The enterprise of empire: Race, class, gender, and Japanese national identity

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Recent research has examined the manner in which race, national identity, and women's proper place have been used in the creation of colonial empires. Employing this body of literature, this article highlights Japanese iconic constructs of nationalized women's sexual nature as they have shifted with Japan's position in the world since the enterprise of domestic empire began at the turn of the 20th century. Through an examination of both official and unofficial images, the material and symbolic realities of nationalized womanhood in Japan are used to tie Japanese economic and political agendas to assumptions about women's proper place. This work stresses a continuing dialogue in absentia between Japanese and Western women which appears in both allegiance and resistance to nationalized conceptions of cultural and economic success. Recognizing that the Japanese are not newcomers to the idea of hierarchies—based on either race or class—the ambiguity of Japan's position in the world is used as a backdrop for the experiences of a black woman in contemporary Japan. This ultimately suggests that Japanese national identity must be researched with regard to shifting notions of race, class, gender, and global position.