Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan

By: Herbert P. Bix

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

Length: 29 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

In this groundbreaking biography of the Japanese emperor Hirohito, Herbert P. Bix offers the first complete, unvarnished look at the enigmatic leader whose 63-year reign ushered Japan into the modern world. Never before has the full life of this controversial figure been revealed with such clarity and vividness. Bix describes what it was like to be trained from birth for a lone position at the apex of the nation's political hierarchy and as a revered symbol of divine status.

Influenced by an unusual combination of the Japanese imperial tradition and a modern scientific worldview, the young emperor gradually evolves into his preeminent role, aligning himself with the growing ultranationalist movement, perpetuating a cult of religious emperor worship, resisting attempts to curb his power, and all the while burnishing his image as a reluctant, passive monarch. Here we see Hirohito as he truly was: a man of strong will and real authority.

Supported by a vast array of previously untapped primary documents, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan is perhaps most illuminating in lifting the veil on the mythology surrounding the emperor's impact on the world stage. Focusing closely on Hirohito's interactions with his advisers and successive Japanese governments, Bix sheds new light on the causes of the China War in 1937 and the start of the Asia-Pacific War in 1941. And while conventional wisdom has had it that the nation's increasing foreign aggression was driven and maintained not by the emperor but by an elite group of Japanese militarists, the reality, as witnessed here, is quite different.

Bix documents in detail the strong, decisive role Hirohito played in wartime operations, from the takeover of Manchuria in 1931 through the attack on Pearl Harbor and ultimately the fateful decision in 1945 to accede to an unconditional surrender. In fact, the emperor stubbornly prolonged the war effort and then used the horrifying bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, together with the Soviet entrance into the war, as his exit strategy from a no-win situation. From the moment of capitulation, we learn how American and Japanese leaders moved to justify the retention of Hirohito as emperor by whitewashing his wartime role and reshaping the historical consciousness of the Japanese people.

The key to this strategy was Hirohito's alliance with General MacArthur, who helped him maintain his stature and shed his militaristic image, while MacArthur used the emperor as a figurehead to assist him in converting Japan into a peaceful nation. Their partnership ensured that the emperor's image would loom large over the postwar years and later decades, as Japan began to make its way in the modern age and struggled - as it still does - to come to terms with its past.

Until the very end of a career that embodied the conflicting aims of Japan's development as a nation, Hirohito remained preoccupied with politics and with his place in history. Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan provides the definitive account of his rich life and legacy. Meticulously researched and utterly engaging, this book is proof that the history of 20th-century Japan cannot be understood apart from the life of its most remarkable and enduring leader.

©2016 Herbert P. Bix (P)2018 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A historical bombshell.... Compelling.... The most controversial book yet on Japan's previous emperor." (The Economist)

Absolute classic

The book is written with a tremendous amount of details, a manifestation of the research done on the supporting materials. The language is precise and the reading performance is clear and well paced.

Entertaining

A good listen for those who like history. The narrator voice and pace is great.

Poor narration.

The narrator did to simple Japanese words what the Imperial Japanese Army did to Nanking.

Great Read

Bix's work here is excellent. His narratives is well written and easy to follow. In the introduction he does show a bit of a leftist bias, but the book really book excellent.

Enjoy.

Interesting Western take on Hirohito

While the views expressed are undoubtedly western based, it is nonetheless an interesting story perspective.

A scholarly researched and skillfully written Biography

Well researched and beautifully written, this book did a superb job of analyzing the complex character of Hirohito, and of the Japanese Nation’s Wartime self image. I learned a great deal about how the Emperor and his supporters used the Myth of the ‘Heavenly Chosen’ Monarchy to promoteJapanese Nationalism and racial superiority, and to carefully prepare them for aggression against their neighbors. I felt the author gave a balanced but frank assessment of Hirohito, and the negative consequences of his continued denial of HIS responsibility in promoting War and allowing the horrible crimes of Japanese soldiers against their enemies. This denial still haunts and damages the Japanese nation’s understanding of their true militaristic History

Skip the first two segments of this book

This is a good book full of great facts and well written. But the author is clearly far left and uses a Marxist Anti American lens to see the events of the world. I wish the author would of kept his political criticisms to his self and just focused on the main point of the book. Other than his repugnant and non-historical view of America in the early 20th century, he does a wonderful job in this book.

Ruined by narration

Jonathan Jen's narration made it hard for me to finnish, what is probably a great book. Bix give a very negative account of Hirohito. Other histories I've read don't give the emperor so much power. Reading this, one would believe Hirohito was responsible for Japan's war as well as it's defeat. If possible I recommend the print version. Even though , I disliked the narrative, the book was worth my credit. However I'm not sure of it's view of the emperor.

Incredibly biased and doesn't back up assertions

I've had to skip the first two sections. I've been fascinated by Japan and it's history, but this author's upfront opinions are painful and they seem to be conjecture with little fact. It's the equivalent of reading Mother Jones, Breitbart, or listening to AOC. I had to give it up after he said patents on new technology or drugs shouldn't be protected internationally - it's not fine to steal domestically, but it is fine to steal internationally?

I finally finished the rest of the book, which was quite interesting and seems to be one of the few fulsome books on the topic.

The Author Obviously Loathes Hirohito

The Author has a very negative and condescending opinion about Hirohito. He makes that very clear in the first five minutes of the book.

It seems he used to be a respected professor at a university. I feel sorry for his students who had to endure listening to his dribble to get course credit.

On a secondary note, use a reader that is familiar with the pronunciation of the names and terms in the book. Judging by the readers name he is asian, but professor, an Asian is not an Asian.

Save your time and money, pass on his vitriolic diatribe.

How do I delete this rubbish from my library?