Showa Ju Nendai No Rikugun to Seiji Gumbu Daijin Geneki Bukan Sei No Kyozo to Jitsuzo (Chiku Ma Gakugei Bunko)

[Machine Translation] The system of appointing active-duty military officers as ministers of the Army and Navy, which was reinstated in 1936, stipulated that only active-duty military personnel could hold those positions. With the reinstatement of this system, the military gained the power to make or break the Cabinet, dominated politics thereafter, and led Japan down the path to war . While this historical interpretation has become the established view, is it truly accurate? This book meticulously examines all instances of conflict between the Army, the Prime Minister, and the Emperor over the post of Minister of the Army, from the Hirota Cabinet through the Yonai Cabinet. The study clearly demonstrates that this system was not the decisive factor influencing politics, and that a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics among political factions is essential to accurately depict the reality of political control. A groundbreaking masterpiece that overturns the established narrative of Showa-era history.

1936年に復活した軍部大臣現役武官制は現役軍人のみが陸軍・海軍の大臣に就任できるとする制度である。この制度の復活により軍部が内閣の生殺与奪の権を握り、その後の政治を支配して日本は戦争への道を歩んだ―。このような歴史認識が定説となってきたが、本当に正しいのか。広田内閣から米内内閣に至る、陸相のポストをめぐって陸軍と首相および天皇が対立した全事例を精査。同制度は政治を左右した決定的要因ではなく、政治支配の実相を描くには政治勢力間の力学の総合的分析が不可欠であることを明証した。昭和史の定説を覆した画期的名著。