Fifteen Lectures on Showa Japan

Why did Showa Japan rush to war? Where did Japan fail? This compilation of the most up-to-date studies by 15 leading Japanese historians tries to find answers to these questions. Each chapter contains a list of selected reference books with brief annotations for the benefit of readers who wish to study more about the subject. The fifteen chapters offer nuanced understanding of prewar Showa history that challenges stylized discourse about Showa Japan prevalent in recent historiography.

1. The Washington Treaty System and Shidehara Diplomacy
―Watanabe Kota

2. Enactment of the General Election Law and the Beginning of Democratic Politics
―Koyama Toshiki

3. From the Northern Expeditions to the Assassination of Zhang Zuolin
―Iechika Ryoko

4. London Naval Conference, Imperial Court, Political Parties, and the Imperial Japanese Navy
―Hatano Isamu

5. From the Manchurian Incident to Japan’s Withdrawal from the League of Nations
―Tohmatsu Haruo

6. The Emperor-as-Organ Theory Incident
―Shibata Shin’ichi

7. February 26 Incident and the Ultranationalist Movement in the Showa Era
―Tsutsui Kiyotada

8. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident: From the Signing of the Tanggu Truce to the Failure of the Trautmann Mediation Attempt
―Iwatani Nobu

9. The Deepening Quagmire of the Sino-Japanese War and the Declaration of a New Order in East Asia
―Tobe Ryoichi

10. The Nomonhan Incident and the Japanese-Soviet Neutrality Pact
―Hanada Tomoyuki

11. The Path to the Tripartite Alliance of Japan, Germany, and Italy
―Takeda Tomoki

12. The New Konoe Order and Reform Bureaucrats
―Makino Kuniaki

13. From the US-Japan Negotiations to the Outbreak of War
―Moriyama Atsushi

14. Emperor Hirohito’s “Sacred Decisions” and the Political Process of Japan’s Surrender
―Suzuki Tamon

15. The Occupation of Japan: The International Background behind the Policy of the United States toward Japan
―Iguchi Haruo

TSUTSUI Kiyotada (Editor)

Born in 1948, Tsutsui is professor and head in the Department of Japanese Culture, also a dean in the Faculty of Literature (Liberal Arts), Teikyo University. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Tokyo Foundation. Tsutsui graduated from the Graduate School of Literature, Kyoto University and holds a Ph.D. in Literature. His area of specialty is modern to contemporary Japanese history and historical sociology. His publications include Showa senzenki no seito seiji [Party Politics in Prewar Showa Era], Chikumashobo; 2.26 Jiken to sono jidai [The February 26 Incident and Its Time], Chikumashobo; Konoe Fumimaro [Fumimaro Konoe],Iwanami Shoten; and 2.26 Jiken to seinen shoko [The February 26 Incident and Young Military Officers], Yoshikawa Kobunkan.

*information as of time of publication

Japan Library series
History

Publisher:
Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture

Hardcover
¥3,480 + tax
ISBN 9784916055606
220 mm x 148 mm / 316 pp. / March 2016

Softcover
¥2,800 + tax
ISBN 9784866580500
220 mm x 148 mm / 316 pp. / December 2018

eBook
ISBN 9784916055729 (ePub)
ISBN 9784916055675 (PDF)

CONTENTS
Editor’s Note to the English Version
Foreword
Lecture 1: The Washington Treaty System and Shidehara Diplomacy
Lecture 2: Enactment of the General Election Law and the Beginning of Democratic Politics
Lecture 3: From the Northern Expeditions to the Assassination of Zhang Zuolin
Lecture 4: London Naval Conference, Imperial Court, Political Parties, and the Imperial Japanese Navy
Lecture 5: From the Manchurian Incident to Japan’s Withdrawal from the League of Nations
Lecture 6: The Emperor-as-Organ Theory Incident
Lecture 7: February 26 Incident and the Ultranationalist Movement in the Showa Era
Lecture 8: The Marco Polo Bridge Incident: From the Signing of the Tanggu Truce to the Failure of the Trautmann Mediation Attempt
Lecture 9: The Deepening Quagmire of the Sino-Japanese War and the Declaration of a New Order in East Asia
Lecture 10: The Nomonhan Incident and the Japanese-Soviet Neutrality Pact
Lecture 11: The Path to the Tripartite Alliance of Japan, Germany, and Italy
Lecture 12: The New Konoe Order and Reform Bureaucrats
Lecture 13: From the US-Japan Negotiations to the Outbreak of War
Lecture 14: Emperor Hirohito’s “Sacred Decisions” and the Political Process of Japan’s Surrender
Lecture 15: The Occupation of Japan: The International Background behind the Policy of the United States toward Japan
About the Editor and Contributors

複雑な戦前期を正確に理解するための決定版通史。なぜ昭和の日本が戦争へと向かったのか。その失敗はどこにあったのか。その解明に向けて、気鋭の研究者15名の最新成果を結集。より進んだ探求をしたい人向けに参考文献ガイドも附録。

筒井清忠（編者）
帝京大学文学部日本文化学科教授・文学部長。東京財団上席研究員。京都大学大学院文学研究科博士課程単位取得退学。博士（文学）。専門は日本近現代史、歴史社会学。著書『昭和戦前期の政党政治』（ちくま新書）、『二・二六事件とその時代』（ちくま学芸文庫）、『近衛文麿』（岩波現代文庫）、『二・二六事件と青年将校』（吉川弘文館）など。

＊編者略歴は書籍刊行時のものを表示しています。