The Yamato dynasty : the secret history of Japan's Imperial family /

The authors purport to offer an authoritative account of the Japanese monarchy from the beginning of the Meiji period in 1868 to the present and, moreover, to focus not just on the emperors themselves, but also on their relatives, and especially the women in their lives. Had they delivered on these promises and relied throughout on proper documentation, the book would have been a valuable contribution indeed. Alas, the authors settle for little more than repetition of a vast army of scandalous cliches and innuendoes about recent Japanese history, which, by now, have become quite familiar in other works of the same sort. There are extensive notes, to be sure, but they do not provide the kind of precise and specific citation necessary to validate the sweeping claims made about huge, murky conspiracies spanning both generational and international boundaries. The equally extensive bibliography not surprisingly includes such works as David Bergamini's Japan's Imperial Conspiracy (CH, Mar'72), of which this self-styled expose is an unapologetic clone. Thoughtful readers in search of responsible and accurate reporting would do well to avoid this book. ; Earlham College

The Seagraves, who have written extensively about East Asian elites, are clearly not admirers of Japan's imperial family. In this racy and provocative examination of Japanese rulers, their spouses, and the power brokers behind them, the Seagraves paint a picture of ruthlessness, arrogance, and corruption. Their portrayals of major figures from the Meiji Restoration to the ascent of Hirohito are often interesting, even juicy. However, the strength of this work is the series of startling assertions, generally well documented, regarding Hirohito's reign. Their revelations concerning the emperor's relationship with MacArthur and the American occupation forces are bound to stir up controversy on both sides of the Pacific. This is an excellent survey of a dynasty that has often been neglected in the West. --Jay Freeman

Drawing on recently discovered sources, including imperial diaries, longtime Asian expert Sterling Seagrave (The Soong Dynasty) and his wife and collaborator, Peggy, connect, in this penetrating yet remorselessly bleak account, the personal histories of Japan's emperors, their wives and other members of the imperial family through five generations (from 1868--the year of the Meiji Restoration--to the present) to Japan's political and economic culture. The authors contend that the imperial system, with all its isolation and mystification, was a veil behind which plutocrats and militarists have always exerted unobtrusive control over Japanese society. Even today, they argue, Japan is "a one-class dictatorship by a financial elite evolved from the clan lords of previous centuries" who "rule by manipulation, intimidation and corruption." The Seagraves extensively study the long reign of Emperor Hirohito (who ruled from 1926 to 1989), assigning him and other members of the imperial family a measure of guilt for Japan's military aggression, wartime atrocities and looting of stupendous wealth from all corners of Asia. They criticize U.S. officials, especially MacArthur, for orchestrating a postwar exorcism by which only a handful of Japanese war criminals were punished, while Hirohito and his family were restored to power without having to account for their wartime depredations. The Seagraves see Japan's present as replicating its past, with an economy in ruins, the current imperials marginalized and behind-the-scenes manipulators still resisting reform. This book dramatically brings the imperial family--and those behind it--to life, offering readers an intriguing glimpse behind the long-maintained veil of secrecy. B&w photos, maps. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

This popular history of Japan from the mid-19th century to the present weaves together an iconoclastic historical narrative with a mostly caustic view of Japan's imperial family. The Seagraves (The Soong Dynasty) depict modern Japan as a country consistently dominated by a closed financial oligarchy in league with politicians, bureaucrats, the imperial family, and underworld bosses. Democracy is no more than a fa‡ade. They portray Emperor Hirohito (who reigned from 1926 to 1989) as an active supporter of militarism in the 1930s and 1940s whose postwar image was whitewashed by Gen. Douglas MacArthur and the American occupation authorities, who wished to restore the hegemony of the prewar elite. Specialists will no doubt object to the oversimplification and intermittent sensationalism of the account, but it is solidly based on the secondary historical literature. This fast-paced tale of oligarchic manipulation, imperial intrigue, chicanery, wartime plunder, and cover-up does manage to raise some profound questions about Japan's polity and society. For larger public and academic libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/99.]--Steven I. Levine, Univ. of Montana, Missoula (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Two veteran investigative reporters (Dragon Lady, 1992, etc.) assail several generations of Japan's first family with the deadliest weapons of all: research and keen analysis. This is not a pleasant tale. Beginning their story with the first postwar meeting between General MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito on September 27, 1945, the Seagraves quickly establish a rather startling conclusion: ``Money'not Shinto'is the state religion of Japan,'' where the various financial powers ``milk [the country] like a cash cow.'' The picture grows only darker as the Seagraves shine their lights more brightly. They tell of unimaginable wealth and privilege (Yoshihito, who came to power in 1912, was the ``first crown prince ever taught to dress himself''), about internecine struggles to pick the spouse of the emperor, about shadowy, enormously powerful figures in the background'bankers, industrialists'who manipulate both the imperial family and international events with the venal intent of enriching themselves and securing Japan's prominence. Most alarming for American readers are the chapters dealing with WWII. The Seagraves cite ``emerging'' evidence that in 1941 both US and British officials knew in advance of the imminent attack at Pearl Harbor and did nothing: the desperate British needed US intervention, and the Roosevelt administration needed to mobilize prowar public opinion. The Seagraves describe the massive, desperate efforts of ``Golden Lily,'' code name for the clandestine (and largely effective) Japanese operation to hide from Allied officials the billions of dollars of gold and other treasures the Japanese had plundered in the early years of the war'on a scale that has ``never been seen before in human history.'' In addition, the Seagraves describe the reprehensible (and successful) efforts of MacArthur and other American officials to ensure that no member of the imperial family ever appeared before any war-crimes tribunal. A deeply disturbing chronicle of pervasive corruption and greed'of unspeakable violence visited upon people, values, and the truth. (2 maps, 44 b&w photos, not seen)