Memory as the Continuation of Politics by Other Means. Yoshida Shigeru’s Japan’s Decisive Century

Abstract

Abstract This article analyses the role that diplomat and political leader Yoshida Shigeru (1878–1967) played in shaping postwar Japan’s politics of commemoration, with a focus on the book Japan’s Decisive Century (1967). It identifies, first, the distinctive elements characterising the historical narrative of modern Japan proposed in the book. It then explores Yoshida’s arguments in the light of the political and cultural climate of the 1960s. In particular, it investigates the influence of modernization theory and it considers the analogies and differences between the narratives of war, postwar and modernity presented in Japan’s Decisive Century and the historical interpretations underpinning the government-sponsored initiatives for commemorating the Meiji Centennial (1968). Ultimately, this article seeks to shed light on the implications of Yoshida’s proposed representation of history on the process of identity building in postwar Japan.