Social Nationalism (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)

Social Nationalism is a term for the philosophical works by Japanese philosopher, Nagayama Yoshida (1871-1952), for his approach to history regarding the role of community and individual, formation of ideas, theory of state, and social dynamism. Took its root from traditional Japanese school of philosophy, kokugaku (國學), Social Nationalist philosophy rejecting the Marxian concept of class struggle and interpreting Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to explain the nature of national identity and social morality, while at the same time exploring the emotional development on the society throughout the history.

Core concepts
Originally, "Social Nationalism" was a Nagayama Yoshida's social theory on the development of nation and human civilization based on the Darwinian concept of natural selection. First Nagayama's work about Social Nationalism is "What Is The Nation?", a 1894 political science thesis during his college years.

- Nagayama Yoshida, What Is The Nation? (1894)
 * The life is a big survival for every living beings and the Nature only selecting the fittest among them. We, the human, are the supremest and most perfect among other living beings. We even racing toward supremacy over another in our own race...By competing, violent or not, each nation in the world contributed to the progress of world humanity, culminating the best civilization over another, subjugating the weaker ones and incorporating them into the winner's civilization.

On his thesis, Nagayama stressed a "national struggle" as the basic concept for the progress of humanity. Nagayama also explained the nature of colonialism and imperialism as the expansion of national struggle of one nation through wars, conflicts and territorial gains. However, as the humanity progressing, Nagayama observed the imperialism became more softer and sophisticated through the birth of "New Imperialism" that based itself on the capitalistic aims on the "direct" economic exploitation by one man to the other men and by one nation to the other nation. National struggle also slowly converting itself into social and economic struggle for the enrichment and glorification of a stronger nation to the weaker ones.

As a political philosophy
Political consolidation following the establishment of the Republic in 1920 led the ideological struggle between each political parties in Japan. Alerted by this situation, the propaganda chief of the Nationalist Party, Hotori Etsu, realized the party needed some fundamental basics in order to being a supreme vanguard party in Japan. On his speech before the 1921 Party Congress, Hotori declared the "ideas and works of President Nagayama Yoshida" as the party's official ideology and was approved by the all delegates. The Party Department of Ideology and Political Science was established on May 7, 1921. With his dual controls on both Propaganda Department and Ideology Department, Hotori established himself as the party's main ideologist.

In 1922, the Ideology Department published the "Kokumin no Michi" (國民之道), literally means the "Path of Nation", the selected quotations from Nagayama Yoshida's works in order to justify the rule of the Republic and the Nationalist Party. This book was distributed to and must memorized by all members of the Nationalist Party. The Ideology Department regulated a duty to memorize and recite the first line of Kokumin no Michi ("The ideas of our President Nagayama Yoshida lead us to the clear path as a civilized and progressive nation which will elevate our status higher than other nation in the world. New world will born, new Asia will emerge. We fighting for its cause, we sheding our blood for its realization!") for every Party member in all Party-related meetings.

Japanese military was also being the subject for the political indoctrination. The Battle of the Universe (世界大鬪 Sekai Daitō) which being published on 1923 was also the selected quotations from Nagayama's work which combined with some martial doctrines that explained the role of soldiers for the Republic and the Party. Like the Kokumin no Michi, the soldiers also required to memorize and recite the first line of Sekai Daitō ("To being a soldier is to die to your country. To being a soldier is to protect the Revolution, the Republic, and its political guardian, the Nationalist Party of Japan. To being a soldier is to honor ourselves and our people!") during every military marches.

Originally named as the "Nagayama Yoshida's Political Theory" (永山吉田の政治理論 Nagayama Yoshida no Seiji Riron), "Social Nationalism" name was officially given during the 1930 Party Congress and included into the Party Constitution to distinguish the ideology both from Fascism and mainstream Socialism

Nationalism
Like Fascism, nationalism is the main foundation of Social Nationalism. Social Nationalist view on nationalism almost resemble Fascism and Integralism after all where the nation viewed as an organic entity of the people with same ancestry and must be placed over all else. Social Nationalism also emphasized and encouraged the unity and strength of the nation and sought for the purity of the national culture and identity. Adopting the concept of "national struggle", Social Nationalism also some time emphasized a "positive national superiority" of one nation over another nations through the international trades and the development on science and technology, instead through the wars or arms development, to achieve more progressive and civilized humanity.

The revolutionary nature of Social Nationalism can viewed through its glorification on the role of working classes within one nation as "the warriors" in a modern sense where they needed for a total mobilization to modernize the nation's technology. In this sense, the State functioned as the supreme social authority to maintain the discipline and the working spirit of the working classes while at the same time maintain its unity and harmony.

Democracy
Unlike Fascism, Social Nationalism rejects the concept of totalitarian state and instead more leaning toward the left populism which acknowledges the role of individual citizen within the society. Social Nationalism, while at the same time acknowledges the role of the individual citizen, also rejects the direct participation of the citizens for matter of the State. Social Nationalism denounces parliamentarian democracy as "a confusing, chaotic system" and instead promotes a "healthy, constructive democracy" that preserves social unity and harmony where the sole, vanguard Party acted as its guardian.