Asianism and the Duality of Japanese Colonialism, 1879–1945

Abstract

This paper examines aspects of Asianism (Ajia-shugi) and colonialism (shokuminchishugi) in Japan's prewar relationship with Asia, to illustrate the contradictions and dilemmas of that relationship. Before beginning, it is perhaps wise to remind readers just what Japan's territorial possessions comprised. Japan acquired Taiwan as a colony in 1895, and the Caroline, Marshall, and Marianas Islands of the Pacific as a mandated territory in 1919. In the quarter of a century between those two datas, Japan's territory grew by nearly 80 percent. The picture may be summarized as follows:Taiwan, South Sakhalin, and Korea were Japanese “territory” in the narrow sense of that word. By contrast, Kwantung, a leasehold, and the Pacific Islands, a mandate, were Japanese territory only in the broad sense of that word. But insofar as they submitted to Japanese sovereignty, they fall within the category of Japanese colonies.