• Struggle and Purpose in Postwar Japanese Unionism
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Struggle and Purpose in Postwar Japanese Unionism

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Status, purpose, and lineage are the themes of this study of the postwar Japanese labor movement. Between 1943 and 1984, Japan went from being a vast empire to a defeated, occupied, and outcast nat...
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  • 01 January 2000
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Status, purpose, and lineage are the themes of this study of the postwar Japanese labor movement. Between 1943 and 1984, Japan went from being a vast empire to a defeated, occupied, and outcast nation. Social transformation lowered the barriers of status and class, and economic restructuring reoriented industry from wartime to peaceful production. Unionists ensured their eligibility for participation in the national political discourse of the 1950s and 1960s by demonstrating their sense of high purpose in the debates of the late 1940s. Men and women from a much broader segment of society than ever before participated in the postwar struggle to define a new purpose for Japanese politics. This study looks at individual behavior motivated by this search for high purpose and examines a variety of cases, differing by status, age, and experience.
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Price: $25.00
Pages: 338
Publisher: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Imprint: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Series: Japan Research Monograph
Publication Date: 01 January 2000
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781557290663
Format: Paperback
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Michael H. Gibbs is associate professor of history at the University of Denver. Education: Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley

Acknowledgments 

Introduction 
1. Old Purpose Frustrated and Old Loyalties Challenged, 1943–1947
       Rewards of Imperial Service 
       Sacrifices at the End of Empire 
       Soldiering on in the Wake of Defeat 
       Taking Charge 
       Restrictions on Loyal Action 
2. Purpose Redirected, 1945–1947 
       Difficulties with Benevolence 
       Righteousness Refocused 
       Radical Purposes 
       Tug of War over Purpose 
       Further Radicalization of Purpose 
       Difficulties for Radicalism 
3. In Search of New Purpose, 1946–1949 
       Loosed Cannon 
       Unionism Transformed 
       The Discourse of Democratization 
       Unionism Reaching Higher 
       Highest Purpose 
       Sights Lowered 
4. At Cross Purposes, 1950–1954 
       Fragmentation on Purpose 
       Assertion of Superiority 
       Finding a Cause 
       Labor Agreements 
       Higher Purpose in Public Office 
       Opposition to Rationalization 
5. The Purpose of Unionism, 1955–1963 
       Competing Lineages within the Labor Movement 
       Struggle and Its Consequences 
       Heroes of Industry 
       Finding Purpose in Struggle 
       Purpose of Lineage 
6. Struggle over History, 1964–1984 
       Individual Purpose
       Steel for the Nation 
       Alienation and Exploitation 
       Charges of Corruption 
       Traditions of Labor Militancy 
       Taking Labor Seriously 

Glossary 1: Individuals Discussed 
Glossary 2: Terms, Institutions, Organizations 
Bibliography 
Index