內容簡介
內容簡介 2001年普立茲非小說類獎得主要了解日本二十世紀的歷史，不能不提的重要人物！在位長達六十三年的日本裕仁天皇，只不過是毫無實權的魁儡，還是太平洋戰爭的幕後主使者？一般相信，日本的裕仁天皇是未能掌握國家權力的深宮元首，歷史書也常將他刻畫為毫無實權的天皇。然而，隨著他於1989年過世，其生前相關檔案逐漸公開，他在太平洋戰爭中扮演的角色，隨之引發爭議與討論。美國歷史學家Herbert P. Bix根據有限的原始文件指出，直到二戰結束前，裕仁天皇不僅相當程度知悉、更參與戰爭的策劃與領導，論名論實皆可謂軍隊最高統帥。從使用生化武器、南京大屠殺到偷襲珍珠港，都受到天皇的默許與支持；再者，戰後美軍佔領日本，之所以默許天皇轉嫁戰爭責任，為美軍希冀日本為其提供軍事基地的策略性考量。換句話說，日本發動太平洋戰爭，並不是少數軍國主義者的決定，國家領導者裕仁天皇也難辭其咎。然而，為了維持太平洋地區的穩定，在麥克阿瑟的主導下，裕仁天皇免於受到戰犯審判，完全免除發動戰爭的罪責。本書打破裕仁天皇與麥克阿瑟的道德形象，並重整戰爭期的中、美、日關係，對於戰時與現代日本有興趣的讀者，千萬不能錯過！Winner of the Pulitzer PrizeIn this groundbreaking biography of the Japanese emperor Hirohito, Herbert P. Bix offers the first complete, unvarnished look at the enigmatic leader whose sixty-three-year reign ushered Japan into the modern world. Never before has the full life of this controversial figure been revealed with such clarity and vividness. Bix shows what it was like to be trained from birth for a lone position at the apex of the nation's political hierarchy and as a revered symbol of divine status. Influenced by an unusual combination of the Japanese imperial tradition and a modern scientific worldview, the young emperor gradually evolves into his preeminent role, aligning himself with the growing ultranationalist movement, perpetuating a cult of religious emperor worship, resisting attempts to curb his power, and all the while burnishing his image as a reluctant, passive monarch. Here we see Hirohito as he truly was: a man of strong will and real authority.Supported by a vast array of previously untapped primary documents, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan is perhaps most illuminating in lifting the veil on the mythology surrounding the emperor's impact on the world stage. Focusing closely on Hirohito's interactions with his advisers and successive Japanese governments, Bix sheds new light on the causes of the China War in 1937 and the start of the Asia-Pacific War in 1941. And while conventional wisdom has had it that the nation's increasing foreign aggression was driven and maintained not by the emperor but by an elite group of Japanese militarists, the reality, as witnessed here, is quite different. Bix documents in detail the strong, decisive role Hirohito played in wartime operations, from the takeover of Manchuria in 1931 through the attack on Pearl Harbor and ultimately the fateful decision in 1945 to accede to an unconditional surrender. In fact, the emperor stubbornly prolonged the war effort and then used the horrifying bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, together with the Soviet entrance into the war, as his exit strategy from a no-win situation. From the moment of capitulation, we see how American and Japanese leaders moved to justify the retention of Hirohito as emperor by whitewashing his wartime role and reshaping the historical consciousness of the Japanese people. The key to this strategy was Hirohito's alliance with General MacArthur, who helped him maintain his stature and shed his militaristic image, while MacArthur used the emperor as a figurehead to assist him in converting Japan into a peaceful nation. Their partnership ensured that the emperor's image would loom large over the postwar years and later decades, as Japan began to make its way in the modern age and struggled -- as it still does -- to come to terms with its past.Until the very end of a career that embodied the conflicting aims of Japan's development as a nation, Hirohito remained preoccupied with politics and with his place in history. Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan provides the definitive account of his rich life and legacy. Meticulously researched and utterly engaging, this book is proof that the history of twentieth-century Japan cannot be understood apart from the life of its most remarkable and enduring leader.
