The exhibition "Fanning The Flames: Propaganda in Modern Japan," presented by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, features a wide array of propaganda materials utilised by the Japanese government during the modern period (1868-1945). It showcases how the Japanese government used various forms of media to shape public opinion and mobilise support for its policies. The exhibition focuses on multiple topics, including war mobilisation, colonial expansion, and promoting national identity.
支那事変国債 | ToMuCo - Tokyo Museum Collection
The exhibition mainly focuses on state-sponsored propaganda. The Japanese government used popular arts as propaganda, such as Nishiki-e and kamishibai, during the First Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War, and World War II.
Some specific examples of the items displayed in the exhibition include wartime posters, such as the poster encouraging citizens to buy Government bonds. The 'Shina Jihen Kokusai' (支那事変国債: Sino-Japanese War Government Bond) poster with the slogan 無駄を省いて国債報国 (Cutting Out the Expenditures; Repaying the Country by Buying Government Bonds) on the top. Government bonds were sold to fund war expenses, and citizens were urged to buy them to support the military. Posters were also used to demonise and dehumanise enemy forces. Magazines and newspapers were produced to promote imperial expansion or advocate for a particular vision of Japanese culture and identity, which links to my final art history essay on 'Shina Jihen Gahou' (支那事変画報: The Pictorial Magazine of the Sino-Japanese War), which contained war photography that was used to manipulate public opinion and spread false information about the war. The contents were intended to promote Japanese imperialism and propagate bushido to encourage men to participate in the army and justify the invasion of China to be a liberating nature.
Similarly, in 2021-22 The University of Chicago Hong Kong Campus also held an exhibition titled "Japanese War Propaganda, 1931-1945 Exhibition". The exhibition also showcases a lot of imagery, manga, and Nishiki-e that are circulated inside and outside Japan at the time. In his speech, the curator Mr. Ko Tim-keung commented that the impact of these propaganda did not end with the war, and it still affects the mindset of many Japanese up until today. For example, two books by Mizuma Masanori in 2015 claimed other Asian citizens welcomed the Japanese military during the war using propagated photographs which I have mentioned above as ‘evidence’ that Japan was not an aggressor during WW2. With these photos, he proved that the soldiers were filled with bushido spirit during Japan's invasion of China. In today’s Japan, this mindset still exists, especially among right-wing politicians who strongly influence the government, proving this propaganda has not gone out of date.
These exhibitions offer visitors a glimpse into the various strategies employed by the Japanese government to influence public attitudes and behaviour. We can see how the government used imagery, language, and symbolism to promote its agenda by displaying posters, magazines, films, manga and newspapers. For instance, posters and magazines demonising enemy forces, encouraging support for the military, and promoting imperial expansion are on display, providing insight into how propaganda was used to create a particular narrative about Japan's role in the world, and these ideologies still exist today's Japanese society.
"Fanning The Flames: Propaganda in Modern Japan"
"Japanese War Propaganda, 1931-1945 Exhibition"
Books written by Mizuma Masanori
ひと目でわかる「日中戦争」時代の武士道精神
ひと目でわかる「日の丸で歓迎されていた」日本軍
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