Collège De France (général)

Anne ChengCollège de FranceHistoire intellectuelle de la ChineAnnée 2024-2025Conférence - Naoko Shimazu : The Making of a Heroic War Myth in Modern JapanWar and Peace: A Global History of Japan, 1904-1943Naoko ShimazuProfessor and Deputy Director, Tokyo CollegeNaoko Shimazu est invitée par l'assemblée du Collège de France sur proposition de la Pr Anne Cheng.RésuméHeroic war myths are an integral aspect of war in any cultural tradition. In modern warfare, the primary objective of heroic war myth is to arouse patriotic sentiment in order to mobilise the nation to fight an efficient and winning war. Modern Japan was no exception. Within Japan, the most powerful official heroic myth created from the Russo-Japanese war was Commander Takeo Hirose who died in the second blockade of Port Arthur on 27 March 1904. Within a few days of his death, Commander Hirose even began to assume the title of the 'God of War Commander Hirose' (Gunshin Hirose chūsa). In this lecture, we trace step by step how the myth of the 'God of