ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an in-depth review and analysis of literature that encompasses four discrete but related subject areas, before developing a theoretical framework for this study. It examines Showa nostalgia, with the late Showa period being 'remembered' as an idyllic period. The chapter presents the influence of the Second World War on Japanese intellectual thought, and how the US relationship impacted Japan's identity after the war. It also provides to include collective memory, while noting that history's emotional aspects are receiving increasing attention and are leading to media's evocation of nostalgia for the recent past, which in turn links to Japanese people's personal histories. The chapter shows that most intellectuals believe that it is self-evident that the Showa thirties were Japan's heyday, although it must be noted that these intellectuals belong to the Japanese elite, mostly hailing from Tokyo and other urban areas.
