kokutai

During Hirohito's regency in the 1920s, Japan's military solidified its autonomous role in government by asserting direct subordination to the emperor and rejecting civilian oversight, with Hirohito actively endorsing this independence. The military's institutional interests were prioritized over civilian political concerns, while the state codified kokutai through the 1925 Peace Preservation Law to suppress dissent, intensifying political conflicts and drawing the imperial institution deeper into partisan struggles.

The chapter explores the contested and evolving nature of kokutai ideology during Japan's regency and interwar periods, highlighting the erosion of traditional imperial authority amid social and political change. It details the decline in reverence for Emperor Hirohito within the military elite, the state's repression of dissenting views on imperial legitimacy, and the influence of ultranationalist religious movements. Upon Hirohito's accession, the chapter examines the political dynamics within the court group, revealing tensions between factions favoring active imperial intervention and those advocating constitutional restraint, marking a critical moment in the transformation of the emperor's role in Japan's political landscape.

Chapter 4 of Herbert P. Bix's "Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan" examines the political and military transformations during Emperor Taisho's reign and the early Showa period, highlighting the impact of Emperor Taisho's debilitating illness on governance and the regency system. It details Hirohito's education and military indoctrination, the decline in military spending alongside a doctrinal shift emphasizing offensive spirit, and the rise of right-wing nationalism supported by legal mechanisms such as the thought-control law to suppress dissent and protect the kokutai.