Japanese Racial Identities within U.S.-Japan Relations, 1853-1919 (Edinburgh East Asian Studies) - Hardcover

Merida, Tarik

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1399506897 ISBN 13: 9781399506892

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2023

Synopsis

Considers: Did race really matter? Racial ideology and political pragmatism in U.S.-Japan relations Breaks up the traditional dichotomic view of race relations Employs a new and more functional theoretical approach to understand the negotiated quality of not only the Japanese racial identity, but also of racial identities in general Firmly anchors Japanese history in a global framework Introduces a wide array of new Japanese sources particularly on the topic of Japanese and African American relations 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.

About this title

About the Author

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.

Edition details

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1399506897
• ISBN 13: 9781399506892
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 195