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Paper short abstract

By exploring the narrative power of myth, this article will demonstrate how the recent shift from a Yasukuni-based to an Ise-based Shinto nationalist narrative is to be read in parallel with Japan's changing security policy towards a more 'proactive pacifism'.

Paper long abstract

Despite having a secular constitution that restricts the interplay between politics and religion, Japanese elected officials and Prime Ministers have leveraged on Shinto narratives as a rhetorical tool to obtain the support of powerful domestic groups. The controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo has been the focal point from which to articulate such narratives, at the same time attracting the allegiance of conservative associations and the lambasting criticism of former colonial states. In the past two decades, and especially at the hand of Abe Shinzo, Shinto nationalist narratives have shifted in favor of a mythological imagery informed by the Ise Grand Shrine. This study advances the suggestion that this narrative shift from a Yasukuni-based to an Ise-based Shinto nationalism is to be read in parallel with Japan's changing security policy towards a more 'proactive pacifism'. Against a mainstream interpretation of power as hinging on the allocation of material capabilities, this paper builds-up on the view that power structures cannot be made sense of and neither can they exercise influence outside of the narrative meaning-making behind them. Here it is argued that, differently from Yasukuni narratives, Ise narratives can leverage successfully on, and in turn reinforce, both narratives of Japan's identity as great power state and as responsible ally of the US in the Asia-Pacific. Drawing from interpretivist literature on narratives in IR and political myths, it will be demonstrated how the foundational myth ascribed to the Ise shrine complex is a powerful soft power tool that can be reshaped to suit foreign policy needs, advance efforts in constitutional reform, and assuage international audiences otherwise critical of nationalist discourse. Additionally, this contribution is aimed at addressing a literature gap in the study of IR and political myth narratives. It will show how a Japanese ethnic myth can politically resonate not only domestically or within Asian boundaries, but can also be integrated in the security standards of the rules-based international order.