Demarcating Japan

Imperialism, Islanders, and Mobility, 1855–1884

Takahiro Yamamoto

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English

Harvard University Press
18 May 2023

Literary studies: general; Asian history; Maritime history; Historical geography

Series: Harvard East Asian Monographs

Histories of remote islands around Japan are usually told through the prism of territorial disputes. In contrast, Takahiro Yamamoto contends that the transformation of the islands from ambiguous border zones to a territorialized space emerged out of multilateral power relations. Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, Tsushima, the Bonin Islands, and the Ryukyu Islands became the subject of inter-imperial negotiations during the formative years of modern Japan as empires nudged each other to secure their status with minimal costs rather than fighting a territorial scramble. Based on multiarchival, multilingual research, Demarcating Japan argues that the transformation of border islands should be understood as an interconnected process, where inter-local referencing played a key role in the outcome: Japan's geographical expansion in the face of domineering Extra-Asian empires.

Underneath this multilateral process were the connections forged by individuals. Translators, doctors, traffickers, castaways, and indigenous hunters crisscrossed border regions and enacted violence, exchanged knowledge, and forged friendships. Although their motivations were eclectic and their interactions transcended national borders, the linkages they created were essential in driving territorialization forward. Demarcating Japan demonstrates the crucial role of nonstate actors in formulating a territory.

By: Takahiro Yamamoto
Imprint: Harvard University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 522g
ISBN: 9780674291386
ISBN 10: 0674291387
Series: Harvard East Asian Monographs
Pages: 284
Publication Date: 18 May 2023
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Takahiro Yamamoto is Assistant Professor of Cultural Economic History at the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg.

Reviews for Demarcating Japan: Imperialism, Islanders, and Mobility, 1855–1884

Yamamoto’s extensive work in researching and analyzing events as they unfolded in five maritime border areas during this time period is thus a boon to the field of modern Japanese history…a rich and truly comprehensive accounting of the demarcation of Japan’s borders in the late nineteenth century.…original and well-crafted. -- Robert Hellyer * Monumenta Nipponica *