Kokutai

A common theme in Japanese propaganda was kokutai, which can loosely be translated as “natural essence”.  “Kokutai, which was hotly debated in Japan starting in the late Tokugawa period, might be best understood as those qualities that make the Japanese “Japanese.”’ (Sources) This concept was begun as the Ministry of Education distributed a pamphlet, Kokutai No Hongi, describing what would be needed in order to re-establish Japanese identity, as well as undermine Western ideology. It emphasized themes such as loyalty and patriotism, harmony, and strong family roles.



This was one of the covers for the multiple printings of Kokutai No Hongi, which was ditstributed throughout all of Japan by the Ministry of Education during 1937 to help national morale in regards to the war effort.

This artwork was a poster in response to Kukutai ideology. The eagle is a representation of national patriotism, as well as the liberation from Western morales. The eagle, ironically enough, is also a symbol of freedom in the United States.

Work Cited

Sources of Japanese Tradition, edited by Wm. Theodore de Bary, Carol Gluck,

and Arthur L. Tiedemann, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005), 968-969, 975. © 2005 Columbia University Press.

Picture of Kokutai no Hongi Cover:

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/NEOBK-1757955

Eagle Propaganda Poster:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_propaganda_during_World_War_II