The 'Spirit' of Self-Sacrifice

This book (the second of an altogether three parts series) examines the role of the Japanese historian Hiraizumi Kiyoshi during the Pacific War. As professor at Tokyo Imperial University Hiraizumi had developed the theoretic framework of the self-sacrificial death for the Emperor which became the ideological base for the kamikaze tactics during the war. The study also highlights Hiraizumi's connections to important men in power like former Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro and war-time Prime Minister Tojo Hideki. Hiraizumi was further connected to the coup d'etat attempt by radicalized Army officers in August 1945.