Abstract
Prior to World War II, history education in Japanese schools was centered on the Emperor. History textbooks began by describing the myth regarding the birth of the Japanese nation, which was closely related to the origin of the imperial family. After Japan was defeated in World War II, the nationalist bias in its history education was re-examined. Evidence-based learning, instead of the mythology of the nation, was emphasized, and archaeological data came to play a fundamental role.
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- 1.
Nara Studies are studies on various aspects of the history, tradition, architecture and culture of the city of Nara.
- 2.
The Ikeda-Robertson Talks were held at the United States Department of State in October 1953 between Ikeda Hayato, a special envoy of the then Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, and Walter Robertson, the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. During the talks it was agreed that Japanese self-defence capabilities should be gradually strengthened.
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Murata, S. (2011). The Role of Archaeology and Its Challenges in Japanese School Education: The Curriculum and History Textbooks. In: Okamura, K., Matsuda, A. (eds) New Perspectives in Global Public Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0341-8_17
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