University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Dreaming of peace: an exploration of Japan's international relations and understanding of peace through superheroes

(USC Thesis Other)

Dreaming of peace: an exploration of Japan's international relations and understanding of peace through superheroes

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content DREAMING OF PEACE: AN EXPLORATION OF JAPAN’S INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS AND UNDERSTANDING OF PEACE THROUGH SUPERHEROES

A Master’s Thesis submitted
to University of Southern California in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the
Degree of Masters of Letters

by
Lincoln Der
August 2017

1 | D e r

Table of Contents
1. Abstract .................................................................................................................... 2
2. Introduction............................................................................................................... 3
3. The Superhero Myth: The hero’s goal as a Societal Aspiration .......................... 4
4. The 1960s-1970s: The Cradle of Heroes ............................................................... 10
Order and “Peace” through Ultraman .................................................................. 13
Imagining Order and Chaos through Ultraman........................................... 15
Looking towards the Future: Ultraman’s Unrealized Fantasy .................... 19
Approaching Shocker: The invention of Kamen Rider ............................................ 21
A Liberal’s anxiety towards the Future ........................................................ 23
Toei’s Vision: The Hero and Nihonjinron Support ...................................... 26
5. The End of Idealism: Twenty-first Century Japan ............................................. 31
Kamen Rider Spirits: Divorcing “Peace” from Nationalism .................................. 32
The Evolution of Kamen Rider under Toei’s watchful eye ........................... 33
Missing Faith: Do you believe in Peace? ..................................................... 34
Conflicting Future Visions............................................................................ 38
Ultraman Begins: Anxieties towards Potential Militarism ...................................... 42
Reimagining the Übermensch: The Japanese Superman in the 21
st
Century
...................................................................................................................... 43
Changing “Order” ....................................................................................... 45
Options on the Table..................................................................................... 47
6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 57
7. References ............................................................................................................... 60

2 | D e r

1. Abstract
Within American scholarship, the superhero genre has been accepted as a modern
myth that introduces the youth to societal norms and ideals; the same structure is applicable
to Japanese superheroes. However, Japanese superheroes remain underexplored. This thesis
demonstrates that Japanese superheroes can also be understood as modern myths and
examines the evolution of Japan’s most enduring superhero franchises—Ultraman and
Kamen Rider—to explain how Japan’s “peace” discourse has developed.
I argue two main points. First during the 1960s and 1970s, Ultraman and Kamen
Rider emphasized that Japan’s belief in “peace” assumed two conditions: trust in the
international community and the preservation of economic growth. Both franchises were
symbolically tied to Japan’s idealism during the 1960s and 1970s. More specifically, both
Ultraman and Kamen Rider strived to maintain “peace” and order for Japanese society.
Visually “peace” was associated as the continuation of Japan’s economic development and
the expulsion of “evil.” In the twenty-first century, new versions of both superheroes
suggested that faith in the international community declined and that Japanese re-
militarization might be in order, though not without some ambivalence. However,
Ultraman’s and Kamen Rider’s most recent comic adaptations suggest that “peace” in
Japan cannot solely rely on the United States to fight their battles. Thus, the franchise’s
initial simplicity has been challenged and complicated in the twenty-first century to suggest
Japan’s new understanding of “peace” and its relationship to violence. By analyzing how
these heroes changed, I explore how Japan’s vision for peace has developed.

3 | D e r

2. Introduction
“Won’t you believe in him?” Kenichi Muraeda, author and artist of Kamen Rider
Spirits, asks his readers.
1
In this scene, the speaker, Taki Kazuya, is asking a group of
victimized children to believe that Kamen Rider—a famous Japanese superhero from the
1970s—would save them. On a metanarrative level, this scene showcases a trend in twenty-
first century Japan: faith is no a given in Japan’s superhero genre. Despite the established
cosmology of heroes such as Kamen Rider and Ultraman, creators such as Muraeda, Eiichi
Shimizu, and Tomohiro Shimoguchi participate in the deconstruction of their own heroes’
themes and mythology. In the season finales for Ultraman (1966-1967) and Kamen Rider
(1971-1973), the narrative states that the heroes have repelled the world’s invaders and that
“peace” has been restored.
2
Because Ultraman and Kamen Rider pretend to have global
conflicts, “peace” also implies “world peace.” However, by the twenty-first century, “world
peace” remained unrealized. To accommodate for reality, both Muraeda and Shimizu-
Shimoguchi altered the lore of these characters in later version of the series. Muraeda
revised Kamen Riders’ history to emphasize continued striving for peace and the Shimizu-
Shimoguchi pair stated that the original Ultraman “completed his mission and then returned
home.”
3
While these changes allow for derivative sequels, the altercations also suggest a
shift in the symbolic meaning of these heroes. Thus, I question what do Japanese
superheroes symbolize? What instigated the need to alter these myths? Furthermore, both

1
Kamen Rider Spirits, vol. 1, page 120
2
Tsuburaya Production Company, Ultraman Ep. 39: Farewell Ultraman
Toei Production Company, Kamen Rider ep. 98: Gel-Shocker Annihilated! The End of the Leader!!
3
Muraeda, Kamen Rider Spirits, vol. 1 pg 15
Shimizu, Shimoguchi, Ultraman Begins vol.1, pg 2
4 | D e r

Muraeda and the Shimizu-Shimoguchi pair implore their audience to believe in heroes;
what does this need to ask for faith from the viewers imply for twenty-first century Japan?
To answer these questions, I will analyze and compare the historical culture around
Ultraman and Kamen Rider during their conception in the mid-1960s, 1970s, and then their
resurgence in the twenty-first century.
4

More specifically, the historical conception of both franchises indicates that Japan’s
“peace” discourse is ubiquitous and is temporally influenced by international relations. In
the 1960s and 1970s, Kamen Rider and Ultraman acted as a manifestation of Japan’s
idealism towards the future and the attainability of peace. These shows demonstrated a
specific future vision that fantasized about Japan’s continued economic growth through the
maintenance of “peace.” However, the heroes’ revival during the twenty-first century
indicates that Japan has lost its previous idealism, has reluctantly departed from their
pacifist position, and lacks a clear vision for the future.
3. The Superhero Myth: The hero’s goal as a Societal Aspiration
The superhero genre’s status as a modern myth differentiates itself from other
genres. For American comics, the superhero is acknowledged as a modern myth both
academically and in terms of marketing. For example, the DC Comics, Inc published their
first entry in a game series called Injustice: Gods among Us in 2013. Because this is a game
that expands on the lore of Superman and other DC properties, the company is
acknowledging and circulating that their characters are contemporary deities. The United

4
In English, the term SF can refer to “science fiction” or “speculative fiction.” In Japan, the term SF or Esuefu
( エスエフ) refers to “Science Fiction.” Speculative Fiction is considered its own genre in Japan.
5 | D e r

States is not alone in attempts to deify their own heroes. In Japan, Muraeda has compared
Kamen Rider to the likes of “God” and “Buddha” and Tsuburaya Production associated
Ultraman with religious figures such as Noah, Allah, and other religious figures.
5
Judging
from the continued publication of these franchises, the deification of superheroes is an
inoffensive and palatable concept. As a result, the superhero evolves into a mythical
character. In his definition of a myth, Sean Prentiss, a creative non-fiction writer, explains
the significance of the superhero’s mythical connection:
“A sacred story [that] implies neither the truth nor the falseness of the narrative. To
the source culture, however, a myth by definition is ‘true,’ in that it embodies
beliefs, concepts, and ways of questioning the world.”
6

In other words, the myth, and by extension the superhero, is a domestically specific symbol
that acts as a local manifestation for an ideology. By design, magical abilities and other
fantastical elements are not supposed to be taken as literal truth, but symbolic means to
empower and rationalize an ideal. Although, the societal truth engrained into the genre is
frequently blurred by the demand for constant production. That constant production also
suggests that the superhero narrative becomes mythical because it deeply engrained itself
into children’s culture and reinforces societally beneficial values.
7
While most scholarship

5
Ultraman Episode 7 "The Blue Stone of Baraji"
https://hlj.com/product/MSJ20126: The Ultraman heroes design as the Twelve Heavenly Generals from
Buddhism as seen in this figurine product.
6
Prentis, “Eternal sunshine of the Nonfiction Mind: A new Philosophy for understanding Truth and Creative Nonfiction.”
7
Darowski, Joseph, J, The Ages of Superman, pg 52
Takao KATO, 〈子どもコード〉の生成と展開 ―児童文学と特撮テレビ番組の分析―, The Generation
and Development of « Code for Children »: The Analysis on Juvenile Literature and Japanese SFX TV Program,
pg 5
6 | D e r

prefers to stress the positive benefits of superheroes; the genre’s popularity has always been
connected to nationalism and the formation of a unified societal purpose as seen in the
genre’s most inspirational foundation—DC’s Superman.
In fact, Superman’s creation was the result of an argument over the interpretation of
Fredrick Nietzsche’s Übermensch. The term, Übermensch, first appeared in Thus Spoke
Zarathustra in 1883 and was first translated into the English “superman” in 1903 and into
“overman” during the Post-World War II era. For Nietzsche, the Übermensch was his
response to the authoritarianism within the German Empire and Hegelian Idealism (or
philosophical modernism)—the belief that human history is a grand narrative of humanity’s
triumph over nature through science and Enlightenment era rationalism. More simply
stated, Hegel’s philosophy is based off an understanding of the subject/object binary. In
Hegel’s view, humanity (as a subject) strives and opposes objective boundaries. For Hegel,
these objects were things that limited the human race’s potential such as time and the
environment. Hegel derives that humanity (as a subject) imposes itself onto time (as an
object) to create history. From this interpretation, history then becomes a grand narrative
dictating humanity’s progress.
While Nietzsche agrees with Hegel’s premise, he is not as optimistic about the
future. In Nietzsche’s lifetime, he witnessed the rise of an authoritarian government and
nationalism; Nietzsche foreshadowed an upcoming disaster. Thus Spoke Zarathustra
reflected this mentality. Zarathustra, the story’s protagonist, attempts to teach the villagers
about the Übermensch—an individual that follows Hegel’s philosophy on an individual
level. However, Zarathustra is rebuffed and humanity’s potential for progress is in the
7 | D e r

hands of the Übermensch. For Nietzsche, the Übermensch was a philosophically superior
human being that could impose his ideals for the betterment of society. Furthermore, the
Übermensch was a character that had not been actualized in the story and was something to
aim for. Taking this into consideration, Nietzsche’s disagreement with Hegel is not a
disagreement on the subject/object binary; it is a disagreement on the nuance of this binary
and his anxieties and optimism towards the future.
Ironically, interpretation of Nietzsche’s work further spawned disagreement over
humanity’s future vision; by tracing how the international community responded to
Nietzsche’s work, it will become clear that the superhero genre is also a constant discussion
for the future of humanity. Throughout the 20
th
century, the exaltation of science had
galvanized belief in the obtainability of Nietzsche’s Übermensch. During the 1920s through
1930s, Japan and the United States utilized translations of the Übermensch—Superman and
choujin respectively— to describe extraordinary athletic and mental feats. In the eyes of the
global community, the Übermensch or the superior human could be actualized through
scientific means. In its most explosive manifestation, Nazi Germany absorbed and
appropriated the goal of eugenics to create the ideal human race during the 1930s and
1940s. The Nazi party’s understanding of Nietzsche’s work would come from Nazi
philosophers such as Alfred Bäumler and Alfred Rosenberg that utilized Elisabeth Förster-
Nietzsche’s interpretation and publication of her deceased brother’s discarded and
incomplete work—The Will to Power— as their primary inspiration for the Aryan Master
8 | D e r

Race.
8
Förster-Nietzsche remains infamous for publishing altered editions of her brother’s
work that are rewritten to fit her and her spouse’s ideology. Despite being an improper
reading of Nietzsche’s works; the Nazi regime adopted the image of the Übermensch to
justify controlling the gene pool by purging or sterilizing non-Aryan ethnicities.
However, the global community did not agree with the Nazi’s vision. In 1938, Jerry
Siegel and Joe Shuster created their own ideal human, the superhero known as
“Superman.”
9
Contrary to the Nazi’s vision understanding of the Übermensch, Superman
had actualized an idealized human form and represented American values. Using
Superman, Siegal and Shuster empowered themselves and their readers with the fantasy
that they could end the Nazi’s eugenic policy.
10
The initial circulation of Superman
represented the hope for America’s triumph during the Pacific War and encouraged the
dream of the continue propagation of American values to the world. Thus, Superman’s
initial appearance rejected the vision that the Nazi proposed and replaced it with a vision
that defended and proliferated American virtues. Superman’s creation derives from a
culturally specific origin story that illustrates the formation of a nationalistic public
sentiments during the Second World War.
As demonstrated in the creation of Superman, the superhero genre is often a
negotiation over a proposed future vision for a society. Jeffrey Scott’s The Posthuman Body
in Superhero Comics: Human, Superhuman, Transhuman, Post/human explicitly explores
how American superheroes represent the ideal evolution of the human body. Authors such

8
Macintyre, Forgotten Fatherland: The Search for Elisabeth Nietzsche, 164
9
Blair Kramier, Superman, Jewish Virtual Library
10
Siegal, http://www.supermanhomepage.com/comics/comics.php?topic=articles/canadian-way
9 | D e r

as Joseph Darowski and Dan Hassler-Forest explain how American nationalism influences
the superhero’s mythologies. To summarize, the academic body of literature exploring
American superhero mythology is rich and well documented. However, the same cannot be
said about foreign superheroes. Japanese superheroes such as Ultraman and Kamen Rider
share Superman’s most significant traits; they are considered a part of East Asia’s
children’s culture, have appropriated religious signifiers, and have managed to survive for
over fifty years. This implies that Japanese superheroes can be understood as Japan’s
modern myth and studied in that manner.
While thinking of Japanese superheroes as a modern myth is currently underutilized,
this simply means that the field is open to exploration. In American academia, Japanese
superheroes are primarily utilized as examples to demonstrate specific points. For example,
Yuki Miyamoto mentioned an episode of the Ultraman to discuss how atomic bomb victims
are gendered and to illustrate male anxiety towards the bodies of female victims.
11
Se
Young Kim followed a similar trend and utilized a Kamen Rider spin-off to explore
possible changes within Japan’s victim consciousness.
12
According to CiNii (an electronic
Japanese database), there are a number of articles that explore the marketing success of
Ultraman and Kamen Rider, but the implication of the heroes’ mythology remain
underexplored. This thesis seeks to amend that. By analyzing the historical culture
connected to Ultraman’s and Kamen Rider’s conception in the 1960s and 1970s and their
transformation in the twenty-first century, I will be able to demonstrate that Japanese

11
Miyamoto, Yuki, Gendered Bodies in Tokusatsu: Monsters and Aliens as the Atomic Bomb Victims
12
Kim, Se Young, Human/cyborg/alien/friend: postwar ressentiment in Japanese science fiction and
posthuman ethics in Kamen rider Fourze
10 | D e r

superheroes are comparable to American superheroes and can be utilized to understand the
myth of Japan’s “peace” discourse and societal vision.
4. The 1960s-1970s: The Cradle of Heroes
Since Superman’s inception, the superhero genre has been engrained in the canon of
youth culture. From this, the American academics, Jason Dittmer, concluded that the comic
genre has repeatedly introduced children to essential American values and had promoted
nationalism, patriotism, and moral support for the US military.
13
While not as overt as their
American counterpart, Japanese superheroes served a similar function.
14
Despite the
circulation of American comics there during the Occupation, the superhero genre was
uncommon in Japan until 1966 with the initial airing of Ultraman. In other words, the
superhero genre became popular during modern Japan’s “Golden Age” (1960-1980s)—an
era that has been fondly remembered because of its economic development and perceived
social harmony.
15
In addition, the 1960s saw the developments of a new cultural identity for
Japan. Because of Japan’s defeat during the Second World War, numerous signifiers of
Japanese identity had been discredited. Consequently, previously banned works such as
Kanzou Uchimura’s Diary of a Japanese Convert gained popularity and was included in
the construction of a new Japanese cultural identity. As an intellectually discussed topic,

13
Dittermer’s Captain American and the Nationalist Superhero: Metaphors, Narrative, and Geopolitics is
essentially an entire book dedicated to exploring how American comic books have been utilized as
propaganda and has influenced the public discourse on international issues.
14
Darowski, Joseph, J, The Ages of Superman, pg 52
Takao KATO, 〈子どもコード〉の生成と展開 ―児童文学と特撮テレビ番組の分析―, The Generation
and Development of « Code for Children »: The Analysis on Juvenile Literature and Japanese SFX TV Program,
pg 5
15
Brinckmann, Hans, Showa Era: The Post-War Golden Age and Its Troubled Legacy, pg 6
11 | D e r

the development of an essential Japanese character would be named nihonjinron ( 日本人
論) or literally translated as “the theory of Japanese-ness.” By following the development
of nihonjinron, we can understand how Japanese nationalism and cultural identity
developed and grew into the superhero genre.
As a theoretical term, nihonjinron saw a surge in popularity after Japan’s defeat in
the Second World War. Peter Dale identified three contemporary waves of nihonjinron: the
first wave (1945-1960) was the rejection of a Japanese identity. The second wave (1960s-
1970) and the third wave (1970s-1980s) associated traditional Japanese values and
traditions as reasons for Japan’s rapid industrialization.
16
Intellectuals such as Yoshio
Sugimoto claimed that the characteristics listed for nihonjinron texts change in response to
Japan’s encounters with the global community.
17
While ninhonjinron is problematic
because it tries to attribute a “unique,” racial explanation for economic success, the term’s
history still describes how Japanese intellectuals had expressed their nationalism. One
concept that would become quintessential to the theorists was “peace.”
“Peace” or heiwa ( 平和) was one of the larger themes that appeared in Japanese
literature after the World War II and it only gained more associations as time progressed,
including an association with the end of war, faith in the international community, and
economic prosperity. The United States had imposed and enacted Japan’s new constitution

16
Dale,The Myth of Japanese Uniqueness, 2012 p. 213
17
Yoshio Sugimoto, “Making Sense of Nihonjinron,” pg 3
12 | D e r

on May 3, 1947; this constitution is sometimes called the “Peace Constitution” or heiwa
kenpo ( 平和憲法). The constitution was known for its inclusion of Article 9—a clause that
dictates that the Japanese state renounces the right to declare war or have a military force.
Prior to this point, “peace” had meant the end of the Second World War. The heiwa kenpo,
added another associations. Kenzaburo Oe, a Nobel Prize-winning novelist, described how
he and other children had read the Peace Constitution in school, and even as a child, he felt
that the Constitution was a revolutionary and unique thing, but he would grapple over how
Japan would be able to maintain this pacifist stance. In later years, he would find his
answer; he would describe that the success of Article 9 or “world peace” could and would
only be maintained through trust in the United States (to defend Japan) and the United
Nations (to lead the world away from war).
18
As the part of the Yakeato Sedai ( 焼け跡世
代) or “Burned-out Ruins” generation—the generation of children that had been literally
and figuratively burned by the repercussions of the Pacific War— Kenzaburo had been
consciously engaging with the idea of “peace” in Japan since 1947. The Burned-out Ruins
generation fixated on the concept of “peace” and would (for decades) constantly reinforce
an anti-military narrative.
Japan’s infatuation with non-aggression would only be compounded with economic
growth. Because the Peace Constitution had excused Japan from maintaining a military, the
Japanese government dedicated its resources to economic recovery, growth and prosperity.

18
Kenzaburo Oe, “Soul of Okinawa,”
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/234915103?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=14749
13 | D e r

While there were other factors that galvanized Japan’s economy during the 1960s, “peace”
would be incorporated by nihonjinron theorists as a quintessential element for Japan’s
contemporary identity and reason for economic growth. Japan’s popular media products
would ultimately be influenced by the ubiquity of peace as well.
The specific timing and the sudden popularity of Japanese superheroes such as
Ultraman and Kamen Rider were greatly influenced by the Post-War era culture and
represented a certain optimism towards Japan’s prospects. For example, Japan’s superhero
genre demonstrated Japan’s optimism and faith in the international community by having
non-Japanese heroes fight for Japan. Since Japan could not have an acting military, their
defense came from outside the realm of Japanese society. Thus, heroes such as Ultraman
and Kamen Rider were non-humans willing to defend Japan. Because these two franchises
have flooded their markets with live action dramas, comics, and other media products for
decades, their continued serialization and evolution suggests an ongoing demonstration of
how an element of Japanese nationalism and its place in the world has developed over the
decades.
Order and “Peace” through Ultraman
At its conception in 1966, Ultraman captured thirty to forty percent of the television
audience and proliferated an idealized future for Japan.
19
While Ultraman would spawn
over twenty television spin-offs and other derivative comics, the most iconic character is

19
Ragone, 112
14 | D e r

the original hero that fans acknowledge as “Ultraman.”
20
The franchise’s first narrative is
initially set during the 1990s and follows the Japanese branch of the Science Special Search
Party (SSSP)—an international organization dedicated to understanding the rationale
behind bizarre global events and mediating between the Earth and intergalactic species.
According to the original mythology, Shin Hayata, the human protagonist and active
member of the SSSP, was on patrol when he encountered two aliens. The two outsiders—
Ultraman and a monster named “Bemular”—were engaged in combat. Caught in the
crossfire, Shin Hayata was killed. Feeling responsible over Shin’s death, Ultraman revived
Shin by fusing with the human. Together, the duo acted as mediators between humanity and
various alien species. When negotiations fail, Shin’s body would transcend into Ultraman’s
and the conflict would be resolved through violence. While the show’s formula is juvenile,
the series has some narrative designs that circulated and reinforced certain ideas about
Japan’s developing cultural identity.
As a product made during the second wave of contemporary Nihonjinron, the show
reinforced a patriotic sentiment. While there is no proof that series creator, Eiji Tsuburaya,
had made the conscious effort to create a nationalist superhero, the articulation of
Ultraman’s enemies as outsiders seeking to exploit Japan’s resources, the visual goal of
protecting an economically prosperous Japan, and the desire to separate Japan from foreign
influences reinforces both a conservative and nationalist sentiment. Most of these ideas are

20
In this franchise, there are over twenty characters that have been endowed with the same name and title,
“Ultraman.” For the sake of clarity, the only character that would be referred to as “Ultraman” in this paper
is the 1966 protagonist.
15 | D e r

obscured through visual representations. For example, the temporal setting adds to the
ambiguity of the show. Initially, the show gave no indication of when this Science fiction
story occurred. However, months into the show’s initial run, there is an episode that
manages temporally situate the show in the 1990s.
21
While later franchise entries move the
narrative timeline to the 1960s, the show’s initial airing evokes the imagination of Japan’s
future in thirty years. The 1960s is tied to the rise of Japan’s economy; it was the decade
that individual Japanese households, national GDP had doubled, and Japan had reentered
the sphere of global significance. In addition, the unprecedented economic growth of the
sixties had given the Japanese a reason to be proud of their nation, center their worldview
within a domestic sphere, and have a sense of optimism towards the future.
22
By placing the
1960s into the 1990s, Ultraman suggests that the public fantasy was continued economic
prosperity. This interpretation takes Ultraman’s symbolism on a parallel track with Japan’s
economic revival and success.
Imagining Order and Chaos through Ultraman
Compared to American superheroes, especially Superman, Ultraman appears to be
apolitical and removed from any specific meaning. However, that is only because the
nationalistic sentiment is deeply encoded and not explicitly mentioned in the show. August
Ragone, a Japanese culture commentator, reported that Ultraman and his enemies
represented a conflict between the force of “Cosmos” and “Chaos.”
23
While it is not

21
Ultraman, episode 24 “My home is Earth”
22
Azuma Hiroki, “Hamlet as SF.” pg.77
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BB%84%E9%87%91%E6%99%82%E4%BB%A3
23
Ragone, 117
16 | D e r

explicitly stated, Ragone utilizes Hellenistic imagination for “Cosmos” and “Chaos,” these
terms directly refer to the state of society. “Cosmos” refers to an “orderly” or “peaceful”
society, and “Chaos” refers to society in disarray. Ultraman’s designer (Tohru Narita)
designed the hero based on a rocket ship and the bodhisattva of compassion to represent
“Cosmos.”
24

Because Ultraman had been designated as a symbol of “Cosmos,” his
enemies are understood to be agents of “Chaos.” The show is formulated to showcase
Ultraman’s victories against “Chaos.” By design, the show is a Japan-centered engagement;
it supposes that “peace” and “chaos” are in the hands of foreign powers. The chaotic
element arrives in the form of an alien presence seeking to take Japan’s natural resources or
to disrupt Japanese society. The invader’s opposition, Ultraman, is understood to be an ally
of Japan that seeks to maintain societal order. Despite the 1990s-narrative setting, the
show’s visual aesthetic reflects 1960s Japan. This suggests that “peace” has been associated
with Japan’s economic growth. Because Ultraman visually defends 1960s Japan, his goal is
understood as the maintenance of Japan’s economic prosperity. Furthermore, the Japanese
and scientific signifiers engraved upon Ultraman’s design associate a Japanese identity and
scientific development as a proponent of their economic growth and his constant victories
are meant to be celebrated.
There are many instances within the series that portray the foreign in a sympathetic
light, but threats to Japan’s resources still require that the foreign be repelled. For example,
the Baltan race had initially come to Earth as refugees because their planet had been

24
Ragone, 117
17 | D e r

destroyed by nuclear testing. Because of this, the Baltan ambassadors explain they need to
find a new planet to re-settle their population of 2.3 billion. While the SSSP protest that the
Earth (and visually Japan) could not sustain their large influx of immigrants. In a fit of rage,
one of Shin’s coworkers demand that the Baltan should just leave. In response, the
ambassadors claim that they would conquer the Earth if they needed to. With tensions
rising, the Baltan race begins to assault Japan and Ultraman intervenes. The conclusion of
this conflict is that Ultraman kills the ambassadors and destroys the refugee ship. The
episode concludes with a celebration of the continued maintenance of Japan’s growth.
25

While not all the monsters featured in the series are aliens, it is a repeating scenario:
Ultraman’s enemies seek to appropriate Japan’s resources in actions such as
overconsumption of Japan’s energy supply. Regardless of the alien’s story or how vicious
Ultraman could be, Ultraman’s triumph is celebrated. In the case of the Baltan, the
protection of Japanese land and stability was more important than the lives of an entire
refugee population. The audible cheers as the Balatan ship is destroyed suggest that victory
or success was defined by Ultraman’s ability to protect the image of 1960s Japan—its
associations with “peace,” economic prosperity, and a sense of unstated xenophobia.
Admittedly, the show’s anxiety towards foreigners becomes increasing complicated
when Ultraman’s nature is factored in. Ultraman protects Japan from invaders. However,
Ultraman himself is an alien outsider. Ultraman supports a Japanese branch of an
international organization, but the alien himself is not formally integrated into the SSSP.
Despite this clear division, Ultraman is the only character that can claim to be both a citizen

25
Ultraman ep. 2, Shoot the Invaders
18 | D e r

of Earth and an alien.
26
Visually, Ultraman’s claims do not go against the audience’s
expectations— Shin Hayata is a legal Japanese citizen and happens to be a part of him.
However, Ultraman vocalized an aspect of his dual identity: he is foreign, but can be
considered Japanese. Unlike the various other creatures that had been encountered
throughout the show, Ultraman was the only alien to claim an Earthling identity. Even the
former human turned monster, Jamilia, had his Earthling status legally rejected by the SSSP
and identified as a threat.
27
In the show’s narrative, the primary difference between an alien
like Jamila and Ultraman was their potential to benefit the narrative setting or “Japan.”
Jamilia mutated and wanted to attack the United Nations for abandoning him on a space
expedition. Ultraman sought to protect Japan from external threats. In a roundabout way,
the acceptance of Ultraman as an Earthling and the narrative rejection of Jamila follows the
same logic of Japan’s 1950 Naturalization Law. To become eligible for Japanese
naturalization, Japan’s Ministry of Justice required foreigners to either be financially self-
reliant or self-sufficient by financial assets.
28
While both the naturalization policy and
Ultraman suggested the possibility for foreigners to be integrated into Japanese society, the
legal nuance has implied a preference for skilled workers that would be beneficial to
Japanese society. Thus, Japan’s acceptance of foreigners seemed to be reliant on the
foreigner’s ability to assist or contribute positively to Japanese society. In this way, a sense
of nationalism is also present in Ultraman’s assertion of being an Earthling because it
suggested that Japan had become a desirable place in which to live.

26
Ultraman ep. 33, The Forbidden Words
27
Ultraman, episode 24 “My home is Earth”
28
http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/information/tnl -01.html
19 | D e r

Looking towards the Future: Ultraman’s Unrealized Fantasy
In the two-episode finale, the Science Special Search Party encountered an alien
race called the “Zetton.” In comparison to the other foreign invaders during the series, the
Zetton were the closest to conquering the Earth and the only species that successfully killed
Ultraman. Because the characters did not react to Ultraman’s death, the narrative does not
treat this as a momentous event. While the audience was supposed to mourn over
Ultraman’s death, a newly introduced character handed the SSSP a prototype weapon that
managed to eviscerate the invaders in a single blast. Because of the show’s previous
formula and the emphasis on the need for Ultraman, some fans had felt that this scene
broke their suspension of disbelief.
29
Their complaint was that if the Japanese could create
a weapon like that, then Ultraman’s entire existence would become meaningless.
Furthermore, another new character named “Zoffy” ( ゾフィー) descends to Earth, revives
Ultraman, and tells him that it is time to return to their home. Ultraman expresses a
reluctance to leave because that would mean Shin Hayata’s death. His superior promises to
revive Shin and then the last two aliens leave Japan. It is at this point where Shin reawakens
and forgets that events of the entire series.
Narratively, this scene seems inconspicuous. However, this theme fits with the
culture of the late 1960s; the Japanese had disassociated themselves with their imperial past
and the season finale lines up with the Zenkyōtō protests—a series of spontaneous student
protests focused on a variety of issues including the US-Japan security treaty and the

29
https://skreeonk.com/2012/06/24/ultraman-the-original-series-1966-1967/
20 | D e r

Vietnam War.
30
Thus, the initial conclusion to Ultraman seems to suggest that Japan would
be fine on its own. The ending’s potential symbolism is, however, undermined because the
United States and Japan would renew their security treaty in the following year (1968).
Tsuburaya Production created several derivative series would remove Shin’s amnesia.
31

Despite this, the Japanese SSSP’s triumph over Zetton is indicative of a nationalist
sentiment that advocated for a self-sufficient Japan.
In a cultural climate that was heavily anti-war and anti-military, Ultraman’s defeat
and his separation from Shin Hayata are symbolically charged. For the Ultraman franchise,
the monster fights had been the franchise selling point. Thus, for the Japanese to triumph
where Ultraman has failed suggests that Japan does not need their foreign ally anymore.
Since the US-Japan Security Treaty was due for another renegotiation in 1968, Ultraman’s
defeat and departure suggested a growing faith in Japan’s tech industries. Following this
logic and rationale, it seems possible that Tsuburaya Production speculated that the US-
Japan Security Treaty would not be renewed in 1968. In addition to that, Shin Hayata’s
amnesia and separation from Ultraman suggest a rebirth for the character and freed him
from the responsibility of combat and allowed the two to part on amiable terms. By
combining these two details, there seemed to be both the hope and anticipation for a

30
Oguma, Eiji,” Japan's 1968: A Collective Reaction to Rapid Economic Growth in an Age of Turmoil 日本の
1968 混乱期の高度成長への共同体的反応” , http://apjjf.org/2015/13/11/Oguma-Eiji/4300.html
31
To my knowledge, there has been at least 2 products developed that are made to explore why the Zetton
race had been defeated or how they had survived the actual attack. These products are a novel called
Ultraman F and Eiichi Shimizu’s Ultraman (2011) comic.
21 | D e r

peaceful Japan free from foreign influence. However, the US-Japan Security treaty was
renewed in 1968. Thus, the series’ speculative end in 1967 was invalidated.
In a 1972 version, Shin Hayata’s amnesia was changed.
32
Instead of forgetting
Ultraman, Shin Hayata anticipates the day he could renews his relationship with Ultraman.
This thematic change suggests that Japan seeks to continue its relationship with foreign
entities. In terms of spin-offs, this specific conclusion has spawned numerous sequels that
explore or contest what this finale represents. For Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro
Shimoguchi, Ultraman’s season finale would become a major plot in their series, Ultraman
Begins (2011); the two authors utilize the finale to discuss their understanding of Japan’s
foreign relations. However, this trend is most prominent in the twenty-first century. In the
years following 1968 and into the 1970s, Japan’s superhero genre continued to represent
the articulation of an essential Japanese character.
Approaching Shocker: The invention of Kamen Rider
Unlike Ultraman, the Kamen Rider franchise was initially more explicitly in their
political engagement. The reason for this was that Kamen Rider started as a Media Mix
Project— a Japanese marketing strategy to disperse content across multiple media
platforms— between Toru Hirayama, a Toei Production executive, and Shotaro Ishinomori,
a prolific science fiction author.
33
Initially, the project utilized Ishinomori’s popularity to
develop a dedicated fan base. Despite experiencing an accident that hospitalized the lead
actor and caused the show to temporarily tank, the television viewing average for the

32
http://urutoraman.wikia.com/wiki/Shin_Hayata
33
Jorge Salas, http://tokusatsunetwork.com/2016/07/the-history-of-tokusatsu-part-5-kamen-rider/
22 | D e r

franchise still averaged over twenty percent.
34
This convinced Toei to flood the markets
with more content; by the beginning of 2017, the “Kamen Rider” brand expanded to
include over thirty television series, over forty movies, eighteen video games, and over
twenty comic book titles.
35
Besides its marketing impact, the sheer density of material has
deepened the complexity of Kamen Rider’s cosmology. The most culturally dynamic aspect
in the mythology of the franchise was its conception—both Ishinomori and Toei Production
Company produced products that shared the same title—Kamen Rider. The result of this is
that during 1971 there were two interpretations of Japan embedded within Kamen Rider.
Structurally, both Ishinomori’s and Toei Company’s Kamen Rider are identical. The
events of Kamen Rider occurred in a parallel world terrorized by a secret, “evil”
organization named “Shocker.” Shocker sought to enslave humanity by coercing them into
submission. Shocker’s primary recruitment strategy was to kidnap talented individuals,
mechanizing their victims’ bodies, and then program them to become subservient. Takeshi
Hongo, the series’ protagonist, was a promising scientist until he was captured and
remodeled into a cyborg. When Shocker tried to reprogram and enslave Hongo, they
shocked him with over 50,000 volts of electricity. The shock woke Hongo up and caused
him to react; before he understood what had happened, he had broken free from his steel
shackles and murdered his captor.
36
While Hongo then proceeded to escape, he was
constantly bombarded with signs that his body was no longer human. His complete

34
Kodansha, 仮面ライダー1971~1984 秘蔵写真と初公開資料で蘇る昭和ライダー10 人, pg 87, 90, 111
35
Kamen Rider Wiki
36
Kamen Rider, vol., pg 4-6, Kamen Rider Episode 1
23 | D e r

separation from humanity consumed Hongo with grief and galvanized his resolve to end
Shocker as Kamen Rider to assert his human subjectivity. Because of his fixation on this
goal, Hongo Takeshi’s development was static during his initial television run. In fact,
Hongo’s character was ultimately defined by his resistance to Shocker. This was the trend
that both mediums shared. Despite sharing the same premise and elements, the two
products illustrated the creative differences between Toei and Ishinomori in their
articulation of “evil.” The difference between the two visions represents and demonstrates a
liberal writer’s anxiety and the conservative’s idealism towards Japan’s future.
A Liberal’s Anxiety towards the Future
As a member of the Burned-out Ruins generation, Shotaro Ishinomori had been
influenced by the ubiquity of Japan’s leftist stance; in other words, non-aggression or
“peace” had been essentialized as a characteristic of a Japanese identity and would become
a reoccurring theme in Ishinomori’s narratives. In 1970, Japan’s political and academic
thought had been challenged when Hata Ikuhito criticized the leftist position as a
masochistic view of history or Jigyakushikan ( 自虐史観).
37
At the heart of Hata’s critique
was the sentiment that leftist historians, writers, and pacifists had exaggerated Imperial
Japan’s wartime atrocities from 1945 to 1970 and encouraged the Japanese youth to feel
ashamed of their own ethnic heritage.
38
With the rising nationalism from Japan’s continued
decade-long economic growth, Hata suggested that the Japanese should be proud of their

37
Rosenbaum, 103
38
Carol Gluck, "The Idea of the Showa," pg 7
24 | D e r

ethnicity. Ishinomori disagreed with Hata’s rationale. In his circulation of Kamen Rider,
Ishinomori would illustrate that an economically prosperous Japan did not give the Liberal
Democratic Party (LDP) a free pass to ignore the nation’s historical misdeeds. In other
words, a growing and robust economy was no excuse for the LDP to escape its moral duties
and obligations.
In a rather unflattering association, Ishinomori’s Kamen Rider states that Shocker is
the product of the LDP.
39
In both the comic and the television drama, Shocker is
unquestionably characterized as an “evil.” By association, Ishinomori suggests that the
LDP has at least participated in “evil” actions and he proceeds to visually illustrate and
name drops the government’s crimes. In the first volume, Ishinomori dedicates six pages
out of a chapter to illustrate and to protest industrial pollution. The pages include two two-
page pan shots of a massive demonstration that explicitly references how Chisso dumped
its industrial waste into Minamata bay and caused mass Mercury poisoning in 1955 and the
Kawasaki pollution protest during the 1960s against severe air and water pollution that
caused locals to develop chronic bronchitis.
40
Both events are historical consequences of
rapid industrialization that are removed from Japan’s public memory. During the comic’s
initial weekly publication, readers were only given the association that Shocker attacked
protesters and tried to suppress democratic opposition. Because “Shocker” became
interchangeable with the “LDP.” The implication is that the Japanese government had

39
Ishinomori, Kamen Rider vol. 4 pg 99
40
Ishinomori, Kamen Rider vol. 1, 206-211
25 | D e r

historically tried to forget the ways that the industrialization of Japan’s economic boom had
crippled the lives of its own citizens.
Another example of how Ishinomori lambasted the LDP is seen in how he
incorporates the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI)’s global marketing
strategy into Shocker’s world domination plot. Historically, MITI had been credited for
allowing multiple Japanese electronics companies to cooperate and manipulate the price of
electronic goods. In the Kamen Rider narrative, the proliferation of cheap electronics is part
of the LDP’s two step plan to mechanize humanity and then control them through radio
frequencies that will be emitted by Japan’s cheap electronics.
41
While this plan contains
several fantastical elements, the mechanization of the human body for the sake of a more
compliant workforce was another manifestation of the anxiety towards the LDP’s
management of Japan’s economy. By stressing the LDP’s failures, Ishinomori was asking
his readers to vigilantly observe the LDP.
This message was only reinforced with the repeated references to Prime Minster
Eisaku Sato.
42
Sato was Prime Minster from 1967 to 1972 and one of his most notable
actions was the reparation of Okinawa. Sato was also awarded the Nobel Prize in 1974; it
was during his award speech that he stressed that Japan was against nuclear weapons, did
not have nuclear weapons, and that the world should aim for nuclear disarmament.
43
Since

41
Ishinomori, Kamen Rider vol.4, pg 36
42
Ishinomori, Kamen Rider Vol. 3, 129
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1974/sato-lecture.html
43
Eisaku Sato, Nobel Prize Speech, http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1974/sato-
lecture.html
26 | D e r

double digit economic growth had also occurred throughout his time as Prime Minster,
Eisaku Sato has all the ingredients to be a fondly remembered politician. However, his
legacy is complicated because of the nature of Okinawan reparation. The 1971 Okinawa
Reversion Agreement returned Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty, but it also allowed the
United States to occupy and have military bases in Okinawa. It was also a publicly known
secret that President Nixon arranged to place tactical nukes in Okinawa until 1972.
44
By
referencing Sato and nuclear weapons in the same scene, Ishinomori unabashedly reminds
his readers that they should be mindful of the government’s actions and not intoxicated by
the flowing double digit wealth. These political references indicate that Ishinomori was
anxious about Japan’s faith in the LDP and the future Japan was taking. Despite the validity
of Ishinomori’s warnings, his version of Kamen Rider would be the less popular adaptation
because Japan’s dominant sentiment chose to believe in the LDP during the 1970s.
Toei’s Vision: The Hero and Nihonjinron Support
While Ishinomori was the creative force for Kamen Rider, Toei's marketing insight
is what caused Kamen Rider to become an enduring franchise. In the 1970s, Toei
executives such as Hirayama Tohru and Watanabe Yoshinori were enamored by
Ishinomori's creativity and felt confident in their ability to challenge Ultraman’s monopoly
on the superhero genre.
45
Despite their confidence in Ishinomori's creativity, Toei’s
adaptation departed from Ishinomori’s vision. According to Toei’s mission statement, their

44
Antony Kun, “Japan Confirms Secret Nuclear Pacts With U.S.,”
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124567404
45
Jorge Salas, http://tokusatsunetwork.com/2016/07/the-history-of-tokusatsu-part-5-kamen-rider/
27 | D e r

production philosophy is to produce “quality entertainment for everyone.”
46
Toei explicitly
states that their products fit the needs of the public and that they will research their
audience's preference.
47
It is thus not a surprise that Toei decided to remove Ishinomori's
criticism of the popular LDP. Toei still adopted moments from Ishinomori’s story, but
changed the identity of Shocker to fit the political norm. The result of this change was that
the Toei Kamen Rider participated in the reimagination and proliferation of essential
Japanese cultural values.
In Toei’s television series, Shocker was never explicitly defined; the show
suggested that militarism was associated with Shocker (and by proxy “evil.”) Aesthetically,
the Nazi party had been globally accepted as a militant and evil signifier. Thus, when
Shocker’s underlings performed Nazi style salutes or when characters such as Colonel Zol
admitted their membership to the Nazi party, the characters confirmed that they were
“evil.” In addition to this, Toei included a Russian name “Dr. Shinigami” and a character
named General Black that wore a modified Russo-Japanese military uniform into their
pantheon of “evil.” The general trend of these actions and stereotypes is their historical or
symbolic reference to militarism. Like Hongo Takeshi, these members of Shocker appear to
be removed from human society and seem to represent an abstract concept. However, the
portrayal was inconsistent. In episodes six and seven of the original Kamen Rider, a retired
military officer knew the location of a buried Nazi treasure within Japan. The existence of

46
http://www.toei.co.jp/en/company/
47
http://www.toei.co.jp/en/company/contents.html
28 | D e r

this retired officer drew direct lineage to Imperial Japan’s connection with Nazi Germany
within the Axis of Powers.
This detail sounds like Toei followed Ishinomori in his critique of the LDP, but that
is not case. Japan is still tied to the creation of Shocker. However, it was Imperial Japan’s
military government that participated in Shocker’s creation. By introducing Imperial Japan
to Kamen Rider’s cosmology, Toei vindicates the LDP and disassociates contemporary
Japan from its imperial history.
The dissociation with Imperial Japan was another reoccurring theme in Japan’s
Post-War narrative. Toei’s Kamen Rider served to reinforce ideas that had been gaining
popularity during the 1970s. In the previous paragraph, militarism was imagined as “evil”
and Imperial Japan had been acknowledged as a past evil, but divorced from a
contemporary Japanese identity. Carol Gluck, a Japanese historian, has argued that the
Japanese had consciously reinvented themselves during the Post-War era as seen in their
temporal markers. Traditionally, time has been marked by years into an emperor’s reign.
For example, “Showa 20” is translated into 1945. After Japan’s defeat, “Showa” as an era
marker had fallen out of practice and was replaced by “Post-War.” Thus, “Showa 30”
turned into “Post-War 10.”
48
Like what had gone on in Kamen Rider’s encounter with
Imperial Japan, Post-War Japan had also disconnected itself from its military past. This
indicates that the Kamen Rider myth had become intertwined with the articulation of
Japanese identity. With the condemnation of military forces and the elevation of Japan’s

48
Gluck, pg 4-5
29 | D e r

economic success during the 1970s, Japanese superheroes reinforced the nihonjinron
discourse that “peace” was an essential Japanese trait.
For the most part, Toei had not been subtle about their advocacy of “peace.” Kamen
Rider’s entire season opened up with the song “Let’s go!! Kamen Rider”. Within the first
few seconds, viewers had been repeatedly bombarded with variations of this stanza:
Approaching Shocker, the infernal army.
We are targeted by the black shadow,
We shall protect the world peace.
Go! Go! Let's Go! The Shining Machine
Rider Jump! Rider Kick!
Kamen Rider! Kamen Rider!
Rider! Rider!
49

While the song is three stanzas’ long, the other stanzas are structurally similar: two lines are
dedicated to demonstrating that Shocker is evil, followed by an assertion of a goal, and then
four lines to encourage the hero to move faster. Because “peace” has been absorbed into
Japan’s self-perception and became a ubiquitous term in Japan, the term appropriates a
certain nuance and implication that become unique to Japan. For fans of Kamen Rider, the
song guided viewers on how to watch the show: Shocker is the "looming shadow" that
threatens "world peace" and then Kamen Rider must rush in against a seemingly invincible

49
Let’s go Kamen Rider!! Lyrics,
30 | D e r

enemy to "protect world peace." Because Ishinomori’s comic had not connected Kamen
Rider with “peace,” this becomes a Toei specific influence on the Kamen Rider cosmology.
However, what exactly is this song advocating? During the song’s publication in
1971, the Cold War was still raging. Thus, “World Peace” did not reference the global
situation, but something else. Visually, the show correlated “world peace” with Shocker’s
defeat in Japan. Thus, "protecting world peace" is decoded into the protection of Japanese
society. The song suggests Kamen Rider's continuous struggle to force “evil” out of Japan.
Since Toei’s evil has been interpreted as Japan’s Imperial history (and other moments that
might be considered globally shameful), the reiteration of “peace” acts to constantly
support the reasons why one should have been proud to be Japanese during the 1970s: their
economy had been developing nicely and peace had been culturally connected to a reason
for Japan’s economic success. While Ishinomori would disagree with this statement, Toei’s
work demonstrated and supported the nationalist sentiment that 1970s Japan had been
absolved of previous crimes. By disassociating 1970s Japan from “evil,” Toei participated
in the myth of Japan being free of “evil.”
If the general Japanese public was to believe that Japan had been mostly rid of
“evil” influences, then Japanese history would be defined by its reconstruction and
economic prosperity. The removal of negative associations implies that there is “nothing”
wrong in the state of Japan. By ignoring the negative consequences of industrialization like
pollution, Toei’s Kamen Rider portrayed Japan as a perfect state because of the
disassociation with negative influences and the ubiquitous propounding of optimism
31 | D e r

towards Japan’s economic development. The belief that Japan could only improve its
standard of living combined with its naïve optimism suggests an appeal to the Japanese
public to imagine Japan as a utopian state. This sentiment had been reinforced by
superheroes such as Kamen Rider that sought to advocate for peace and repel “evil.”
However, as Japan entered the twenty-first century, its framework for “peace” and
optimism towards the future would deconstruct.
5. The End of Idealism: Twenty-first Century Japan
By 1992, Japan’s optimism towards the future had declined. In the 1960s and 1970s,
Japan’s superhero genre reflected Japan’s idealism towards the future. The genre
reinforced two political discourses: the disassociation of Japan’s imperial history from
public memory and the proliferation of “peace” as an explanation towards Japan’s
explosive economic growth. However, Japan’s economy began its downward spiral in the
beginning of the 90s. Because Japan’s economic strength was a prerequisite for idealism,
Japan’s perspective on “peace” underwent a rapid transformation. Curiously, both Kamen
Rider and Ultraman would momentarily leave the television scene by the end of the eighties
and be recreated during the twenty-first century.
Both Ultraman’s and Kamen Rider’s mythology were conceived during an idealistic
era and thematically explore Japan’s understanding of “peace.” Because “peace” was
associated with the end of the Second World War, economic prosperity, and faith in the
international community, both Ultraman’s and Kamen Rider’s mythology shifted during the
twenty-first century. Kamen Rider and the other Showa-era riders (the lead characters in
Kamen Rider’s derivative works) would get a direct comic sequel in Kenichi Muraeda’s
32 | D e r

Kamen Rider Spirits (2001-2009). The comic sequel to the original Ultraman would be
published a decade later with Eiichiro Shimizu’s and Tomohiro Shimoguchi’s Ultraman
Begins (2011-current). In both comics, the tone is drastically different from their source
material; the darker tone and repeated question of Japan’s “peaceful” state indicate an
anxiety towards “peace” and everything Japan had associated with the term. While the two
comics are from different franchises, Muraeda’s and the Shimizu-Shimoguchi duo’s
narrative approach are strong indicators about the different cultural tensions that has
emerged during the first decade of the millennium and the second decade.
Kamen Rider Spirits: Divorcing “Peace” from Nationalism
While both choujin superheroes (Ultraman and Kamen Rider) are tied to the same
symbolism, Kamen Rider encountered the twenty-first century before Ultraman in Kenichi
Muraeda’s Kamen Rider Spirits (2001-2009).
50
Muraeda’s story follows Taki Kazuya, a
former FBI agent, as he unites the Riders (Kamen Rider and his associates) against a new
terrorist organization (the Badan Empire) to protect “peace.” The narrative pays a clear
homage to Kamen Rider, but the nuance of “peace” and confidence in Japan’s future has
shifted. Unlike the 1971 drama, Muraeda assumes that his readership would not believe in
Kamen Rider, the symbolism that he represents, and hope for the future. Thus, he
introduces and stresses the idea of “faith” into his narrative; he asks his readers and
characters to believe in “Kamen Rider.” In addition to that, Kamen Rider Spirits expands
the narrative setting beyond Japan’s borders and incorporates a multi-ethnic cast. The

50
Admittedly, the series extends past this 8-year period. Muraeda’s initial publisher went bankrupt and
ended this series. However, because of the popularity of Kamen Rider Spirits, another publisher immediately
picked it up, adapted the series under a new name, and is still producing new content.
33 | D e r

result of Muraeda’s altercations is that “peace” is no longer associated as a “unique”
Japanese trait and this implies that Japan’s 1960s’ and 1970ss future vision is no longer an
assumed reality. Toei allowed Muraeda to alter the givens of Kamen Rider’s cosmology to
convince his audience to think about Japan’s current international relations, its implications
on “peace,” and Japan’s possible future. These dynamics are repeatedly demonstrated in the
Taki Kazuya’s and Eisuke Mikage’s life philosophies. The result of Toei’s acceptance and
the continued debate indicates that 21
st
century the Japanese acknowledged that Japan’s
global position influenced the viability of “peace.” However, Toei’s continued approval of
this narrative and the ideological debate suggests that Japan’s twenty-first audience wants a
reason to believe in the future envisioned in the 1960s and 70s.
The Evolution of Kamen Rider under Toei’s watchful eye
The Toei Production company remained mindful of how the Kamen Rider
cosmology is portrayed. For example, in December, 2011, author and artist duo, Eiichi
Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi, received a cease-and-desist request by Toei
Production Company for their online publication of their fan-made comic, Hybrid
Insector.
51
In Japan, the cease-and-desist copyright violation is generally unenforced.
Japanese media companies accept the rampant distribution and profiteering of fan made
parodies for several reasons including free advertisement.
52
Fans hypothesized that the
reason why the duo received a cease-and-desist request is because of the comic’s
popularity.
53
Perhaps this fan version conflicted with Toei’s definition of “good content for

51
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=13868
52
https://www.tofugu.com/japan/doujinshi -definition/
53
http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Hybrid_Insector
34 | D e r

everyone.” In the narrative setting of Hybrid Insector, the Japanese government acts in
opposition to Kamen Rider and his successors. Because Kamen Rider is symbolically tied
to “peace” and “justice,” the Japanese government’s opposition to Kamen Rider makes
them “evil.” Depending on how sincerely Toei believes in their mission statement and the
image of their intellectual property, the direct villainization of the Japanese government
could be interpreted as problematic content. Because there has been no public explanation
for why the cease-and-desist request was sent, this analysis remains speculative.
Furthermore, with Shimizu’s and Shimoguchi’s twitter announcement on June 2016, it
seems that the comic duo had somehow received permission from Toei to restart their
series.
54
This suggests that something had changed between December 2011 and June 2016
that convinced Toei that the Shimizu-Shimoguchi vision had become palatable to the
Japanese audience. The takeaway from this exchange was that Toei demonstrated a
protective reaction to the presentation of the Kamen Rider cosmology and could have felt
that a critique of the LDP was tasteless.
Missing Faith: Do you believe in Peace?
The enduring publication of Muraeda’s adaptation indicates a continued approval
from both Toei Production Company and his readership. Since Muraeda added the question
of faith in the Kamen Rider cosmology, this suggests that his initial readership also
questioned the stability of “peace” during the twenty-first century. However, this
conversation is not at the forefront of Muraeda’s narrative. Like the original Kamen Rider,
Muraeda utilizes the choujin as a device and signifier to speculate on Japan’s future. By

54
https://twitter.com/nadegata_circus/status/741514413778173952
35 | D e r

relocating the Showa era Riders into the twenty-first century and openly discussing both
Taki’s and Mikage’s philosophies, Muraeda makes a fantastical narrative familiar enough
that Japan’s peace discourse can be invoked.
The use of Kamen Rider and the other Showa era Riders are usually understood as
an era markers, but that is not the case in Kamen Rider Spirits. The original inspiration for
Muraeda’s comic, Kamen Rider ZX: Dragon Road, initially occurred in the 80s, but
Muraeda’s product placement shows a change in temporality. For example, one of the
characters utilized a Sony Vaio laptop—a product that has its earliest production during
1997.
55
Despite the story’s origins, the Showa Era Riders have been relocated to the
twenty-first century. This is significant because the goal of the original Kamen Rider was
the maintenance of Japan’s booming economy. By placing Takeshi Hongo and his
compatriots in the twenty-first century, Muraeda is placing 1970s through 1980s heroes in a
setting where “world peace” or the illusion of a “perfect” Japan had already been lost.
Because Kamen Rider symbolizes “peace,” the temporal slip suggests the need to remove
economic prosperity from Japan’s prerequisite for “peace.”
However, another aspect of Japan’s previous articulation of “peace”—faith in the
international community— was under fire during by the twenty-first century. In 1991,
during the first Gulf War, US-Japan relations were called into question; American officials
inquired how Japan could be an American ally if it did not send troops.
56
In addition to this

55
Tom Warren, A look back at Sony’s Iconic Vaio Computers, The Verge
http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/6/5385716/sony-vaio-iconic-pcs-photo-essay
Kamen Rider Spirits, chapter 2, pg 67
56
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-military-history-insight-idUSKBN0U300D20151220
36 | D e r

event, In September 2002, the Japanese public received a confirmation that North Korean
agents had captured thirteen Japanese nationals off the coasts of Japan from 1977 to 1983,
but the United States failed to make this a priority.
57
During the Six Party Talks in 2003,
both Koreas, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States met to discuss the dismantling of
North Korea’s nuclear weapon program. While the Japanese wanted to address the issue of
their abducted citizens, the United States had felt that mentioning the issue would detract
from the discussion on North Korea’s nuclear program.
58
While the US-Japan relationship
had been a constant in Japanese politics since the end of the Second World War, many
Japanese perceived these moments as signs that trust in the foreign community was
becoming unreliable. The combination of these events changed Japan’s perspective on its
regional stability and this had galvanized a renegotiation of Japan’s understanding of
“peace.” It is under this cultural backdrop, that Muraeda implores his readers to have faith
in Kamen Rider and the possibility for “peace.”
When Muraeda begins Kamen Rider Spirits, he immerses his audience into a
narrative and de-familiarizes them with their reality. This occurs when Muraeda begins his
story with a fantastical sight of a young woman being killed by a humanoid vampire bat;
from this introduction alone, the comic presents itself as a horrific thriller. The following
scene transition situates the readers in the New York Police Department where the officers
are discussing the fact that the woman was the thirteenth mummified victim in a serial
killing. Taki Kazuya, the protagonist, asks the Police chief, “Why hasn't there been a public

57
Kingston, Contemporary Japan, pg 128
58
Kingston, 128-129
37 | D e r

announcement? Is there a point to concealing this case? Or are you suggesting that there is
some politician making you cover this case?”
59
The scene continues with the police chief
grasping the collar of Taki’s shirt and asserting that Taki has no business dealing with this
case. Taki then asks the police chief as he leaves the scene, “Is having this kind of
arrangement really alright? In this country, there really is no Kamen Rider.”
Taki’s claim that there is “no Kamen Rider” acts a multi-layered comment.
Symbolically, the “Kamen Rider” hero embodies the “protection of world peace” through
the enforcement of justice. By accepting that the police or government officials may not act
in the public’s best interest and that the spirit of Kamen Rider is absent from the narrative
universe. However, this line is also a literal truth: reality has no Kamen Rider. When
Kamen Rider’s symbolic weight is added to the situation, the absence of justice can be
applied to both reality and the narrative. Thus, the declaration that there is “no Kamen
Rider” reinforces a nihilistic sentiment that some scholars such as Douglas Mcgray and
Azuma Hiroki feel is prominent in Japan’s youth culture during the twenty-first century.
60

Despite this dramatic confrontation and Muraeda’s invocation of reality, Taki tries
to forget the event and tries to track the murderer. He eventually finds out that the murderer
is a child victim—he has been transformed into a monster and acted like a vampire. Taki
tries to convince the child to calm down and remain in control. He tells the child that he has
a choice: to become a monster or to become a hero like Kamen Rider. The boy hesitates

59
Muraeda, pg 14, Kamen Rider Spirits vol 1
While “Taki” is the character’s personal name and most characters are referred to by their last name, the
fandom refers to “Taki Kazuya” as “Taki.” Because there happens to be another character named “Kazuya”
in the Kamen Rider cosmology, I will refer to this character as “Taki”
60
https://www.japansociety.org/resources/content/2/0/5/4/documents/azuma_mcgray%20interview.pdf
38 | D e r

and then flees. It is in his second encounter that Muraeda introduces his reoccurring theme
when he asks the victim: “Won’t you believe (in Kamen Rider)?” On the surface, Taki is
asking a youth to believe in a specific fictional character. Once subtext is applied, Taki is
asking the youth believe that justice exists and that he could control his own fate. On
metanarrative level, Muraeda is asking his audience to believe in the symbolism of Kamen
Rider—someone who will actively pursue justice and guarantee “peace.” Thus, the child’s
hesitation can represent the political culture or moral decay in the 21
st
century.
Conflicting Future Visions
Both Toei and Muraeda accept the premise of nihilism within Japanese youth
culture, but the goal of this comic is the restoration of faith and the possibility in Japan’s
future. On the surface, this faith seems to fixated around Kamen Rider and his relationship
to “peace.” However, the comic has a more nuanced interpretation than that. From 1971 to
1989, the Kamen Rider narratives followed a single choujin that could act outside the
boundaries of Japanese society and maintain Japan’s “peaceful” society. Because Japan
renounced the use of military force, the Riders’ loss of humanity provided a convenient
loophole that allowed them to act outside the boundaries of conventional Japanese society.
Muraeda renounces this methodology. Muraeda’s narrative refuses to place the possibility
of Japan’s future and possibility for “peace” in the hands of a single outsider. Taki’s ability
to combine the Showa era Riders with a multi-ethnic global defense force indicates that
Muraeda’s narrative suggests that possibility of “peace” is in the hands of the unified
group. Thus, Taki places his faith in the unity and cooperation of the international
community rather than in a single outsider’s hands.
39 | D e r

During Taki’s initial conversation with Conrad Gehlen, he condemns the previous
assumption that Japan’s safety should solely be in the hands of Kamen Rider and his
associates. During the meeting, Gehlen explains that he and his compatriots were willing to
leave their homes, and fight the Badan. Gehlen claims that he and his compatriots are
willing to remove themselves from humanity and become cyborgs if it means Badan’s
destruction. Taki criticizes Gehlen’s resolve and states that Kamen Rider and his associates
are destined to die unnaturally. Taki expresses empathy and explains that he understands
Gehlen’s reasoning and that humans are physically inferior to cyborgs, but he asserts that
his “spirit” would allow him to survive and win against Badan.
61
By explicit design,
Muraeda reallocates Japan’s safety outside the hands of Kamen Rider and into the hands of
humanity and its allies. This is a stark difference from the original television show that
suggested that the possibility for “peace” would be in the hands of a single outsider such as
the United States. Taki implies that Japan would have an active role in their maintenance of
peace. In addition, the narrative implies that Badan decimated militaries around the world.
62

Thus, Mureada’s decision to make Taki’s international defense force, Spirits, as the main
force against Badan. By design, Spirits forces characters to place their hopes for “world
peace” in an international task force. Furthermore, by naming the force after Taki’s ideals,
Mureada links faith and the opportunity for “peace” in the hands of international
cooperation.

61
Muraeda, pg 55-57, Kamen Rider Spirits vol. 10
62
Mureada, pg 9-10, Kamen Rider Spirits vol 10
Mureada, pg 135, Kamen Rider Spirits vol 5
40 | D e r

As an antagonist, Muraeda’s Eisuke Mikage challenges Taki’s ideals and the
symbolism behind the Kamen Rider. In terms of the franchise’s cosmology, the
personalities of the Kamen Riders are static characters that do not undergo any major
changes in personality. However, Muraeda handles his antagonist characters differently
from his predecessors: they are now both ideologically and physically opposed to the
protagonists. In his introduction, Eisuke Mikage is introduced to Taki Kazuya, the series’
protagonist, as an Interpol agent. His physical appearance looks more akin to a member of a
Japanese biker gang from the eighties as evident from his leather jacket, pompadour styled
hair, and his chain-smoking habit. As a character trope in Japanese cinema during the 80s,
the biker punk had traditionally been depicted as an anarchist character that disagrees with
the structure of society. However, as scholars such as Oguma Eiji have pointed out, the
protests by youth had generally been curbed by the stability of lifetime employment during
Japan’s economic prosperity.
63
However, Mikage had not given up his anarchist tendencies
and had openly opposed the vision of “World Peace” from the seventies. In his first line of
dialogue, he describes Japan like this: “I have no interest in a peace-drunk nation [Heiwa
Boke shita shimakuni ( 平和ボケした島国) domesticated by stronger nations.”
64
“Peace
Drunk” captures Mikage’s harsh tone, but there’s also a nuance that has been left
underexplored. In Japanese manzai comedy, there are two actors: the straight man and the
stooge (boke). However, the boke could also refer to the punchline. In a rather scathing

63
Oguma Eiji, Japan's 1968: A Collective Reaction to Rapid Economic Growth in an Age of Turmoil,
http://apjjf.org/2015/13/11/Oguma-Eiji/4300.html
64
Muraeda, Kamen Rider Spririts vol. 3, pg 15
41 | D e r

moment, Mikage is claiming that the Japanese conception of “peace” is a joke and he
claims that “peace” in Japan is the domestication of the country by stronger nations. From
this interpretation of Japan, Mikage would later demonstrate his anarchist tendencies and
claim: “There is no good or evil in this rotten world! The strong will survive! And those left
over define ‘Justice.’”
65
If one interprets that the Heiwa Kenpo had been imposed on Japan,
interpret imperial Japanese history as “evil,” and then sees the structures of “peace”
dissolve, Mikage’s opinion of the world could be rationalized and understood with some
degree of truth. However, the issue with this train of thought is the inherent sense of
hopelessness and powerlessness that it places upon Japan. Ironically, Muraeda’s only
counterpoint to this is that Japan needs to believe in Kamen Rider or a peaceful future.
As previously mentioned, the rationale for supporting Article 9 emerged as a
response to faith in the international community. However, an alternate interpretation is that
Japan’s peace constitution was forced onto Japan by Douglas MacArthur with a loose
promise of protecting Japan if it ever fell under attack. The Japanese realization that their
citizens were captured by North Korean agents with no response from the United States,
puts the trust in the US-Japan relationship in question. In the absence of trust and with the
room to interpret that the peace constitution was forced upon Japan, Mikage’s claim that
Japan’s vision of peace as a doctrine enforced by a stronger country (the United States) can
be understood. To complicates matters, Mikage manages to survive near death situations
multiple times. In the superhero genre, there is a trend that the villain’s defeat results in
their loss of autonomy and symbolizes the dominance of the hero’s vision. With Mikage’s

65
Muraeda, Kamen Rider Spirits vol. 3, pg 66
42 | D e r

persistence and constant return, his nihilism never truly disappears from the narrative
universe.
Despite Mikage’s persistence and conviction, Muraeda frames Taki’s faith (the
Spirit defense force) as the ideal narrative solution against Mikage’s nihilism. While
Mikage’s ideology sounds rationale, Taki’s ideology convinces others to join and work
towards a goal. In this way, Muraeda is suggesting that it is tempting and reasonable to fall
into Mikage’s nihilism. However, that would not fix Japan’s issues. The continued
dominance and physical circulation of Taki’s faith suggest that Japan acknowledges its
declining global position, but they want to believe in the possibility that Japan could work
together with the international community towards “world peace.”
Ultraman Begins: Anxieties towards Potential Militarism
From November 2011, Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimaguchi’s contribution to
the Ultraman franchise—Ultraman Begins— cast doubt on Japan’s status as a “harmonious
society” by questioning its relationship to the foreign community.
66
Tsuburaya Production’s
and Kodansha’s decision to employ the Shimizu-Shimaguchi duo marks a shift in the
Ultraman cosmology. For decades, Ultraman and his derivative successors strove to
maintain order by protecting Japanese society. The implication embedded in Ultraman’s
myth is that Japanese society is traditionally harmonious. In Shimizu’s narratives, he
disassociates harmony from the Japanese government. More specifically, the Shimizu-
Shimaguchi duo have a narrative trend that illustrates ambivalence towards the Japanese

66
http://ultra.wikia.com/wiki/ULTRAMAN_(2011_manga): The series was marketed as Ultraman Begins and
then changed to become known as Ultraman(manga). For the sake of clarity, Shimizu’s comic would be
referred to as Begins and the television series would be referred to in italics as Ultraman.
43 | D e r

government. Without a doubt, the duo’s narrative tendency is to show the necessity of
government, but express distrust towards its institutions. In their previous handling of
Kamen Rider, the duo explicitly villainized the Japanese government by making it the
newest representation of “evil.” Toei Production, the company that owns the Kamen Rider
property, requested that the Shimizu-Shimaguchi duo discontinue their free publication.
Despite having a similar mission statement to Toei, Tsuburaya Production Co. would
personally request the duo to handle the Ultraman Begins adaptation.
67
This decision
combined with the ongoing success of the franchise shows that the Japanese public in the
2010s could accept the premise and is also indicative of another point: Japan’s image of
order is under review.
Reimagining the Übermensch: The Japanese Superman in the 21
st
Century
Despite Ultraman’s status as a cultural phenomenon during the mid-1960s, the
franchise’s popularity waned and convinced Tsuburaya Production to reinvent their product
twice in the span of less than a decade.
68
The most successful comic is Eichii Shimizu’s and
Tomohiro Shimoguchi’s Ultraman Begins. The story takes place decades after the 1966
Ultraman and explores the following questions: What happened after Ultraman disappeared
in the original series? What does the name “Ultraman” mean? And why is the concept of

67
Deb Aoki. "Interview: Mangaka Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi." Anime News Network. Anime
News Network, 17 Sept. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2016. "Ultra N Project." Ultraman Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May
2017.
68
More specifically, Ultraman Nexus was Tsuburaya Production’s first attempt to modernize the franchise
and Eiichi Shimizu’s and Tomohiro Shimoguchi’s 2011 Ultraman comic was the company second attempt.
Since Shimizu’s and Shimoguchi’s comic is still ongoing, this marks their comic as the single longest running
Ultraman product.
Deb Aoki. "Interview: Mangaka Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi." Anime News Network. Anime
News Network, 17 Sept. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2016. "Ultra N Project." Ultraman Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May
2017.
44 | D e r

“Ultraman” important. These questions overlap with the comic’s setting in a “very modern”
Tokyo.
69
In an isolated, subterranean level, an SSSP sponsored alien enclave is formed and
exists to separate the human species from their alien counterparts. Because the protagonist
or the reader’s vehicle normalizes the Tokyo cityscape and is befuddled by the alien
enclave, this suggest that the subterranean or foreign sphere is treated as an abnormality.
In comparison to the source material, this comic sequel reinforces a continued
anxiety towards the foreign. This unease is propounded with the introduction of this
generation’s leader of the Scientific Special Search Party—an alien Zetton named “Edo.”
To longtime fans of the franchise, the reported lore is that the Zetton were the only species
to defeat Ultraman. His presence and his rise to power bring into question the autonomy of
Japan if he is leading one of Japan’s most important agencies. Because Japan had remained
in relative peace since Ultraman’s defeat in the original series, this suggests that Japan’s
“peace” remains in the hands of foreign powers. This situation mirrors Japan’s current and
previous historical status as an island nation that relies on the United States’ army to
maintain its international stability. In the 1966 series, this conclusion was not deemed
problematic. However, Tsuburaya Production had specifically requested the sequel to
Ultraman be more “modern.”
70
Thus, the comic’s transformation of Ultraman and his

69
Shimizu and Shimoguchi stressed that they had been requested by Tsuburaya Production to make their
comic “very modern” in aesthetic design.
Deb Aoki. "Interview: Mangaka Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi." Anime News Network. Anime
News Network, 17 Sept. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
70
Deb Aoki. "Interview: Mangaka Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi." Anime News Network. Anime
News Network, 17 Sept. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
45 | D e r

possible successors illustrates how some Japanese are utilizing the superhero genre to
speculate and explore the idea and consequences of remilitarizing their nation.
Changing “Order”
While Shimoguchi transformed Ultraman’s design under Tsuburaya Production’s
request, the transformation marks a physical and symbolic change in the Ultraman lore in a
way that suggests a shift in Japan’s faith in the international community. Until 1970,
Japan’s critique of the Second World War and its faith in the United States dominated the
national consciousness. This is reflected in the original 1966 Ultraman; in the original
show, the cast never doubted the foreign ally—Ultraman. In fact, Ultraman was explicitly
linked to well-venerated religious characters such as Noah and Kanon to represent a
messiah-like character that protected and maintained a prosperous Japan.
71
In its reborn
form, Shimoguchi changes the organic form of the hero into a mechanized power-suit. By
making Ultraman into a suit, the hero becomes both removed from its foreign origins and
becomes a mechanized tool. This sentiment is reinforced in the narrative when the SSSP
refers to Ultraman as a yokushi ( 抑止) or “deterrent.” Linguistically, yokushi is tied to
Japan’s imagination of nuclear weapons because the term is a part of a word called
“Kakuyokushi”—a term that literally translates to nuclear deterrence or deterrent theory.
The rationale behind Edo’s statement to why Ultraman is a deterrent and is needed to
protect Japan follows the same rationale of Deterrent Theory— the belief that the presence
of nuclear weapons will deter other states from utilizing their nuclear weapons out of fear

71
Tsuburaya Production Company, Ultraman Episode 7: “The Blue Stone of Baraji”
46 | D e r

for mutually assured destruction. Edo, the SSSP leader, argues that to protect Japan, a new
Ultraman deterrent needs to be revealed to prevent alien attacks. Thus, in this rather
specific way, Ultraman is being treated as a deterrent comparable to nuclear weapons.
Because of the comic’s continued publication, this suggests that both its
publishers— Tsuburaya Production Company and Shogakugan—felt that this entire
premise was both marketable and palatable to a Japanese audience; suggesting that the
Japanese public had imagined and thought about the possibility of remilitarizing Japan. The
suggestion that (fictional or otherwise) Japan should procure a deterrent implies a distrust
towards the global community, and especially towards the United States. This goes against
a prerequisite for Article 9 that requires Japan to have faith in the international community
to avoid war. While the premise of Article 9 sounds compatible with the logic of deterrent
theory, it is not. Deterrent Theory does not place trust in the international community, but it
trusts in the survival instincts of other nations. Thus, consideration of Ultraman as a needed
“deterrent” invokes a certain imagination about the status of Japan in Shimizu-
Shimoguchi’s narrative. Because of the departure of the original Ultraman and his
continued absence, faith in his return and intention to protect Japan has faltered. The
SSSP’s need to create their own “Ultraman” implies the inability to suppress invaders and
the need to physically threaten them on demand without foreign aid. This paralleled the
state of Japan’s regional affairs as the new millennium continued. Japan’s Democratic Party
had only received more reasons to question the practicality of Article 9 when Japan
engaged in disputes over the Sankaku or Daoyu Islands with China in 2012 and North
Korea’s development of nuclear missile capabilities since the middle of the first decade of
47 | D e r

the 21
st
century.
72
Japan’s increasing doubt of foreign protection and regional security
manifest itself in more tense political situations in Ultraman Begins because Japan’s
foreign relations and have remained distrustful.
However, the theme of the comic is the search for an ideal “modern” Ultraman that
would restore “peace” to Japan. However, Shimizu’s and Shimoguchi’s narrative is less
conventional than their television counterparts; the arrival of an Ultraman successor is
always contested. With Ultraman’s disappearance and the legitimacy of his successors in
question, humanity is left alone to deal with the intergalactic community. Desperate for an
immediate solution, the SSSP seeks to better Earth’s position by appointing numerous
successors to Ultraman. As of the eighth volume, Shimizu and Shimoguchi had appointed
three possible candidates to succeed Shin Hayata as Ultraman. The primary difference
between the candidates revolve around their vision for Japan and their methodology to deal
with the intergalactic community. From these differences, the manga explores the strengths
and weakness of various conservative and liberal ideas, but ultimately finds various
elements in both political groups to be unsatisfactory and advocates the need to deviate
from the established for Japan.
Options on the Table
By design, the story’s narrative setting parallels twenty-first century Japan because
of its changing view on military defense and doubts about America’s nuclear umbrella; the
result of this anxiety is that the LDP had successfully pushed for modifications to Japan’s

72
http://thediplomat.com/2014/04/obama-senkakus-covered-under-us-japan-security-treaty/
48 | D e r

Peace Constitution throughout the 21
st
century. As of 2014, Japan’s Peace constitution has
been modified to allow the Japanese to have a defense force that allows for military action
if Japan’s allies are attacked. Comics such as Ultraman reinforce the public anxiety that
changing the Peace Constitution implies the eventual militarization of Japan—an idea
condemned by many since the end of the Second World War. The decision to repurpose
Ultraman as a military weapon utilizes the Japanese public’s anxiety towards the idea of
militarization. Visually, this dynamic is demonstrated as Ultraman’s successor no longer
has an organic body and his facial structure is now removed from the Buddhist art that had
initially inspired his creation. Symbolically, the design insinuates a paradigm shift in the
Ultraman lore: the messiah has been remade into a tool for the Japanese state.
Shimizu and Shimoguchi have introduced three possible candidates to succeed
Ultraman by wearing a weaponized suit: Shinjiro Hayata, Dan Moroboshi, and Seiji
Hokuto. While the three candidates agree on Ultraman’s importance, they disagree on what
the “Ultraman” title means. Moroboshi and Hokuto represent two sides of the political
spectrum. Coming from a civil servant’s perspective, Moroboshi understands Ultraman as a
means to enforce societal stability. For Hokuto, as a child who grew up with aliens,
Ultraman can act as a bridge between humanity and the intergalactic universe. Because the
franchise relies on the alien to rationalize the narrative, at the heart of Ultraman is an
exploration of Japan and its relationship to the foreign. Moroboshi’s stance against the
integration of aliens into Earth society and his stress on the status quo echoes
conservatives’ stance against immigration in Japan. On the flip side, Hokuto’s desire to
better integrate foreigners into Japan is reminiscent of a liberal view on immigration and
49 | D e r

foreign relations. Shimizu and Shimoguchi exalt and problematize both characters. Both
methods are framed to be uncomfortably flawed. Since Ultraman is symbolically tied to a
messianic presence, the continued problematization of Moroboshi’s and Hokuto’s actions
suggest that Japan needs to find an alternative solution in its treatment of the foreign. The
ongoing popularity of this series suggests elements of both Japan’s conservative and liberal
sphere are disagreeable and that there is a need to syntheses a new solution in foreign
affairs.
The third candidate, the series’ protagonist, and first named successor of Ultraman,
Shinjiro Hayata, the son of Shin Hayata, begins the narrative as a disappointment. Unlike
the other possible successors, Shinjiro does not have defined goals as Ultraman. His
creators define Shinjiro as a as a “typical, Japanese high schooler” and comment that
Shinjiro is unlike his father or other adult superheroes because he lacks both a defined
sense of justice or purpose.
73
While this implies that Shinjiro starts the narrative off as the
most ambiguous candidate, the narrative seems to be designed to encourage Shinjiro to
further develop his own values and thoughts in response to his interactions with the other
candidates. In addition to this, as a “typical, Japanese high schooler” and the son of Shin
Hayata, Shinjiro would have been intimately familiar with the lore and symbolic
significance of the giant hero known as “Ultraman.” Thus, while he has repeatedly stated
that he does not know how to specifically define “Ultraman” as a term, he carries the title’s
weight and utilizes the symbolism embedded in the title to critique his fellow candidates. In

73
Shimizu, interview, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci -fi-fantasy/interview-the-creators-of-the-
ultraman-manga-talk-resurrecting-a-legendary-hero/
50 | D e r

his repeated denial of his co-workers’ values, he suggests the need to go beyond the
conservative and liberal binary within Japanese politics.
Dan Moroboshi, the advocate for conservative values, is one of Shinjiro’s first
character foils. Since his introduction, Moroboshi has perpetually worn a black suit and has
been critical of Shinjiro’s for having “no idea what he’s fighting for” and has repeatedly
insinuated that he could do a better job than Shinjiro.
74
As an Ultraman candidate,
Moroboshi holds the law and the SSSP in high priority and stresses the importance of
separating aliens from the rest of Japanese society.
This build-up is immediately established in Shinjiro’s first meeting with Moroboshi.
Shinjiro is sent to an abandoned warehouse to eliminate a rogue alien. When he arrives onto
the scene, Shinjiro asks Moroboshi what should he do. In response, Moroboshi refuses to
turn his head away from the crime scene and bluntly states, “Did you seriously ask that?
You are here to eliminate the damn alien.”
75
From this exchange, Moroboshi establishes to
the audience his priorities. The alien’s or the individual’s rationale does not matter. What
matters to Moroboshi is that the alien is not subject to Earth’s laws and needs to be dealt
with immediately to maintain societal order. However, both Shinjiro and the audience do
not immediately interpret the scene in this manner. The scene is framed to demonstrate that
Moroboshi, as a government worker, is telling Shinjiro, as Ultraman, to execute an
individual. For decades, the Ultraman name and title was associated with salvation.
However, this scene spells out that Moroboshi sees the Ultraman title as just another job to

74
Shimizu, SHimoguchi, Ultraman vol.2, pg 68-70
75
Shimizu, SHimoguchi, Ultraman vol.2, pg 94
51 | D e r

maintain Japan’s societal order. Shinjiro is uncomfortable with the amorality of
Moroboshi’s command. Shimizu and Shimoguchi imply that Moroboshi was right when
they suggest that this alien had been eating various people (including an elementary school
student) and was doing so because it could.
76
Because of Shinjiro’s inexperience, the
maverick alien escaped back into Japanese society by ramming through skyscrapers. The
result of the alien’s rampage is that Japan had lost its ability to maintain societal mores.
While the arc ends with Shinjiro eventually eliminating the alien, Moroboshi looks
dissatisfied with Shinjiro’s work and comments that he needs to clean the mess up.
From this flow of actions, Moroboshi had established his values as someone who
prioritizes the continued function of society over the discussion or rehabilitation of a single
alien. In this scene, regardless of how Shinjiro feels about Moroboshi’s ideals, it is difficult
to say that his command to murder the rampaging alien was wrong if he wanted to maintain
societal order. While his moral ambiguity is upsetting, his conservative desire to maintain
the setting’s status quo was more favorable than the mess that Shinjiro instigated. However,
that mess suggests that Japan’s status quo is impossible to maintain.
By making their narrative parallel to Japan’s current foreign relations, Shimizu and
Shimoguchi suggest that the conservative’s desire to maintain a status quo is currently
unobtainable. In the twenty-first century, Japan has several reasons to be anxious about
their global position in the world: Sino-Japanese relations have worsened over island
disputes and other historical claims, North Korea has framed itself as a belligerent, nuclear

76
Shimizu, SHimoguchi, Ultraman vol 2, pg 100
52 | D e r

nation, and faith in America’s nuclear umbrella is waning. In addition to this, Japan has
also demonstrated a weakening domestic presence as it has repeatedly reported a declining
birthrate and an aging workforce.
77
While their story does not explicitly reference the
international community, Shimizu and Shimoguchi have demonstrated a similar
intergalactic situation in their comic: Japan is facing alien hostiles and there is the sense
that a foreign power will not come to save the Earth. Because of this anxiety, Japan has
demonstrated an acceptance of the idea of remilitarization and the conservative LDP have
pushed towards modification of their peace constitution. Similarly, the SSSP and
Moroboshi have decided to militarize and fashion “Ultraman” into Japan’s personal
deterrent for self-defense. Moroboshi further suggests that by having this deterrent, the
Japanese public would be able to live their lives separate from the foreign communities.
78

However, Moroboshi’s goal is narratively impossible because there are already alien
refugees living within Japan.
In the Alien Igaru story, Moroboshi was investigating a serial killing case and
discovers that Alien Igaru is an accessory to the case. After some detective work,
Moroboshi tracked the alien to an idol concert, but cannot proceed without causing a
commotion. Paralyzed to inaction, a new character, Alien Adad, arrives on stage, and
threatens Igaru. When Igaru reveals himself as an alien, Adad explains to the audience and
Moroboshi how Igaru became an accessory to the serial killing. As a child refugee, Igaru

77
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/02/10/voices/japan-birth-rate-beginning-end-just-new-
beginning/#.WRtrpWgrLIU
78
Shimizu, Shimoguchi, Ultraman vol 2, 118-119
53 | D e r

was assigned to a detention center because he was unable to complete the immigration
process. However, Igaru grew tired of solitary confinement and broke out to explore Japan.
Eventually, humans encountered Igaru and coerced him to utilize his stateless status to
bypass Earth law to procure a means to assassinate others. Adad also reveals that he is a
member of the Intergalactic Customs office and he had been sent to make an example of
Igaru to prevent further intergalactic customs breeches. Thus, Adad executes Igaru.
Throughout this entire show, Moroboshi does not respond, but he is shocked and upset by
Adad’s actions and his admission that “alien problems should be handled by other aliens”
and that Adad knows that he could get away with the barbaric act of a public execution.
79

The extraterritoriality of the case prevents Moroboshi from pursuing Adad, but it also
brought another issue onto the table.
The narrative does not state this, but it is implied that Japan tried to isolate alien
refugees and immigrants. The result of this was that Igaru’s legal status was exploited and
this would not have happened if Japan was willing to install laws to address these
ambiguous cases. While Japan’s actual immigration policy was better at addressing these
issues, the sentiment that Shimizu and Shimoguchi suggest about the impossibility of
maintaining Japan’s status quo—a desire to be able to separate Japan from the international
community through the means of making immigration difficult and through this process
claim to maintain a homogenous society. In this instance, Shimizu criticized Moroboshi’s

79
Shimizu, Shimoguchi, Ultrama vol.5, pg 74 and 89
54 | D e r

vision; the enforcement of the status-quo, a tradition for the Ultraman franchise, is not what
Japan needed.
Shortly after the Igaru case, Shinjiro confronts Moroboshi and suggest that the
Ultraman must also include the foreign into its sphere of protection. While Shinjiro begins
to contemplate and define his understanding of an “Ultraman,” he encounters the third
candidate: Seiji Hokuto. In visual design, Hokuto acts as Moroboshi’s foil: while
Moroboshi supports the adherence to Japan’s homogeneity, Hokuto has his limbs grafted
onto his body through alien technology. Because Hokuto had been separated from
humanity and had been raised by aliens, he believes that Ultraman should act as a bridge
that would allow humans and aliens to co-exist.
80

The incorporation of the foreign into Japanese society suggest a desire to better
immigration policies and to better integrate Japan into the intergalactic(international)
community. Because his proposition is not completely Earth-centered, Hokuto’s actions are
liberal and appear attractive after the Alien Igaru case because his goal would have led to a
legal situation that would have been more likely to prevent the Igaru case from occurring.
Also, Hokuto’s prosthetic limbs are beyond human technology.
81
Around the time of this
comic’s publication, prosthetic limbs had significant disadvantages such as being battery
powered and was incapable of mimicking complex or fluid human motions.
82
Thus, the fact
that Hokuto could perfectly blend into a Japanese high school and participate in martial arts

80
Shimizu, Shimoguchi, Ultraman, vol. 6 112
81
Shimizu, Shimoguchi, Ultraman, vol. 6, pg 69
82
http://dev.nsta.org/evwebs/1051a/Current_Tech/default.html
55 | D e r

without anyone questioning his body illustrates a fantasy tied with globalization. While the
feasibility of Hokuto’s situation is probably impossible, part of the fantasy of globalization
is the integration of multiple societies and the deconstruction of the nation-state for the sake
of mankind’s betterment. Technologies and ideas could be more freely distributed to
improve mankind’s quality of life. When placed back into Shimizu’s and Shimoguchi’s
setting, it is unlikely that Hokuto could have the potential for a normal life if the Earth had
successfully separated itself from the alien world. Thus, visually Hokuto’s integration into
Shinjiro’s school and his ability to live illustrate the potential to dream that technology and
information can overcome national boundaries and lead to a one society world for the
betterment of mankind.
Despite this seemingly endless potential, humanity’s integration with the galaxy is
not without its problems. When his co-workers ask Moroboshi why there are alien attacks,
he states: “You [humanity] never stoop to the level of inferior creatures. It [coexistence] is
an impossible task to begin with. If I told you guys…that you suddenly had to go into the
jungle and live like monkeys…could you?”
83
Moboroshi’s response implies that cultural
superiority is a natural reaction that cannot be suppressed and that conflict between two
different cultures is an inevitability. Thus, Hokuto is to find a way to accommodate people
like Moroboshi and others who stress the binary opposition between Earthlings and aliens.
However, there is no solution to end this kind of attitude. Historically, public condemnation
of discrimination and cross-culture cooperation has bridge the gaps between two different

83
Shimizu, Shimoguchi, Ultraman vol. 5, 155-157
56 | D e r

cultures and encourage societal cooperation. Yet, the practice of cultural superiority
persists. Thus, if those kinds of people exist, the possibility for co-existence between two
different societies will forever encounter problems. It is at this intersection that Hokuto’s
future vision becomes problematic.
Hokuto’s solution to deal with dissenters is to “eliminate them.”
84
Hokuto does this by
apprehending maverick aliens in a similar manner to Shinjiro and Moroboshi. However,
Hokuto also practices extortion and blackmail to fund his heroism. In their most significant
meeting, Shinjiro encounters Hokuto blackmailing an internet scammer. While Shinjiro
tries to interrogate Hokuto, Hokuto responds that he is helping society by dealing with its
domestic criminals and investing in bettering Human-alien relations by upgrading his
power suit.
85
The narrative stresses Shinjiro’s anger at Hokuto for not striving to be morally
worthy of the Ultraman title, but there is another symbolic issue that is encoded within this
encounter.
Despite being heroes, Shinjiro and Moroboshi avoid associating human affairs with
their duties as candidates for the new Ultraman. However, Hokuto directly ties his duties of
Ultraman—his future vision for a peaceful Japan—with his coercion. Visually, we see
Hokuto extort money from a Japanese scammer. By design, neither the victim nor the
victimizer are morally clean. The result of this moral ambiguity is that Hokuto’s status as a
righteous successor to the 1966 Ultraman is still possible, but demonstrates that he is
willing to sacrifice his fellow Earthlings for the sake of his objective. This is the general

84
Shimizu, Ultraman vol. 6, 112
85
Shimizu, Ultraman vol. 6, 138-150
57 | D e r

issue within concepts such as globalization; the domestic sphere is sacrificed for societal
improvement. Symbolically, Hokuto’s actions could be interpreted in a similar way: he is
willing to sacrifice some Earthlings for intergalactic peace. While there is a clear rational
thought process in Hokuto’s actions, Shimizu and Shimoguchi try framing the scene to
make the audience more sympathetic to Shinjiro by giving him isolated mid-shots to
illustrate that he is being the more responsible character in this scene.
86
This narrative
framing suggest that Hokuto’s extreme liberal position is also an unsatisfactory solution to
Japan’s changing economic, global, and political position. However, Shinjiro—the
character that readers are supposed to side with—does not yet have a solution for Japan.
While the series is still ongoing, a satisfying solution to Japan’s societal negotiation of
“peace” in relation to the foreign has not been found in the narrative yet.
6. Conclusion
One of the most significant facets of Japan’s superhero genre is its ability to
demonstrate the sentiments of the Japanese public. Since the genre’s boom in the mid-
1960s, Japanese superheroes reflected the public’s idealism and hope for a better future free
from war. As a story, Ultraman reinforced Japan’s faith in their American ally and their
economy and advocated the hope for self-reliance. Kamen Rider, while referencing
political anxieties towards the LDP, reinforced the importance of Japan’s economic growth
and faith in an outsider’s ability to defend Japan. Both shows stressed that that the
protection of Japanese society was the superhero’s goal and that an outsider (whether a

86
Shimizu, Shimoguchi, Ultraman vol. 6, pg 148
58 | D e r

foreigner or someone removed from Japanese society) would fight for Japan’s “peace.”
Repetition of this narrative strategy from the 1960s until their disappearance in the 1980s
suggest that the Japanese public had agreed upon and believed that the protection of Japan’s
economy was a goal of mythic proportions and that a foreign presence like the United
States would defend Japan. This reinforced the idea that Japan did not need a military and
could remain at peace by physically removing themselves from violent conflicts.
Japan’s global position shifted in the 1990s and instigated the loss of Idealism. Japan’s
economy stagnated while China’s and South Korea’s economy experienced double digit
growth. In addition, American military officials questioned Japan’s status as a military asset
during the First Gulf War in 1991. In a spectacular chain of events, the prerequisites that
enabled Japan’s idealism fell apart. By the time these superheroes were reintroduced in the
twenty-first century, Japanese writers developed their superheroes to reflect the changing
dynamics in East Asia and the world. Thus, the premise of both Kamen Rider Spirits and
Ultraman Begins requires Japan to militarize to strengthen its defensive capabilities. The
continued serialization of both series indicates a certain acceptance of Japanese
remilitarization and the end of “war” as a prerequisite for “peace.” In turn, Japanese liberals
such as Kenzaburo Oe might suggest that remilitarization is indicative of the loss of
“peace” and Japan’s declining faith in the international community.
The serialization of Muraeda’s and the Shimizu-Shimoguchi pair’s work is more
nuanced. In both stories, militarization is met with ambivalence. The Shimizu-Shimoguchi
duo frame Ultraman’s transformation from messiah to nuclear deterrent as an unnerving
59 | D e r

situation for Shinjiro. Ultraman’s objectification is so unnerving to Shinjiro that he swears
to strive for the virtues of his predecessor and seek for a way to appease both domestic and
foreign elements. In Kamen Rider Spirits, Taki Kazuya, Muraeda’s protagonist, accepts
Japan’s participation in a global defense force against Badan, protests the complete
weaponization of the human body, and stresses that “peace” can be won through if
humanity keeps the spirt of Kamen Rider alive. Utilizing Kamen Rider’s symbolism and
Taki’s desire to protect “humanity’s peace and freedom,” Muraeda is stating that Japan
needs to regain its idealism and faith in the international community if it wants to obtain
“peace.” Both franchises illustrate that the Japanese reluctance to lose its pacifist status, but
suggest that militarization has become a necessity for defense and its potential for “peace.”
As these serializations and cosmologies develop, Japan’s hero genre might continue to give
us insight into how Japan’s political conscious may attempt to change to support the
American umbrella in future years.

60 | D e r

7. References
1. Alverson, Bridge. "Interview: The Creators of the Ultraman Manga Talk Resurrecting a
Legendary Hero." The B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog. Barnes & Nobles, 14 Aug. 2015.
Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
2. Brinckmann, Hans. Showa Japan: The Post-war Golden Age and Its Troubled Legacy.
Tokyo: Tuttle, 2014. Print.
3. Dale, Peter N. Myth of Japanese Uniqueness. London: Routledge, 2012. Print.
4. Dan Hassler-Forest, Capitalist Superheroes, 1-68
5. Darowski, Joseph J. The Ages of Superman: Essays on the Man of Steel in Changing
times. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012. Print.
6. Deb Aoki. "Interview: Mangaka Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi." Anime News
Network. Anime News Network, 17 Sept. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
7. Dittmer, Jason. Aptain America and the Nationalist Superhero: Metaphors, Narratives,
and Geopolitics. N.p.: Temple UP, 2012. Print.
8. Eiji, The Oguma. "Japan's 1968: A Collective Reaction to Rapid Economic Growth in an
Age of Turmoil 日本の 1968 混乱期の高度成長への共同体的反応." Japan's 1968: A
Collective Reaction to Rapid Economic Growth in an Age of Turmoil | The Asia-Pacific
Journal: Japan Focus. Asia Pacific Journal, 23 Mar. 2015. Web. 30 May 2017.
9. Gluck, Carol, and Stephen Richards Graubard. Showa: The Japan of Hirohito. New York:
W.W. Norton, 1993. Print.
10. Hiroki, Azuma, and Doug McGray. "“A Conversation between Hiroki Azuma and Doug
McGray on Literature, Anime, and Otaku Culture in Contemporary Japan”." US-Japan
Innovators Project (2005): n. pag. Print.
11. Hiroki, Azuma. "Hamlet as SF." Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams: Japanese Science
Fiction from Origins to Anime. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 75-83. Print.
12. Hobby Link Japan. Hobby Link Japan. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2017.
13. "Hybrid Insector (manga)." Hybrid Insector (manga). Anime News Network, n.d. Web.
30 Mar. 2017.
14. Ishinomori, Shotaro. "Let's Go!! Rider Kick." Kamen Rider Wiki. Kamen Rider Wiki, n.d.
Web. 30 May 2017.
15. "Kamen Rider Wiki." Kamen Rider Wiki | Fandom Powered by Wikia. N.p., n.d. Web. 29
May 2017.
16. Kato, Takao. " 〈子どもコード〉の生成と展開 ― 児童文学と特撮テレビ番組の分析
―,." CINII. Nanzan University Repository, 31 Jan. 2017. Web.
17. Kelly, Tim, and Nobuhiro Kubo. "Gulf War Trauma Began Japan's Retreat from
Pacifism." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 19 Dec. 2015. Web. Feb. 2017.
18. Kim, Se Young. "Human/cyborg/alien/friend: Postwar Ressentiment in Japanese Science
Fiction and Posthuman Ethics in Kamen Rider Fourze." Journal of Philosophy and the
Moving Image 7 (2015): n. pag. Academia.edu. Web.
19. Kingston, Jeff. Contemporary Japan: History, Politics, and Social Change since the
1980s. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. Print.
61 | D e r

20. Kinjo, Tetsuo. "The Forbidden Words." Ultraman. Dir. Toshitsugu Suzuki. Tokyo
Broadcasting System. Tokyo-Shi, Tokyo, 26 Feb. 1967. Television.
21. Koje
̀ ve, Alexandre, and Raymond Queneau. Introduction to the Reading of Hegel:
Lectures on the Phenomenology of Spirit. New York: Basic, 1969. 158-63. Print.
22. Kraimer, Blair. "Superman." Jewish Virtual Library. Jewish Virtual Library, n.d. Web.
Dec. 2016.
23. Macintyre, Ben. Forgotten Fatherland: The Search for Elisabeth Nietzsche. New York:
Farrar Straus Giroux, 1992. Print.
24. Minamikawa, Ryu, and Tetsuo Kirijo. "The Blue Stone of Baraji." Ultraman. Dir. Samaji
Nonagase. Tokyo Broadcasting System. Tokyo-Shi, Tokyo, 28 Aug. 1966. Television.
25. Miyamoto, Yuki. "Gendered Bodies in Tokusatsu: Monsters and Aliens as the Atomic
Bomb Victims." Journal of Popular Culture 49.5 (2016): n. pag. Wiley Online Library.
Web.
26. Moss, Ross. "Truth, Justice, and the Canadian Way." Superman Homepage. Superman
Comicbooks, 1 July 2004. Web.
27. Nietzsche, Friedrich. National Vanguard. Trans. Thomas Common. Ed. Bill Chapko. 2.85
ed. N.p.: William A. Chapko, 2010. Print. Nietzsche Love of Fate Ser.
28. Prentiss, Sean, and Joe Wilkins. ". "Eternal Sunshine of the Nonfiction Mind: A New
Philosophy for Understanding Truth and Creative Nonfiction." The Far Edges of the
Fourth Genre: An Anthology of Explorations in Creative Nonfiction. East Lansing:
Michigan State UP, 2014. N. pag. Print.
29. Ragone, August. Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters: Defending the Earth with
Ultraman, Godzilla, and Friends in the Golden Age of Japanese Science Fiction Film. San
Francisco: Chronicle, 2007. Print.
30. Sato, Eisaku. "Nobel Lecture." Nobelprize.org. Nobel Prize.org, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
31. Shimizu, Eiichi, and Tomohiro Shimoguchi. "Ultraman." Ultraman. Hitoshiba:
Shogakukan, 2011-2016. Print.
32. Shotaro Ishinomori, Kamen Rider, 1971-1972
33. "THE NATIONALITY LAW." The Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice, n.d. Web.
30 Apr. 2017.
34. Oe, Kenzaburo. "Soul of Okinawa." Japan Quarterly (2000): 63-86. ProQuest. Web.
35. " The Opti Arm An Optical Interface Prosthetic Device: Current Technology." News.
Optic Arm, n.d. Web. 30 May 2017.
36. Panda, Ankit. "Obama: Senkakus Covered Under US-Japan Security Treaty." The
Diplomat. The Diplomat, 18 July 2014. Web. 8 Feb. 2017.
37. Rich, and Michael Richey. "JAPAN’S DOUJINSHI CULTURE OF CREATIVITY
THROUGH THEFT AND THE MONSTER TRYING TO DESTROY IT." Tofugu.
Tofugu, 05 Sept. 2016. Web. 30 Feb. 2017.
38. Sasaki, Mamoru. "My Home Is Earth." Ultraman. Dir. Akio Jissoji. Tokyo Broadcasting
System. Tokyo-Shi, Tokyo Prefecture, 18 Dec. 1966. Television.
39. Senzoku, Kitao. "Shoot the Invaders." Ultraman. Dir. Toshiro Iijima. Tokyo Broadcasting
System. Tokyo-Shi, Tokyo, 24 July 1966. Television.
40. Sugimoto, Y. "Making Sense of Nihonjinron." Thesis Eleven 57.1 (1999): 81-96. Web.
41. Toei Production, Kamen Rider (Television show 1971-1972)
62 | D e r

42. "Ultra N Project." Ultraman Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2017.
43. "Ultraman Wiki." Ultraman Wiki | Fandom Powered by Wikia. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec.
2016.
44. Wallace, Corey. "The Japanese Constitution in 2011." Japan Security Watch. New Pacific
Institute Project, 3 May 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
45. Warren, Tom. "A Look Back at Sony's Iconic VAIO Computers." The Verge. The Verge,
06 Feb. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
46. 下口智裕, 清水栄一 X. " コミケ『ナデガタサーカス』は 13 日土曜、東区ハ３１b
になります。HYBRID INSECTOR 始めます。 Pic.twitter.com/mce4t1ILbf." Twitter.
Twitter, 11 June 2016. Web. 30 May 2017.

Abstract (if available)

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Property and inheritance rights of women in twelfth‐ and thirteenth‐century Japan

PDF

Floating signifiers: tracing zainichi Korean identity in postcolonial literature and visual media

PDF

Ideas of Hua and Yi in the works of Ma Zhiyuan and Bai Pu --- Two northern playwrights in the early Yuan

PDF

The new generation on screen: youth cinema and youth culture in South Korea since the 1990s

PDF

Exploring late Ming Taizhou philosophies within Ueda Akinari’s Ugetsu monogatari: a comparative study of two contemporaneous “heresies” in early modern Japanese and late imperial Chinese intellec...

PDF

Food, hygiene, and modernity of Hangzhou (1927-1937)

PDF

Carnival war: a cultural history of wartime Japan, 1937-1945

PDF

Walking out of ground zero: art and the aftereffects of the atomic bombs in postwar Japan

PDF

The journey of bojagi to the West: from an everyday object in Korea to the realm of art in the United States

PDF

Jin Yong's chivalry: gender and ethnicity in wuxia fiction, film, and television

PDF

Buddhist literature and gender in Korea: a preliminary survey and science fictional explorations

PDF

Three perspectives on the Hōjō: a warrior family in early Medieval Japan

PDF

Witnessing silence: testimony, performance, and the poetics of the unspeakable

PDF

Alice in evasion: adapting Lewis Carroll in Japan

PDF

Prosodic recursion and syntactic cyclicity inside the word

PDF

Cyber-nationalism in China: the relationship between government and netizens

PDF

Radiant mushrooms of postwar Japanese media

PDF

The lineage of figures and attributes of Xia embodied in Chinese Xia videogames

PDF

Techniques of strategic political communication: the persuasive devices of the two most followed political YouTubers in the Chinese community

PDF

The traces of Jacques Derrida's cinema

Asset Metadata

Creator Der, Lincoln (author)

Core Title Dreaming of peace: an exploration of Japan's international relations and understanding of peace through superheroes

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program East Asian Area Studies

Publication Date 07/24/2017

Defense Date 07/23/2017

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Article 9,future vision,Japan,Kamen Rider,militarism,OAI-PMH Harvest,Peace,Superheroes,Tokusatsu,Ultraman,特撮

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Lippit , Akira Mizuta (committee chair), Park, Sunyoung (committee member), Sheehan , Brett (committee member)

Creator Email lder@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-415127

Unique identifier UC11214622

Identifier etd-DerLincoln-5633.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-415127 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-DerLincoln-5633.pdf

Dmrecord 415127

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Der, Lincoln

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA