Tenno Heika(His Majesty the Emperor)
Japan is a society whose culture is steeped in the traditions and symbols of the past: Mt. Fuji, the tea ceremony, and the sacred objects of nature revered in Shintoism. The most important tradition and symbol in Japan, the Emperor, endured through Shogunates, restorations of imperial rule, and up to the present day. The leaders of the Meiji Restoration used these traditions to gain control over Japan and further their goals of modernization. The institution of Emperor has declined in recent decades due to its' conflict with democracy, western thought and religion. These perceptions are vital to understanding different peoples' reactions to the death of Hirohito as described in Field's book "In the Realm of a Dying Emperor." For example, in the Japanese papers, "two relatively unfamiliar words entered the national vocabulary: toketsu and geketsu." (1) These words more or less mean vomiting blood and rectal bleeding and were being used by the media to refer to the condition !of the Emperor. "Later, journalists assessing the media coverage of the Emperor's illness and death observed that the use of the word geketsu was tantamount to a second human declaration." (2) This shows me that many people believed the E
Despite the powerful myths surrounding Japan's imperial institution the Emperor has enjoyed only figurehead status from 1176 on. This fact! urges me to write about how it so closely resembles brainwashing. However, the Meiji rulers, through both an education system, and the structure o!f the Japanese government, were able to effectively inculcate these traditions into a new generation of Japanese. " (3) The Meiji leaders had realized that they needed to harness the concept of the Imperial Will in order to govern effectively. Even though many did not believe in the Emperors' divinity they participated for the respect of tradition. The education system the Meiji oligarchy founded transformed itself into a system that indoctrinated students in the ideas of Confucianism and reverence for the Emperor. The symbol of the Emperor did not end with the end of the Meiji era or World War Two. Also, when his death occurred, almost every newspaper in Japan referred to Hirohito's death as a hogyo. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**Footnotes(7) Peter Duus, The Rise of Modern Japan (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976) pgs. And now almost twelve years after his death more then four hundred and fifty thousand people trek annually to the isolated gravesite of Emperor Showa. "In the Japanese nineteenth century an imperial system refurbished to serve as potent symbol for unchanging tradition was harnessed to an economic transformation envisioned initially without but subsequently within a cosmos defined by the terms of Western modernity. This power is reflected in "In the Realm of a Dying Emperor" well by these remarks from a rightist whom in reacting to the Mayor of Nagasaki's statement; "It is more than three months since His Majesty the Emperor took to his sickbed.
Common topics in this essay:
Dying Emperor,
Emperor Hirohito's,
Imperial Throne,
Japanese Meiji,
Meiji Restoration,
Cult Meiji,
Majesty Emperor,
Japan Emperor,
Imperial Ancestors,
World War,
imperial institution,
realm dying emperor,
realm dying,
dying emperor,
education system,
meiji era,
meiji leaders,
japanese education,
modern japan,
japan emperor,
world war,
japanese education system,
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Acceptance Essays
