Divine nation ideology - Shinkokushisou

The idea of ​​Japan being a divine country. This has two aspects: (1) a country under the protection of the gods, and (2) a country ruled by the Emperor, the divine grandson of Amaterasu Omikami. This idea is embedded in the Kojiki and Nihonshoki myths, which are based on the creation of the land by the two gods Izanagi and Izanami, the birth of the gods including the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami, and the assertion of the rule of Japan by the divine grandson of the sun goddess and its infinity. However, the term "divine country" was not used much in ancient times, and even when it was used, it was limited to the meaning of (1). It was in the Middle Ages that the idea of ​​a divine country emerged to the surface of history. This was partly because the national crisis of the Mongol invasion awakened national consciousness, but also because this period was a time of transition between political power between the samurai and the nobles, and the idea of ​​a divine country was emphasized as an ideology to maintain the ancient aristocratic system with the Emperor at the top. At the same time, the notion of a divine nation in the sense of (2) began to be emphasized. A typical example is the opening line of Kitabatake Chikafusa's Jinnō Shōtōki, which reads: "Great Japan is a divine nation. The Heavenly Ancestor first laid the foundation, and the Sun God passed on the long line of rule. This is true only of our country. There is no trace of this in other courts. For this reason it is called a divine nation." In the early modern period, the idea of ​​a divine nation was combined with Confucianism to produce the nationalistic ideas of Kimon and Mito schools. At the same time, it was invigorated by the newly emerged Kokugaku school of thought, which advocated Japan-centrism, ancientism, and anti-Confucianism, and provided a spiritual foundation for the Sonno Joi movement during the Meiji Restoration. The idea of ​​a divine nation in Mito and Kokugaku emphasizes that not only the Emperor, who ruled, but also the subjects themselves are descendants of the gods. In this way, the idea of ​​a divine nation was linked to the folk custom of ancestor worship, and has continued to live on as a moral idea that supports the patriarchal state of reverence for the gods, ancestor worship, and the unity of loyalty and filial piety since the Meiji era. On the one hand, the idea of ​​a divine nation is associated with the idea of ​​a chosen people, and this aspect was emphasized under the fascist regime of the Showa era, and it is still fresh in our memory that it played a major role as the core of national spiritual integration toward the construction of the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere."

[Takahashi Miyuki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

日本を神の国ととらえる考え方。これには、(1)神々の加護の下にある国という意味と、(2)天照大神(あまてらすおおみかみ)の神孫たる天皇の統治する国という意味の二面がある。このような観念は、イザナギ・イザナミ二神による国土の生成、日神天照大神をはじめとする神々の生誕、日神の神孫による日本の支配とその無窮性の主張などを骨子とする記紀神話のなかに胚胎(はいたい)しているが、古代には「神国」ということばはあまり用いられず、用いられる場合でも(1)の意味に限られる。神国思想が歴史の表面に浮上してくるのは中世である。それは、一つには蒙古(もうこ)襲来という国家的危機が民族意識を覚醒(かくせい)させたことによるが、またこの時代が武家と公家(くげ)との政治権力の交代期にあたり、天皇を頂点とする古代貴族体制を保持するイデオロギーとして神国思想が強調されたことにもよる。それとともに(2)の意味での神国観が強調されるようになる。北畠親房(きたばたけちかふさ)『神皇正統記(じんのうしょうとうき)』冒頭の「大日本者神国也(おほやまとはかみのくになり)、天祖(あまつみおや)ハジメテ基(もとゐ)ヲヒラキ、日神(ひのかみ)ナガク統(とう)ヲ伝給(つたへたま)フ。我(わが)国ノミ此事(このこと)アリ。異朝(いてう)ニハ其(その)タグヒナシ。此故(このゆゑ)ニ神国(かみのくに)ト云(いふ)也」ということばはその代表的な例である。近世に入ると神国思想は儒教思想と結合して崎門(きもん)学や水戸学の国粋主義思想を生み出すとともに、その一方で、日本中心主義、古代主義、反儒教主義を掲げて新たに登場した国学思想によって活性化され、幕末維新期の尊王攘夷(そんのうじょうい)運動に精神的基盤を提供した。これら水戸学や国学の神国思想においては、単に統治者たる天皇のみならず臣民自体も神々の後裔(こうえい)であるとの考え方が強調される。こうして神国思想は民俗としての祖先崇拝と結び付き、明治以後の敬神崇祖、忠孝一致という家制国家を支える道徳思想として生き続ける。神国思想は一面に選民思想を伴うが、昭和のファシズム体制下においてこの面が強調され、「大東亜共栄圏」建設へ向けての国民精神統合の核として、大きな役割を果たしたことは記憶に新しい。

［高橋美由紀］

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