The cover is slightly creased, but the inside is clean as it has only been read once. [Reprint Edition, Modern Japanese Translation] The Japanese Human (GHQ Banned Book) Paperback – January 7, 2025 By Minetaro Yamanaka "A brilliant historical essay filled with philosophical principles concerning the movement of life and the essence of humanity." Critic Kanji Nishio "The Japanese Human" was written in 1942. The repeated emphasis is on a certain phrase— "Unleash the true potential of the Japanese human." At the time, Japan was in the midst of the Greater East Asia War, facing the first air raids on the Japanese mainland and the Battle of Midway. To overcome this unprecedented national crisis, the author, Minetaro Yamanaka, seriously considered and arrived at the answer—returning to "the origins of the Japanese people, passed down for 2600 years." In this book, "The Japanese Human," From great figures like Shoin Yoshida, Kaishu Katsu, Yukichi Fukuzawa, Maresuke Nogi, Kiyomasa Kato, Takamori Saigo, and Hirobumi Ito... to nameless farmers and filial children. Through 184 episodes, the "ideal image of the Japanese" is revealed. It is truly a pre-war "self-help book." It is not a self-help book that writes about "success know-how" or "efficient ways of living" that are often seen today. This book is a modern Japanese translation based on the original "The Japanese Human" published in 1942, making it easy to understand. - A pre-war self-help book banned by the GHQ "The Japanese Human" was widely read by pre-war Japanese as a guide to life. However, after the war, it was designated as a "banned book" by the GHQ and was burned. (The author, Minetaro Yamanaka, had a total of 16 books targeted for burning.) That means—the very ideas contained in this book were the "Japanese values" that the GHQ most wanted to eliminate. Now, holding this book again is an act of reclaiming the lost spirit and identity of being Japanese. And at the same time, it should be an important opportunity to reconsider how to live in the future and how one should be.