In the Realm of a Dying Emperor

by Norma Field

When the Emperor Hirohito died in 1989, Japanese newspapers had to use a special, exalted word to refer to his death, and had to depict his life uncritically, as one beginning in turbulence but ending in magnificent accomplishment. To do otherwise would have exposed them to terrorism from the vigilant right wing. Yet this insightful book by a Japanese-American scholar who grew up in both cultures reveals the hidden fault lines in the realm of the dying emperor by telling the stories of three unlikely a supermarket owner who burned the national flag; an aging widow who challenged the state's "deification" of fallen soldiers; and the mayor of Nagasaki, who risked his career and his life by suggesting that Hirohito bore some responsibility for World War II.

Genres: Japan, History, Nonfiction, Japanese History, Anthropology, Asia, War

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Daniel Clausen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I often do, I picked this book at my local International Center. A refuge for lost books. This book, written in 1993, investigates three very particular stories of resistance to the emperor system in Japan right around the time of the emperor's death.

This is an odd book in so many regards. How shall I count the oddities?

First, it is odd that I should be reading this book at the close of 2019. The book is twenty-six years old and thus is like a time capsule into Japan at the cusp of the bursting of its economic bubble. The book comments on the opulence of modern Japan without recognizing the elephant in the room. The high-growth bubble must burst eventually.

Second, the book is odd in that it is difficult to categorize. The book is labeled non-fiction and Asian studies. The author, from what I can gather, is an academic. The book itself is self-assuredly non-academic. The book is often autobiographical. The author does interviews and field research on the three acts of resistance, but she is always there in the narrative -- almost as if the research is part of an act of self-discovery.

That brings us to our third realm of oddity. The book never tells us what it is, what it is supposed to be, or what we are supposed to take from it. Certainly, we see that the author feels a great deal of empathy and respect for those who have taken personal risks to stand up to the emperor system in its many forms and have risked receiving violent retribution by right-wing thugs. Truly, their bodies and souls were fully engaged in the act of resistance. But the author never out-right lionizes these people or their actions.

While there is no counterbalance to the three cases -- we do not see three examples of activists standing up for the emperor system -- there nevertheless remain lingering questions over each person's act of resistance. The people who offer resistance -- whether through flag burnings, suing of the state, or public statements against the emperor -- often put their communities at risk through their actions.

The book more than anything seems an act of personal reflection. That is to be admired. I often reflected on my own actions reading this book. I was forced to ask uncomfortable questions. When I had I ever done anything so brave? What other subtle and not so subtle forms of oppression do I just tolerate in order to get through my day and what would be the long-term consequences of my daily capitulations?

Finally, something that must be mentioned. The prose of this book is often beautiful. Much of the actual narrative is long, winding, undisciplined by thesis or overtly stated intent. It's so close to a long journal entry that it might be called memoir. But this style, though highly flawed and often frustrating, leads to some truly wonderful moments. There are also moments when the author steps back and lets the individuals she is researching to speak for themselves. Again, it's difficult to parse what exactly the overarching point is. Many of the activists don't seem to understand fully why they take the positions they do, almost as if their moments of bravery were historical accidents or the outcomes of forces they themselves don't understand.

If the book doesn't offer any historical explanations, any clear lines between causes and effects, any clear theory about the relationships between structures and agency in our actions, then at the very least we can enjoy wallowing in the puzzle. A lingering question mark is often the most honest answer to the mystery of our past and present.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shook some parts of me, and I could not help but wondering what so far has changed in Japan in the last 20 years since the book was written in the late 1980s. 20 years of economic stagnation, yet also 20 years of further distance with the past, and 20 years into the overwhelming modernity.

In the Realm of a Dying Emperor is a beautifully written piece of work that discusses country's social, political, and cultural atmosphere surrounding the death of Emperor Hirohito whose reign lasted more than half of the 20th century (1926-1989)which includes many critical periods. It is hard to put into concise words exactly the number of issues were brought up, thoroughly discussed and challenged.

The first section opens to the story of an Okinawan activist, Shoichi Chibana and his burning of Rising Sun flag in 1987 at a national athlete meeting, then progresses to talk about the prefecture's heartbreaking history at the end of WWII and the later US occupation. The second part revolves around Nakaya Yasuko, a widow of a government's official, who protested against the enshrinement of her husband at a Shinto shrine but was defeated by the Supreme Court in 1988. The last story takes on the mayor of Nagasaki, Motoshima Hitoshi, who publicly expressed his opinion about Emperor Hirohito's responsibility for the WWII, capturing the whole nation's attention.

Norma Field's book is a must read for any Japan lovers. It shatters the ideal picture of a peaceful, ordered, "perfect" country. It digs into things that matter, that are deeply rooted, but are not so visibly available to foreigners and young people, both in Japan or in somewhere else.

My heart breaks to find historical facts again not fully heard and acknowledged, and this time the story is so vivid, featuring one of my favorite nations. The fight for truth is indeed a brutal one. Japan after WWII transformed itself economically, and that was a proud & miraculous achievement, yet all those fruits should not be used as reasons to excuse for its horrific past, to decline to discuss history and the nation's dark sides. Yes, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it; the war and immediate post-war generations will recede soon, and we the young, well into the 21st century, cannot afford to face the future with so much ignorance.

[Books on Asia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This is an excellent look at three newsworthy events in recent Japanese history that capture the spirit of the nation at that time: A woman whose case contesting the legality of her husband's Shinto burial by the state that went all the way to the Supreme Court, the assassination attempt on the Mayor of Hiroshima for expressing his views on Japan's wartime responsibility, and the persecution of a flag-burning shop keeper in Okinawa. The book was published in 1993, but starts with the Showa Emperor falling ill and the events leading up to his death in 1989, which provides the basis for content and structure of the book.

The book is unapologetic in its criticisms of Japan, the emperor system, the nation'sinvolvement in WWII, Japan's version of democracy and strict social structure, and the strength of Japan's Right Wing. But the writer has done her homework and presents the issues with plenty of measured fact-finding as well as including her own viewpoint based on her experiences as a biracial child of the American Occupation, brought up in Japan and later transplanted to the U.S.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this book (although it is all worth reading, a few times over) is the interview with the then Mayor of Hiroshima, Mr. Motoshima Hitoshi and the hundreds of letters from Japanese citizens in response to his speech about the Emperor and Japan's responsibility in WWII.

I think this book would have been more accessible to a greater variety of readers if the Prologue hadn't been so completely over-written. Thankfully, the book itself finds a nice balance and is easier to read than the Prologue, of which I include the introductory paragraph:

"August in Japan. The skies are brilliant, the air is heavy with the souls of the dead. The New Tokyo International Airport heaves with its own ghostly hordes straining for the beaches of Guam and Waikiki and the shops of San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, where everything is cheap, from paper napkins to Vuitton bags. Those who cannot participate in this rite of self-confirmation as members of the newly internationalized breed of Japanese may still join the exodus to the countryside that leaves Tokyo in a sun-blasted silence four or five days of the year. For this is O-bon: time to welcome the souls of the ancestors, feast, and then encourage them to return whence they came so that the living can proceed with the business of the living. Less refreshed than their forebears, families struggle home, laden with gifts received in exchange for offerings dragged from Tokyo but a few days earlier."

Wow, you'd have to already know a lot about Japan just to digest that paragraph! And why so much overbearing emotion? I almost put the book down myself after slogging through the Prologue, but am glad I decided to soldier on. There is much to learn in this book that even now holds a wealth of information for anyone who wants an additional perspective on Japan at the turn of the century.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read in a long time. I've never read a book that so beautifully weaves personal memoir, field research, and the history/context of a country and society so well.

The book somehow is able to convey deep love as experienced in small moments sleeping in her grandmother's house and listening too the sounds of her mother and grandmother talking, alongside an unflinching gaze at Japan (and the emperor's) role in its incredibly violent aggression in Asia, as well as on home soil, and a witnessing of the determination of 3 very courageous people stand up to things that most people in their country have been taught to ignore (often through the incredible belligerence of others).

I highly recommend reading the 1993 version which includes Field's postscript on Japan bashing, as it's still incredibly relevant today. See:

"What is more complicated is the position of those who, with indisputable sincerity and considerable legitimacy, consider the United States to be a society bent on dominating the world and prone to racism while doing so, who deem any criticism of Japan to be tantamount to bashing. Racism indubitably continues to poison American life, but not all criticism of Japan is racist. To maintain that is to fall in line with a racialized Japanese nationalism. Surely we need a place to stand beyond the boundaries of the nation-state and the close horizon of economic interest, where we can ask, what are the conditions conductive to just and meaningful lives for human beings at the end of the twentieth century?"

I wish all history books were written with this amount of care, artistry, and lucidity.

[Mariana P · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew fonder of this book as I read it. Given it's a non fiction book I found the author was able to craft a deeply storlike book where she mixed her own story telling in between the three writers. It was a very intellectually stimulating book that has added a lot to my knowledge of Japan and its culture. Having studied WW2 in school it was fascinating to see the effect of Nagasaki and Hiroshima on its in habitants 40 years later.

[Kathryn Hemmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Realm of a Dying Emperor is perhaps of my favorite book in the genre of popular-audience Japanese Studies. This is the third time I've read it, and I was still able to find passages that surprised and delighted me. I wish that, when I was an undergraduate, someone had recommended this book to me instead of the work of Alex Kerr. Like Kerr, Field provides a critical and intimate look at the intersections between the personal and the political in contemporary Japan. Unlike Kerr, she is not an asshole, which I appreciate. Kerr's work has always felt embarrassingly dated, but In the Realm of a Dying Emperor still reads as fresh and relevant more than twenty-five years after its first publication. I have always been especially moved by the book's section on the legacy of the Pacific War in Okinawa, which provides a numbers of valuable perspectives on the Japanese state and its complicated relationship with America.

[Chi Pham · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the most powerful books that I have read recently. The stories are heartbreaking, but the questions they pose alter my whole frame of interpretation of Japanese society.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Field was a professor of East Asian Studies the University of Chicago at the time Realm was published she did a credible job of placing each of the three individuals she presented into the historical, social, political context in which they were dissenting from mainstream Japanese beliefs and practices. This will allow readers who are not familiar with the country’s post war dynamics to grasp the significance of the actions taken by these three people.

As a scholar she also referenced with footnotes some primary and secondary sources which reflected on the points she was trying to make. Some timely quotations from these elaborated nicely on her efforts in this regard. There was no bibliography, however.

Field is fluently bilingual. Thus, she utilized Japanese vocabulary quite effectively in providing a nuanced discussion. To her credit she was careful to translate and explain the terms she used.

However, I found that Realm had three flaws. First, the author described these three individuals and the discussions which she had with them at great length. This was particularly true of an interview she had with the Mayor of Nagasaki. The latter went so far afield that I skimmed much of it.

Second, Field included a lot of her own familial and personal history. Some of the time this information provided elaboration on or a useful comparison to the three individuals whose dissent from mainstream Japanese society she was discussing. But at other times these forays into the personal were so far reaching as to become only tangentially related, at best. When this happened, these personal disclosures were more distracting than enhancing.

Finally, her prose was more of a narrative, even literary at times, style. Over the course of the book the lengthy, complex compound sentences became tiresome to me.

Given these stylistic drawbacks I was as much relieved as satisfied by the time I finished reading Realm. I think its memoir type elements and its literary prose ultimately undermined rather than strengthened the important points which Field wanted to make: more than 40 years after the end of The Great Pacific War (1937-1945) Japan had not really engaged in a full and open accounting of the aggression it had inflicted on its neighbors. Neither had it acknowledged the role which Emperor Hirohito had played in those deeds.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, IMHO these issues continue to plague the country to the present day. Although two of its Socialist leaders offered an ‘apology’ to Korea in the early 1990’s, its mainstream leaders exemplified most recently by Shinzo Abe from 2012-2020 refused to engage in the kind of in depth dialogue needed for reconciliation to really take place between former enemies. Thus, Japan’s relations with South Korea, in particular, but also with China are still marked by unresolved tensions from the past.

For those who wish to read more about the issue of the country’s approach to dealing with its wartime aggression I recommend The Long Defeat by Akiko Hashimoto and Victim as Hero by James Orr.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I initially picked up this book because I have a deep interest in WWII era Japan and the ways in which the Japanese express their perception of themselves as victims of WWII (whether that is true or not is not where my interest lies). I was very excited to read about people who criticized the Showa Emperor and how and why they did so.

What I got what a poorly written hodge-podge of Field complaining about her childhood interspersed with interviews on the topics of free-speech in Japan. Now don't get me wrong, some of the issues that Field brought up about being a biracial child in Post-war Japan were interesting and insightful. But it was not the projected topic of the book.

Further, Field seemed utterly incapable to allow the testimonies of her chosen subjects to stand on their own. She felt the need to validate every one of their insights with some anecdote about her own life. This made the statements of her subjects seem overshadowed by a writer desperately trying to validate her own senses of shame.

That being said, when she did allow the dissenters to speak for themselves, the topics were engaging, poignant, and everything the book promised it would be. Particularly well written was the post script on Japan bashing. However, 150 pages of this little book could be cut out and it would be better for the heavy edit.

[AltLovesBooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at page 134.

This just wasn't what I was looking for when I was looking for a book about modern Japanese history. The premise sounded promising, but what I got instead was a meandering memoir split into four short stories set within the period I was looking for. The stories themselves were somewhat interesting, once you could tell where the author was going, but it wasn't enough for me to keep going. While the writing was good and emotional, it didn't feel very historical, and instead came off more like a memoir. It just wasn't what I was looking for, and I left disappointed.

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some Americans fondly imagine Japan as a "traditional" land, a country free of politics and strife, except for the politics and strife imported by Those Perfidious SJWs. This is entirely incorrect, and this book highlights several examples of that politics and strife. A fascinating book, highly recommended.

[Julianna Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it for school and absolutely adored it!! Really good comparisons and interesting history.

[Maura McGrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a masterful presentation of historical fact, present-day interviews and ethnography, and personal memoir. Well-written, well-organized, and thoroughly engaging.

[Ariana Deralte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first section of this book about Okinawa several months ago on a four hour library lone, and I sure hope no one minded me crying in the library because that section is heartbreaking. I don't have much to say about it other than that it was engrossing.

Now that I've finished the other two parts, I'm surprised to find that the other two sections are the more thought provoking ones since they don't deal with such clear cut issues. The second section is about a woman, who as a Christian, doesn't want her husband enshrined as a deity by the state, and how she lost the case. The second section suffered a little from all the detours into telling us about these women's lives, which I found interesting, but also confusing since it's hard to keep track of who's who with all the jumping around in the narrative. The middle chapter is the weakest (and I say this with a lot of affectionate bias considering I lived in Yamaguchi-ken and knew a lot more about the places the author was discussing than some).

The third section was a bit strange in that it addressed the emperor's culpability in WWII in a very round about way. As a foreigner, it was very hard to understand at the beginning of this section why everyone was so shocked by the mayor's fairly mild statements, and it's only because I've read articles on how the Emperor's death was used, and experienced the strong interest of the Japanese people in the Imperial family, that I even had some sort of basis to understand. The selection of letters were interesting in this section, and I share the author's curiosity about if they were persecuted for speaking out. The interview with the mayor himself was the most fascinating part. He's a very intelligent man.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book as casual reading. I'm not really certain if it's a helpful book academically since the narrative has a strong bias, but it's a fascinating read, and there really aren't enough good books on these topics.

[John P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

IN THE REALM OF A DYING EMPEROR by Norma Field (the story is told by a child of a Japanese woman and an American soldier)

This book was part of a EDPLUS reading group selection on Japan and WWII. As I read this I realized I needed more cultural context for a better understanding of the content of this book. However the group discussion gave new insights into Japanese culture on gender roles and those who try to ask questions about the role that Emperor Hirohito played in the conduct of WWII. The author frames the implications for people who dare challenge the standard history of a society, The primary themes included:

assessment of a post war Japan and it's struggle to openly analyze its role in WWII

Story of historical memory and what nations conveniently forgets and how nations try to make uncomfortable events off limits

repressive “democracy” held in a deathwatch for its emperor...whose funeral becomes a “celebration of the successes of Japanese capitalism.” The author sees the death watch and funeral as convenient symbol of Japan's “national amnesia" and its unwillingness to face the role it played in World War II (what role did Hirohito play in the conduct of the war, what responsibility should be laid at the feet of the Emperor for the loss of 1.5 million people after Japan was clearly defeated, how does Japan face it's atrocities of conquered peoples, how does the government justify the idea of compulsory suicide rather than surrender?

The book raises questions about all nations coming to grips with its history. The author uses three events to address Japan's confrontation with its memory of WWII. The universal aspect of historical memory in the book centers on what do nations want to remember and what do they want to not face?

[Latique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful to some differences of opinion in Japanese society from World War II to the present concerning Emperor Showa (Hirohito), this book requires a substantial amount of information from both the reader's personal knowledge of Japan and from the author to explain why these differences are so important. Before any of the three people featured in the book are interviewed by the author, she first has to explain details and events happening sometimes decades before that don't always seem to have anything to do with the current situation or person that she is going to interview. After many threads of information are brought together, readers have the chance to see where the author was going with all the background information. Although the connections come together and the first-hand experiences of the author flavor the travel accounts throughout the book when she goes to interview the three people, the book's rhythm is very hard to grasp. On numerous occasions it seems easier to read a short section, put it down, and then return to it later...but later doesn't always happen very quickly. For those interested in Japanese history, WWII, Japanese culture/society, ethnographic interviews, and the life/death/after-death views of Emperor Showa - this book has the potential to be very satisfying upon completion. Recommended for readers college age or older who have a good deal of knowledge of world history.

[Chelsea Szendi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a powerful book. Field positions herself in what she recognizes to be an unusually open moment and struggles to open it even wider. That moment is the death of Emperor Hirohito, whose life (1901-1989) marked Japan's short twentieth century and whose reign defined Japan's Showa era.

The institution by which the emperor system is perpetuated in Japan is shrouded in mystery and protected by taboos (reinforced by right-wing zealots who have killed those who dare to suggest, even in the realm of fiction, that the emperor might have been better off dying in 1945). That this has implications for average Japanese people in their everyday lives is something that Field shows us, in a very intimate way, by taking us by the hand and guiding us.

I can imagine this is a great book to read with undergraduates.

[Jason Keenan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in the early 1990s, In the Realm of a Dying Emperor offers a glimpse of Japan at a unique time - the passing of the Showa Emperor in the midst of Japan’s economic boom.

This is the story of the courage of a few people who challenged the standard line that the dying Emperor should be seen as free or any guilt for what happened in the Second World War.

Field tells this story through three unique personalities - a grocery store owner from Okinawa, a widow, and the mayor of Nagasaki. Each of these stories captures the challenges and benefits of squarely facing off against the past — and the pressure to see it only one way.

I read this just after finishing Hirohito And The Making Of Modern Japan, an historical look at the Showa Emperor's reign and the efforts after the war to sanitize his record. In the Realm is the human side of the story.

[Powersamurai · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must for everyone who lives in Japan and is a true blue Japanophile. It gives one hope in the country of 'shikata ga nai (it can't be helped/there's nothing we can do about it)', since it shows us some people who did stand up for what they believe and try to make a difference. It is also a look into Emperor Showa (nee Hirohito) and some events that made his reign and death so controversial.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just because she's been my mentor for so long... but because it's one of my all-time favorite books. That she could, as a professor at the University of Chicago, publish this book, a masterful blend of autobiography and considered political criticism, allowed me to feel that academia could be a worthwhile endeavor. It pushed me to think as Norma Field always pushes me to think. It has an honored place on my shelves.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I read this book as history, but with the latest statements from Osaka mayor Hashimoto, I feel like the book is better taken as social criticism. I am interested in reading more about the people Field has introduced, but I appreciate her interpretation of their stories. We need more voices like hers.

[Maiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Japan books ever. Critical without being cruel. Informative while still accessible and compelling. Sad, hopeful, brave. And still well worth reading more than 20 years after publication.

[Norbert Preining · Rating 5 out of 5]

What should I say, at times when Japan again moves further and further to the right, reading this book is at the same time an eye-opener as well as a deprimating book on the idiosyncrasies and fascistic politics that carried Japan through post-war times and into the present snap election.

[ryo narasaki · Rating 2 out of 5]

good, powerful. sometimes too literary-academic. some really convoluted sentences lost me. otherwise good.

[Devin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was hard to get through. Def more of a school book. Had good stories and interesting to learn about their history but hard to read.

[Brian Short · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book about Japan I've ever read.

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very well-written and dense. I found the first (Okinawa) and the last (mayor of Nagasaki) very moving.

[Audrey Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up reading this for a class this semester. Honestly, one of my favorite books I've ever been assigned. Great analysis of individual post-war sentiments.

[Ellise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly written and positioned.