Behind the Voice that Brought Peace: The Emperor as Hero in The Emperor in August (Harada Masato, 2015)

Kirsch, Griseldis

Abstract

To highlight if, and how, The Emperor in August differs from other war films, this chapter outlines some twenty-first century developments in this genre, aiming to work out how the collective memory of the war in Japan continues to be forged and how the resulting narratives affect each other. It provides some background on war memory in Japan during the summer of 2015, in order to underscore the political atmosphere at that time. The fact that the Emperor was not tried as a war criminal by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, Douglas MacArthur, splits Japan neatly along the lines of “progressives” and “conservatives”. The Emperor in August allows its audiences to look at the story behind the ever present voice. The chapter discusses The Emperor in August , particularly referencing the role of Emperor Hirohito, as his potential involvement in the war has sparked so much controversy in the postwar period.

Citation

Kirsch, G. (2022). Behind the Voice that Brought Peace: The Emperor as Hero in The Emperor in August (Harada Masato, 2015). In D. Desser (Ed.), A Companion to Japanese Cinema (352-368). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118955352.ch16

• Acceptance Date: Jul 10, 2019
• Publication Date: Mar 4, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 30, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 30, 2019
• Publisher: Wiley
• Pages: 352-368
• Series Title: Wiley Blackwell companions to national cinemas
• Book Title: A Companion to Japanese Cinema
• ISBN: 9781118955321
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118955352.ch16