War and Stereotypes: The Image of Japan's Military Abroad (War Hi Stories)

Japan has always been fascinating for foreign observers. This volume will show, how its military has been perceived abroad and what image about the Japanese Army existed between 1853 and 1945 in the minds of those who read and heard stories from the Far East. When forcefully opened by a US mission in 1853, Japan was transformed by its ruling elites into a strong nation state, whose military and political forces wanted to avoid a colonization by foreign powers. Therefore, Japan's military capacities were of special interest and the army and navy were westernized very fast. Japanese soldiers became known as “Asia's Prussians”, and were often described as “gallant enemies”. This image, however, should rapidly change after the First World War. During the battles in China since 1937, and the Pacific since 1941, the Japanese soldiers were often referred to as “devils.“ This volume will take a closer look at the images of Japan's military abroad to show how these images were created, how they changed and what stimulated the differences with regard to the foreign perception of Japan and its military between 1853 and 1945. Introduction: Japan’s Military as Seen from Abroad Chapter 1 The Changing Image: The Formosan Expedition in 1874 in the Eyes of the Local Anglo-Saxon Press Chapter 2 The Stabilization of the Image: The Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 in the Eyes of the Local Anglo-Saxon Press Chapter 3 Asia’s Hope and Pacific Peril: Emergence of Japan as a Military Threat in the American Press at the End of the 19th Century Chapter 4 Gallant Little Soldiers: The Boxer Uprising and the Development of a Martial Image of Japan Chapter 5 The Russo-Japanese War and the Perception of the Japanese Army in Imperial Germany Chapter 6 The Japanese Soldier in American Popular Songs: A Comparison of Songs from the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) and from the Pacific War (1941-1945) Chapter 7 Monsters or Men? Popular Perceptions of Japanese POWs on American Soil Chapter 8 Reshaping the Images of a Fallen Army: Postwar Narratives of the Imperial Japanese Army and Civilian Massacres in British Malaya Contributors Index