Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere Research Articles

From Idealism to the Ground: The Japanese Empire's Occupation of Southeast Asia - The Japanese Occupation of Malaya and Singapore, 1941–45: A Social and Economic History. By Paul H. Kratoska. 2nd ed.Singapore: National University Press of Singapore, 2018. xxvii, 407 pp. ISBN: 9789971696382 (paper). - Japan's Occupation of Java in the Second World War: A Transnational History. By Ethan Mark.

From Idealism to the Ground: The Japanese Empire's Occupation of Southeast Asia - The Japanese Occupation of Malaya and Singapore, 1941–45: A Social and Economic History. By Paul H. Kratoska. 2nd ed.Singapore: National University Press of Singapore, 2018. xxvii, 407 pp. ISBN: 9789971696382 (paper). - Japan's Occupation of Java in the Second World War: A Transnational History. By Ethan Mark.

Review: The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: When Total Empire Met Total War, by Jeremy A. Yellen

Review: <i>The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: When Total Empire Met Total War</i>, by Jeremy A. Yellen

Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: Target to Setting up an Economic Zone for the Collective Development of Asian Nations

Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: Target to Setting up an Economic Zone for the Collective Development of Asian Nations

Manchurian Ideology and Migrant Korean Society in the Literature of Sim Yeon-soo

본 연구는 만주국 건립이념과 그것을 둘러싼 일본의 대동아공영 및 전시체제를 만주국의 이주 조선인 문학가 심연수의 작품을 통해 살피고, 심연수가 만주국을 어떤 방식으로 인식했는지, 또 만주국 이데올로기에 어떻게 동의했는지 고찰하는 것이다. 심연수는 실제 이주했던 조선인들의 만주 생활에 대해 문제의식이 없었고, 그것은 그의 문학에서도 잘 드러난다. 그는 만주국의 낙토이데올로기가 포장하고 있는 만주환상에 동조하여, 실제 이주 조선인 사회가 가질 수밖에 없었던 정치·사회적 문제에 대한 비판의식이 없었다. 또한 그의 친 농민적인 사상과 농본중심의 사고 역시 미곡증산을 위한 것으로, 이주 조선인 농민들이 국가사업을 잘 수행하도록 장려하는 차원에서 사용되었다. 만주국 내의 조선인들은 소작농을 벗어나지 못하고, 매우 곤궁한 처지였으나 심연수는 이런 현실을 제대로 인식하지 않았다. 특히 전시체제에 대한 심연수의 인식 역시 기존의 문학사가 그를 저항시인으로 평가하는 것과는 매우 다르다. 그는 만주국의 근대 도시를 칭송했으며, 대동아공영에 대해서도 부정적으로 인식하지 않았다. 그것은 그의 시뿐만 아니라, 일기, 수필 등에서도 잘 드러나 있다. 본 연구가 같은 시기 신문 기사 등을 참고하여 심연수가 얼마나 왜곡된 현실인식을 갖고 있었는지 논의하는 것은 만주국을 다각도로 해석하기 위한 것으로, 기존의 연구들이 포착하지 못한 만주의 또 다른 모습을 찾고자 하는 것이다.This study examines the concept of the Manchukuo and Japan s Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and wartime regimea war footing through the works of Sim Yeon-soo, a migrant Korean literature writer in Manchuria, and how he recognized Manchuria and agreed to the Manchurian ideology. Sim Yeon-soo had no sense of problem with the life of Manchuria of the actual migrant Koreans, which is well illustrated in his literature as well. He sympathized with the fantasy of Manchuria, which is touted as the ‘Nakto’-ideologie of Manchuria, and had no sense of criticism of the political and social problems that the real migrant Korean society had to have. His pro-farming ideas and agribusiness-centered thinking were also used to encourage migrant Korean farmers to perform state projects well. The Koreans in Manchuria were in a very dm ifficult situation, but Sim Yeon-soo didn t really recognize this reality. In particular, Sim Yeon-soo s perception of the wartime system is very different from the existing literary history s assessment of him as a poet of resistance. He praised the modern city of Manchukuo and did not perceive it negatively. It is well illustrated not only in his poetry, but also in his diary, essay, etc. The purpose of this study is to interpret Manchuria as a multifaceted interpretation of how Manchuria had a distorted perception of reality by referring to newspaper articles at the same time, and to find another aspect of Manchuria that previous studies could not capture.

JUN TAKAMI`S “SHOMINZOKU” AND AMBIGUOUS CRITICISM OF THE GREATER EAST-ASIA CO-PROSPERITY SPHERE

Although Japanese writers who experienced living in Indonesia in 1940-1945 witnessed the issue of racial disparity as the reality of a European colony, they were unable to depict it sufficiently because they were expected to portray a peaceful coexistence between Japanese and Southeast Asian peoples as the ideal picture of the Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. This paper explores the possibility of evaluating literary works written under the notion of the Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere by analyzing Jun Takami`s short story “Shominzoku” (July 1941) using Marie Louise Pratt`s “contact zone” as analytical tool. “Shominzoku” poses the problem of Japanese positioning in European colony; of how the protagonist sees himself and others, and how he wants to be seen by other races. Examining the narrative technique of the story to view Japanese positioning in the Netherlands East Indies, this paper argues that although “Shominzoku” can be evaluated as a criticism towards the notion of Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, it is actually an ambiguous work due to a reflection of the persisting idea that Japanese is, indeed, a superior race.

Flight school for the spirit of Myanmar

In 1935, two Burmese filmmakers traveled to Tokyo with the intention of acquiring the latest sound recording equipment and training in sound-on-film production. In addition to these stated goals, in Japan they co-produced the feature film Japan Yin Thwe/Nippon Musume, ‘Japanese Darling.’ The film depicts daring young Burmese aviators and a budding romance with a Japanese woman. The active harnessing of the symbolic capital of aviation – the ideological notion of airmindedness – through the mimetic capacities of cinema, could be seen as a prescient example of Pan-Asianism, predating Daitoa Kyoeiken ‘Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’ propaganda. The film’s explicit encouragement of Burmese techno-nationalism offers a compelling contrast to other examples of anti-colonial nationalism, which emphasize notions of ethnic history and Buddhist morality and concerns of religious decline in the face of foreign imperialism. However, a comprehensive analysis of the film industry and commercial aviation in Japan in the 1930s reveals a structural impetus for this collaboration, arguably overshadowing ideological motivations and results.

Imploding the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: The Japanese Oppupation of south east asia and josen rule

Imploding the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: The Japanese Oppupation of south east asia and josen rule

A Study on Japanese’ Conception of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere from the Viewpoint of Multilateralism - With Focus on a Theoretical Analysis on Peacelessness -

A Study on Japanese’ Conception of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere from the Viewpoint of Multilateralism - With Focus on a Theoretical Analysis on Peacelessness -

Imploding the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere : The Japanese Oppupation of south east asia and josen rule

Imploding the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere : The Japanese Oppupation of south east asia and josen rule

The Concept of Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and Asian Language Learning by Japanese Citizens:

The Concept of Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and Asian Language Learning by Japanese Citizens:

Apat na Taong Pagsikat ng Nakapapasong Araw: Musika sa Filipinas sa Panahon ng Hapon, 1942–1945

World War II in the Philippines was as much a treacherous mind game as it was physical. While it brought almost total devastation to the cultural heritage bequeathed by the country’s colonial past, it sought to create, albeit in the spiritual-emotional realm, a template of Asian-ism that the Filipinos were to live by as a supposed member of the Imperial Japan-colonized Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Songs, organizations, programs, speeches, religion and many other activities and things that could be used to sway the Americanized Filipino psyche were employed in this devastating “game of thrones”. This study questions how music and related propaganda materials were used to pacify and control the conquered Filipino nation. Music, to a degree, was symptomatic of the progress of the occupation, from the initial settling down of the Japanese soldiers to the seemingly quiet acceptance of many locals in occupied areas. In these stages of the war, imposed music crept into the consciousness of the conquered—from Japanese children’s songs at the basic education level to the concert platforms with music composed by Filipino musicians heralding the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity theme.

最近における日本植民史研究の問題点 : 小林英夫『「大東亜共栄圏」の形成と崩壊』の検討を中心に, 一九七六年六月三〇日

最近における日本植民史研究の問題点 : 小林英夫『「大東亜共栄圏」の形成と崩壊』の検討を中心に, 一九七六年六月三〇日

The Construction of ‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’ and Colonial Policy Studies in Japan

The Construction of ‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’ and Colonial Policy Studies in Japan

전시 일본 국토계획과 대동아공영권 그리고 조선국토계획

역사적으로 국토계획은 산업혁명으로 인해서 야기된 대도시문제와 지방의 궁핍화문제를 처리하기 위하여 제기된 도시계획으로부터 비롯되었다. 이 국토계획 개념이 일제하 식민지시기에 한국 사회에 도입되었다. 1940년 9월 일본 정부가 결정한 ‘국토계획설정요강’에 조선의 입지가 설정되지 않은 것에 대하여 조선총독부가 조선국토계획을 수립하면서였다. 전시 일본의 국토계획은 국방적 차원에서 독일국토계획을 차용하여 전쟁을 완수하고자 기획한 ‘생산력확충계획’이었다. 대동아공영권을 구축계획이었다. 거기서 중요한 지역 국토계획이 ‘일만지(日滿支)’ 국토계획이었다. 이에 조선총독부가 일본 정부의 중앙 국토계획에 조응하면서도 자체적으로 조선의 위치를 강조한 ‘일선만지(日鮮滿支)’국토계획을 기획하였다. 그것은 조선총독정치를 통해서 본국의 ‘신체제’에 기여하는 ‘조선신체제’정책을 병참기지정책으로 강력히 추진하는 것이었다. 조선국토계획은 조선의 중추적인 역할을 강화시킨 만큼 조선공업화와 전쟁수행을 위한 동원을 통해서 교두보로서의 기능과 역할을 실질적으로 강화시킨 것이었다. 그 결과 조선총독정치의 국가주의적 성격이 강화되고, 한반도 지역 간 불균형과 기형적 재편성이 강행되었다. 그것이 해방된 한국 사회의 생활공간을 구성하는 토대가 되었다. 그러므로 해방 이후 한국 사회가 경제개발정책과 국토계획을 추진하는데 인적·물적으로 직·간접적인 영향을 미치게 되었다.

Japan’s colonial policies – from national assimilation to the Kominka Movement: a comparative study of primary education in Taiwan and Korea (1937–1945)

The eight-year-long period from Japan’s initiation of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 to its unconditional surrender in 1945 forced Japan to invest its national economy and industrial and scientific technologies in the war. In addition, in the name of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Japan initiated its assimilation and Kominka (Japanisation) policies (皇民化政策) in the colonies Korea and Taiwan. Japan used education as a tool to expand its influence over members of society, and attempted the frequent use of Japanese and Kominka (皇民化) in daily life to penetrate the awareness of people in the colonies. Japan also started to enforce various assimilation policies. A comparison of the implementation of Kominka policies (皇民化政策) in Taiwan and Korea shows that, in terms of school admission rates and frequency of use of Japanese, the proportion of school admission rates for frequent speakers of Japanese to primary education in Taiwan are significantly higher than those in Korea. Moreover, in terms of primary education, national schools were implemented in both Taiwan and Korea according to the “National School Order” promulgated in 1941. Japan made use of the term “education equality” to win people over. In fact, it aimed to strengthen the concept of Kominka (皇民化), the education of militarism, and to force the Taiwanese and Koreans to become “imperial citizens” loyal to the Emperor. Japan’s ultimate objective was to create an environment that met military needs for civilian and military resources.

Pan-Asian Sports and the Emergence of Modern Asia, 1913–1974 by Stefan Huebner, and: Japanese Pan-Asianism and the Philippines from the Late Nineteenth Century to the End of World War II: Going to the Philippines Is Like Coming Home? by Sven Matthiessen, and: Asianisms: Regionalist Interactions and Asian Integration eds. by Marc Frey and Nicola Spakowski

Reviewed by: Pan-Asian Sports and the Emergence of Modern Asia, 1913–1974 by Stefan Huebner, and: Japanese Pan-Asianism and the Philippines from the Late Nineteenth Century to the End of World War II: Going to the Philippines Is Like Coming Home? by Sven Matthiessen, and: Asianisms: Regionalist Interactions and Asian Integration eds. by Marc Frey and Nicola Spakowski Jeff Kingston Pan-Asian Sports and the Emergence of Modern Asia, 1913–1974. By Stefan Huebner. NUS Press, 2016. 416 pages. Softcover SGD46.00. Japanese Pan-Asianism and the Philippines from the Late Nineteenth Century to the End of World War II: Going to the Philippines Is Like Coming Home? By Sven Matthiessen. Leiden: Brill, 2016. 248 pages. Hardcover €98.00/ $127.00. Asianisms: Regionalist Interactions and Asian Integration. Edited by Marc Frey and Nicola Spakowski. NUS Press, 2016. 292 pages. Softcover SGD42.00. Since the 1970s, the field of Pan-Asian studies has blossomed with the publication of numerous case studies on individual former colonies, now independent countries, and works on transnational themes such as forced labor, collaboration, and Japanese trained armies. Much of this research highlights how the grim reality of Japanese subjugation and exploitation in wartime Southeast Asia contradicted the lofty rhetoric of Pan-Asian liberation and dazzling promises of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. There are also important studies that examine the domestic discourse on Pan-Asianism in Japan—how it evolved from the late nineteenth century up through [End Page 325] the 1931–1945 Pacific War and what role it played in terms of mobilizing support to justify the expansion of the ongoing war with China into Southeast Asia. Pan-Asian thought was Japan-centric, but not monolithic. Various individuals and institutions disagreed on the meaning of the concept and how Pan-Asianism might be realized. Revisionists in Japan cling to a myth that noble intentions simply went awry or were derailed by the losing war effort, but such hopeful interpretations have been thoroughly debunked. The three books under review manifest the growing diversity of Pan-Asian studies while expanding its chronological and spatial horizons. By concentrating on the world of sporting events and the regional interactions they facilitated before and after the Pacific War, Stefan Huebner significantly extends the scope of Pan-Asian analysis beyond Northeast Asia and into the decades of the Cold War. Sven Matthiessen illuminates the development of contested assumptions about the Philippines within Japan's domestic conversation on Pan-Asianism as well as the challenges this ideology faced in an inhospitable Southeast Asian context. The diverse topics selected by Marc Frey and Nicola Spakowski in their edited volume explore regional interactions, common agendas, and notions of Asian integration while also problematizing concepts of Asianism. Huebner's seminal Pan-Asian Sports and the Emergence of Modern Asia, 1913–1974 enriches the discourse considerably. This ambitious monograph provides a detailed analysis of sports competitions in Asia over a six-decade period in the twentieth century. Huebner guides readers through key competitions including the Far Eastern Championship Games of 1913 through 1927, the Western Asiatic Games in 1934, and the Asian Games held between 1951 and 1974. He suggests that these competitions did not actually succeed in nurturing Pan-Asian identity or fostering regional networks. Indeed, the YMCA-sponsored Far Eastern Games did more to impart Western and Christian values. Yet in the post–World War II era, these events acted as more than venues for competition, providing high-profile opportunities for nation branding and the assertion of modern identities. The book is organized chronologically rather than thematically, with chapters focused on specific games. There is considerable detail on each of the games, including the organizers, venues, infrastructure, ceremonies, and agendas, which sheds light on not just the logistical challenges, but also the political context of the sports competitions. Huebner meticulously elucidates the larger sociocultural impact of sporting events and how they illuminate contested identities and political tensions within host countries and across the region. Arguably, the most interesting chapters cover the Asian Games, which took place against the backdrop of the Cold War. The prominence of Western influences ironically led to the selection of an English motto and the playing...

The “Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere”: A New Boundary for Taiwanese People and the Taiwanese Capital, 1940–1945 (臺灣人的對外移民與投資, 1940–1945)

This article deals with Taiwanese civilian emigration and overseas investment in the period of 1940–1945 when Japan engaged the Greater East Asian War. Taiwan in general, and some Taiwanese in particular, helped the reconstruction of Japanese occupied areas in this war. Overseas Taiwanese mainly worked as employees for Japanese stores, companies, mines, plantations, and Japanese government offices, but also opened stores, factories, plantations and banks by themselves. As overseas ethnic Chinese, the Taiwanese civilian emigrants examined in this paper moved in the direction opposite that of other overseas Chinese holding Chinese nationality. The Taiwanese populace expanded overseas to Greater East Asia, while Chinese nationals withdrew from this area and returned to China. Thus, this paper will illustrate how the phrase, “people should fight for their country,” bore different meanings for these two different types of overseas Chinese in the Asia-Pacific War theater of wwii. 1930至40年代，中日學者曾就華僑的定義進行討論。吳主惠將華僑定義為定居於海外的中國人及其後裔，不包括駐外政府官員和留學生。吳氏認為華僑的最嚴格定義，是指定居海外但仍保有中國國籍者。1933年日本大藏省為替局統計臺灣地區約有46,000至47,000名華僑，便是依據這樣的定義。吳氏指出，在此嚴格定義下，華人後裔如不具中國國籍者，便非華僑。另有一種較為寬鬆的定義是: 無論是否具中國國籍，凡定居或曾赴海外的中國人及其後裔皆為華僑，井出季和太即持此見。關於日本統治臺灣時期的臺灣人國籍，根據日本大藏省為替局的解釋，由於馬關條約簽訂後的二年內，臺灣人得自由決定離去與否，留下臺灣者為日本國民。這些成為日本國民的臺灣人或其祖先曾具有中國國民的身分，因而1933年的340萬臺灣人也被視為較寬定義下的華僑。在日本建構所謂的「大東亞共榮圈」時期 (1940–1945)，許多不具軍人身分的臺灣人向海外移民或投資，與之相反的是，擁有中國國籍的華僑在此時期則多回歸故里。在大東亞戰爭時期的華人，由於出身不同，「為國而戰」一詞對於他們的意義也因而分歧。 (This article is in English.)

A Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (GEACPS) 2.0?

Contesting International Society in East Asia. Edited by Buzan Barry, Zhang Yongjin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 272 pp., $95.00 hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-1-107-07747-8). In a collection of fine essays, this book asks a timely question: Is there an (emerging) international regional society in East Asia? Two scenarios/interpretations of the “Western–global international society” are first introduced: the “globalization” view in which the Western systems and values triumph in some form, and the “postcolonial” view in which the “regional” international society will assert itself (pp. 5–6). In theory, however, a third interpretation should also be possible: the emergence of a non-Western “global” society. The book also seeks to conceptualize the international relations of East Asia from the perspective of the English School. Indeed, there is quite a strong link between the book under review and The Expansion of International Society edited by Hedley Bull and Adam Watson (⇓) but not just because the latter is generally regarded as a foundational text of the English School. The seemingly unlikely link is an essay by Ali Mazrui (⇓:289–308) entitled: “Africa Entrapped: Between the Protestant Ethic and the Legacy of Westphalia,” which basically articulates what the editors of Contesting International Society in East Asia , Barry Buzan and Yongjin Zhang, would call “a core-periphery view of Western–global international society” (pp. 5–6). Mazrui argues that Africa was a miracle of diversity, that it interpreted and practiced “primary institutions” differently, that it had no dominant core, …

Adapting Russian Constructivism and Socialist Realism. The Japanese Overseas Photo Magazine FRONT (1942–1945)

Modeled after the Soviet propaganda magazine SSSR na stroike (›USSR in Construction‹, published 1930–1941, 1949), the Japanese overseas propaganda photo magazine FRONT (1942–1945) provided visual propaganda for the so-called ›Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere‹, a concept that was proclaimed in 1940 and served to disguise Japan’s quest for hegemony in Asia. Employing the aesthetics of Russian Constructivism and Socialist Realism of SSSR na stroike, FRONT created a visual aesthetic that could be termed Japanese Co-Prosperity Realism. Its dynamic and modernistic design was a transculturally inspired practice by Japanese photographers, graphic designers, journalists and producers of visual media, some of whom had been left-wing intellectuals or had lived and worked in the Soviet Union. In a comparative perspective, this paper carves out the political, cultural and gendered semantics of the (in)visibility of power, political religion and ethnic diversity that such aesthetics entailed. It explores some of the shifting backgrounds against which photographic techniques were enacted, from their avant-garde beginnings to their application in authoritarian regimes.

A Critical Review on the Thought and Practice of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: Focus on the Criticism of Dakeuchi Yoshimi and Maruyama Masao

A Critical Review on the Thought and Practice of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: Focus on the Criticism of Dakeuchi Yoshimi and Maruyama Masao