Loyalty of Japanese People to Their Emperor

The fanatical loyalty of the Japanese people to their emperor was rooted in the history of the country and especially the origins of the Meiji Era. In an historically brief period, Japan had been transformed from an isolated and relatively weak nation to a regional and global power prominent in international relations. This swift transformation brought dangers and challenges to Japan's traditional patterns of life and government. Japan had to deal with the impact of Western ideas, and modernization in all parts of Japanese life put great stress on leaders and people. Japanese leaders sought to expand Japan's global involvement, but that meant becoming involved with Western forces which were a threat to Japanese traditional life:

In the accomplishment of this ambitious goal the Meiji leadership displayed two striking characteristics: a readiness to try new methods and push ahead with them boldly, coupled with a tenacious adherence to traditional ideals and virtues (133).

One major force for stability in this turbulent time was nationalism, described as "a sentiment already well-nourished in Tokugawa times and requiring little stimulus from the West, but which quickly grew into an all-pervasive creed and cult" (135). Added to this cult and intensifying it were "a nationalistic cult centered upon the God-Emperor" and "the strong support of Confucian ethics" (135).

Despite earlier political moves toward giving some power to the people in the Meiji period, there was a stronge

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lming prestige and inviolability. In such a position the Emperor Meiji effectively symbolized and inspired two of the most powerful forces for social unity in the new Japan. One of these was nationalism . . . which quickly grew into an all-pervasive creed and cult. . . . A nationalistic cult centered upon the God-Emperor became . . . the most widely accepted and compelling belief among the people (135). After a period of increasing power in the hands of the people and other organs of government, it was inevitable that the role of the Emperor in the 20th century would be questioned, but in pre-war Japan that debate resulted merely in a strengthening of the loyalty to the emperor and not in a weakening of it. When war did come, the loyalty of the people to the emperor increased accordingly. At that point, to question the emperor or the war effort was to be a traitor. Meanwhile, the ultranationalists beat the drum for an extremism which ultimately bolstered the loyalty to the emperor. They offered extreme recipes for a return to traditional ways: "1. Bury the traitorous millionaires. 2. Crush the present political parties. 3. Bury the high officials and nobility" (261). The turbulence in Japanese politics, social and economic ph

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