Stefan Tanaka examines how late nineteenth and early twentieth century Japanese historians created the equivalent of an "Orient" for their new nation state. He argues that the Japanese attempted to use a variety of pasts—Chinese, Indian, and proto-historic Japanese—to construct an identity that was both modern and Asian.
Japan's Orient Rendering Pasts into History
About the Book
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION:
THE DISCOVERY OF HISTORY
PART ONE: FINDING EQUIVALENCE
1
From Kangaku to 1oyiishi: The Search for History
2
Toyoshi: The Convergence of East and West
PART TWO: CREATING DIFFERENCE
Interlude: Difference and Tradition
3
Shina: The Separation of Japan from China
4
Shina: The Narration of Japan's Emergence
5
Shina: The Authorization of a Discourse
6
Archeology: The Institutionalization of Shina
EPILOGUE: THE RENOVATION OF THE PAST
WORKS CITED
INDEX