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Essay western political thought
What is the impact of the west on japan
Japanese wars in the 20th century
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In dealing with the issues of Japan at the time, this Discourse was written in 1887 concerning political thought and written by Nakae Chomin and translated by Nobukuo Tsukui who is a major Japanese scholar in literature. Nakae Chomin was very interested in the area of political theory in his home country of Japan. There had been a call, in particular by Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher with many areas of study of which one in particular was political theory. Spencer as well as others had called for changes in Japanese culture and to conform to the ideas of social progress. Nakae and other intellectuals had spent a decade with the idea that this call should be met as a challenge and as a cause for freedom rather than accommodating the western powers of Great Britain, Russia, France and Germany. The competition of these countries gaining dominance in Asia was creating a strain on Japan and had to be addressed. Japan could not ignore what was happening internationally on the world stage or ultimately be left behind as a nation to never be recognized unless it could show the will to conform to western culture. Nakae was focused on the issues of national defense and pacifism especially in the twentieth century where men decided that national well-being was more important than national defense. There are three characters in the book: the Gentlemen who is promotes the idea of democracy, the Champion who promotes the thought of aggression and lastly, Nankai who loves to drink and discuss politics of the time. It seems that none of these characters hold the greatest wisdom but the one that is closest to Nakae is Master Nankai. Western liberal politics is well received by Nakae through the Gentlemen, Japanese traditionalist...
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... event that national pride is not damaged, the country should not take up arms or act in any aggressive manner. The defense of a nation is not a means to take up arms as invaders but to be simply preserved as a means for self-defense. The book conveys that Nakae would have a smile on his face to see that his theories of war and pacifism would come to fruition after the defeat of Japan in World War two and the resulting after effects of Japans aggression. We saw the disarmament of Japan and the prohibition of weapons with Article IX of the countries new constitution and how it related to the international community. Thus, the book reveals that the thoughts portrayed by the Champion and the Gentlemen have been on-going for almost a century. It is said that the Gentlemen went to North America and the Champion went to Shanghai, Master Nankai continues to drink.
Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.
'Even with all the mental anguish and struggle, an elemental instinct bound us to this soil. Here we were born; here we wanted to live. We had tasted of its freedom and learned of its brave hopes for democracy. It was too late, much too late for us to turn back.' (Sone 124). This statement is key to understanding much of the novel, Nisei Daughter, written by Monica Sone. From one perspective, this novel is an autobiographical account of a Japanese American girl and the ways in which she constructed her own self-identity. On the other hand, the novel depicts the distinct differences and tension that formed between the Issei and Nisei generations. Moreover, it can be seen as an attempt to describe the confusion experienced by Japanese Americans torn between two cultures.
The author of The Pacific War is Saburo Ienaga, is a leading Japanese scholar and political activist. Within the Note, located at the beginning of the book, is a brief overview of Ienaga’s career written by Frank Baldwin. The
Joseph Conlans “State of War; The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan” is an depth look at Japans emerging warrior class during a time period of constant warfare in Medieval Japan. His work however doesn’t revolve around the re-fabrication and in-depth analysis of battles sieged like many contemporary examinations of wars and battles won and lost. Instead the author vies to navigate the reader on journey into the warrior class’s lives and how they evolved through a statistical analysis of records. This illustrates how warfare changed and transformed with the constant evolving of the Samurai, but it also includes how their actions affected their Political environment as well as the society in which they dwelled from the bottom up. Through his survey of records and documents, Conlan is able to give readers a compelling look into the Warrior class and at times shatters in the process many of the pre-conceived general notions that one may hold about this ancient class of professional warriors. Many of the notions & common misconceptions debunked in this scholarly piece include the idea that the Samurai was a male only fraternity, reserved for those of impeccable candor and loyalty. When truth be known, woman and young men (boys) were also trained in the art of war and thus were as likely to be found on the battle fields as men when times were tough and solider numbers were depleted. Further, another misconception (Generally thought to be caused by the popular and well known; “The Bushido Code: The Eight Virtues of the Samurai”) of the warrior class is that all of these men were truly Samurai which translated to “one who serves” when really, loyalty for the warrior class as Conlan points out only went as far as ones right to ...
In Nakae Chomin’s A Discourse by Three Drunkards on Government, Chomin delineates a discussion between three men; the Gentleman of Western Learning, the Champion of the East, and Master Nankai. For the most part, the book handles the question of Japan’s future, for which each of these men has distinct view on. Although through the amiable and democratic viewpoint of the Gentleman of Western Learning and the belligerent nationalist viewpoint of the Champion of the East, Chomin shows appreciation towards western political theories and understanding of traditional Japanese approach, His personal views are conveyed through the character of Master Nankai.
Throughout history artists have used art as a means to reflect the on goings of the society surrounding them. Many times, novels serve as primary sources in the future for students to reflect on past history. Students can successfully use novels as a source of understanding past events. Different sentiments and points of views within novels serve as the information one may use to reflect on these events. Natsume Soseki’s novel Kokoro successfully encapsulates much of what has been discussed in class, parallels with the events in Japan at the time the novel takes place, and serves as a social commentary to describe these events in Japan at the time of the Mejeii Restoration and beyond. Therefore, Kokoro successfully serves as a primary source students may use to enable them to understand institutions like conflicting views Whites by the Japanese, the role of women, and the population’s analysis of the Emperor.
Dower begins by examining the propaganda churned out by both war machines (including a Frank Capra documentary, Know Your Enemy - Japan) and discovers two underlying patterns of stereotyping. "In everyday words," he writes, the "first kind of stereotyping could be summed up in the statement: you are the opposite of what you say you are and the opposite of us, not peaceful but warlike, not good but bad...In the second form of stereotyping, the formula ran more like this: you are what you say you are, but that itself is reprehensible." (30) In this case, American's commitment to individualism became rapacious self-interest in the eyes of Japan, while the Japanese commitment to collectivity became herd thinking to Americans.
Known for her work as a historian and rather outspoken political activist, Yamakawa Kikue was also the author of her book titled Women of the Mito Domain (p. xix). At the time she was writing this work, Yamakawa was under the surveillance of the Japanese government as the result of her and her husband’s work for the socialist and feminist movements in Japan (p. xx-xxi). But despite the restrictions she was undoubtedly required to abide by in order to produce this book, her work contains an air of commentary on the past and present political, social, and economic issues that had been plaguing the nation (p. xxi). This work is a piece that comments on the significance of women’s roles in history through the example of Yamakawa’s own family and
The “Gentleman of Western Learning” presents arguments centered around the political ideology of pacifism and can be seen as the “idealist” of the book, advocating ideas out of his time, seemingly to be a man of vision in today’s context. He proposes the abolishment of the Japanese military and believes that a moral defense built through the virtues of liberty, freedom, equality and fraternity would be more than sufficient to safeguard the nation’s shores and interests (Pg. 51). His cause for unilateral disarmament is indeed noble, though sadly, a pipe dream in his era.
21 Pitts, Forrest R., Japan. p. 113. -. 22. Davidson, Judith. Japan- Where East Meets West, p. 107.
Furthermore, this tale manifested a true dilemma that our society goes up against daily. Responsibilities are supposed to come before one's own personal gain. If a person becomes enraptured in their own self-seeking task and overlook their duties, that person will eventually suffer for it. Japan regards honor as something you have to strive for. It must be earned. The main character broke the rules of his the country had already established and paid for it in innumerable ways.
Suzuki, Tomi. Narrating the Self: Fictions of Japanese Modernity. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 1996.
The Fifteen-Year War was a time of great turmoil and uncertainty in Japan. Various facets of the country were tested and driven to their limits. During the occupation, race and gender began to evolve in ways that had not exactly be seen before. War had a tremendous impact on every part of the life of a Japanese citizen. Both men and women began to fill roles that were completely novel to them. Race became a part of the definition of who people were. As the war progressed and American troops landed on Japanese soil for occupation, more drastic changes occurred. Economic hardship and rations befell the people of the Land of the Rising Sun. Prostitution began to rear its ugly head and rape transpired. Through memory, research, and vivid creativity, the evolution of Japan during the Fifteen-Year War can be analyzed with great scrutiny.
The 21st Century has witnessed Asia’s rapid ascent to economic prosperity. As economic gravity shifts from the Western world to the Asian region, the “tyranny of distance [between states, will be] … replaced by the prospects of proximity” in transnational economic, scientific, political, technological, and social develop relationships (Australian Government, 1). Japan and China are the region’s key business exchange partners. Therefore these countries are under obligation to steer the region through the Asian Century by committing to these relationships and as a result create business networks, boost economic performance, and consequently necessitate the adjustment of business processes and resources in order to accommodate each country’s employment relations model (Wiley, Wilkinson, & Young, 2005). Cognizant of the fact that neither Japan nor China has given up on its external (protectionism or parity) adjustment tools, it is posited that they can nonetheless coexist since both “produce different things and in different ways” and as such avoid the cited perilous US and Mexico competition; but due to globalization, the operating environment portends a convergence or divergence of Industrial Relation (ER) strategies between China and Japan (Lipietz, 1997; Zhu & Warner, 2004).
Our preliminary class gave a brief, yet detailed outline of major events affecting the East Asian region. Within that class, prompted by our limited geographical knowledge of Asia, we were given a fundamental explanation of the geographical locations of the various events taking place in the region. In subsequent classes, we were introduced to the major wars, political shifts, and economic interests which shaped Japan, China and Korea to what they are today. We examined the paradigm of pre-modern Japanese governance, the Shogunate, and the trained warriors which defended lord and land, Samurai. In addition, we examined the socio-economic classes of Medieval Japan, which included the Samurai, peasants, craftsmen, and the merchants. We also examined pre-1945 Japan’s policies toward foreign entities, notably the Sakoku Policy, which sought to expunge all foreign presence and commerce in an effort to protect its borders and culture. 1945, however, saw ...