On the anniversary of the end of World War II

O. ROZANOV, Candidate of Historical Sciences

On August 15, 1945, at about noon, an announcer from the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation, N. H. K., addressed his fellow citizens in an agitated voice: "A message of exceptional importance is about to be transmitted. I ask everyone to listen to him standing up." After a brief pause, the voice of the Emperor of Japan announced the country's surrender from the loudspeakers. He spoke out against the will of the military command, which insisted on continuing the war to the last soldier. After that, hundreds of Japanese soldiers committed ritual suicide.

Japan lost, according to some reports, up to 3 million people, its industry and armed forces were destroyed. Tokyo's expansionist plans to create a "Great East Asian Sphere of Shared Prosperity" have failed. Since the end of August 1945, the Japanese Empire as a factor of international politics has ceased to exist. The defeat in World War II deprived Japan of everything that the armed expansion of previous years had brought it, starting with the victory in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

The military-political catastrophe caused the collapse of all state institutions of Japan, all the main components and attributes of the previously existing political structure and power, as well as the official ideology of the Japanese Empire - state Shinto*.

The concepts of the "uniqueness" of the Japanese people and their statehood, which served as an ideological justification for the aggressive policy of the ruling circles of Japan, were discredited, and the myth of the" divine " nature of the emperor was debunked. All this has directly affected such an instrument of state policy and ideology as the award system.

A TOOL OF STATE POLICY AND IDEOLOGY

The award system is an integral institution of every successfully developing state. Its main purpose is to facilitate the mobilization of the population's efforts to solve the priority tasks set by the authorities. It provides visible recognition and encouragement of the merits of citizens in various areas of life and activity, their courage and bravery shown in the interests of the country and the current government. In this regard, the award system can rightfully be classified as a very important tool of state policy and ideology.

In the Empire of Japan Awards-

* Shinto, Shintoism - the medieval religion of the Japanese, which later took the form of a cult of the imperial dynasty. From 1868 to 1945, it was the state religion of Japan.

This system has become one of the most effective mechanisms for ideological influence and concentration of "human resources" in the preparation and implementation of territorial seizures. Orders and medals soon after their establishment became symbols of honor and glory, gained credibility and attractiveness in the eyes of the Japanese people. A special place in the hierarchy of awards was taken by the Order of the Golden Kite, which was specially designed to encourage military exploits in the name of the emperor and the state. It was established on February 11, 1890, according to state mythology - on the next "anniversary of the founding of the empire" in 660 BC by the "first emperor" Jimmu, the legendary "progenitor" of the Japanese imperial dynasty.

The Order of the Golden Kite was awarded only to military personnel who were subjects of the Japanese Empire and only for outstanding services during the war. His cavaliers received a special lifetime pension. The main elements of the insignia and star of the order are two ancient samurai shields, on top of which are depicted crossed halberds, a sword in a scabbard and a horse harness. At the top of the order is a "Golden Kite" with outstretched wings.

The legend on which the founders and founders of the Order were based is as follows. Before one of the decisive battles, the gods sent a messenger in the form of a vulture to Jimm, who advised him to attack the enemy at dawn, advancing from the east. When Jimmu led his army out of the east, at sunrise, the enemy troops were blinded by the radiance of a "Golden Kite" perched on a pole on top of the Jimmu standard, and as a result were defeated.¹

The entire symbolism of the Order of the Golden Kite, Japan's main military award, was intended to encourage military personnel to carry out a "sacred mission": to wage wars in the interests of strengthening the power of the empire according to the orders of the emperor and his military leaders and in accordance with the ideology and spirit of state Shinto. Among the people, this order was considered the most honorable award. Privates could be awarded them from the lowest - 7th to 5th degrees, non-commissioned officers-from the 6th to the 4th, junior officers-from the 5th to the 3rd, officers from major to colonel - from the 4th to the 2nd, and generals-from the 4th to the 2nd. from 3rd to 1st ². Awards were made sequentially from low to high degrees. By the decision of the emperor, the awardee could immediately receive the highest of the degrees provided for his category. This order, but not higher than the 5th degree, military leaders had the right to award directly on the battlefield.

The establishment of a special military order, which could be granted by the emperor to his army, served to further strengthen the authority of the monarch as supreme commander. The Order of the Golden Kite "consolidated" the tenets of state Shinto, recorded in such important documents as the imperial Rescript to the military in 1882 and the Rescript on Education in 1890. In them, military service was defined in terms of absolute loyalty to the emperor, who has the supreme military authority. The exclusivity of the country's state system was emphasized, according to the" primordial " laws of which the armed forces should be under the direct command of the emperor, and the rule of Emperor Jimmu was proclaimed as an example of such an order of unlimited military power of the monarch. All military personnel, regardless of their position and rank, reported directly to the emperor, whose ties were compared to the connection between parts of a single organism and the head. The loyalists ' highest duty was to be willing to sacrifice their lives if necessary for the prosperity of the holy throne. ³

An important feature of this order was that it was awarded only for military merit based on the results of participation in military campaigns. None of the high-ranking officials and even members of the imperial family could receive this order if they did not participate in combat operations. For this reason, during peacetime, it was possible to see generals who did not have the Order of the Golden Kite, or those who had it, but one of the low degrees, received at the beginning of their military career. Unlike other orders, the Golden Kite was awarded only for specific military achievements and exploits, and awards to them, both the first and subsequent ones, did not depend on seniority. Posthumous awards of this order were also quite common.

Holders of the Order of the Golden Kite, especially senior degrees, had a high state and public status. In this respect, the order of seating by seniority approved by the Supreme decree and existing until 1945 during events in the Imperial palace is very significant. According to it, those awarded the Order of the Golden Kite enjoyed the following advantages:

priority is given to holders of the Orders of the Rising Sun, Precious Crown and Sacred Treasure of similar degrees, as well as to titled nobles of comparable level. Thus, a person awarded the Order of the Golden Kite of the first degree had an advantage in seating in the palace over princes and marquises, the second degree-over counts and viscounts, and the third-over barons.⁴

Until 1945, the Order of the Golden Kite was a powerful ideological symbol that encouraged Japanese soldiers to perform feats, including on the verge of self-sacrifice. In total, 108,652 people were awarded them in all degrees. Its highest - first degree was awarded to 42 people: according to the results of the Russo-Japanese War - 17; for services during the First World War, as well as the" Siberian Expedition "(foreign intervention in the Far East of Soviet Russia) - 3; for the "Manchurian incident" of 1931-1934. (occupation of Northeast China and creation of the puppet state of Manchukuo) - 2 military leaders; for the" Chinese Incident "(war in China) - 14 people; for services during the "Great East Asian War" - 6 people ⁵.

A significant number of recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite, first class, during the "Chinese Incident" and the "Great East Asian War" (20 people) This is largely due to the fact that the" incident "lasted 8 years - from 1937 to 1945, and the" Great East Asian War " -4 years. However, the awards of this group of people do not bear the "reflections of victory". Prolonged military adventures, as you know, ended with the defeat of the Japanese army and navy and the collapse of Tokyo's aggressive policy. These 20 people belonged to the military elite, being top officers. Three of them held the posts of war ministers at various times (S. Hata, H. Terauchi, G. Sugiyama) and two naval ministers (M. Yenai, K. Oikawa), and I. Yamamoto was Deputy Minister of the Navy. Four of them (G. Sugiyama, S. Hata, K. Oikawa, M. Koga) had to work as chiefs or deputy chiefs of the army or naval General Staff. M. Yenai also served in the Prime Minister's chair.

All of them, at various stages of their careers, made a great, and some of them made an exceptional contribution to solving the tasks set by the leadership of the Japanese Empire. In this sense, each of them earned the highest military order. However, we must not forget that all of them directly and practically led and implemented the aggressive policy of Tokyo, which brought incalculable grief and suffering to the peoples of many countries, so it is completely justified that the lives of many of them ended tragically:

- T. Yamaguchi died on June 5, 1942, after sinking with the aircraft carrier Hiryu.

- I. Yamamoto died on April 18, 1943, when the plane he was in was shot down by the Americans.

- M. Koga died in a plane crash in the Philippines on April 1, 1944.

- T. Nagumo shot himself on July 8, 1944, during the capture of Saipan Island by the Americans.

- M. Arima committed suicide on October 15, 1944, when he crashed his plane like a kamikaze into the deck of the USS Franklin.

- Sugiyama City committed seppuku (hara-kiri) on August 12, 1945. His wife also committed suicide with him.

- H. Terauti died in custody in Singapore on September 12, 1945.

- N. Okamura was sentenced to prison by the International Military Tribunal in 1946 (he was imprisoned in China from 1946 to 1949).

- M. Iwane was hanged in Tokyo in November 1948 by the International Military Tribunal, and S. Hata was sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Military Tribunal in November 1948.

As already noted, the Order of the Golden Kite was one of the main ideological symbols of the Japanese Empire, designed to encourage military personnel from private to marshal to perform military feats and great achievements on the battlefield. Nevertheless, the harsh conditions in which the country's military economy, which was strained to the limit, worked, and financial difficulties eventually forced the Japanese leadership, among other belt-tightening measures, to reduce the real monetary benefits for the holders of this high award. According to the decree of April 29, 1940, newly awarded with the Order of the Golden Kite were deprived of the right to receive a lifetime pension. Instead, they were given a one-time reward, and not in money, but in the form of registered government loan bonds for an amount that depended on the degree of the order. They were paid 3.65% per annum. The bonds had a maturity of 20 years. They could not be sold or transferred to another person. In the event of the death of the owner of the bonds, it was stipulated that they would be repurchased by the state. However, those who were awarded the Order of the Golden Kite prior to this decision continued to receive annual payments.

After a major defeat at the Battle of Midway Atoll in the summer of 1942, the Japanese no longer launched major offensive operations in the Pacific, and then were forced to switch to strategic defense. ⁶ The unfavorable and then disastrous development of the military-political situation for Japan, increasingly fierce battles and growing losses required serious additional efforts to maintain the morale of the troops. The country's leadership once again turned to the main military order as an instrument of ideological influence on its troops. In September 1942, a decree was issued on the possibility of awarding military personnel for new outstanding services with the maximum degrees of the Golden Kite Order re-established for their ranks. By Imperial Edict No. 657 of September 26, 1942, it was established that persons repeatedly awarded the Order of the Golden Kite for more than

the highest or the same degree, must wear these awards at the same time (previously awarded were supposed to wear only one badge of the order with the highest degree, without wearing previously received badges of the same order of lower degrees). In addition, it was increasingly recognized that it was permissible to award soldiers and officers with orders of the Golden Kite of higher degrees in special cases than was provided for in rule ⁷.

Despite the desperate resistance of the Japanese armed forces, the adventurist policy of the Japanese militarists was rapidly approaching its complete collapse. In March 1945, American troops captured the capital of the Philippines, Manila. In June, the long battle for Okinawa, the last strategic frontier before the Japanese Archipelago proper, ended.

After the Soviet Union entered the war with Japan, as well as the American nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the country's leadership was forced to recognize the futility of further resistance. In August 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced the end of hostilities and surrender in a radio address.

Together with other state institutions in Japan, its award system was also dismantled. In 1947, the Order of the Golden Kite was officially abolished, recognized as odious in the light of Tokyo's aggressive actions. The prestige of orders and medals in the eyes of the majority of the Japanese population has plummeted. It got to the point that in one famous cabaret in Osaka, waitresses, depending on the revenue received from customers, the owner attached the order of the Golden Kite to their clothes. The most successful "awarded" his third degree ⁸. It was as if the main Japanese military order had gone into oblivion forever...

REVIVING TRADITIONS

However, since the mid-1960s in Japan, supporters of the revival of "true Japanese spirit and nationalist views" are beginning to become more active. It is significant that in 1967, despite serious opposition from leftist forces, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) managed to legally restore a number of holidays based on state Shinto rituals and associated with the cult of Japanese statehood. In essence, the pre-war "Founding of the Empire" holiday was restored under a new name: State Foundation Day, while emphasizing in every possible way the "ideals of the spirit of the founding of the empire" ⁹. In the welcoming speeches of some politicians on this occasion, references to the "Emperor Jimmu" were again heard. The movement for the restoration of the pre-war status of the Yasukuni Shrine, where the memory of all Japanese people who died in wars, including those executed by an International Tribunal, is cultivated, has become "strong rails". Gradually, a "tradition" of visiting prayer services in this temple by members of the Japanese government developed. Since the early 1980s, nationalist figures have begun to make serious efforts to use the award system for their own purposes.

Realizing what a powerful ideological and political "charge" the orders have, these figures began a campaign to restore the main military award of the Japanese Empire - the Order of the Golden Kite. Relying on a non-governmental organization that united a significant number of supporters-the All-Japan Golden Kite League (VLPC), in 1981, during the 94th session of the Japanese Parliament, a group of deputies led by the chairman of the Parliamentary Affairs Committee, T. V. Yushchenko. It has prepared a petition for the need for an "honorary restoration" of this order. The petition was adopted by the votes of representatives of three parties - the LDP, Komeito and the Party of Democratic Socialism. It was one of the practical results of the work of the Council of Deputies previously established in the Parliament on the problems of the Order of the Golden Kite. ¹⁰ The Japanese Government, however, did not consider it possible to take the step proposed to it.

Despite this, the VLZK and its associated politicians continued their campaign to "rehabilitate" the highest military order. In particular, in the Military Museum at the Yasukuni Shrine in 1991, to mark the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Great East Asian War (the "start" of which was given by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor), an exhibition was organized in memory of the Order of the Golden Kite. It opened on February 11-the next anniversary of the "foundation of the empire", as well as the establishment of the specified order. Special events were held, which were also attended by some members of Parliament. According to the chairman of the All-Japan Golden Kite League, MP T. Horie, "this order should not be allowed to be forgotten by the people. This would mean desecrating the memory of the fallen defenders of the motherland and losing the true spirit of the Japanese nation." According to N. Matsudaira, the chief abbot of the Yasukuni Shrine, the Order of the Golden Kite "was the highest symbol of military glory, and this glory and honor of the order should be restored" ¹¹.

Against the background of measures aimed at glorifying the soldiers who fell during military conflicts, the Japanese armed forces are being strengthened. Despite numerous statements by the country's top political leadership that Japan has no intentions of becoming a major military power, since the early 1990s it has consistently moved along the path of abandoning "absolute pacifism". In December 1991, the Law on Cooperation with UN Peacekeeping Forces was adopted. Its main significance lies in the fact that, despite the preservation of certain self-restrictions on the actions of Japanese troops in the UN forces, for the first time in the post-war period, a legal basis was created for sending Japanese armed forces abroad. In April 1996, the Japanese-American Declaration on Security was signed, in which-

The swarm contains mutual commitments to expand military cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Japanese experts described the declaration as a"breakthrough in the constitutional ban on collective defense."

The "distribution of roles" between Washington and Tokyo in military cooperation was established in the "Guidelines for Japanese-American Defense Cooperation" approved in 1997. To implement them, the country's leadership has obtained from the Parliament amendments to the Law on Self-Defense Forces regarding the use of the Navy outside Japanese territorial waters and the Law on Measures in case of a military attack, which defines the framework of joint actions with the United States "around Japan".

In June 2003, the Japanese Parliament passed a package of three "emergency laws": on the situation during an armed attack, on amendments to the Law on Self-Defense Forces, on amendments to the Law on the Establishment of the National Security Council. The then Prime Minister D. Koizumi stated in this regard:"We have made a general revision of the concept of Japan's actions in emergency situations and intend to contribute to the construction of a national defense that will be effective in any situation." Even the opposition Democratic Party supported the ruling LDP in passing these legislative acts.

In November 2005, the LDP announced that it was preparing a bill to amend the "peaceful" Article 9 of the Constitution. The Liberal Democrats propose to leave unchanged the rejection of war as a way to resolve international disputes, but consider it necessary to lift the prohibitions on the possession of an army and the possibility of participating in hostilities. In addition, it is intended to turn the self-defense forces into a full-fledged army. The first step towards this was taken in November 2006, when the House of Representatives of the Japanese Parliament passed a resolution by a majority vote to transform the National Defense Department into a ministry. In January 2007, the Department became the Ministry of National Defense, and its Director became the Minister of National Defense of Japan.

After the DPRK conducted missile tests in 2006, Japan stepped up work on creating a missile defense system. In 2007, the first American Patriot anti-missile systems were deployed near Tokyo. Japanese warships are being equipped with the American Aegis tracking and guidance system and SM-3 missiles.

In 2007, the upper house of the Japanese Parliament approved a bill on a referendum to amend the constitution, which provides for a popular vote on this issue in 2010. Its results will allow us to make a reasonable forecast about the limits of increasing Japanese military power in the XXI century. and more definitely answer the question: will the Golden Kite fly over Japan again?

^{Togashi Dz.} 1 Kunse (Orders). Osaka, Hoikusha Publ., 1972, p. 95.

^{Nakahori K.} 2 Kunse, rekishi no asiato (Orders, traces of history). Tokyo, Dauiddosya Publ., 1959, p. 54.

^{Silanovitskaya T. G.} 3 The cult of the Emperor in Japan: myths, history, doctrines, politics. Moscow, Nauka, 1990. pp. 62-64.

^{Nakahori K.} 4 Edict. op. s. 230-232.

^Togashiz. 5 Edict. op. p. 95.

⁶ See for more details: Sevastyanov G. N. Diplomatic history of the Pacific War. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1969, p. 619.

^{Our K.} 7 Kunsho no rekishi (History of Orders). Tokyo, Yuzankaku Publ., 1973, pp. 78-79.

^{Nakahori K.} 8, Op. p. 223.

⁹ Dukh Yamato" v proshlom i nastoyashchem [The Spirit of Yamato " in the past and present]. Ed. by L. D. Grisheleva, I. A. Latyshev. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1989, p. 60.

¹⁰ Kinshi kunse kensho kinen jige kiroku. Nihon kinshi rengokai hombu (Materials on events in honor of the Order of the Golden Kite, prepared by the central board of the All-Japan Golden Kite League). Tokyo, Seibunsha Publ., 1991, pp. 19, 23.

¹¹ Ibid., pp. 19-20, 22.

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