著者

後藤 信

出版者

広島文化学園大学

雑誌

社会情報学研究 : 呉大学社会情報学部紀要 (ISSN:13418459)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.6, pp.185-205, 2000-12-26

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With the fall of Old Japan in 1945,Japanese National Holidays derived from the country's long traditon and history were either replaced or abolished completely. The occupying force,the USA,compelled Japan to change the names of these holidays,which meant that Japan,under the persistent pressure of the USA's absolute policy,had to be subservient to the Uncle Sam's patronizing advice of cultural transformation to make a new start as a demilitarized,peaceoriented country. These demands included not only the rewriting of the National Constitution but also of the history of Japan,especially the pre-historic period in which abundant ethnic myths have represented national identity as that of an agricultural tribe. Although in reality it seems hard for us to expel the still-occupying foreign military forces from the air base of our country,we would at least like to regain the cultural independence that we have enjoyed in our long history. By reexamining the character of national holidays in the past,we can,ironically,perceive a culture analogous to ours in the West before their coming into Christendom. In pagan days,people all over the world worshipped the order of nature. Traditions such as adoring trees and woods and the preservation of what they had in the past have helped to keep human being from destroying their environment. To know our past is to foretell our future. I hope my small study in this report will contribute in some way to the social-environmental studies of Kure University.