일본 제국의 ‘군가’와 그 연속성

Abstract

This study examines the process and continuity of Japan's construction of its national ideology necessary for the formation of a modern nation-state from the perspective of martial songs or "military songs". 27 samples were chosen from the military songs of the Meiji period, and their role as a propaganda tool and their mechanism were analyzed by classifying them according to the virtues each lyric praises. The findings show that military songs reminding the people that anyone can become a national hero for the emperor and the country were widely enjoyed by civilians in the rear and became wildly popular nationwide. It was also found that it was a propaganda campaign to equate the emperor with the country itself, as th songs invariably extol values such as allegiance to the throne, patriotism, and dedication to the country. Also, the martial music served as a leading source and device of brainwashing the people and injecting a uniform set of emotions into their mind, mostly by incorporating them into the mechanism of statism every time the country faced external challenges on its path to a rich and strong empire. In turn, the propaganda for national inculcation created its own feedback cycle in the psyche of the Imperial Japan, within the context of Japan's political, social, and cultual background as well as imperialism that swept across the globe at the time. In sum, martial songs of the Imperial Japan were part of the propaganda combining physical infrastructure with state control, providing information of the situation on the war front, boosting morale, creating heros, and providing national entertainment for people in the rear. This mechanism still lives on today, serving as a propaganda for state control and statism and a rich source of storytelling by individuals.