Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 11, 2021

 

Maruyama Masao’s Scholarly Research and Reflections on Japanese Militarism

(Abstract)

 

Han Dongyu

 

Progressive Japanese intellectuals have given deep thought to the war of aggression taking place more than seventy years ago. Maruyama Masao is the most representative figure of this group, who had experienced, observed and reflected on the entire course of the ravages of Japanese militarism at home and abroad, as seen in his scholarly research. His unswerving post-Meiji national consciousness and belief of people’s sovereignty runs throughout his work on major theoretical and practical issues from pre-modern to modern times, including the wartime (the Pacific War) and postwar periods. The reason his brief military career does not furnish the full backdrop of his academic thought lies in his experience of militarism during the “fifteen-year war” (1931-1945), especially in his memories of the political violence and humiliations of his youth. His repeated emphasis on “one’s own history” and “inner understanding” provides a consistent observational dimension that gives an insight into the internal workings of his massive system of scholarly thought.