Autobiography of Saburo Araki: The Footprints of a Historian

Author: (Japanese) Yasuyuki Iehara
Translator: Shi Xiaojun, Liu Yan, Tian Yuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: After Japan's defeat in the war, democratic and peace forces had once flourished in Japan for two decades. However, this tradition gradually faded away as a generation of intellectuals passed away. Today, both these people and this tradition are nearly extinct. The publication of this book serves as a record of the call for justice and progress left behind for Japan. Yasuyuki Iehara, a renowned scholar with profound expertise in Japanese culture, history, philosophy, art, and education, established the Iehara School of History, which has had a significant impact on Japanese academia and intellectual circles. Who would have thought that he was a scholar who spent his entire life battling frail health while constantly challenging his country's culture and values in court! Raised in a military family and educated in the traditional Japanese model, Yasuyuki Iehara grew more conflicted about his country the more he understood it—feeling both love and hatred for it. Deeply remorseful for being unable to prevent a century-old unjust war, he resolved to use schools and courts as battlegrounds to fiercely criticize Japan's past history, its current education system, and judicial institutions, aiming to revitalize the values of the Japanese people. This led to a 32-year-long textbook lawsuit, during which the ups and downs of the case stirred a unprecedented intellectual movement in Japan. This book is not only Yasuyuki Iehara's personal autobiography but also a history of his thoughts, and more importantly, a microcosm of modern Japanese history. The Chinese edition of this book was specially translated for the Chinese audience, fulfilling the author's deep wish at the age of nearly 90—to allow Chinese readers, especially the younger generation, to gain a better understanding of his life and the era he lived in, thereby helping to open up a new world for the future. Yasuyuki Iehara is a prolific Japanese scholar whose unique "Iehara School of History" has had a pivotal influence on Japanese academia. Beyond academia, he is also known for his efforts to uphold academic freedom by suing the Japanese government for altering historical facts about the invasion of China and interfering with textbook compilation. He single-handedly took on the 32-year-long "Ministry of Education Textbook Censorship Constitutional Case," during which the twists and turns of the lawsuit stirred a monumental intellectual movement in Japan.