In 2005, a history war erupted between China and Japan with South Korea joining forces with China. The issue stemmed from Japan’s revised version of a history textbook. Although the anger on the part of the Chinese may have been righteous and warranted, it was used for political opportunism and as a foothold in the superpower race that China and Japan were embroiled in and not necessarily solely in opposition to the textbook. An analysis of the timing of the conflict situated within the political landscape of the time is important and explored by the author in terms of Beijing’s Realpolitik and Japan’s resurgence of nationalism. The author concludes with a discussion of Japanese history education and how it changed over time and affected the textbook debate, including the rise of modern Japanese nationalism.