Autobiography of Miyaura Tomio: The Thought Trajectory of a Japanese Historian

Author: (Japanese) Yasuyuki Kajima, translated by Shi Xiaojun, Liu Yan, Tian Yuan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Historian Yasuyuki Kajima, who compiled textbooks in the 1950s, had his works repeatedly deemed (unqualified). Once, his textbook was approved, but it was required to undergo 300 modifications. Kajima found the Ministry of Education's reasons unacceptable and believed that textbook review was illegal. Thus, he initiated a 32-year lawsuit, ultimately achieving a "partial victory" in the final judgment in August 1997. This victory was hard-won. In fact, whether Japan would sincerely repent for its wartime atrocities, Chinese people, in particular, had no certainty, but Kajima's integrity and noble character were recognized worldwide. This autobiography is worth reading first and foremost because Kajima's story and inner journey are deeply moving. Listening to him calmly share the hardships and reflections of his life, one cannot help but admire him—even if you are Chinese and he is Japanese. Kajima's father was a military man, but Kajima was not warlike or rough; instead, he became a scholar and historian who expressed his ideals through poetry. His father's integrity and refusal to blindly worship the emperor, along with several respected teachers, as well as his impoverished and sickly childhood, all nurtured and shaped the Yasuyuki Kajima of today. Another rare aspect of this book is that Kajima's perspective transcends nationalism. In his long struggle, he fought for the freedom and justice of humanity more than for the criticism or support of any single nation. Yasuyuki Kajima is a renowned Japanese historian, and his book A History of Japanese Culture already has a Chinese translation published by the Commercial Press. However, Chinese readers may not be very familiar with his life story and academic path. The publication of this autobiography can help fill this gap. Of course, in my opinion, the strengths of this autobiography are not limited to providing information about Kajima himself. More importantly, through his narrative, the social trends and intellectual atmosphere of Japan's Taisho and Showa eras are vividly brought to life. Therefore, Yasuyuki Kajima's Autobiography: The Footprints of a Historian can be seen as a slice of modern Japanese history.
Of course, the most well-known story of Kajima beyond academia is his 32-year lawsuit against the Japanese government to challenge its distortion of the history of the invasion of China and its interference in textbook compilation—the "Ministry of Education Textbook Review Constitutional Case." This is fully presented in the book, showing how, in the two decades after Japan's defeat in World War II, democratic and peace movements once flourished in Japan, but this tradition has gradually faded with the passing of a generation of intellectuals. Today, both these people and this tradition are nearly extinct. The publication of this book leaves a record of justice and progress for Japan.
Yasuyuki Kajima, a renowned scholar with profound knowledge of Japanese culture, history, philosophy, art, and education, established the "Kajima School of History," which has a significant influence on Japanese academia and thought. Who would have thought that he was a scholar who spent his life battling with a frail body, constantly challenging his own country's culture and values in court! Raised in a military family and educated in the traditional Japanese model, Kajima grew to love and hate his country more as he understood it better—feeling deep remorse for being unable to stop a century of injustice, he resolved to use schools and courts as battlegrounds to criticize Japan's past history, its current education system, and judicial institutions, and to reform the values of the Japanese nation. This led to the 32-year textbook lawsuit, during which the ups and downs of the case stirred a unprecedented intellectual movement in Japan. This book is not only Kajima'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 Chinese readers, fulfilling the author's deep wish at the age of nearly 90—to let Chinese readers, especially the younger generation, gain a better understanding of his life and the era he lived in, thereby deepening their knowledge of the past of both China and Japan and helping to open up a new world for the future.
Yasuyuki Kajima is a prolific Japanese scholar whose unique "Kajima School of History" has a significant influence on Japanese academia. Beyond academia, he is most known for his 32-year lawsuit against the Japanese government to challenge its distortion of the history of the invasion of China and its interference in textbook compilation. Throughout the case, the victories and defeats stirred an unprecedented intellectual movement in Japan.