When discussing about propaganda by governments, one could not have forgotten to mention Imperial Japan, specifically the state of Japanese restoration spanning from 1868 up to World War II. No one has predicted such achievement from a non- western island nation in the Pacific Ocean to conquer its neighbouring countries and gradually expanding to Taiwan, Korea, China and Malaysia. Understanding Japan’s ideologies during that period does not necessarily mean reviewing the nation’s technological advancements in weaponry but to fully dive into its cultures and history. In fact, Imperial Japan’s most sophisticated weapons were actually its obedient citizens, controlled by the numerous propaganda and myths designed by its government.
In this paper, I will examine Japan’s most powerful myth; Emperor Jimmu, notably how this fictitious leader impacted the Japanese citizens into obeying orders, even 2,600 years after Emperor Jimmu’s “inception”. Japan has conceptualized at least nine fictitious emperors succeeding Jimmu before the first real leader, Emperor Sujin, could be traced in history. The concept of having fictional rulers is no stranger in human history. The Greeks believed in Alexander the Great’s deification, notably as being the descendent of Zeus whereas the Chinese deified the Qin Dynasty as being the “Sons of Heaven”. This concept is used to exert the rulers more power unto his people. By having a special and close connection with a spiritual entity, such as a god, the citizens are more likely to obey out of respect and fear compared to democratically elected commoner- cum-leaders. The idea is that the nation will be more blessed with a descendent of god, as it is the closest to the highest power directly ruling the nation. Any disobedience from the society or even individuals will have strong repercussions to everyone in the state. Japan was also heavily decorated with ancient empire’s references. The many Shinto shrines that occupied Japan’s towns further reinforced Emperor Jinmu’s ancestry and power.
The 2,600th anniversary of Jimmu’s anniversary marks an incredible achievement for the Japanese Imperialism. During the periods of dictatorship from 1185 to 1868, the Emperors’ positions were still respected and remained, at least theoretically, as the sovereign. Hence, we can see here how the Japanese truly honor their emperor’s lineage despite not being politically on the same spectrum.
By spreading the propaganda of majestic empires throughout Japanese history, Japan has instilled the structures that “defined citizenship as loyalty to the emperor” (Ruoff, p. 14). For a start, the 1940 commemoration included thousands of celebrations around Japan as well as overseas and most of its voluntary rituals were done in unison, involving mass participation. In general, national participation such as singing the national anthem illustrate patriotism as the crowd bond with each other and share their love for the state. These uniformed rituals ensure obedience is followed by everyone in the society. Ruoff’s book Imperial Japan At Its Zenith (2010) notes the 12 instances in 1940 when imperial subjects throughout the nation were expected to perform some sort of precisely timed ritual in the name of patriotism. Millions of people dedicated their time to bow in the direction of the palace, to observe a moment of silence or to shout “Banzai”, meaning “Long live the emperor”. For obedience creates unity, a person who does not conform to that group can be seen as a traitor to its own society which goes back to the theme of respecting the empire. Due to this, everything that is done by the government should be seen as the best for the nation. It maintained adamantly that Japan’s motives were for good and that any action taken against other Asian countries, such as China was brought about on account of self-defense and its people believed them. Japan’s intrusion into China was justified by “rescuing China from Czarist Russia” (Admiral Kichi Saburo Nomura, 1937).
K Seshadri, in his journal argues that “too much participation leads to the establishment of totalitarianism and ruins democracy”. Sometimes masses can be utilized by the ruling elites for totalitarian dictatorships or to establish a strong military ruling. Mass participation in political agendas whether they realize it or not is the best ground for spreading bureaucracy and over centralization such as the case of Imperial Japan.
In a class society it is quite natural that different groups will press their demands according to their respective interests. However, in a totalitarian regime, the interest of each group is not contradictory to each other but collectively the same in order to achieve a prosperous empire. To categorize mass participation as non- democratic is certainly not entirely accurate. Democracy is defined as the freedom to participate in the decision making of the state, such as whether the state should invade a neighboring country, and it undoubtedly needs participation. However, not giving the option to not participate in mass rituals is not very democratic either.
The rationalization and secularization of Japanese thought are also important for other people. Japanese nationalism based on the myths was not harmless. It led to imperialism and militarism, with wars against China in 1937 and then against the western countries and affecting the people of the nations. Again, the force of the Japanese myth does not constitute a full explanation of this imperialism and militarism, but it was an important constituent. Many people did manage to resist the government’s well-planned campaign for national loyalty, but it convinced the majority that their country was superior to others, the “land of the gods,” a notion which could be found in some very old texts. Westerners could be admired for their technology and knowledge, but many Japanese believed that only they possessed the special warrior spirit of an unconquered people, with its single and uninterrupted family line of rulers descended from Jinmu.