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Japan's Imperial Conspiracy: How Emperor Hirohito Led Japan Into War Against the West
It has been read. Complete with no missing pr loose pages. Original Binding is still intact with no damage. Covers have shelf wear and there is a large tear in the back cover.
1239 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
12 people are currently reading
315 people want to read
About the author
David Bergamini
48 books3 followersDavid Howland Bergamini was an American author who wrote books on 20th-century history and popular science, notably mathematics.
Bergamini was interned as an Allied civilian in a Japanese concentration camp in the Philippines with his mother Clara Dorothea Bergamini (born Hawke), father John Van Wie Bergamini, an architect who worked for the American Episcopal Mission in China, Japan, the Philippines and Africa), and younger sister for the duration of World War II.
From 1949 to 1951 Bergamini studied at Merton College, Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. In 1951 he joined Time as a reporter; in 1961 he was appointed Assistant Editor of Life magazine.
According to Professor Charles Sheldon of the University of Cambridge, his 1971 book on Japan's Imperial Conspiracy "is a polemic which, to our knowledge, contradicts all previous scholarly work.... Specialists on Japan have unanimously demolished Bergamini's thesis and his pretensions to careful scholarship.
Primary source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_B...
Bergamini was interned as an Allied civilian in a Japanese concentration camp in the Philippines with his mother Clara Dorothea Bergamini (born Hawke), father John Van Wie Bergamini, an architect who worked for the American Episcopal Mission in China, Japan, the Philippines and Africa), and younger sister for the duration of World War II.
From 1949 to 1951 Bergamini studied at Merton College, Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. In 1951 he joined Time as a reporter; in 1961 he was appointed Assistant Editor of Life magazine.
According to Professor Charles Sheldon of the University of Cambridge, his 1971 book on Japan's Imperial Conspiracy "is a polemic which, to our knowledge, contradicts all previous scholarly work.... Specialists on Japan have unanimously demolished Bergamini's thesis and his pretensions to careful scholarship.
Primary source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_B...
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 16, 2017
What a piece of work this book is. The subtitle on the cover; "how Emperor Hirohito led Japan into war against the West", is what Bergamini sets out to show us in over a thousand closely argued and densely woven pages. Bergamini (who was interned by the Japanese in the Philippines during the war) sets out to show the reader that Hirohito, far from being the puppet ruler of common historical thought, was actually a driven empire-builder, who spent decades preparing his "Strike South" into Asia, attempting to rid Asia of American and British influence and assert Japanese overlordship of the globe. There is no doubt that Bergamini had a fire in his blood to prove his thesis.
Whether he does, even after a thousand pages, is unclear. Even though there are almost one hundred pages of notes, Bergamini often puts his own interpretation on what his sources are saying, sometimes to the point of stating that the sources mean the opposite of what they say. He makes much of the allusive style of the Japanese, and the horror of losing face, to perhaps twist motivations and actions of people to fit his ideas.
So what is his thesis? Basically that Hirohito was fulfilling his grandfather's pledge to rid Japan of Westerners and become a great empire. The two options to do that were to "Strike North", attack Russia and slice off Siberia for a Japanese enclave, or "Strike South", and move into South-East Asia and gain the raw materials there. Bergamini sets up the two factions, and shows that Hirohito early on decided on a "Strike South" strategy, and spent years discrediting the "Strike North" faction by engineering all the coups and assassinations that occurred during Japan in the 1930s. Hirohito then prosecuted the War, not as a puppet-like figurehead, but as a vigorous war leader.
Unfortunately for Bergamini, when he gets to the crucial parts of his thesis, the evidence lets him down. During the various coups in the 1930s, Hirohito did not play the part Bergamini wants him to play, and the general absurdity of his idea that Hirohito would countenance a coup against his government and assassination of his Prime Minister to discredit one faction or another is a bit too much to take.
However, there is a lot of information in this book, and it is a fascinating insight into recent Japanese history. The quick technical advancement of the Japanese nation, which combined with a kind of naivety about world opinion and affairs, is something that characterises the period of which Bergamini is writing.
When it gets to the War (to give an idea of how much space Bergamini commits to the intrigues of Japanese history before the War, the Pearl Harbour attack doesn't appear until page 800), Bergamini is perhaps on surer ground, but still draws some strange conclusions; for instance, he claims that Japanese brutality toward prisoners was a deliberate ploy to try and get the West to sue for peace - now the Japanese may have been naive as to the ways of the West to a certain extent, but it's hard to see how Bergamini can come to the conclusion he does on the evidence he presents.
So what was Hirohito's role in the planning and execution of the War? Bergamini is probably right when he (briefly, given the size of his book), explains how Hirohito escaped charge at the end of the War, and that the 28 "Class A" war criminals sent to trial were carefully picked to ensure that Hirohito's name was not sullied. There is no doubt that Hirohito should have faced court as did other leaders of Japan, he was not a constitutional monarch like George VI, and had much more control over events than has been generally explained. Certainly the Australian Government wanted Hirohito to be tried. The Americans - led by MacArthur - who had to run occupied Japan, knew that they needed a compliant Hirohito to enable that occupation to take place, and to help Japan rebuild herself after the devastation. To a Western outlook, Hirohito cannot have escaped the moral guilt of waging aggressive war, even though he escaped the arms of justice.
I'm not sure if I recommend this book or not. There is certainly a lot of information in here for the student of recent Japanese history, but it needs to be leavened with much other reading.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
Whether he does, even after a thousand pages, is unclear. Even though there are almost one hundred pages of notes, Bergamini often puts his own interpretation on what his sources are saying, sometimes to the point of stating that the sources mean the opposite of what they say. He makes much of the allusive style of the Japanese, and the horror of losing face, to perhaps twist motivations and actions of people to fit his ideas.
So what is his thesis? Basically that Hirohito was fulfilling his grandfather's pledge to rid Japan of Westerners and become a great empire. The two options to do that were to "Strike North", attack Russia and slice off Siberia for a Japanese enclave, or "Strike South", and move into South-East Asia and gain the raw materials there. Bergamini sets up the two factions, and shows that Hirohito early on decided on a "Strike South" strategy, and spent years discrediting the "Strike North" faction by engineering all the coups and assassinations that occurred during Japan in the 1930s. Hirohito then prosecuted the War, not as a puppet-like figurehead, but as a vigorous war leader.
Unfortunately for Bergamini, when he gets to the crucial parts of his thesis, the evidence lets him down. During the various coups in the 1930s, Hirohito did not play the part Bergamini wants him to play, and the general absurdity of his idea that Hirohito would countenance a coup against his government and assassination of his Prime Minister to discredit one faction or another is a bit too much to take.
However, there is a lot of information in this book, and it is a fascinating insight into recent Japanese history. The quick technical advancement of the Japanese nation, which combined with a kind of naivety about world opinion and affairs, is something that characterises the period of which Bergamini is writing.
When it gets to the War (to give an idea of how much space Bergamini commits to the intrigues of Japanese history before the War, the Pearl Harbour attack doesn't appear until page 800), Bergamini is perhaps on surer ground, but still draws some strange conclusions; for instance, he claims that Japanese brutality toward prisoners was a deliberate ploy to try and get the West to sue for peace - now the Japanese may have been naive as to the ways of the West to a certain extent, but it's hard to see how Bergamini can come to the conclusion he does on the evidence he presents.
So what was Hirohito's role in the planning and execution of the War? Bergamini is probably right when he (briefly, given the size of his book), explains how Hirohito escaped charge at the end of the War, and that the 28 "Class A" war criminals sent to trial were carefully picked to ensure that Hirohito's name was not sullied. There is no doubt that Hirohito should have faced court as did other leaders of Japan, he was not a constitutional monarch like George VI, and had much more control over events than has been generally explained. Certainly the Australian Government wanted Hirohito to be tried. The Americans - led by MacArthur - who had to run occupied Japan, knew that they needed a compliant Hirohito to enable that occupation to take place, and to help Japan rebuild herself after the devastation. To a Western outlook, Hirohito cannot have escaped the moral guilt of waging aggressive war, even though he escaped the arms of justice.
I'm not sure if I recommend this book or not. There is certainly a lot of information in here for the student of recent Japanese history, but it needs to be leavened with much other reading.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
September 22, 2017
This two-volume history covers the history of Japan and its culture from approximately 300 C.E. until the time of publication, focusing on the war years of 1931-45, the assertion being that the mentality with which the leadership entered the war, the alliances which formed the ruling class itself, must be understood in an historical context going back to medieval times, both as things actually occurred and as they were understood by the Japanese. The impression left overall is that things were often not as they seemed, the Japanese culture being quite different than the Western, Allied political figures and later historians being confounded by their own cultural mindsets and by intentional obfuscation on the part of their erstwhile enemies. Author Bergamini, however, claims and appears to demonstrate a greater insight than most other Western historians, having himself grown up under Japanese occupation, being conversant with the language and having had access to individuals and documentation previously unexplored by researchers. The result is a substantially different account of the war in Asia than any I'd previously read.
Not only are these volumes lengthy, detailed, and insightfully original, they are also exceptionally well written and amply documented. The principals come across as individuals, their intricate and often changing alliances plausibly reconstructed.
Not only are these volumes lengthy, detailed, and insightfully original, they are also exceptionally well written and amply documented. The principals come across as individuals, their intricate and often changing alliances plausibly reconstructed.
December 15, 2025
This was a mad book which dealt in conspiracies - and was unsupported by the king of real academic research that a historian of Japan and WWII could bring to the subject. That doesn't mean Bergamini wasn't right indeed when 'Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan' by Herbert P. Bix 2000 he proved, thanks to the tireless work of his many Japanese researchers, many things that Bergamini said but couldn't provide the substance to support.
Bix is an author worth reading, Bergamini is not and never was.
Bix is an author worth reading, Bergamini is not and never was.
January 28, 2016
his is a truly massive two volume set of books that basically ties Hirohito directly into the planning and execution of World War II, using a massive amount of evidence, memos, etc.
Volume 1 starts out with a section on the Rape of Nanking, the atomic bomb, and the defeat of Japan. It then goes into a history of Japan, a history of Hirohito, and Japan's aggression and events in Japan from 1929 on through World War II itself, which is picked up in Volume 2. The two volumes run 1612 total pages in length.
Volume 1
The author asks what made the “delightful, intelligent, artistic Japanese people turn to war and run amok over half of Asia?” He answers that it was the militarism of the ambitious generals.
He says that Japanese troops “frequently massacred entire villages in China.”
In describing Hirohito, the author says he was a “formidable war leader; tireless, dedicated, meticulous, clever, and patient. He had inherited from his great-grandfather a mission, which was to rid Asia of white men.”
He writes that the Emperor himself commissioned in January of 1941 an evaluation of an attack on Pearl Harbor. He says that Hirohito was involved in the planning for the attack six months before his military advisors were informed of it.
”Hirohito had worked with a minority, in secret, first to lead Japan to war with the West and then, in defeat, to obscure the record.”
The Rape of Nanking and China
He says that the Japanese army captured Nanking and “...subjected it to six weeks of gruesome, graduated terror. Between 100,000 and 200,000 Chinese were executed. At least 5,000 women, girls and children were raped before they were killed. Everything of value in the city was pillaged and whole sections of it were systematically put to the torch.”
He says that even though two million Chinese died in the fight with Japan, that Japan continued to call the entire event the “China Incident.” He says that Hirohito “...had directed his General Staff to plan the war [against China] in early 1935. In March of 1936, still more than a year before the war broke out, Hirohito reviewed the plans which had been made. They were so detailed that they included even a description of the provocation which would be staged at the Marco Polo Bridge.”
He refers to a Major General Suzuki Tei-ichi who “supervised the rape of Nanking largely by radio from a desk at the home headquarters of the 16th Division in the old Japanese capital city of Kyoto.”
The Emperor appointed his own uncle, Prince Asaka, as commander-in-chief of the Army around Nanking. At first it seemed that some 30,000 Chinese soldiers were willing to surrender, but the Prince issued an order under his personal seal that said the Japanese army was to “Kill all captives.”
Many of the people had already fled Nanking before the Japanese got there. About 80% of the population had fled, but that still left some two million people there. American, German, and British residents in the city organized a “safe zone” where people could seek refuge without being killed.
The city was put under attack but the Japanese forces that were there initially had a hard time, so Prince Asaka ordered the troops that were in the countryside to join the others at the city. Nanking was captured on December 12.
Nakajima and his 16th division entered the city after having spent time killing some 10,000 Chinese prisoners from areas other than in the city. The prisoners were shot and some 6,000 of them were killed.
Notices had been posted in the city after the 14th of December asking former Chinese soldiers to surrender and give themselves up to “the mercy of the Imperial Japanese Army.”
Those who fell for the ruse were rounded up and killed, apparently by bayoneting. Soon more people were taken and killed. When the soldiers weren't busy killing their captives they were busy looting the shops of the city. Trucks commanded by officers took women from refugee camps and took them back to be used for pleasure of the officers. The Prince, meanwhile, had moved his headquarters into the city on Christmas Day. Since this person was the Emperor's own uncle, it does seem reasonable to assume that he talked about what was being done in Nanking with his nephew, Hirohito.
The end result of all this was over 20,000 women raped in Nanking and surrounding areas; around 200,000 men killed; a third of the city burned down, and everything of value stolen by the soldiers.
In late January of 1938 the Emperor's cousin returned from a trip to Nanking and filled the Emperor in on what he had seen there.
The Atomic Bomb
The author says that, if Japan had been physically invaded, the US would have lost from 250,000 to 1,000,000 lives and that Japan would have been decimated and basically made useless as far as a post-war bulwark against Soviet and Chinese communism goes.
Apparently Edward Teller, involved in the making of the bomb, suggested that it be dropped on Tokyo but at a height which would cause it to do minimal damage, to serve as a direct demonstration to those ruling Japan that the US could destroy them at will.
There was a complex under construction at Nagano which could have been used to house the Emperor and others in the event of the fall of Tokyo. The place was underground and would have been very hard to destroy by bombing.
The author talks about all the planes that were hidden in Japan to be used for trying to repulse the expected US landing on Japanese home soil itself. He also discusses Japan's own attempts to construct an atomic bomb.
Defeat
The Japanese were so worried about what the US soldiers would do once they landed to occupy the country after it's surrender that, in some places, meetings were called in towns to advise the men to move their “virtuous” wives and daughters to safety in rural areas. Tens of thousands of women fled. Some women were given cyanide capsules to use if they were threatened. Some towns offered severance pay to employees that wanted to flee.
Once the US troops actually landed, though, it didn't take long before the Japanese realized that the horrors they expected were not going to happen. (There were a few isolated incidents of rape, etc, but those were dealt with by the American authorities. There's always a few bad ones mixed in with any bunch of people.)
Before the occupation was over, the estimate is that half of the Allied officers had Japanese mistresses.
Other Atrocities
The author notes that some 16,000 Allied POWs had “been beaten, starved, and worked to death in the construction of a jungle railway from Thailand to Burma. The Japanese secret police had kept pens of naked Western men and women in the cellars under the torture chambers of Bridge House in Shanghai.”
More on the Emperor
On January 27, 1946, MacArthur said that “There is no specific or tangible evidence to connect the Emperor with responsibility for any decision of the Japanese government during the past ten years. The Japanese people would regard indictment of the Emperor as a grave betrayal.”
The idea behind this, apparently, was that, if the Emperor were to be tried and executed, there would be “action by resistance groups” and that the occupation would have been much different and much harder than it was.
The diary of the Lord Privy Seal shows that, eight days before the attack on pearl Harbor, “Hirohito had rejected a last-minute plea from his brother, prince Takamatsu, to reconsider the attack plans.”
History of Japan
The author says that the first people came to Japan about 100,000 years ago. Japan was linked to the mainland land bridges, but these were submerged around 10,000 years ago. A Siberian culture developed in the northern parts of Japan, while a Southeast Asian culture developed in the south.
The author then goes into a long history of Japan.
After that, he goes into a history of Hirohito's life. Apparently, in 1927 Hirohito was studying disease-causing fungi.
After that, the author goes into the history of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. The author says that the Emperor gave his personal approval to the plans for the future actions of the Japanese army in Manchuria. This included attending a dress-rehearsal by Japanese troops for the railroad “incident” that was later to take place.
Volume 2
The book starts with events in 1935.
July 7, 1937, was the Marco Polo Bridge incident which “began on schedule.” On August 9th, another incident was staged, this one in Shanghai.
In October of 1940, according to the author, plans were devised to “...withdraw members of the imperial family from positions of responsibility,” and “to create a cover story for them so that they would seem to have played no part in the events leading to war.”
The book is one of many that notes that Yamamoto, the great admiral, tried to warn the Japanese government that going to war with the US was not the greatest idea in the world, and that, if the war lasted longer than about a year, he could not guarantee continued victories.
The author also talks about FDR's relationship to the attack on Pearl Harbor. “It was policy that the United States should not react until after Japan had struck. That was the way to keep an unblemished democratic record. What was more, the majority of the President's military advisors felt that Japan would gain only a small temporary advantage by striking first.”
The author discusses the Bataan Death March, and how 2,000 to 3,000 Americans and 6,000 Filipinos died during the march.
The Doolittle Raid on Tokyo resulted in 50 Japanese dead, 252 wounded, and ninety factory buildings damaged.
The author also ties Hirohito in to the order for the executions of eight of the Doolittle raiders.
A Japanese victory at Midway, according to the author, would have allowed them to take Hawaii in August of 1942, as they had planned, then take the Panama Canal, terrorize California, and force the US to abandon Australia.
The author believes that Hirohito could have surrendered Japan as early as January of 1944. Such an action would have saved Japan hundreds of thousands of lives.
He also believes that the firebombing of the cities caused the lower classes of Japanese to firmly believe that the US was bent on exterminating all the Japanese.
Volume 1 starts out with a section on the Rape of Nanking, the atomic bomb, and the defeat of Japan. It then goes into a history of Japan, a history of Hirohito, and Japan's aggression and events in Japan from 1929 on through World War II itself, which is picked up in Volume 2. The two volumes run 1612 total pages in length.
Volume 1
The author asks what made the “delightful, intelligent, artistic Japanese people turn to war and run amok over half of Asia?” He answers that it was the militarism of the ambitious generals.
He says that Japanese troops “frequently massacred entire villages in China.”
In describing Hirohito, the author says he was a “formidable war leader; tireless, dedicated, meticulous, clever, and patient. He had inherited from his great-grandfather a mission, which was to rid Asia of white men.”
He writes that the Emperor himself commissioned in January of 1941 an evaluation of an attack on Pearl Harbor. He says that Hirohito was involved in the planning for the attack six months before his military advisors were informed of it.
”Hirohito had worked with a minority, in secret, first to lead Japan to war with the West and then, in defeat, to obscure the record.”
The Rape of Nanking and China
He says that the Japanese army captured Nanking and “...subjected it to six weeks of gruesome, graduated terror. Between 100,000 and 200,000 Chinese were executed. At least 5,000 women, girls and children were raped before they were killed. Everything of value in the city was pillaged and whole sections of it were systematically put to the torch.”
He says that even though two million Chinese died in the fight with Japan, that Japan continued to call the entire event the “China Incident.” He says that Hirohito “...had directed his General Staff to plan the war [against China] in early 1935. In March of 1936, still more than a year before the war broke out, Hirohito reviewed the plans which had been made. They were so detailed that they included even a description of the provocation which would be staged at the Marco Polo Bridge.”
He refers to a Major General Suzuki Tei-ichi who “supervised the rape of Nanking largely by radio from a desk at the home headquarters of the 16th Division in the old Japanese capital city of Kyoto.”
The Emperor appointed his own uncle, Prince Asaka, as commander-in-chief of the Army around Nanking. At first it seemed that some 30,000 Chinese soldiers were willing to surrender, but the Prince issued an order under his personal seal that said the Japanese army was to “Kill all captives.”
Many of the people had already fled Nanking before the Japanese got there. About 80% of the population had fled, but that still left some two million people there. American, German, and British residents in the city organized a “safe zone” where people could seek refuge without being killed.
The city was put under attack but the Japanese forces that were there initially had a hard time, so Prince Asaka ordered the troops that were in the countryside to join the others at the city. Nanking was captured on December 12.
Nakajima and his 16th division entered the city after having spent time killing some 10,000 Chinese prisoners from areas other than in the city. The prisoners were shot and some 6,000 of them were killed.
Notices had been posted in the city after the 14th of December asking former Chinese soldiers to surrender and give themselves up to “the mercy of the Imperial Japanese Army.”
Those who fell for the ruse were rounded up and killed, apparently by bayoneting. Soon more people were taken and killed. When the soldiers weren't busy killing their captives they were busy looting the shops of the city. Trucks commanded by officers took women from refugee camps and took them back to be used for pleasure of the officers. The Prince, meanwhile, had moved his headquarters into the city on Christmas Day. Since this person was the Emperor's own uncle, it does seem reasonable to assume that he talked about what was being done in Nanking with his nephew, Hirohito.
The end result of all this was over 20,000 women raped in Nanking and surrounding areas; around 200,000 men killed; a third of the city burned down, and everything of value stolen by the soldiers.
In late January of 1938 the Emperor's cousin returned from a trip to Nanking and filled the Emperor in on what he had seen there.
The Atomic Bomb
The author says that, if Japan had been physically invaded, the US would have lost from 250,000 to 1,000,000 lives and that Japan would have been decimated and basically made useless as far as a post-war bulwark against Soviet and Chinese communism goes.
Apparently Edward Teller, involved in the making of the bomb, suggested that it be dropped on Tokyo but at a height which would cause it to do minimal damage, to serve as a direct demonstration to those ruling Japan that the US could destroy them at will.
There was a complex under construction at Nagano which could have been used to house the Emperor and others in the event of the fall of Tokyo. The place was underground and would have been very hard to destroy by bombing.
The author talks about all the planes that were hidden in Japan to be used for trying to repulse the expected US landing on Japanese home soil itself. He also discusses Japan's own attempts to construct an atomic bomb.
Defeat
The Japanese were so worried about what the US soldiers would do once they landed to occupy the country after it's surrender that, in some places, meetings were called in towns to advise the men to move their “virtuous” wives and daughters to safety in rural areas. Tens of thousands of women fled. Some women were given cyanide capsules to use if they were threatened. Some towns offered severance pay to employees that wanted to flee.
Once the US troops actually landed, though, it didn't take long before the Japanese realized that the horrors they expected were not going to happen. (There were a few isolated incidents of rape, etc, but those were dealt with by the American authorities. There's always a few bad ones mixed in with any bunch of people.)
Before the occupation was over, the estimate is that half of the Allied officers had Japanese mistresses.
Other Atrocities
The author notes that some 16,000 Allied POWs had “been beaten, starved, and worked to death in the construction of a jungle railway from Thailand to Burma. The Japanese secret police had kept pens of naked Western men and women in the cellars under the torture chambers of Bridge House in Shanghai.”
More on the Emperor
On January 27, 1946, MacArthur said that “There is no specific or tangible evidence to connect the Emperor with responsibility for any decision of the Japanese government during the past ten years. The Japanese people would regard indictment of the Emperor as a grave betrayal.”
The idea behind this, apparently, was that, if the Emperor were to be tried and executed, there would be “action by resistance groups” and that the occupation would have been much different and much harder than it was.
The diary of the Lord Privy Seal shows that, eight days before the attack on pearl Harbor, “Hirohito had rejected a last-minute plea from his brother, prince Takamatsu, to reconsider the attack plans.”
History of Japan
The author says that the first people came to Japan about 100,000 years ago. Japan was linked to the mainland land bridges, but these were submerged around 10,000 years ago. A Siberian culture developed in the northern parts of Japan, while a Southeast Asian culture developed in the south.
The author then goes into a long history of Japan.
After that, he goes into a history of Hirohito's life. Apparently, in 1927 Hirohito was studying disease-causing fungi.
After that, the author goes into the history of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. The author says that the Emperor gave his personal approval to the plans for the future actions of the Japanese army in Manchuria. This included attending a dress-rehearsal by Japanese troops for the railroad “incident” that was later to take place.
Volume 2
The book starts with events in 1935.
July 7, 1937, was the Marco Polo Bridge incident which “began on schedule.” On August 9th, another incident was staged, this one in Shanghai.
In October of 1940, according to the author, plans were devised to “...withdraw members of the imperial family from positions of responsibility,” and “to create a cover story for them so that they would seem to have played no part in the events leading to war.”
The book is one of many that notes that Yamamoto, the great admiral, tried to warn the Japanese government that going to war with the US was not the greatest idea in the world, and that, if the war lasted longer than about a year, he could not guarantee continued victories.
The author also talks about FDR's relationship to the attack on Pearl Harbor. “It was policy that the United States should not react until after Japan had struck. That was the way to keep an unblemished democratic record. What was more, the majority of the President's military advisors felt that Japan would gain only a small temporary advantage by striking first.”
The author discusses the Bataan Death March, and how 2,000 to 3,000 Americans and 6,000 Filipinos died during the march.
The Doolittle Raid on Tokyo resulted in 50 Japanese dead, 252 wounded, and ninety factory buildings damaged.
The author also ties Hirohito in to the order for the executions of eight of the Doolittle raiders.
A Japanese victory at Midway, according to the author, would have allowed them to take Hawaii in August of 1942, as they had planned, then take the Panama Canal, terrorize California, and force the US to abandon Australia.
The author believes that Hirohito could have surrendered Japan as early as January of 1944. Such an action would have saved Japan hundreds of thousands of lives.
He also believes that the firebombing of the cities caused the lower classes of Japanese to firmly believe that the US was bent on exterminating all the Japanese.
January 19, 2024
"Japan's Imperial Conspiracy" by David Bergamini, published in 1971, presents a detailed historical narrative that seeks to unravel the intricate political and militaristic maneuvers leading to Japan's imperial expansion in the early 20th century. Bergamini endeavors to shed light on the complex dynamics within Japan's political and military circles, examining the events leading up to World War II and the nation's imperialist ambitions.
One of the notable strengths of Bergamini's work lies in his extensive research and detailed documentation. Drawing on a wide array of primary sources, including government documents, diaries, and firsthand accounts, he reconstructs the internal debates, power struggles, and policy decisions that shaped Japan's imperialist agenda. This meticulous approach lends scholarly weight to the narrative, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the historical context.
Bergamini's focus on the imperial conspiracy, an alleged clandestine effort by Japanese military and political elites to manipulate the emperor for aggressive territorial expansion, is a distinctive aspect of the book. By delving into the complex relationships between key figures like Emperor Hirohito and military leaders, Bergamini attempts to unveil hidden motives and strategies that contributed to Japan's path to war.
However, the book has faced criticism for its controversial and speculative nature. Some historians argue that Bergamini's bold claims about the emperor's direct involvement in the conspiracy lack sufficient concrete evidence and rely heavily on inference. The book's portrayal of Hirohito's role remains a subject of debate within scholarly circles, as interpretations of the emperor's agency in wartime decisions continue to be nuanced and multifaceted.
Additionally, the book's dense and detailed narrative may pose challenges for readers less familiar with Japanese history or the intricacies of diplomatic and military affairs. Bergamini's writing style, while thorough, can be overwhelming for those seeking a more accessible account of the events leading to Japan's imperial expansion.
“Japan's Imperial Conspiracy" by David Bergamini offers an ambitious and detailed exploration of Japan's pre-World War II political landscape. Its extensive research and focus on the alleged imperial conspiracy contribute to the historical discourse on Japan's militaristic past. However, readers are advised to approach the book critically, considering ongoing debates within academia regarding the role of the emperor and the extent of his involvement in Japan's imperial ambitions.
GPT
One of the notable strengths of Bergamini's work lies in his extensive research and detailed documentation. Drawing on a wide array of primary sources, including government documents, diaries, and firsthand accounts, he reconstructs the internal debates, power struggles, and policy decisions that shaped Japan's imperialist agenda. This meticulous approach lends scholarly weight to the narrative, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the historical context.
Bergamini's focus on the imperial conspiracy, an alleged clandestine effort by Japanese military and political elites to manipulate the emperor for aggressive territorial expansion, is a distinctive aspect of the book. By delving into the complex relationships between key figures like Emperor Hirohito and military leaders, Bergamini attempts to unveil hidden motives and strategies that contributed to Japan's path to war.
However, the book has faced criticism for its controversial and speculative nature. Some historians argue that Bergamini's bold claims about the emperor's direct involvement in the conspiracy lack sufficient concrete evidence and rely heavily on inference. The book's portrayal of Hirohito's role remains a subject of debate within scholarly circles, as interpretations of the emperor's agency in wartime decisions continue to be nuanced and multifaceted.
Additionally, the book's dense and detailed narrative may pose challenges for readers less familiar with Japanese history or the intricacies of diplomatic and military affairs. Bergamini's writing style, while thorough, can be overwhelming for those seeking a more accessible account of the events leading to Japan's imperial expansion.
“Japan's Imperial Conspiracy" by David Bergamini offers an ambitious and detailed exploration of Japan's pre-World War II political landscape. Its extensive research and focus on the alleged imperial conspiracy contribute to the historical discourse on Japan's militaristic past. However, readers are advised to approach the book critically, considering ongoing debates within academia regarding the role of the emperor and the extent of his involvement in Japan's imperial ambitions.
GPT
October 15, 2018
The author was born in Japan, moved to China, and later was interned as a civilian prisoner of war after Japan conquered the Philippines.
The 1970 (approximately) paperback edition that I read was over 1,400 pages, which made this a very long read. If you don't know much about Japanese history, like me, then you will learn a lot.
The imperial conspiracy began in the 1920's, when Hirohito was still the crown prince. Hirohito and other members of the imperial family were involved in the conspiracy. In the 1930's, Hirohito sided with the Strike South faction, which wanted to attack Great Britain, the Netherlands, and the U.S. to gain oil and other natural resources that Japan lacked. The rival Strike North faction, which wanted to go to war with the Soviet Union, was discredited. Throughout this period there were numerous assassinations and the assassins received minimal (in many cases) punishment.
The author lays out how the Japanese instigated incidents which lead to their conquest of Manchuria in 1931 and capturing much of eastern China in 1937. In the process, many war crimes, including rapes, murder, torture, and waging aggressive war, were committed. The author also explains how the Peace Faction was formed to shield Hirohito.
The Chinese, Australians, and others wanted Hirohito tried as a war criminal. The Americans, especially MacArthur, were instrumental in Hirohito escaping being tried as a war criminal. Other figures like Tojo, who was guilty of war crimes, were tried and executed, in part, as fall guys to protect Hirohito.
The 1970 (approximately) paperback edition that I read was over 1,400 pages, which made this a very long read. If you don't know much about Japanese history, like me, then you will learn a lot.
The imperial conspiracy began in the 1920's, when Hirohito was still the crown prince. Hirohito and other members of the imperial family were involved in the conspiracy. In the 1930's, Hirohito sided with the Strike South faction, which wanted to attack Great Britain, the Netherlands, and the U.S. to gain oil and other natural resources that Japan lacked. The rival Strike North faction, which wanted to go to war with the Soviet Union, was discredited. Throughout this period there were numerous assassinations and the assassins received minimal (in many cases) punishment.
The author lays out how the Japanese instigated incidents which lead to their conquest of Manchuria in 1931 and capturing much of eastern China in 1937. In the process, many war crimes, including rapes, murder, torture, and waging aggressive war, were committed. The author also explains how the Peace Faction was formed to shield Hirohito.
The Chinese, Australians, and others wanted Hirohito tried as a war criminal. The Americans, especially MacArthur, were instrumental in Hirohito escaping being tried as a war criminal. Other figures like Tojo, who was guilty of war crimes, were tried and executed, in part, as fall guys to protect Hirohito.
September 20, 2025
"Genius is more often found in a cracked pot than a sound one".---E.B. White
Ask David Bergamini about the soundness of White's lucid musing. In these nearly 1,000 pages you will find that the difference between being labeled crazy ass historian and winning the Pulitzer Prize in History is a matter of dates, to paraphrase Talleyrand on treason. Back in 1971, with Japan's Emperor Hirohito very much alive and reigning, Bergamini, a Rhodes Scholar, World War II POW and TIME-LIFE correspondent, published JAPAN'S IMPERIAL CONSPIRACY, charging Hirohito, whose state visit to the U.S. was mysteriously canceled that year (coincidence?) with having full knowledge of the rape of Nanking in 1935 and rewarding the Army officers who had ordered the butchery, along with being duly briefed on the attack on Pearl Harbor and granting his Imperial consent, among other war crimes. Hirohito was not bound by either a working parliament nor compelled to sign off on any military, or for that matter civilian, law or action he found displeasing. He interfered in the running of government every day. His Imperial Majesty used the Nazis at Nuremberg defense in reverse: "I was only a constitutional monarch. I knew of the plans for both actions but could do nothing to stop them". All lies from the Tenno. The American press lapped in up. Bergamini was roasted by his own employers at TIME as a nut job, while NEWSWEEK's review began "The funny thing about conspiracy theories is that they can be stretched to cover all uncomfortable facts", and then descended into vitriol. We wouldn't want the American public to think the Japanese were the bad guys in the Pacific War, would we, especially during the Viet Nam War? In the year 2000 Herbert Bix won the Pulitzer Prize for HIROHITO AND THE MAKING OF MODERN JAPAN, reiterating exactly the same charges as Bergamini, but now they stuck, since Japan had become a fierce competitor to the U.S. on the global market. Among other pleasures, this book will treat you to a full history of Japan starting with the birth of the Yamoto dinasty to the Shoguns to Hirohito's official rehabilitation under Douglas MacArthur. I'll continue to cheer for the David Bergaminis of this world. Let the crack pots keep on cracking their pots.
Ask David Bergamini about the soundness of White's lucid musing. In these nearly 1,000 pages you will find that the difference between being labeled crazy ass historian and winning the Pulitzer Prize in History is a matter of dates, to paraphrase Talleyrand on treason. Back in 1971, with Japan's Emperor Hirohito very much alive and reigning, Bergamini, a Rhodes Scholar, World War II POW and TIME-LIFE correspondent, published JAPAN'S IMPERIAL CONSPIRACY, charging Hirohito, whose state visit to the U.S. was mysteriously canceled that year (coincidence?) with having full knowledge of the rape of Nanking in 1935 and rewarding the Army officers who had ordered the butchery, along with being duly briefed on the attack on Pearl Harbor and granting his Imperial consent, among other war crimes. Hirohito was not bound by either a working parliament nor compelled to sign off on any military, or for that matter civilian, law or action he found displeasing. He interfered in the running of government every day. His Imperial Majesty used the Nazis at Nuremberg defense in reverse: "I was only a constitutional monarch. I knew of the plans for both actions but could do nothing to stop them". All lies from the Tenno. The American press lapped in up. Bergamini was roasted by his own employers at TIME as a nut job, while NEWSWEEK's review began "The funny thing about conspiracy theories is that they can be stretched to cover all uncomfortable facts", and then descended into vitriol. We wouldn't want the American public to think the Japanese were the bad guys in the Pacific War, would we, especially during the Viet Nam War? In the year 2000 Herbert Bix won the Pulitzer Prize for HIROHITO AND THE MAKING OF MODERN JAPAN, reiterating exactly the same charges as Bergamini, but now they stuck, since Japan had become a fierce competitor to the U.S. on the global market. Among other pleasures, this book will treat you to a full history of Japan starting with the birth of the Yamoto dinasty to the Shoguns to Hirohito's official rehabilitation under Douglas MacArthur. I'll continue to cheer for the David Bergaminis of this world. Let the crack pots keep on cracking their pots.
May 2, 2016
Excellent review of the internal thrashes, debates and coups in the corridors of power in Japan before and during World War II. At the time this was published, the common wisdom was the Emperor Showa and his family were helpless bystanders to rampaging military fanatics; this puts their dead center of the discussions and decisions that created and ran the war. Highly recommended!
June 2, 2017
Brilliantly written, controversial but reeking suspiciously of truth. Elements of slight negative bias towards the emperor as the author reveals some of the grounds for his beliefs due to incarceration in prison cells previously occupied by American soldiers. However all in all a fascinating read
December 23, 2017
Hirohito planned it all and executed it all.
He made WWII in the Pacific happen.
And he got off scott free!
The outrage of Japanese behavior in the 1930s and1940s is totally documented.
He made WWII in the Pacific happen.
And he got off scott free!
The outrage of Japanese behavior in the 1930s and1940s is totally documented.
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