著者

加藤 大仁

出版者

慶應義塾大学

雑誌

体育研究所紀要 (ISSN:02866951)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.40, no.1, pp.31-38, 2001-01

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At the opening ceremony of a softball tournament of the national athletic meet in Okinawa in 1987, Hinomaru, the national flag was burned by am an who protested the event and its use as the national flag. Politically speaking, the national athletic meet may be regarded as an agent of the government to socialize the people by using the Emperor, Hinomaru and Kimigayo. Okinawa has a singular history and culture which are different from the Japan mainland. It was forced to be integrated into Japan in 1879 and then an educational system called "Emperor Worship" was introduced. Okinawa was only area which became battlefields in Japan in W.W. ll. After the war, Okinawa was occupied by U.S. for 27 years and returned to Japan in 1972. Today, there are leftover developments of U.S. military bases remaining on the island. Generally speaking, the national flag is a symbol of the nation and a tool to foster national identity of the people. But many Okinawa people have refused to use it because of the history. To share national identity with them, we have to find a new meaning in Hinomaru.