"Cultures of Modernity and the U.S.-Japan Cold War Alliance reconsiders the origins of postwar U.S.-Japan relations by focusing on "modernization" ideologies that the Americans and the Japanese shared in the 1940s-early 1950s. Mobilizing a wealth of English and Japanese-language sources, the author identifies parallel groups of modernist thinkers in America and Japan - including politicians, bureaucrats, intellectuals, scholars, and journalists - and follows how different strands of thought played out within an evolving political environment, forming a "middle ground." Despite their differences, both the Americans and the Japanese believed in the progressive view of history, considered Japan to be still underdeveloped, and therefore agreed on the advisability of democratizing Japan - which included constitutional reform. Whether proponents or opponents of the U.S.-Japan Cold War alliance system, they also shared the vision of Wilsonian internationalism and devised similar designs for a postwar Asian order where Japan would rejoin. Thus, by showing how the confluence of modernist cultures helped forge a postwar relationship between the two, this study contributes to the field of postwar U.S.-Japan relations by supplementing and reorienting the scope of scholarship, one that has been predominantly America-centered and framed along the line of diplomatic narratives informed by Cold War politics"--

Cultures of Modernity and the U.S.-Japan Cold War Alliance reconsiders the origins of postwar U.S.-Japan relations by focusing on “modernization” ideologies that the Americans and the Japanese shared in the 1940s–early 1950s. Mobilizing a wealth of English and Japanese-language sources, the author identifies parallel groups of modernist thinkers in America and Japan – including politicians, bureaucrats, intellectuals, scholars, and journalists – and follows how different strands of thought played out within an evolving political environment, forming a “middle ground.” Despite their differences, both the Americans and the Japanese believed in the progressive view of history, considered Japan to be still underdeveloped, and therefore agreed on the advisability of democratizing Japan – which included constitutional reform. Whether proponents or opponents of the U.S.-Japan Cold War alliance system, they also shared the vision of Wilsonian internationalism and devised similar designs for a postwar Asian order where Japan would rejoin. Thus, by showing how the confluence of modernist cultures helped forge a postwar relationship between the two, this study contributes to the field of postwar U.S.-Japan relations by supplementing and reorienting the scope of scholarship, one that has been predominantly America-centered and framed along the line of diplomatic narratives informed by Cold War politics.

This is an important and controversial work, hitherto available only in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese, a book which has been subject to court cases attempting to have some parts deleted. The author reconsiders the issue of the “comfort women,” that is the Korean women who were compelled to provide sexual comfort to Japanese troops during the Asia-Pacific War. She explores the human complexity of the experiences of these women, who despite terrible exploitation, she feels, cannot and should not only be considered as passive victims. She sets the issue in context, revealing how Korean society played a role, with patriarchy and middlemen being significant factors in the procurement of comfort women, and how alongside the comfort women there were volunteer labor corps of Korean young women supporting the Japanese war effort. The author highlights Korea’s colonial status, different from the territories Japan invaded and conquered, discusses how relations between colonizers and colonized in an empire are not straightforward, and argues that people should work to understand more fully the mindset of those at the time, and refrain from forcing values from the present to resolve indignities of the past. Aiming to find a way to pursue reconciliation while looking more closely at the history, the book provides substantial consideration of key issues to do with empire, memorialization, and censorship. It is an uncomfortable read for those seeking simplistic interpretations and easy solutions.

This book examines how the Treaty of Peace with Japan, a momentous agreement that delineated postwar order in the Pacific, was negotiated between Japan and 48 other nations in 1951. Even though the treaty was created to legally end the state of war between Japan and its Pacific War enemies, many other considerations - some of which had hardly anything to do with the Pacific War - were involved. The US-Soviet rivalry was the most representative, but this was not the only factor. For instance, the decision to invite Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam as signatories was determined based on French colonial interests, Indochinese yearning for independence and the need for French contribution in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Similarly, German reparations settlements after the First and Second World Wars impacted Japanese reparations settlement. Meanwhile, the commercial terms of the treaty were informed by the Great Depression and its legacies. This book addresses these aspects of the peace treaty that are hitherto not sufficiently elaborated upon in existing studies. Highlighting the importance of the treaty for shaping postwar East Asia and international relations in the region to the present day, this book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of post-war Japan, International relations, and the Cold War.

This book explores the everyday life of Muslims in late imperial China proper (“Sino-Muslims”), revealing how they integrated themselves into Chinese society, while also maintaining distinct Islamic features. Deeming “identity” as practical, interactive, and processual, it focuses on Sino-Muslims’ daily networking practices which embodied their numerous processes of identification with people around them. Through an evaluation of such practices, it displays how, since the early seventeenth century, Sino-Muslims vigorously formed and participated in popular religious and secular networks at local, translocal, and China-wide scales, including mosques, merchant associations, gentry groups, Islamic educational and publishing networks. It demonstrates how such networks facilitated Sino-Muslims to become more aligned with the tempo of change in Chinese society and imperial governance, and created for them more ingenious venues and means to identify with Islam. Ultimately it reveals how, by the first half of the nineteenth century, a sense of collectivity—with common knowledge, memory, and discourse—was generated among dispersed Sino-Muslims. Utilizing Sino-Muslims’ own records such as steles, genealogies, and Chinese Islamic texts, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of comparative Muslim studies, Qing and early modern China, religious and ethnic identity, and professionals of Sino-Arab relations.

This remarkable book brings to an English-speaking audience detailed scholarship originally conceived and written in the Malay language and with a Malay perspective. It examines the nature of monarchy in the Malay world, which includes present-day Malaysia and Indonesia, before and during the onset of Western colonialism when the Malay world was ruled by a large number of separate Muslim sultanates. It highlights that monarchs were the highest authority in the social, political, legal and economic system, rather than the government of a clearly defined territory; the notion of Dewaraja (god-king) and what a model monarch’s attributes should be; and how the monarch’s role related to Islamic principles, including the Islamic ideal of the Caliph of God meting out fair judgement and punishment. Two prominent and pivotal concepts of traditional Malay society, that of daulat (sovereignty) and derhaka (disloyalty) are here analysed and evaluated against the background of the period of absolute monarchy. Moreover, this volume also discusses the parts played by leading ministers and viziers, who often exercised enormous power, explores the role of monarchs in managing and regulating economic activity, and outlines differences between the different sultanates.

Pham explores North Vietnam’s unique challenges and perspectives to provide a holistic understanding of the Vietnam War. Delving into the emotional, philosophical and cultural dimensions of Northern Vietnamese experiences, this book transcends mere military strategy to illuminate how these elements shaped the nation's identity, beliefs and self-conception. The book’s multifaceted approach fosters a deeper understanding of North Vietnam's wartime journey. Beginning with the 1954 division of Vietnam, it probes into the ideological battles and propaganda efforts of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) and examines historical precedents, Communist ideology, and propaganda slogans. Drawing upon historical records, personal anecdotes and cultural insights, it offers readers an intimate chronicle of North Vietnam's odyssey. By focusing on the cultural, psychological and ideological dimensions of the DRV's struggle, it fills a gap in the existing literature surrounding Northern Vietnamese experiences and perspectives. A valuable resource for scholars, students, researchers and political scientists interested in the field of history, communication, war studies, peace and conflict studies, as well as the Vietnam War's historical and contemporary implications.