ABSTRACT

This chapter describes how the militarism of the early Showa Period, including WWII, the corruption of the ideal of Bushido during that time, and the post-war romanticization of Bushido in Japanese sport led to Japan's contemporary sports culture, which is often militaristic. Since sports can be outlets for male Japanese frustration and aggression, and since that tendency dovetails with Japan's belief that sports should teach young people values, Japanese sports can become militaristic. It is supported by the fact that strict vertical hierarchy continues to pervade Japanese sports teams today and that this is the same strict vertical hierarchy that existed in the Imperial Japanese Army; and by the fact that corporal punishment also still exists and was used in the IJA to secure subordinate obedience. Japanese must reject any hierarchy that allows or encourages violence, hazing, or what some Japanese now increasingly call "power harassment".