Quando la storia diventa sexy: dal revisionismo storico all'antropomorfismo moe delle nazioni,

The increasing intermingling in contemporary Japan between nation branding of Cool Japan, historical revisionism, and youth subcultures have contributed to raise popular cultures as a strategic site in the hegemonic re-definition of the past, present, and future of the nation. This paper addresses the ongoing transformation among younger generations towards a post-ideological and post-modern experience of their national ‘imagined comuntiy’, described as “pop nationalism” (Sakamoto 2008) or “cynical comunity” (Kitada 2005). A fieldwork on the multiple media platform originated by the historical webmanga Axis Powers Hetalia (2006-present) and on its globalised success among female fandom, will provide further insights on the biopolitical mobilisation of moe (“burning passion”), as a combination of polymporphous pleasure and sexualised parody, shaping emergent representations of national history and identity.