Contextualizing Colonial Connections : Reevaluating Takekoshi Yosaburō’s Japanese Rule in Formosa
Hennessey, John LU
(2021)
In Japan Review
35.
p.141-164
- Abstract
- In 1907, Japanese Rule in Formosa was published in London. It was the English translation of Taiwan tōchi shi (1905), a book about Japan’s colonization of Taiwan by Japanese popular historian and liberal politician Takekoshi Yosaburō. Japanese Rule in Formosa proved remarkably influential, both at the time and in postwar historiography. Although isolated quotes from the 1907 work are frequently used by present-day historians, little attention has been granted to the political context in which it was published or the accuracy of the translation. The fact that Takekoshi advocated an unambiguous form of colonial rule in which the Japanese constitution would not apply in Taiwan placed him at odds with other leaders of his liberal Seiyūkai... (More)
- In 1907, Japanese Rule in Formosa was published in London. It was the English translation of Taiwan tōchi shi (1905), a book about Japan’s colonization of Taiwan by Japanese popular historian and liberal politician Takekoshi Yosaburō. Japanese Rule in Formosa proved remarkably influential, both at the time and in postwar historiography. Although isolated quotes from the 1907 work are frequently used by present-day historians, little attention has been granted to the political context in which it was published or the accuracy of the translation. The fact that Takekoshi advocated an unambiguous form of colonial rule in which the Japanese constitution would not apply in Taiwan placed him at odds with other leaders of his liberal Seiyūkai party who wanted Taiwan to be merged into Japan’s administrative and legal structures. Takekoshi’s stance reveals that colonial debates did not always match up with other political or philosophical fault lines. His ideas were, however, consistent and engaged in global, trans-imperial dialogue about assimilation and association in colonial administration. This article will position Takekoshi’s work within the contemporaneous Japanese debate over Taiwan’s legal status and argue that, although the timing of its publication meant that it had little influence in Japan, it had a significant effect on the attitudes of colonialist scholars in Europe and America towards Japanese imperialism. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/95005a03-c48d-413c-a2db-09aafb327598
- author
- Hennessey, John
LU
- publishing date
- 2021
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Taiwan, transimperial history, colonial administration, assimilation, association, indirect rule, liberalism
- in
- Japan Review
- volume
- 35
- pages
- 24 pages
- publisher
- International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85148006093
- ISSN
- 0915-0986
- DOI
- 10.15055/00007605
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 95005a03-c48d-413c-a2db-09aafb327598
- date added to LUP
- 2021-06-29 15:01:05
- date last changed
- 2024-06-21 03:10:12
@article{95005a03-c48d-413c-a2db-09aafb327598,
abstract = {{In 1907, Japanese Rule in Formosa was published in London. It was the English translation of Taiwan tōchi shi (1905), a book about Japan’s colonization of Taiwan by Japanese popular historian and liberal politician Takekoshi Yosaburō. Japanese Rule in Formosa proved remarkably influential, both at the time and in postwar historiography. Although isolated quotes from the 1907 work are frequently used by present-day historians, little attention has been granted to the political context in which it was published or the accuracy of the translation. The fact that Takekoshi advocated an unambiguous form of colonial rule in which the Japanese constitution would not apply in Taiwan placed him at odds with other leaders of his liberal Seiyūkai party who wanted Taiwan to be merged into Japan’s administrative and legal structures. Takekoshi’s stance reveals that colonial debates did not always match up with other political or philosophical fault lines. His ideas were, however, consistent and engaged in global, trans-imperial dialogue about assimilation and association in colonial administration. This article will position Takekoshi’s work within the contemporaneous Japanese debate over Taiwan’s legal status and argue that, although the timing of its publication meant that it had little influence in Japan, it had a significant effect on the attitudes of colonialist scholars in Europe and America towards Japanese imperialism.}},
author = {{Hennessey, John}},
issn = {{0915-0986}},
keywords = {{Taiwan; transimperial history; colonial administration; assimilation; association; indirect rule; liberalism}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{141--164}},
publisher = {{International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto}},
series = {{Japan Review}},
title = {{Contextualizing Colonial Connections : Reevaluating Takekoshi Yosaburō’s Japanese Rule in Formosa}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.15055/00007605}},
doi = {{10.15055/00007605}},
volume = {{35}},
year = {{2021}},
}