The Empire Strikes Back? The 1968 Meiji Centennial Celebrations and the Revival of Japanese Nationalism

Abstract

In 1968, the conservative Japanese government of Prime Minister SatН Eisaku mounted a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 1868 ‘Meiji Restoration’ that had launched Japan’s modern era. Although the government took pains to make the commemoration seem non-political, the centennial aroused fierce opposition among those on the left, who feared it represented an effort to revive aspects of pre-World War II militarism. The resistance was led by Japanese historians, who felt the view of the previous 100 years promoted by the government clashed with an alternative understanding of Japan’s history indicated by their professional research and training. This article examines the nature and scope of the 1968 Meiji centennial, elucidates why historians in particular were so opposed to it, and investigates the real aims for the celebration on the part of the conservative SatН government, as revealed in the private minutes of the government’s planning committee. Ultimately, the historians’ fears were partially justified: the government did intend the centennial to revive Japanese nationalism and patriotism along pre-war lines, as shown by their close modeling of the main ceremony on an earlier fascist ceremony – the 1940 celebration of the 2600th anniversary of Imperial rule.