This is part 18 of my series on Shinto as a civil religion, you can find the rest of the series here.
Published around the same time as The Imperial Rescript on Education, The Extended Meaning was a widely circulated interpretation of the rescript’s significance for Japan. The text begins by positioning Japan as the only country in the East capable of resisting the influence of Europe and America. According to Tetsujiro, China is too focused on its past, while other nations are either too weak or already lost. Unlike these nations, Japan is portrayed as brimming with the potential and vision necessary to build “a glorious civilization.”
However, Tetsujiro saw Japan’s small size as a potential weakness. To overcome this, he argued that the Japanese people must adopt a mindset of complete devotion to the nation:
“Thus any true Japanese must have a sense of public duty by which he values his life lightly as dust, advances spiritedly, and is ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of the nation. But we must encourage this spirit before an emergency occurs. […] The purpose of the rescript is to strengthen the basis of the nation […].”
In this interpretation, the rescript’s purpose becomes one of indoctrination—to prepare the population to sacrifice their lives for the preservation of the nation. Tetsujiro framed the rescript as a tool to foster patriotism and loyalty among the Japanese people. This interpretation aligned closely with the goals of Japan’s emerging civil religion, as it sought to inspire devotion to the nation and its emperor.
Whether Tetsujiro’s reference to a “glorious civilization” implied Japan’s eventual dominance over the world—an idea consistent with the imperialist ideology seen in earlier elements of the civil religion—remains unclear. However, his imperialist beliefs make it possible that this was his intent.
Although Tetsujiro was no longer employed by the Ministry of Education at the time the rescript was issued, he remained a highly respected figure in Japanese society. His Extended Meaning became widely disseminated and was well-known among the public, giving it significant authority in shaping how the rescript was understood.
By expanding the rescript’s meaning in this way, Tetsujiro reinforced the civil religion’s emphasis on loyalty, patriotism, and self-sacrifice, positioning these values as essential for Japan’s future success. This interpretation helped solidify the rescript’s role not only as an educational directive but also as a foundational element of the state’s ideological framework.
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Sources
Theodore De Bary, William(ed.). Sources of Japanese Tradition: Volume Two 1600-2000. Colombia University Press: New York, 2005. Print. Pp. 1125-1126.
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