The Unfinished Business of Mourning: Maruyama Masao
and Postwar Japan’s Struggles with the Wartime Past
Yoshikuni Igarashi
ThepoliticalscientistMaruyamaMasaoestablishedhimselfasoneofthe
mostinfluentialintellectualsinpostwarJapanthroughhisconciseanalyses
ofthewartimeJapaneseregime.Inhisargumenttheimpededdevelopment
ofJapanesemodernityexplainsthefailureofpoliticstopreventthemilitary
andfascistelementsfromcontrollingJapanesesociety.Publishedwithina
fewyearsofJapan’sdefeat,Maruyama’swritingsonJapanesefascismwere
enthusiasticallyaccepted—tohisgreatsurprise—bythosewhowereseeking
acriticalpurchaseontheterrainofcontemporaryJapanesepolitics.
1
His
workwasofsuchseminalimportancethatitstillcommandstheattentionof
Japanesesocialscientiststoday.
In1995aspecialistonJapanesepoliticalthoughtexpressedhisunfailing
faithinMaruyama’sscholarship:
UpuntilnowIhavehadtheopportunitytoreadMaruyama’swritings
repeatedlyandeachtimeIhavelearnedmuch.Ihavetriedtocritique
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positions
Published by Duke University Press