Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms: The Militarization of Aesthetics in Japanese HistoryWhy did almost one thousand highly educated "student soldiers" volunteer to serve in Japan's tokkotai (kamikaze) operations near the end of World War II, even though Japan was losing the war? In this fascinating study of the role of symbolism and aesthetics in totalitarian ideology, Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney shows how the state manipulated the time-honored Japanese symbol of the cherry blossom to convince people that it was their honor to "die like beautiful falling cherry petals" for the emperor. Drawing on diaries never before published in English, Ohnuki-Tierney describes these young men's agonies and even defiance against the imperial ideology. Passionately devoted to cosmopolitan intellectual traditions, the pilots saw the cherry blossom not in militaristic terms, but as a symbol of the painful beauty and unresolved ambiguities of their tragically brief lives. Using Japan as an example, the author breaks new ground in the understanding of symbolic communication, nationalism, and totalitarian ideologies and their execution. |
Contents
1 | |
THE SYMBOLISM OF CHERRY BLOSSOMS IN PREMEIJI JAPAN | 25 |
THE ROAD TO PRO REGE ET PATRIA MORI NATURALIZATION OF IMPERIAL NATIONALISM | 59 |
THE MAKING OF THE TOKKOTAI PILOTS | 156 |
NATIONALISMS PATRIOTISMS AND THE ROLE OF AESTHETICS IN MÉCONNAISSANCE | 243 |
Summary | 299 |
Other editions - View all
Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms: The Militarization of ... Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney No preview available - 2002 |
Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms: The Militarization of ... Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney No preview available - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
aesthetics ancient appear army base beauty became become blooming body called century changes chapter cherry blossoms cherry trees Chinese Christian collection constitution culture death deities developed diary died discussion drafted early edited emperor especially established example expressed fallen falling feelings first flower forces geisha German given Hayashi human idealism ideology imperial important individual intellectual Japan Japanese later letter lives loyalty major Marxism meaning Meiji military mother mountain Nakao nationalism nature navy Nihon original patria mori patriotism period petals pilots planted play poems political popular practice Press published references rege et patria remained represented rice ritual sacrifice Sasaki social society soldiers songs soul student symbol term thought tokko¯tai tokko¯tai pilots Tokyo tradition University viewing Wada warriors Western women writings Yasukuni Shrine Yoshiwara young