Japan's imperial conspiracy / by David Bergamini
Title
Japan's imperial conspiracy / by David Bergamini
Subject
Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, 1901-1989.
Japan--Politics and government--1926-1945.
World War, 1935-1945--Japan.
Description
The thesis of this book, which was highly controversial when it first appeared, was that Emperor Hirohito was actively involved in the planning and prosecution of the war fought by Japan first against China in the 1930s, and then against the US and its allies from 1941.
David Bergamini, who was born in Tokyo and raised in Asia, spoke Japanese and was familiar with Japan and China. He served as a writer and editor for Life magazine and then became a free-lance writer, devoting six years of research and writing, including a year in Japan. He links the Japanese Emperor with the Rape of Nanking, the various atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during the war, and the overall direction of the war effort. He was no stranger to the Philippines: he was in Baguio in 1941 and was interned there when the Japanese invaded. He spent three years in a Japanese internment camp (and wrote about the experience in a novel, "The Fleet in the Window"); some of his experiences are reflected in this book.
With its explosive revelations, based on privileged and unidentified individuals, the book was severely criticized by Japanese experts and virtually pulled off the shelves; Bergamini himself was blacklisted by scholars and publishers.
David Bergamini, who was born in Tokyo and raised in Asia, spoke Japanese and was familiar with Japan and China. He served as a writer and editor for Life magazine and then became a free-lance writer, devoting six years of research and writing, including a year in Japan. He links the Japanese Emperor with the Rape of Nanking, the various atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during the war, and the overall direction of the war effort. He was no stranger to the Philippines: he was in Baguio in 1941 and was interned there when the Japanese invaded. He spent three years in a Japanese internment camp (and wrote about the experience in a novel, "The Fleet in the Window"); some of his experiences are reflected in this book.
With its explosive revelations, based on privileged and unidentified individuals, the book was severely criticized by Japanese experts and virtually pulled off the shelves; Bergamini himself was blacklisted by scholars and publishers.
Creator
Bergamini, David
Publisher
New York : William Morrow and Co., c1971
Date
1971
Format
22 x 15 cm.
Type
Hardbound
Call Number
DS 888.5 .B47
Accession Number
13763, 16106
Pagination
xlvii, 778 p.; 779 - 1612 p.
Illustration
ill.
Notes
2 vols.
Files
Collection
Citation
Bergamini, David, “Japan's imperial conspiracy / by David Bergamini,” FHL-Roderick Hall, accessed December 16, 2025, https://fhl.omeka.net/items/show/450.