacre are
included in all of seven kinds of history textbooks for junior high schools in Japan,94•j in
14 out of the 18 world history textbooks for high schools,95•j and in 14 out of the 19
Japanese history textbooks for high schools.96•j Moreover, accounts of the military
comfort women in Asia taken by the prewar Japanese military, which caused hot
debates with support from the feminist theory to criticize the conventional patriarchy after
the 1990s, are included in all of seven junior high school textbooks in Japan since
1996,97•j and in 16 out of the 19 Japanese history textbooks for high schools as of
1998.98•j The earlier ultra-nationalism cannot be re-established among Japanese
people at the turning period of the century.

Of course, there are some reactionary movements. For example, the group called
Jiyushugi Shikan Kenkyukai (the Study Group of Liberal Historical View) appeared in
1995 as protesters against the mainstream view. They claim that positive aspects of
modern Japanese history should be taught in order to nurture pride among their
children. Moreover, they insist on the necessity of teaching the view of history in which

52
the "national interest" is regarded as most important among the Japanese.99•j Their
chauvinist campaign got called the "third textbook attack."

Even if they might have some influence, it does not seem that they can win the
support of the majority of Japanese people, because the Japanese people are
expanding the ranges of their activity outside Japan. For example, it is hard for multi-
national corporations to be preoccupied with the "national interest" of one country.
Actually, they produced no effect as of late 1998. A slightly revised 1998 edition of
Yamakawa's World History included a new item "Result of World War II," and there
seems no intention to transmit ethnocentric nationalism to young Japanese in the
description.100•j The mainstream of the history education in present Japan continues
to regard the fixation of objective facts as most important.

Although I do not think that the ideal "borderless society" or the "world-state" will
come to be realized soon, physical and geographic borderlines, political borderlines, and
economical borderlines are currently eroding. If we think it true that the mode of human
communication prescribes the situation of human communities,101•j we could assume
that invisible cultural borderlines including education would change in the relation to the
visible borderlines, affecting each other. The newly born historiographical consciousness
expressed after the 1983 version of the history textbooks in Japan is one of its
expressions.

In this study, the transformation of the contents of the history textbooks in postwar
Japan has been analyzed in terms of the rise and fall of postwar Japanese nationalism.
What should be noted as two major turning points of the transformation are the mid-
1950s, when the revisionism was begun, and the mid-1980s when changes in the
nationally defined "historiographical consciousness" could be observed.

Notes
1•jBenedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of
Nationalism, revised edition, London: Verso, 1991
2•jWe can understand the traits of Japanese history education from the mid-1960s to
the early 1980s from the following studies: Marc Ferro, "History in Japan: a Code or an
Ideology?" in The Use and Abuse of History, or, How the Past is Taught, London:
Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984, pp. 194-205; Kosaku Yoshino, Cultural Nationalism in
Contemporary Japan: A Sociological Enquiry, London: Routledge, 1992, pp. 203-226;
Carol Gluck, "The Past in the Present." in Andrew Gordon (ed.), Postwar Japan as
History, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993, pp. 64-95; Ian Buruma, Wages of
Guilt: Memories of War in Germany and Japan, New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1994,
pp. 161-162, 189-201; Iris Chang, The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of
World War II, New York: Basic Books, 1997, pp. 199-210
3•jHyun Sook Kim, "History and Memory: The 'Comfort Women' Controversy." in
Positions: East Asia Cultures Critique (volume 5, number 1, 1997), pp. 73-106

53
4•jSome people have already touched on this significant point to study recent Japanese
society, see, Richard B. Finn, "The Real Numbers Are Bad Enough." in The Washington
Post, March 5th, 1998, p. A20
5•jCf. Mayumi Ito, "Japan's Abiding Sakoku Mentality." in Orbis, v.40 (Spring 1996), pp.
235-245; Hideichiro Nakano, "Japan's Internationalization: Becoming a Global Citizen."
in International Journal of Comparative Sociology, v.25 (Jan./Apr. 1984), pp. 114-122;
Toru Yano, "A New Outlook for Internationalization." in Japan Quarterly, v.34 (Jan./Mar.
1987), pp. 8-12
6•jSee, Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger (eds.), The Invention of Tradition, New
York: Cambridge University Press, 1983; Eric Hobsbawm, Nations and Nationalism
since 1780: Programme, Myth, Reality, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990
7•jAnderson, Imagined Communities, p. 121
8•jAnderson, Imagined Communities, pp. 121-122, emphasis added
9•jAnderson, Imagined Communities, p. 118
10•jAnderson, Imagined Communities, p. 118
11•jThis way of thinking coincides with the intentions of the sociological theories which
try to harmonize interpretative sociology with structural functionalism. See, e.g., Anthony
Giddens, The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration, Cambridge:
Polity, 1984
12•jMax Weber, Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretative Sociology,
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978, p. 14, emphasis added
13•jWeber, Economy and Society, p. 27, emphasis added
14•jOf course, this definition by Max Weber is just a principle and is influenced by Max
Weber's background, German society in the late 19th century. The realities of the
formation of the "belief" is different in each case of a nation-state. For example, Eugen
Weber shows how non-French attitudes and consciousness remained long after the
formation of modern France as a nation-state in his Peasants into Frenchmen: the
Modernization of Rural France, 1870-1914, Stanford, California: Stanford University
Press, 1976. However, when he explains change and assimilation of French rural
society after the 1870s, he pays attention not only to construction of roads and railways,
but also to operations of schools and the army, which funnelled national consciousness
to peasants (Part II). Eugen Weber shows how schools and the army provided a
common experience for the countryside late in the 19th century. He, too, regards a
"moral, mental, and cultural" unity as important for the formation of the nation-state (Part
III).
15•jSee, Anderson, Imagined Communities, pp. 37-46
16•jSee, Anderson, Imagined Communities, pp. 31-36, 47-65, 135
17•jAnderson, Imagined Communities, pp. 83-111
18•jErnest Gellner, Nations and Nationalism, Ithaca and London: Cornell University
Press, 1983, p. 1
19•jAnderson, Imagined Communities, pp. 118-122, 172-175, 200-201
20•j"Japanese history" is a genre created after the formation of Japan as a modern
nation-state in the Meiji era. Although "Japanese history" had been studied in some
schools of the study of classical literature, such as the Mito School, before the Meiji
Restoration, we should pay good attention to the fact that their greatest product of study,
397 volumes of The Great Japanese History, was completed in 1906 (the 39th year of
Meiji). For more information regarding the establishment of "Japanese history," see, e.g.,

54
Sonshi Ri, "Kindaikokka no keisei to 'nihonshi' ni kansuru oboegaki [Notes on the
Formation of Modern State and 'Japanese History']." in Gendai Shisou vol. 24-9 (August
1996), pp. 162-169
21•jThe following are the leading studies of the contents of school textbooks in prewar
Japan: Jih-Pen Yen Chiu Hui, Anti-Chinese and Anti-Foreign Teachings in New
Textbook and Publications of Japan, Nanking: publisher unknown, 1930; Saburo Ienaga,
Pacific War, 1937-1945: A Critical Perspective on Japan's Role in World War II, New
York: Pantheon Books, 1978; Takashi Fujitani, "Inventing, Forgetting, Remembering:
Toward a Historical Ethnography of the Nation-State." in Harumi Befu (ed.), Cultural
Nationalism in East Asia, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993, pp. 77-106;
Tomitaro Karasawa, Karasawa tomitaro chosakushu, dai nana kan, kyokasho no rekishi,
ge [History of School Textbooks, vol. 2(The complete works of Tomitaro Karasawa, vol.
7)], Tokyo: Gyousei, 1990; Muneomi Kaigo and Arata Naka, Kyokasho de miru kindai
nihon no kyoiku [Modern Japanese Education Studied from Contents of Textbooks],
Tokyo: Tokyo shoseki, 1979; Masashi Kajiyama, Kindai nihon kyokasho-shi kenkyu [A
Study on the History of Modern Japanese Textbooks], Tokyo: Mineruva shobo, 1988
22•jKarasawa, Karasawa tomitaro chosakushu, dai nana kan, kyokasho no rekishi, ge
[History of School Textbooks, vol. 2(The complete works of Tomitaro Karasawa, vol. 7)],
p. 34-39
23•jShiro Baba, "Nihonshi kyokasho ni okeru nashonarizumu no kouzou to tenkai [On
the Structure and the Development of Nationalism in Japanese History Textbooks]." in
Kyoikugaku kenkyu vol. 20-3 (1963), pp. 18-30
24•jThis definition derived from Masao Maruyama's definition of nationalism, which is
well known among Japanese social scientists. See, Masao Maruyama, Gendai seiji no
shisou to koudou [Thought and Behavior in Modern Japanese Politics], Tokyo: Miraisha,
1964, p. 274
25•jSanjun Kan, "Showa no shuen to gendai nihon no 'sinri-chiri=rekishi': kyokasho no
naka no chosen wo chushin toshite [The End of Showa and 'Ideological
Topography=History' in Modern Japan: On 'Korea' in School Textbooks]." in Shisou 786
(Dec. 1989), pp. 26-55
26•jKan, "Showa no shuen to gendai nihon no 'shinri-chiri=rekishi': kyokasho no naka
no chosen wo chusin toshite [The End of Showa and 'Ideological Topography=History' in
Modern Japan: On 'Korea' in School Textbooks]." p. 27
27•jGluck, "The Past in the Present." p. 71
28•jBuruma, Wages of Guilt, p. 199
29•jChang, The Rape of Nanking, p. 201
30•jFrances FitzGerald, America Revised: History Schoolbooks in the Twentieth
Century, Boston: Little Brown & Company, 1979
31•jFitzGerald, America Revised, p. 27
32•jAlso, I was inspired by the following books regarding the relationship between
official educational curriculum and ideology: Martin F. Herz, How the Cold War Is
Taught: Six American History Textbooks Examined, Washington: Ethics and Public
Policy Center, 1978; Michael Novak, Jeane Kirkpatrick, and Anne Crutcher, Values in an
American Government Textbook: Three Appraisals, Washington: Ethics and Public
Policy Center, 1978; James E. Davis, Dealing with Censorship, Urbana, Ill.: The National
Council of Teachers of English, 1979; Lewis A. Coser, et al., Books: The Culture and
Commerce of Publishing, New York: Basic Books Inc., 1982; Michael W. Apple and Lois

55
Weis (eds.), Ideology and Practice in Schooling, Philadelphia: Temple University Press,
1983; Nathan Glazer and Reed Ueda, Reed, Ethnic Groups in History Textbooks,
Washington, D.C.: Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1983; Ruth Charnes, "U.S. History
Textbooks: Help or Hindrance to Social Justice?" in Interratial Books for Children
Bulletin 15, Number 5, pp. 3-8, 1984; Paul C. Vitz, , Censorship: Evidence of Bias in Our
Children's Textbooks, Ann Arbor, Mich.: Servant Books, 1986; Volker R. Berghahn and
Hanna Schissler,(eds.), Perceptions of History: International Textbook Research on
Britain, Germany and the United States, New York: Berg Pub, 1987; Richard Shenkman,
Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of American History, New York: Harper and Row
Publishers Inc., 1989; Michael W. Apple, Ideology and Curriculum, New York:
Routledge, 1990; David Pratt, How to Find and Measure Bias in Textbooks, Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.: Educational Technology Publication, 1992; Michael W. Apple, Official
Knowledge: Democratic Education in a Conservative Age, New York: Routledge, 1993;
James W. Loewen, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History
Textbook Got Wrong, New York: New Press, 1995; Michael W. Apple, Cultural Politics
and Education, New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University, 1996; Eric
Magnuson, "Ideological Conflict in American Political Culture: the Discourse of Civil
Society and American National Narratives in American History Textbooks." in
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 17(6), 1997, pp. 84-130
33•jCarl A. Grant and Christine E. Sleeter, Turning on Learning, Columbus, Ohio:
Merrill, 1989, pp. 104-109; Christine E. Sleeter and Carl A. Grant, "Race, Class, Gender,
and Disability in Current Textbooks." in Michael W. Apple and Linda K. Christian-Smith
(eds.), The Politics of the Textbook, New York: Routledge, 1991, pp. 78-110
34•jSleeter and Grant, "Race, Class, Gender, and Disability in Current Textbooks." p.
82
35•jTo select these historical terms, I used a glossary of world history for high school
students, which was published also from Yamakawa Publishing. See, Zenkoku rekishi
kyoiku kenkyu kai, Sekaishi B yougoshu [Glossary of World History B for High Schools],
Yamakawa Publishing, 1995
36•jThe conditions of educational administration under American occupation is
examined closely in the following study: Toshio Tokutake, Kyokasho no sengoshi [The
Postwar History of Textbooks], Shin-nihon Publishing, 1995, Chapter 1
37•jThe Ministry of Education, Atarashii kenpou no hanashi [Tales of the New
Constitution], Jitsugyou kyokasho kabushikigaisha, 1947
38•jThe Ministry of Education, Atarashii kenpou no hanashi [Tales of the New
Constitution], pp. 7-8
39•jThe Ministry of Education, Minshushugi: monbushou chosaku kyokasho
[Democracy: Textbook written by the Ministry of Education], Komichi shobo, 1948,
49/1995
40•jTokutake, Kyokasho no sengoshi [The Postwar History of Textbooks], p. 86
41•jSaburo Ienaga, Kentei fugoukaku nihonshi [Unauthorized Japanese History], San-
ichi shobo, 1956/74, Preface
42•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1963, in Dai 13 ji
nikkyoso, dai 10 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the 13th Study
Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai kyougikai (The
Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1964, p. 12
43•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1964, in Dai 15 ji

56
nikkyoso, dai 12 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the 15th Study
Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai kyougikai (The
Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1966, p. 35
44•jStefan Tanaka, Japan's Orient, Rendering Pasts into History, Berkeley, CA:
University of California, 1993, pp. 5-7
45•jNaomi Watanabe, Nihon kindaibungaku to 'sabetsu' [Modern Japanese Literature
and 'Discrimination'], Ohta Publishing, 1994, Appendix 2
46•jNobuyoshi Takashima, Kyokasho wa kou kakinaosareta! [Textbooks were Forced
to be Rewritten Like This!], Kodansha, 1994, p. 56
47•jDai 13 ji nikkyoso, dai 10 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of
the 13th Study Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1964, p. 16
48•jDai 15 ji nikkyoso, dai 12 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of
the 15th Study Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1966, p. 13
49•jDai 15 ji nikkyoso, dai 12 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of
the 15th Study Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1966, p. 8
50•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1965, in Dai 15 ji
nikkyoso, dai 12 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the 15th Study
Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai kyougikai (The
Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1966, p. 8
51•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1966, in Dai 17 ji
nikkyoso, dai 14 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the 17th Study
Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai kyougikai (The
Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1968, p. 4
52•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1966, in Dai 17 ji
nikkyoso, dai 14 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the 17th Study
Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai kyougikai (The
Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1968, p. 8
53•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1967, in Dai 18 ji
nikkyoso, dai 15 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the 18th Study
Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai kyougikai (The
Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1969, p. 35
54•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1967, in Dai 18 ji
nikkyoso, dai 15 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the 18th Study
Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai kyougikai (The
Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1969, p. 35
55•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1964, in Dai 15 ji
nikkyoso, dai 12 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the 15th Study
Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai kyougikai (The
Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1966, p. 35
56•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1970, in Kyokasho
repoto No. 15 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 15], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1971, p. 21
57•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1971, in Kyokasho
repoto No. 16 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 16], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai

57
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1972, p. 12
58•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1964, in Dai 15 ji
nikkyoso, dai 12 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the 15th Study
Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai kyougikai (The
Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1966, pp. 34-35
59•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1964, in Dai 15 ji
nikkyoso, dai 12 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the 15th Study
Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai kyougikai (The
Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1966, p. 29
60•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1967, in Dai 18 ji
nikkyoso, dai 15 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the 18th Study
Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai kyougikai (The
Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1969, p. 36
61•jHouritsu jihou zoukan zouhoban: kyokasho saiban [Extra Issue of The Law Journal:
Textbook Trial], Nihon hyoronsha, 1970, pp. 39-41
62•jJun Eto, Wasureta koto to wasuresaserareta koto [The Things That We Have
Forgot and the Things That We Were Forced to Forget], Bunshun bunko, 1996, p. 20
63•jTakeshi Ishida, Shakaikagaku saikou: haisenkara hanseiki no doujidaishi
[Reconsideration on Social Science: the Contemporary History of a Half Century from
the Defeat], Tokyo University Press, 1995, pp. 56-58
64•jShougen Ri, "Sengo no nikkan-kankei to rekishi kyoiku [Japan-Korea Relationship
and History Education in the Postwar Era]." in Hideo Sato et al. (eds.) Nihon no
kingendaishi to rekishi kyoiku [Modern History of Japan and History Education], Tsukiji
shokan, 1996, pp. 28-42
65•jIshida, Shakaikagaku saikou: haisenkara hanseiki no doujidaishi [Reconsideration
on Social Science: the Contemporary History of a Half Century from the Defeat], p. 36
66•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1977, in Kyokasho
repoto No. 23 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 23], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1979, p. 23
67•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1980, in Asahi
Shimbun [Asahi Newspaper], October 20th, 1993, Evening Edition, p. 2
68•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1975, in Kyokasho
repoto No. 21 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 21], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1977, p. 27
69•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1980, in Kyokasho
repoto No. 26 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 26], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1982, p. 49
70•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1976, in Kyokasho
repoto No. 21 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 21], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1977, p.20
71•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1980, in Kyokasho
repoto No. 25 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 25], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1981, p. 13
72•jCf. Anthony Giddens, The Nation-State and Violence: Volume Two of A
Contemporary Critique of Historical Materialism, Cambridge: Polity Press, 1985
73•jHideo Otake has done a detailed political analysis on the Critical Campaign against
presenting textbooks by the Liberal Democratic Party which started in 1980 in his Sengo

58
nihon no ideorogii tairitsu [Ideological Conflicts in Postwar Japan], San-ichi shobo, 1996,
Section 3 in Chapter 2
74•jTakashima, Kyokasho wa kou kakinaosareta! [Textbooks were Forced to be
Rewritten Like This!], p. 98
75•jCf. Iris Chang, The Rape of Nanking, pp. 202-205
76•jAsahi Shimbun [Ashahi Newspaper], September 6th, 1986, Morning Edition, p. 1
77•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1983, in Kyokasho
repoto No. 29 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 29], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1985, pp. 73-74
78•jThe fruits of these efforts are expressed especially in the following two studies for
the present: Masao Nishikawa, Jikokushi wo koeta rekishi kyoiku [History Education
beyond One's Own History], Sanseido, 1992; Nikkan rekishi kyokasho kenkyukai (The
Study Group of History Textbooks between Japan and Korea), Kyokasho wo nikkan
kyoryoku de kangaeru [Thinking about Textbooks in Cooperation between Japan and
Korea], Ohtsuki shoten, 1993
79•jYasusuke Murakami, An Anticlassical Political-Economic Analysis: A Vision for the
Next Century, California: Stanford University Press, 1996, p. 43
80•jIshida, Shakaikagaku saikou: haisenkara hanseiki no doujidaishi [Reconsideration
on Social Science: the Contemporary History of a Half Century from the Defeat], p. 64
81•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1993, in Kyokasho
repoto No. 39 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 39], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1995, p. 48
82•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1992, in Kyokasho
repoto No. 38 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 38], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1994, p. 37
83•jTakahiro Kondo, "Kokusai kyokasho taiwa no genzai: tougou yoroppa no shiten
kara [The Present Situation of the International Textbook Improvement: From the
Viewpoint of the Unified Europe]." in Kyoikugaku kenkyu (vol. 61, no. 3), 1994, p. 273
84•jUne initiative europeenne de Frederic Delouche, Histoire de l'Europe, Paris:
Hachette, 1992. This history textbook has been used as a subtextbook in EU nations
from 1992. This unified history textbook is now being a material which gives the image of
the unified Europe to all young generation living in Europe, though some people criticize
this because it contains the Europe-centric view of history.
85•jCensoring opinion of textbooks by the Ministry of Education in 1976, in Kyokasho
repoto No. 21 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 21], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1977, p. 12
86•jGluck, "The Past in the Present." p. 71
87•jAnderson, Imagined Communities, p. 42
88•jAnderson, Imagined Communities, p. 96
89•jCf. Ulrich Beck, "The Reinvention of Politics: Towards a Theory of Reflexive
Modernization." in Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens, and Scott Lash (eds.), Reflexive
Modernization: Politics, Tradition and Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order,
Cambridge: Polity Press, 1994, pp. 1-55
90•jChris Hedges, "Sarajevo Journal; In Bosnia's Schools, 3 Ways Never to Learn
From History." in The New York Times, November 25th, 1997, Foreign Desk
91•jMichael Meyer and Stephen E. Fienberg, Assessing Evaluation Studies: The Case
of Bilingual Education Strategies, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1992, pp.

59
108
92•jFitzGerald, America Revised: History Schoolbooks in the Twentieth Century, pp.
10-14
93•jGlazer and Ueda, Ethnic Groups in History Textbooks, p. 57
94•jSankei Shimbun Jigyokyoku, Heisei hachi nen chugakko shakaika kyokasho
(rekishi bunya) mihonbon "kingendaishi" no bassui [Excerpts of "the Modern and
Present Age History" from the Sample Books of the Social Studies Textbooks (History
Field) for Junior High Schools in 1996], Sankei Shimbun Jigyokyoku, 1996
95•jZenkoku rekishi kyoiku kenkyu kai, Sekaishi B yougoshu dai 2 han [Glossary of
World History B for High Schools, Revised], Yamakawa Publishing, 1998, p. 257
96•jZenkoku rekishi kyoiku kenkyu kai, Nihonshi B yougoshu [Glossary of Japanese
History B for High Schools], Yamakawa Publishing, 1998, p. 253
97•jSankei Shimbun Jigyokyoku, Heisei hachi nen chugakko shakaika kyokasho
(rekishi bunya) mihonbon "kingendaishi" no bassui [Excerpts of "the Modern and
Present Age History" from the Sample Books of the Social Studies Textbooks (History
Field) for Junior High Schools in 1996]
98•jZenkoku rekishi kyoiku kenkyu kai, Nihonshi B yougoshu [Glossary of Japanese
History B for High Schools], p. 259
99•jSee, Nobukatsu Fujioka, Kingendaishi kyoiku no kaikaku: zendama akudama
shikan wo koete [Reformation of Education of the Modern and Present History: Beyond
the Rightist- and Leftist-Views of History], Tokyo: Meiji tosho, 1996, p.20; Kanji Nishio
and Nobukatsu Fujioka, Kokumin no yudan: rekishi kyokasho ga abunai! [People's
Carelessness: History Textbooks in Danger!], Tokyo: PHP kenkyujo, 1996, p. 220
100•jNamio Egami et al., Detailed World History, Revised, Tokyo: Yamakawa
Publishing, 1998, p. 318
101•jSee, e.g., Jurgen Habermas, Strukturwandel der Offentlichkeit, Suhrkamp-
Taschenbuch, 1995, S. 45-50

*****

Appendix A:
237 Historical Items Examined for Changes

Matthew Calbraith Perry

The Japan-U.S. Amity Treaty
The Japan-U.S. Amity Trade Treaty
The Meiji Restoration
Ryukyu (Okinawa)
Dispatching troops to Taiwan
The Exchange Agreement of Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands
The Movement for Civic Rights and Freedom in the 1880s
The Constitution of the Great Japan Empire
Establishment of the Diet

60
The Rebellion of Hong Kyongrae
The Kanghwa Incident
The Japan-Korea Amity Treaty
Opening of three ports
Kojong (Ritaewang)
Taewonkun
The Military Riot of Imo
Minssi
Sataetang (the Conservative Party)
Tokribtang (the Progressive Party)
Kim Okkyun
The Political Change of Kabsin
The Tienchin Treaty (Japan-Qing)
Chon Bongjun
Tonghaktang
The Tonghaktang Rebellion (the Kapo Farmers War)
The Sino-Japanese War
The Shimonoseki Treaty
The Independence of Korea
Liao Dong Peninsula
Taiwan
Peng Hu Islands
(picture) The Shimonoseki Peace Conference
Phan Boi Chau
Vietnam Hoi Duy Tan
The Dong Du Movement
The Japan-France Agreement
The Vietnamese Independent Association
Siberian Railways
The Interference by Russia, Germany, and France
East Qing Railways
Chiao-chou Bay
The southern part of Liao Dong Peninsula (Lu Shun and Tairen)
Wei-hai-wei
Kowloon Peninsula
New Territory (Xinjie)
Canton Bay
The Division of China
The Movement for Changing Low and Self-Strengthening
Kang Yuwei
Kuanghsuti
The Changing Law of Wu Xu
Hsitaihou
The Hundred-day Restoration
Liang Chichao
The Political Change of Wu Xu
Anti-Christianity Movement

61
Yihetuan [Boxers]
"Fu Qing Mie Yang" [supporting Qing and ruining the West]
Yihetuan Rebellion [Boxer Rebellion]
Joint dispatching troops by the eight Powers
The Beijing Protocol
The right of keeping troops in Beijing
(photograph) Soldiers of the Powers at Yihetuan Revellion
(photograph) Construction of Siberia Railways by Russia
Semicolony
Occupation of Manchuria by Russia
The Japanese-English Alliance
The Russo-Japanese War
The Battle at Fong Tian
The Naval Battle at the Sea of Japan
The first Russian Revolution
Theodore Roosevelt
The Portsmouth Treaty
The right of protection of Korea
Southern part of Liao Dong Peninsula (Canton State)
South Manchuria Railways
South Sakhalin
Fishing rights at Primorskii Krai
(photograph) Tairen Port
The Japan-Russia Treaty
Explusion of Japanese immigrant in the U.S.
The Japan-U.S. Gentleman's Agreement
Aftereffect of victory of Japan in the Russo-Japanese War
Taehan Empire
The Japan-Korea Treaty
The second Japan-Korea Treaty
The superviser of Korea
Hirofumi Itou
An Jungkun
The third Japan-Korea Treaty
Anti-Japanese struggles of the loyal soldiers in Korea
The annexation of Korea
(photograph) Anti-Japanese stuggles of the loyal soldiers in Korea
Japan's participation in World War I
Occupation of the South Sea Islands
Occupation of Chiaochou Bay
Chingtao
Japan's 21 provision demands against China
Refusal of the demands by the Yuan Shikai Government
Chinese's feelings toward Japan
(photograph) Anti-Japanese movement in China
The Ishii-Lansing Agreement
The Washington Conference

62
Dispatching troops to Siberia
Keeping troops in Siberia
Withdrawing troops from Siberia
(photograph) Dispatching Troops to Siberia
Uprising for rice in Japan
Popular suffrage
(photograph) Popular suffrage
The Maintenance of the Public Order Act
The growth of capitalism and the development of financial combines in Japan
The Literarure Revolution
Chen Duxiu
"New Young Men"
Hu Shi
The Colloquial Literature
Lu Xun
"Diary of a Madman"
"Official Story of Ah Q"
Beijing University
Li Tachao
Anti-Japanese movement in China after World War I
The 5.4 Movements
Anti-imperialist and anti-feudalist movement
The 5.30 Incident
Canton National Government from the cooporation of Kuomintang and communist army
Chiang Kai-shek
Subjugation of northern military cliques
(photograph) Boy scouts at the age of subjugation of northern military cliques
(photograph) Marks of the Ji'Nan Incident
The Shanghai Coup D'etat
The Chekiang Financial Combines
The Fong Tian military clique
Zhang Zuo-Ling, and the Zhi Li Sect and the An Hui Sect
Tuan Chi-jui and Feng Guozhang
The assassination of Zhan Zuo-Ling with bomb (the Fong Tian Incident) and the Kanto
Army
Chang Hsueh-Liang
(photograph) The Fong Tian Incident
The Government-General in Korea and people's dissatisfaction
The 3.1 movement (the Mansae Incident)
Repression by the Government-General in Korea
"Cultural Politics"
(photograph) The 3.1 movement
The Tokyo Great Earthquake
The Financial Crisis
The military gaining political power
The 5.15 Incident
The 2.26 Incident

63
Circumstances in Manchuria
The Liutiaohu Incident
The Manchurian Incident
The Shanghai Incident
(photograph) The Shanghai Incident
The Litton Commission
"Manchuria Country"
Puyi
Japan's secession from League of Nations
(photograph) Manchuria Country
(photograph) The Litton Commission
Occupation of Cheng-te
Japan's advancement to the northern part of China
The Great Subjugation (Da Xi Qian)
The JiDong Anti-Communist Self-Ruled Government
(photograph) The Jidong Anti-Communist Self-Ruled Government
The reformation of the monetary system
Contents of the reformation of the monetary system
The 8.1 Declaration
The National United Front against Japan
The Hsi-an Incident
The result of the Hsi-an Incident
(print) The Chinese army
The Lu Gou Qiao Incident
(photograph) Lu Gou Qiao
The second cooperation of Kuomintang and communist army
The Japan-China War
The Nanking Massacre
(photograph) Occupation of Nanking
Occupation of Wu Han
Occupation of Canton
Wang Zhao-Ming
The Chungking Government
The New East Asian Order
The Anti-Comintern Pact of Japan, Germany, and Italy
Ba Lu Jun Army
(photograph) Female troops of Ba Lu Jun Army
Background of the "Pacific War"
Japan's intention to advance to the south
Japan's advance to French Indochina
The Triple Alliance of Japan, Germany and Italy
The Japanese-Soviet Neutral Treaty
The ABCD Line
Tone of arguments of war-advocates
Japan-U.S. negotiation and Japan's surprise attack to Pearl Harbar
(photograph) Pearl Harbar
Blitzkreigs

64
Capturing of Hong Kong
Occupation of Singapore
Occupation of Java and Sumatra
Occupation of the Philippines
Occupation of Burma
The "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere"
Pro-Japanese policy under occupation
Circumstances inside Japan
Changing names into the Japanese style
"Liberating army from the colonial rules"
Occupation policy on the cultural side such as the assimilationist policies
Resistance movements
Obstruction of suzerain states' return back
The naval battle at Midway Islands
Totalitarianism and democracy
Powers of the United States and the Soviet Union
The Allies and the Axis
The U.S. military's counteroffensive in the region of the Pacific Ocean (e.g. Guadalcanal
Island)
The Cairo Conference and the Cairo Declaration
The Teheran Conference
The Yalta Conference and the Yalta Agreement
Japanese military's surrender in Saipan island and the U.S. military's capturing Leyte
island
The U.S. military's recapturing Philippines and airstrikes in Japanese mainland
The U.S. military's landing into Okinawa
Mass resignation of Toujou Cabinet
The Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Declaration
The atomic bomb dropped to Hiroshima
The Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan
Problems regarding the Japanese-Soviet Neutral Treatment
Detention of Japanese to Siberia by the Soviet
The atomic bomb dropped to Nagasaki
(photograph) The atomic bomb
The surrender of Japan
The result of World War II (about the beginning)
The result of World War II (summary of the first term)
The result of World War II (summary of the latter term: anti-fascist nations)
The result of World War II (summary of the latter term: fascist nations)
The result of World War II (the end of fascist nations)
The result of World War II (about the victims)

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65
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Historical Materialism, Cambridge: Polity Press, 1985

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History, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993, pp. 64-95

Grant, Carl A., and Sleeter, Christine E., Turning on Learning, Columbus, Ohio: Merrill,
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Habermas, Jurgen, Strukturwandel der Offentlichkeit, Suhrkamp-Taschenbuch, 1995

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Hedges, Chris, "Sarajevo Journal; In Bosnia's Schools, 3 Ways Never to Learn From
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Hobsbawm, Eric, Nations and Nationalism since 1780: Programme, Myth, Reality, New
York: Cambridge University Press, 1990

Hobsbawm, Eric, and Ranger, Terence (ed.), The Invention of Tradition, New York:
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Ienaga, Saburo, Kentei fugoukaku nihonshi [Unauthorized Japanese History], San-ichi

shobo, 1956/74

---- , Pacific War, 1937-1945: A Critical Perspective on Japan's Role in World War II,
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Ishida, Takeshi, Shakaikagaku saikou: haisenkara hanseiki no doujidaishi

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---- , Minshushugi: monbushou chosaku kyokasho [Democracy: Textbook written by the

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for High Schools], Yamakawa Publishing, 1995

---- , Sekaishi B yougoshu dai 2 han [Glossary of World History B for High Schools,
Revised], Yamakawa Publishing, 1998

---- , Nihonshi B yougoshu [Glossary of Japanese History B for High Schools],

Yamakawa Publishing, 1998

Sources of Censoring Opinions on Textbooks by the Ministry of Education

Asahi Shimbun [Asahi Newspaper], October 20th, 1993, Evening Edition, p. 2

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13th Study Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1964

Dai 15 ji nikkyoso, dai 12 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the

15th Study Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1966

Dai 17 ji nikkyoso, dai 14 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the

17th Study Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1968

Dai 18 ji nikkyoso, dai 15 ji nikkoukyo kyoikukenkyushukai houkokusho [Report of the

18th Study Meeting of the Japan Teacher's Union], Nihon shuppan roudou kumiai
kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1969

Houritsu jihou zoukan zouhoban: kyokasho saiban [Extra Issue of The Law Journal:
Textbook Trial], Nihon hyoronsha, 1970

Kyokasho repoto No. 15 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 15], Nihon shuppan roudou
kumiai kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1971

Kyokasho repoto No. 16 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 16], Nihon shuppan roudou
kumiai kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1972

Kyokasho repoto No. 21 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 21], Nihon shuppan roudou
kumiai kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1977

Kyokasho repoto No. 23 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 23], Nihon shuppan roudou
kumiai kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1979

71
Kyokasho repoto No. 25 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 25], Nihon shuppan roudou
kumiai kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1981

Kyokasho repoto No. 26 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 26], Nihon shuppan roudou
kumiai kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1982

Kyokasho repoto No. 29 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 29], Nihon shuppan roudou
kumiai kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1985

Kyokasho repoto No. 33 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 33], Nihon shuppan roudou
kumiai kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1989

Kyokasho repoto No. 38 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 38], Nihon shuppan roudou
kumiai kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1994

Kyokasho repoto No. 39 [Annual Report on Textbooks No. 39], Nihon shuppan roudou
kumiai kyougikai (The Japan Allied Labor Union of Publishers), 1995

About the Author

Tomochika Okamoto:

Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Lecturer in Sociology at Waseda University

Ph.D. in Sociology, Waseda University, Tokyo, 2001

M.A. in Applied Sociology, Queens College, City University of New York, 1999
M.A. in Sociology, Waseda University, Tokyo, 1997
B.A. in Sociology, Waseda University, Tokyo, 1995

Major:

Sociology of Education
Sociology of Culture
Theories of Nationalism and Ethnicity

72
Major works:

"Nikkei gasshukokumin no amerikan aidentiti: nishi kaigan to hawai no baai [The

American Identities of U.S. Citizens of Japanese Ancestry: The West Coast and
Hawaii]," in Soshioroji 150, pp. 3-19, 2004/05.

"History Textbooks of Japan and the United States, and the Narration of History in the
Age of Globalization," paper presented at the First NAJS (Nordic Association for the
Study of Contemporary Japanese Society) Conference at Gotenburg University,
Sweden, 2004/04.

Jojutsu no stairu to rekishi kyoiku: kyojuho to kyokasho no kokusai hikaku [Styles of

Historiography and History Education: International Comparison of Pedagogy and
Textbooks], Masako Watanabe ed. (collaboration with the International Research Center
for Japanese Studies), Tokyo: Sangen Sha, 2003/12.

"Zaibei nikkeijin kyosei shuyo ni taisuru hoshoho no hensen: amerika no kokumin gainen
ni kansuru iti kosatsu [On the Changes in U.S. Compensation Acts for Wartime
Internment of Japanese Americans: An Examination of the Concept of the American
Nation]," in Japanese Sociological Review 214, pp. 2-16, 2003/09.

Kokuminshi no henbo: Nichibei rekishi kyokasho to gurobaru jidai no nashonarizumu

[The Changing Face of the National History: History Textbooks of Japan and the United
States, and the Nationalism in the Age of Globalization], Tokyo: Nihon-hyoronsha,
2001/12.

"Nijusseiki kohan no beikoku rekishi kyokasho ni hyogen sareta 'nikkei amerikajin' zo no

henshitsu: tabunka kyoiku to kyodotai togo ni kanshite [Changes in the Representation
of 'Japanese Americans' in U.S. History Textbooks, 1952-1999]," in Journal of
Educational Sociology 68, pp. 127-146, 2001/05.

"Book Review: The National History by Kanji NISHIO," in Waseda Journal of Asian
Studies 21, pp. 83-91, 2000/03.

"Nikkei amerikajin no doka to esunishiti: sedaikan henka ni tsuite no rebyu to bunseki [A

Study of the Generational Change in Japanese Americans' Ethnic Identity: Review and
Analysis]," in Annuals of Sociology 41, pp. 97-111, 2000/03.

"Rekishi kyokasho chishiki ni hyogen sareru nashonarizumu no henshitsu:

senkyuhyakukyuju nendai amerika gasshukoku no kokumin kyoiku [On the Transition of
Nationalism Expressed in U.S. History Textbooks: National Education in the 1990s]," in
Bulletin of the Graduate Division of Literature of Waseda University 45(1), pp. 87-95,
2000/02.

"On the Impact of Individual Educational Level against Their Confidence in

Governmental Institutions," in Sociological Papers 8, pp. 41-45, 1999/03.

73