Kokutai
Kokutai (
Japanese kanji: 国", lit. national essence) is a framework for
Japanese understanding of what is Japanese. It served in different interpretations as a unifying idea from the
Meiji restoration until the end of
World War II.
The kokutai was the national government that based the Japanese system on the supreme authority of the emperor. The system utilized a democratic form. However, it turned out to be more of an absolute monarchy.The center of the kokutai framework was put down in the
kojiki. It held that the
emperor directly descended from
Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess. This belief included a unity of state and church (Japanese: saisei ichi, 祭"一).
Important sources for the kokutai include: kokutai no hongi (Kanji: 国"の本義) and kokutai shinron (国"新論).
It should be noted that the emperor, particularly through the early stages of the Meiji Period, had little to no involvement in the government. The emperor essentially served as a figure head for the nation of Japan (contrary to standard absolute monarchies). Members of the Privy Council as well as member from the oligarchy through the late 19th century used the emperor's name in order to pass legislation. The emperor was often times unaware that his name was being used as such.
The
Peace Preservation Law from 1925 forbade conspiracy or revolt against the kokutai and effectively criminalized
socialism,
communism, and other
ideologies that would threaten Japan's
emperor-centered social order. The Peace Preservation Law became unconstitutional under the
Japanese constitution from 1947.
*
John S. Brownlee: Four stages of the Japanese kokutai (pdf)
*Daikichi, Irokawa. The Culture of the Meiji Period. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1970.
*
Japanese nationalism*
Socialist thought in Imperial Japan*
Japanese fascism*
Shinbutsu Shugo
