Representing empire: Japanese colonial literature in Taiwan and Manchuria

Abstract

Japan's imperialist expansion in late 19th and early 20th Asia was marked by its official colonisation of Taiwan in 1895, of Korea in 1905, and by its subsequent occupation of Northern China in 1931, prior to heading further to the South in the late 19305. Living as they did in the heyday of imperialism and nationalism, two significant historical phenomena of the 20th century, Japanese colonial writers who travelled to the colonial territories left behind them abundant stores of writing and records that deserve scholarly attention. The dual historical processes of nationalisation and imperialisation put these colonial writers under no little strain and, at the same time, affected their national identification, which is the focus of this study.

Any study of Japanese national identification, and the tension between Japan’s nationalism and imperialism reflected in colonial writings, cannot be undertaken from a purely national perspective; rather, it demands a transnational vision that takes into account colonial factors, which in this study includes Japan’s interaction with China and Chinese literature. Drawing upon the examples of Nishikawa Mitsuru and Ouchi Takao, my thesis aims to scrutinise Japanese colonial literature and cultural production in Taiwan and Manchuria, and to identify the similarities and divergence in colonial identities that would otherwise be neglected in a more narrow treatment.

This thesis argues that both Japanese state and imperialism were understood by the Japanese people living in Taiwan and Manchuria in an ambiguous way. There was inconsistency in their understanding of the relations between state, nation and empire. In both Taiwan and Manchuria, space could be found for individual deviation from imperialist power.