The Culture of Japanese Fascism

“This volume will prove to be a pathbreaking collection of essays on how we think of Japanese fascism. . . [A] very powerful contribution to the relationship between aesthetics, culture, and fascism.” - Bill Mihalopoulos, Journal of World History

“An extremely provocative and stimulating collection of essays, The Culture of Japanese Fascism canvasses a wide array of cultural forms—movies, novels, religious rites, material culture, monuments, and architecture—to show the ways that fascist aesthetics saturated a dispersed cultural field. By focusing on thought and culture, it helps us rethink the turn from modernism to fascism, to understand fascism’s effects on everyday life, and to reconsider the reigning conceptions of fascist ideology.” - Louise Young, author of Japan’s Total Empire: Manchuria and the Culture of Wartime Imperialism

“These rich and varied essays provide a fascinating, if unsettling, depiction of the seductive appeal of fascist culture. They also show how much Japan shared with Europe in its aesthetic responses to the crisis of modernity in the interwar years. An important contribution in every respect.” - Carol Gluck, Columbia University

“[T]he essays in this collection provide informative perspectives on topics such as literature, film, architectural design, exhibitions and popular culture. . . .” - Roger Brown, Social Science Japan Journal

“Alan Tansman deserves tremendous credit for bringing together this multidisciplinary group of scholars to deal with an issue conspicuously neglected by the majority of scholars in Japan studies. . . . The publication of this insightful set of essays in this volume is without question an important contribution to our understanding of a culture of Japanese fascism as a local manifestation of a truly international political and cultural phenomenon.” - Walter Skya, Journal of Japanese Studies

“So can a volume focused on the cultural aspects of a primarily political concept succeed? Yes, indeed. This book offers a wealth of fresh information on the era of fascism in Japan, ranging from the ‘high road’ of intellectual history and literary studies to more accessible insights on the role of dogs and propaganda lies about Pearl Harbour. . . [An] excellent study of fascist Japan.” - Lawrence Fouraker, Itinerario