Question

In this excerpt from the Japanese declaration of war, which phrase illustrates the use of ethos? Patiently have we waited and long have we endured, in the hope that our Government might retrieve the situation in peace, but our adversaries, showing not the least spirit of conciliation, have unduly delayed a settlement and, in the meantime, they have intensified the economic and political pressure to compel thereby our Empire to submission. This trend of affairs would, if left unchecked, not only nullify our Empire's efforts of many years for the sake of the stabilization of East Asia, but also would endanger the very existence of our nation. The situation being such as it is, our Empire for its existence and self-defense has no other recourse but to appeal to arms and to crush every obstacle in its path. The hallowed spirits of our Imperial ancestors guarding us from above, we rely upon the loyalty and courage of our subjects in our confident expectation that the task bequeathed by our forefathers will be carried forward, and that the sources of evil will be speedily eradicated and an enduring peace immutably established in East Asia, preserving thereby the glory of our Empire.

A. Patiently have we waited and long have we endured, in the hope that our Government might retrieve the situation in peace,

B. nullify our Empire's efforts of many years for the sake of the stabilization of East Asia

C. our Empire for its existence and self-defense has no other recourse but to appeal to arms and to crush every obstacle in its path.

D. in our confident expectation that the task bequeathed by our forefathers will be carried forward,

Answer 1

The correct answer is D. in our confident expectation that the task bequeathed by our forefathers will be carried forward.

Indeed, the Japanese national ethos in this sentence even has a name, Kokutai, which can be translated as “the essence and character of our national identity”. The “task bequeathed” to the Japanese by “their forefathers” is simply the preservation of a national ethos completely fixated upon the Emperor and the history, customs and traditions of Japan since times immemorial. One specific forefather is the first Emperor of the Meiji period (1868-1912), during whose rule Japan transformed from a medieval, feudal isolationist Asian kingdom into a westernized world power.

Japanese right-wingers were convinced that a clash of civilization would oppose Imperial Japan to the West and they were not wrong about that, though due to the wrong reasons.

Answer 2

Answer:

in our confident expectation that the task bequeathed by our forefathers will be carried forward.

Explanation: