Japan: Past and Present Series/Essence Of Being Japanese (20th Century)

Japan in the modern age is a nation existing between the protection of the kami, the geological dangers of earthquake, and a vital role in the world economy. This film covers the cataclysmic events of the 20th century—the devastating earthquake of 1923, the rise of militarism, the accession of Emperor Hirohito, the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and the Pacific War, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the American occupation of Japan—but its primary focus is on what makes Japan Japanese: the Shinto rituals that are part of modern mercantile life; such societal traits as conformism and determination; attitudes toward violence and brutality; business ethics and the life of the salaryman; and the role of spirituality in modern Japan.