Whatever else you feel about Nazi Germany, you’ve got to concede it brought high fashion to thuggery and racism. Indeed the styles and motifs of its brief era have proved so enduring that, 55 years after its demise, the world still looks on with a mixture of curiosity and repugnance while Germans (and Austrians) continue to pat down shovelfuls of dirt onto its grave.

Within this subculture, hobbyists assemble plastic models of Stukas and Panzers, or pore over magazines and books that document the German military machine. Collectors lay out outrageous sums for authentic uniforms, insignia and other artifacts from the period — by one dealer’s estimate, a market that exceeds ¥600 million. And still others apparently devote a good portion of their lives to researching and expounding on the pseudoscientific topics embraced by Nazis themselves, which author Norman Cohn described as “pathological fantasies disguised as ideas churned out . . . for the benefit of the ignorant and superstitious.” To get a handle on the whats, hows and wherefores of this Japanese fascination with fascism in all its Teutonic splendor, a team of researchers headed by Assistant Professor Takumi Sato of Doshisha University in Kyoto have put together 322 pages on the subject. Their work provides a remarkably detailed study that catalogs Nazism as a form of pop culture. A culture that is mostly harmless, but which on its fringes includes publication of bizarre tracts suggesting Hitler fled to a secret Nazi sanctuary at the South Pole and local Internet sites espousing a right-wing, anti-foreign ideology that, for all intents and purposes, is identical to the neo-nazi political movements in Europe. It is all there, presented thoroughly, competently and dispassionately. Cultural Studies of Nazism in Japan (Hitoraa no Jubaku), Takumi Sato, ed. Asuka Shinsha, Tokyo, 322 pages, ISBN 4-87031-429-0, ¥2,200 The startling 7-page color section at the front alone makes the book worth its price. In it can be found pictures of cute Japanese girls adorned in SS uniforms, pornographic Nazi manga magazines catering to the S&M crowd and right-wing posters of Japan’s National Socialist Worker’s Alliance, emblazoned with swastikas, denouncing the international Jewish conspiracy. Even more enlightening are nine interviews with individuals deeply into the Nazi subculture. There is Eiichiro Yamashita, who left a salaried job to open a shop that deals in Nazi uniform insignia and other military paraphernalia; Yoshiharu Mitsumoto, an illustrator; Shuichi Goto, a Hitler scholar; Atsuhiko Ogawa, the former editor of Graphic Action magazine; and Go Akama, author of several inventive books supposedly detailing the life of Hitler. From what these individuals have to say, it is clear that the adulation of Nazi culture in Japan appears essentially benign — to the extent that anything with such a sordid history can be. Yet on several occasions, frictions have occurred. On the anniversary of Hitler’s birthday, right-wing trucks waving Nazi flags have halted across the street from the Jewish Community Center in Hiroo and blared Nazi songs from loudspeakers. More recently, a suit involving holocaust denial was contested in the Tokyo District Court. Only once did hostility spill over, and when it did, it was a Jew who was the perpetrator. Several years ago, an American living in Tokyo’s Nerima-ku — we’ll call him Jake — encountered a Japanese smartly dressed in the full regalia of a German SS officer. Jake, who happened to be Jewish, was incensed. After glaring at the Japanese for several minutes, he walked up, tore off the uniform cap, threw it to the ground, and stomped it vigorously. The Japanese summoned the police, and Jake was escorted to the nearby koban, where he attempted to justify his action in broken Japanese to an unsympathetic cop. Jake briefly considered taking his battle to court, until he was advised of the estimated legal costs. He finally agreed to a compromise: he would pay for replacement of the damaged cap, but adamantly refused to apologize unless the Japanese would acknowledge the evils of Nazism. Neither side was willing to budge. Finally the money was paid and the two went their separate ways. While the effort that went researching this book is outstanding, those looking for a denunciation of Nazism will be disappointed. Professor Sato explained that as the book took the perspective of a study on popular culture he preferred to steer clear of ideology. By taking an impartially academic stance, he was able to win the trust of the interview subjects and elicit their cooperation, which itself was quite an achievement. At its essence, Cultural Studies of Nazism in Japan is less about Nazism than it is a study on the absurd degree to which people go to indulge their fantasies. tj