A Study On The Image Of The United States In The History Textbooks Of Postwar Japanese Junior High Schools

With the continuous tension between China and the United States,as the neighbor which has the most complicated relationship with China and the largest ally of the United States in east Asia,how Japan handles its relations with the United States and how it views the United States are of great significance to the political situation in east Asia and the Pacific region.Among the factors affecting the relationship between Japan and the United States,in addition to the behavior at the government level,the national sentiment also plays an important role.The national sentiment is largely based on people's understanding of the image of other countries,and for the construction of this image,in addition to the influence of media propaganda,history education also plays an important role.Therefore,this paper hopes to explore the images of "America" in Japanese junior high school history textbooks after the World War II,sort out the formation and changes of Japanese's understanding of the United States,and then rethink Japan's cognition of its own history and image,as well as the function and meaning of the formation of national identity by shaping other countries' image in textbooks.This paper consists of an introduction,a body(chapters 1 to 4)and a conclusion.The introduction mainly introduces the reasons and significance of the choose of this topic,the previous research review and research methods.From the first chapter to the third chapter,through summarizing the 24 sets of textbooks independently compiled by Japan from the 1950 s to the present,this paper expounds the image of "America" from three different perspectives and analyzes the change of the images in three different periods.The fourth chapter,based on the first three chapters,first explores the characteristics of the image of "America" and its changing trend.Secondly,it explores Japan's cognition of its own history and image by comparing with the "America" image in textbooks.Finally,from the perspective of state relations,education system and self construction,the paper sums up the causes of national image building in history textbooks.The conclusion explores the significance of shaping the image of the nation from the perspective of historical education,as well as its significance for the formation of national identity.As an important medium to convey and construct the national historical memory,the history textbook has an important impact on the establishment of a correct world view among the citizens.The image of other countries created in the textbook will also become the emotional background for individuals to see other countries in the future,and eventually become part of the national will to affect national decisionmaking.Therefore,writing the history of other countries objectively and justly can not only stimulate citizens' love for their own country,but also help to cultivate the world citizens with sense of responsibility consciousness and humanistic care suitable for the globalized society and realize the sustainable development of human society.