Kōkoku shikan

Kōkoku Shikan (皇國史観, lit. "Imperial State History View") is a historical view that regards the history of Japan as the unfolding of a divine plan centered on the Emperor, who is considered an unbroken lineage descended from the gods.[1]

There are various interpretations regarding the definition of Kōkoku Shikan.

• Digital Daijisen describes it as "a historical view that perceives the development and unfolding of the national polity (kokutai) centered on the unbroken line of Emperors."^[1]
• The Nihon Dai Hyakka Zensho (Encyclopedia Nipponica) states it is "a Japan-centric, ultra-nationalist historical perspective centered on the deified Emperor."^[1]
• The Shūseiban Nihon Kokugo Daijiten describes it as "the idea that national governance by the Emperor, regarded as of an unbroken lineage, is a characteristic of Japanese history," and that it "treats the myths of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki as historical fact."

There are also numerous views concerning its origins.

• The Nihon Dai Hyakka Zensho states that "its roots can be traced back to the Sonnō jōi ideology of the Bakumatsu period, the National Learning of Hirata Atsutane, and the nationalist ideology of the Meiji period."^[1]
• The Japanese Communist Party's newspaper, Akahata, argues that "the time of its establishment differs depending on how far back in time the concept is defined," and that "there are various opinions regarding when it was established as a 'historical view,'" claiming it is "a concept difficult to describe as a systematic 'theory.'"^[2]

A precursor to Kōkoku Shikan is Jinnō Shōtōki (A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns), written by Kitabatake Chikafusa of the Southern Court during the Nanboku-chō period. During the Edo period, Mitogaku and Kokugaku emerged, and by the Bakumatsu period, the Sonnō jōi movement had become active.

After the Meiji Restoration, influenced by Mitogaku, the government established Kōkoku Shikan as the "orthodox historical view." The Meiji Constitution, enacted in 1889, stipulated that the "Empire of Japan shall be reigned over and governed by a line of Emperors unbroken for ages eternal" and that the Emperor is "sacred and inviolable" ( ).

In history textbooks from the Meiji period onward, Ashikaga Takauji was depicted as a rebel against the Imperial Court, whereas before the Eiroku era, Kusunoki Masashige had been considered the rebel (see also "Nanboku-chō Sejun Ronso" below).

During the 1880s, relatively free debate occurred, including criticism of the Kiki myths. Archaeology also developed, and textbooks began to include descriptions of primitive society instead of, or alongside, the Age of the Gods.

However, in 1891, Kume Kunitake, a professor at Tokyo Imperial University, was forced to resign after his thesis stating that "Shinto is an ancient custom of worshipping heaven" was criticized as constituting lèse-majesté. This shift coincided with the purge of the Izumo faction^{[Note 1]} by the Ise faction^{[Note 2]} within Shinto.

Later, during the 1920s, influenced by the rise of Taishō Democracy, historical discourse became more active. On the left, historical works based on Marxist materialist conception of history were published, but controls tightened alongside growing apprehension about socialism. In 1935, the Emperor Organ Theory Incident occurred. In 1940, criticism of the Kiki myths by historian Tsuda Sōkichi became an issue, leading to his works being banned. With the outbreak of World War II, the state-approved ethics textbook Yoiko-domo, which contained passages like "Japan is a strong country, the one and only divine land (omitted)," was distributed to elementary schools.

The current Imperial family descends from the Northern Court and also conducts rituals for the Northern Court emperors. However, the Mitogaku school, which regarded Ashikaga Takauji as a traitor, advocated for the legitimacy of the Southern Court. Additionally, the Confucian scholar Rai San'yō, who influenced Bakumatsu-era Sonnōron (Revere the Emperor ideology), argued that Emperor Go-Komatsu received the throne via abdication from Emperor Go-Kameyama, thus reconciling the Southern Court legitimacy theory with the lineage of the current imperial house. Following the Nanboku-chō legitimacy controversy, the Imperial Household Ministry also adopted the view that the Southern Court was legitimate.

Following the Surrender of Japan, during the Occupation of Japan, the Meiji Constitution was revised under the orders of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, leading to the enactment of the Constitution of Japan, which explicitly established Popular sovereignty. Concurrently, the Marxist materialist conception of history also spread. Partly due to these changes, research in prehistory, ancient history, and archaeology advanced. Periodization terms such as "Ancient", "Medieval", "Early Modern", "Modern", and "Contemporary" came into common use. The historiography based on these developments is generally referred to as "Postwar Historiography."

Historians within this framework viewed Kōkoku Shikan as part of a ultra-nationalist state policy and criticized it as "a system of state-sanctioned false ideas, created on a carefully planned, national scale."^[3]

Hongō Kazuto has argued that "Kōkoku Shikan was fabricated as a 'grand narrative,' where academic elements like individual verifications and consistency were ignored. It is a typical empty theory that cannot even properly depict the historical image of the Emperor, belonging more to the realm of religion than academia."^[4]

• Tadahira Kibi『皇國史觀』Kōkoku Seinen Kyōiku Kyōkai, November 1943.
• Keiji Nagahara『皇国史観』Iwanami Shoten〈Iwanami Booklet 20〉, August 1983. ISBN 4000049607
• Motoshi Katayama『皇国史観』Bungeishunjū〈Bunshun Shinsho 1259〉, April 2020. ISBN 9784166612598

• Sam Saburō Ichimura『Yamataikoku is not Yamato: Critiquing Kōkoku Shikan』Shin Jinbutsu Ōraisha, October 1973.
• Yoshifumi Sasaki『My Kōkoku Shikan: Dedicated to My Beloved, Battered Homeland Japan』Daitō Juku Shuppanbu, August 1983. ISBN 4900032212
• Takashi Tanaka『Confronting Kōkoku Shikan』Kōgakkan University Press, February 1984.
• Nobuo Satō『Issues in History Education and Kōkoku Shikan』Azumino Shobō, April 1989.
• Hirozane SAGA『Kōkoku Shikan and State-Approved Textbooks』Kamogawa Shuppan, January 1993. ISBN 4876990727
• Yukihiko Seki『Historiography in the Land of Mikado』Shin Jinbutsu Ōraisha, March 1994. ISBN 4404021011 (Kodansha Gakujutsu Bunko, July 2014. ISBN 9784062922470)
• Shinji Ami『The Resurgent Imprint of Kōkoku Shikan: Examining the Roots of Postwar Regression』Seifūdō Shoten Shuppanbu 〈Seifūdō Original Booklet 19〉, June 2000. ISBN 4883131920
• Takashi Tanaka『Hiraizumi Historiography and Kōkoku Shikan』Seisei Kikaku 〈Tanaka Takashi Review Collection 2〉, December 2000.
• Nobuyuki Konno『National Polity Discourse in Modern Japan: Rethinking "Kōkoku Shikan"』Perikansha, January 2008. ISBN 9784831511928 (Revised and Enlarged Edition, October 2019. ISBN 9784831515407)
• Ryōichi Hasegawa『The Problem of "Kōkoku Shikan": The Ministry of Education's Historical Compilation Projects and Thought Control Policies during the Fifteen-Year War Period』Shirasawa Sha, January 2008. ISBN 9784768479230
• Kōji Tanaka『Motoori Norinaga's Greater East Asia War』Perikansha, August 2009. ISBN 9784831512420
• Kazuo Yahata『There is No Mystery in Imperial Succession and the Unbroken Line: The New Kōkoku Shikan Protects Japan from China』Fusōsha〈Fusōsha Shinsho 102〉, September 2011. ISBN 9784594064655
• Takashi Tanaka『The Essence of Hiraizumi Historiography』Kokusho Kankōkai 〈Tanaka Takashi Collected Works, Continued Vol. 5〉, December 2012. ISBN 9784336054630

• Kōkoku
• Unbroken Imperial line
• Shinkoku
• Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
• Hakkō ichiu
• Kiyoshi Hiraizumi

• A Study in the Intellectual History of Modern Japanese Historiography: On the Relationship between "National History" and "Kōkoku Shikan"
• Dr. Kiyoshi Hiraizumi's Historical View and Western Thought: A Perspective on Kōkoku Shikan
• Kotobank: "Kōkoku Shikan"
• Jinjō Shōgaku Kokushi (Elementary School National History)

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