Overview

This book retraces the process through which, at the turn of the twentieth century, the Japanese went from a racial anomaly to honorary members of the White race. It explores the interpretation of the Japanese race by Western powers, particularly the United States, during Japan's ascension as a great power between 1853 and 1919. Forced to cope with this new element in the Far East, Western nations such as the U.S. had to device a negotiation zone in which they could accommodate the Japanese and negotiate their racial identity. In this book, Tarik Merida, presents a new tool to study this process of negotiation: the Racial Middle Ground.

Full Product Details

Author:   Tarik Merida (Assistant Professor of Japanese Studies, Freie Universität Berlin)
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.467kg
ISBN:  

9781399506892

ISBN 10:   1399506897
Pages:   195
Publication Date:   21 February 2023
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Introduction: The Japanese Racial Anomaly On the (Ir)Relevance of Studying Race Subject and Scope Theoretical Framework – The Racial Middle Ground Focus and Sources Structure of the Book Part I: Race in the Japanese Context: Early Modern Patterns of Differentiation and the Introduction of Race in Modern Japan Chapter 1: Patterns of Differentiation in Early Modern Japan On the Existence of Race in Early Modern Japan Confucianism and the ‘Middle Kingdom’ Gender and Equality in Early Modern Japan Hairy Barbarians: Ainu, Foreigners, and Japanese Civilisation Chapter 2: The Translation of Race in the Meiji Period Introducing Modernity: The Translation of Race in the Early Meiji Period Adapting the Concept of Race Part II: A Racial Middle Ground: Negotiating the Japanese Racial Identity in the Context of White Supremacy Chapter 3: Between Two Races – The Birth of the Racial Middle Ground between Japan and the West Japan and the Standard of Civilisation: The Problem of Race against Civilisation Japan, the West, and the Racial Middle Ground Racial pessimism and the Survival of the Fittest Chapter 4: Two Wars and First Successes: From the Port Arthur Massacre to the Treaty of Portsmouth Early Benefits of the Racial Middle Ground: The Port Arthur Massacre ‘Yellow’ Fears of ‘Yellow Peril’: Race and the Russo-Japanese War Agents of the Racial Middle Ground Chapter 5: Further Successes and the Limits of the Racial Middle Ground – The California Crisis Becoming Visible: Japanese Immigration to the United States Theodore Roosevelt and the Japanese Racial identity Chapter 6: African Americans and the Racial Middle Ground The Race at the Bottom (I): The Black Press and the California Crisis The Race at the Bottom (II): The Meaning of African Americans for Japan Early Japanese views of African Americans The ‘Black Problem’ or How to Sell Japanese Immigrants The Human Aspect of the Racial Middle Ground Chapter 7: The End of the Racial Middle Ground The Crisis Goes on: The Alien Land Law of 1913 Losing Appeal: The West, Japan, and Alternative Visions of World Orders Embracing Yellowness: The Appeal of Pan-Asianism The collapse of the Racial Middle Ground: The Paris Peace Conference Conclusion: The Elusive Japanese Race

Reviews

"""Tarik Merida brilliantly illustrates how modern Japan encountered the world of White supremacy and negotiated within it to create a racial middle ground."" With a sophisticated theoretical framework and detailed historical research, this provocative study overturns our common understanding of racial dichotomy to provide a new interpretation of how exceptionally complex Japanese racial identity was constructed."""" -Kotaro Nakano, University of Tokyo"

Tarik Merida brilliantly illustrates how modern Japan encountered the world of White supremacy and negotiated within it to create a ""racial middle ground."" With a sophisticated theoretical framework and detailed historical research, this provocative study overturns our common understanding of racial dichotomy to provide a new interpretation of how exceptionally complex Japanese racial identity was constructed. -- Kotaro Nakano, University of Tokyo A promising scholar in the early stages of his career, Merida makes a significant contribution to our understanding of nineteenth and early twentieth- century Japan’s difficult entry into the exclusive circle of world powers. -- Joseph M. Henning * The Journal of Asian Studies * This insightful book of diplomatic and social history seeks to understand how Japan became a “racial anomaly” in its negotiations with the West [...] required reading for anyone interested in the history of racial construction in and outside of Japan. -- Michael Sharpe * Pacific Affairs *

Author Information

Tarik Merida is Assistant Professor of Japanese Studies at Freie Universität Berlin. Tarik completed his PhD in 2019 and has published articles in journals including The Asia-Pacific Journal and Japan Review.

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