Showa An Inside History of Hirohito's Japan by Tessa Morris-Suzuki

Showa, Japanese for "radiant peace", was the name given to Emperor Hirohito's reign at his accession in 1926. This was the beginning of a significant period of growth of militarism, the Pacific war and the phenomenal post-war economic expansion of Japan.
This book presents the experiences of three individuals born at the beginning of this age, and gives a unique inside view of Japan's recent history. Their experiences include training as a suicide pilot, being a draft evader during the Pacific War, a leader in the Communist Party, and a colonist in Korea, turned overnight in August 1945 from a member of the ruling elite into a refugee.
This is the first book to present modern Japanese history through the eyes of individuals. It will help overcome some the stereotyped images of Japan prevalent in the West by presenting readers with the real human lives, with all their complexities and contradictions, behind those images.

Tessa Morris-Suzuki is Lecturer in Economic History at the University of New England, Armidale, Australia.

Genres: Nonfiction - History - Biography - Oral History