War And National Reinvention: Japan In The Great War, 1914-1919 (harvard East Asian Monographs)

for Japan, As One Of The Victorious Allies, World War I Meant Territorial Gains In China And The Pacific. At The End Of The War, However, Japan Discovered That In Modeling Itself On Imperial Germany Since The Nineteenth Century, It Had Perhaps Been Imitating The Wrong National Example. Japanese Policy Debates During World War I, Particularly The Clash Between Proponents Of Greater Democratization And Those Who Argued For Military Expansion, Thus Became Part Of The Ongoing Discussion Of National Identity Among Japanese Elites. This Study Links Two Sets Of Concerns—the Focus Of Recent Studies Of The Nation On Language, Culture, Education, And Race; And The Emphasis Of Diplomatic History On International Developments—to Show How Political, Diplomatic, And Cultural Concerns Work Together To Shape National Identity. w. D. Kinzley - Choice basing His Work On Extensive Archival Research, Dickinson Provides A New Reading Of The Complex Debates About Japan's Diplomatic Relations That Took Place During The Critical Wwi Years. War and National Reinvention: Japan in the Great War, 1914–1919 Contents Illustrations Preface Note on Japanese and Chinese Names Introduction 1 Imperialism in the Context of National Renovation Japanese Diplomacy in Isolation The Primacy of Nation- Building Korea and Conscription in the Context of National Renovation Empire and Arms in the Context of National Renovation Oligarchic Politics in the Context of National Renovation Renovation on the Model of Imperial Germany War and the Consolidation of Empire, Arms, and Oligarchic Rule Peace and the Dissolution of Empire, Arms, and Oligarchic Rule The Taisho Contest over the Meiji Legacy Visions of a Taishō Renovation 2 "Divine Aid" and the "Destiny of Japan": The Great War as Opportunity World War I and the Quest for Empire Empire in the Service of Domestic Politics The Genro Versus Prime Minister Okuma, September 1914 Synopsis 3 Imperialism in the Service of Democracy: Kato Takaaki and the Twenty-One Demands The Twenty-One Demands in International Context The Politics of the Twenty-One Demands Synopsis 4 Anticipating a New Order in Asia: Yamagata Aritomo, Tanaka Giichi, and an Autonomous Foreign Policy The Lingering Influence of Katō Takaaki The Troublesome Politics of Japan's China Policy Tanaka Giichi and the Plot for Civil War in China Yamagata Aritomo and the Quest to Contain the United States The Politics of the 1916 Russo-Japanese Convention Synopsis 5 Last Chance of an Opportune War: Preempting Woodrow Wilson in Asia General Terauchi Masatake's Quest for National Unity An Expansive Definition oj]apanese Rights in Asia: The Nishihara Loans The Politics of the Nishihara Loans America Enters the War Revolution in Russia The Opportunity of Intervention in Siberia The Political Push for a Siberian Expedition Synopsis 6 Versailles in the Context ofNational Renovation: Wilson Arrives in Japan Versailles and the Challenge of a New World Order Hara Takashi as Symbol ofPolitical Reform Hara Takashi as Conservative Reaction to Woodrow Wilson Hara Takashi, Yamagata Aritomo, and Defensive Preparations for Peace The Social and Political Effects of Wilson in Japan The Conservative Battle to Retain the Old Order Synopsis 7 Conclusion Restoring Agency to Japanese Leadership The Politics of National Reinvention The Great War in the Context of National Reinvention The Manchurian Incident in the Context of National Reinvention Reconceptualizing]apanese Leadership in the Twentieth Century 8 Epilogue Reference Matter Notes Bibliography Index Harvard East Asian Monographs "In the first full-length study of Japan in the Great War, Dickinson highlights the profound impact of the 1914 to 1919 years on Japan. Although the Japanese escaped the physical destruction experienced by their European counterparts, evidence of the bankruptcy of the old order spawned political turmoil in Tokyo that would, as in Europe, ultimately invite another war. The disintegration of modern Japan's foremost national model, Imperial Germany, aggravated a tumultuous Japanese domestic debate over national identity that generated a renewed drive for national power in the 1930s." "By linking the current fascination with cultural "invention" among social and cultural historians with the traditional focus of diplomatic history on international affairs, Dickinson offers an alternative explanation for Japan's modern wars. Japanese continental aims in the twentieth century become here less a reactive exercise in national defense than an active campaign to "reinvent" the state and Japanese society."--Jacket