The Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) : Japanese National Integration and Construction of the Korean “Other”
Journal Title: International Journal of Korean History - Year 2012, Vol 17, Issue 1
Abstract
The significance of the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) for the evolution of the international relations in East Asia in the twentieth century as well as the unfolding of national histories in China, Japan and Korea has been long recognized. Historiographically speaking, diplomatic relations, military strategies and political intrigues have received a lion’s share of attention. In the present essay, I would like to focus on the cultural and social impact of the war on construction of dual images: the changing Japanese self-image of themselves as a “citizen-subject” of an integrated nation, and the image of Koreans as the “Other” to be colonized and civilized. I will examine some of the more recent studies of the Sino-Japanese War that have adopted the approaches of social and cultural history as well as some of the late nineteenth century Japanese discourses on the war, expressed through various forms of civilian news media and popular culture. The goal is to situate these discursive activities in the proper context of the political, military and diplomatic relations surrounding the war, bridging the artificial gap created between these diverse approaches. I hope that this brief exercise will help illuminate an important conjuncture in Japanese history, to which the processes of “national integration” and “imperial expansion” of Japan were converged, resulting in a new type of Asian nation-state that had accepted imperial wars as a critical component of its identity, and how such processes paved the way for the eventual rationalization for colonization of the Korean people.
Authors and Affiliations
Kyu Hyun Kim
Keywords
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