Katsuhiko Kakei

Constitutional scholar. Born in Nagano Prefecture on November 28, 1872. After graduating from the law department of Tokyo Imperial University, he became a professor at the same university, specializing in constitutional law, jurisprudence, and administrative law. He inherited the theory of imperial sovereignty from Hozumi Yatsuka and Uesugi Shinkichi, and advocated Shinto nationalism. He is also known as the Kannagara (Shinto) constitutional school. After studying ancient Shinto and Buddhism, he believed in the divinity of the Emperor, and preached that it was natural for the Great Japanese Empire, ruled by the Emperor, a living god with an unbroken line of emperors, to unify and rule the human world. As a constitutional scholar with a nationalist stance, he was active as a theoretical pillar of the military and right wing before World War II. During the war, he lectured on "Imperial Rule Assistance" and "Hakko Ichiu (All the World in One Place)." His major works include "The Fundamental Principles of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan," "The Great Doctrine of Ancient Shinto," "The Way of the Gods," and "Study of the State."

[Masaaki Ikeda]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

憲法学者。明治5年11月28日長野県に生まれる。東京帝国大学法科卒業後、同大学教授となり、憲法学、法理学、行政法を専攻。穂積八束(ほづみやつか)、上杉慎吉(しんきち)らの天皇主権説を継承し、神道的国家主義を主張した。かんながら（神道）憲法学派ともよばれる。彼は古神道・仏教の研究を経て、天皇の神格を信じ、現神(あきつかみ)である万世一系の天皇が治め給(たも)う大日本帝国が人類世界を統一し、支配するのが当然であることを説き、国家主義の立場にたつ憲法学者として、第二次世界大戦前には軍部、右翼の理論的支柱として活躍した。大戦中は「大政翼賛」「八紘一宇(はっこういちう)」を講じた。主著に『大日本帝国憲法の根本義』『古神道大義』『神ながらの道』『国家の研究』などがある。

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