J. Victor Koschmann – författare

After World War II, Japanese intellectuals believed that world history was moving inexorably toward bourgeois democracy and then socialism. But who would be the agents - the active "subjects" - of that revolution in Japan? Intensely debated at the time, this question of active subjectivity influenced popular ideas about nationalism and social change that still affect Japanese political culture today. Here, J. Victor Koschmann analyzes the debate over subjectivity. He traces the arguments of intellectuals from various disciplines and political viewpoints, and asserts that despite their stress on individual autonomy, they all came to define subjectivity in terms of deterministic historical structures, thus ultimately deferring the possibility of radical change in Japan.

After World War II, Japanese intellectuals believed that world history was moving inexorably toward bourgeois democracy and then socialism. But who would be the agents - the active "subjects" - of that revolution in Japan? Intensely debated at the time, this question of active subjectivity influenced popular ideas about nationalism and social change that still affect Japanese political culture today. Here, J. Victor Koschmann analyzes the debate over subjectivity. He traces the arguments of intellectuals from various disciplines and political viewpoints, and asserts that despite their stress on individual autonomy, they all came to define subjectivity in terms of deterministic historical structures, thus ultimately deferring the possibility of radical change in Japan.

Regionalism has played an increasingly important role in the changing international relations of East Asia in recent decades, with early signs of integration and growing regional cooperation. This in-depth volume analyzes various historical approaches to the construction of a regional order and a regional identity in East Asia. It explores the ideology of Pan-Asianism as a predecessor of contemporary Asian regionalism, which served as the basis for efforts at regional integration in East Asia, but also as a tool for legitimizing Japanese colonial rule. This mobilization of the Asian peoples occurred through a collective regional identity established from cohesive cultural factors such as language, religion, geography and race. In discussing Asian identity, the book succeeds in bringing historical perspective to bear on approaches to regional cooperation and integration, as well as analyzing various utilizations and manifestations of the pan-Asian ideology.Pan-Asianism in Modern Japanese History provides an illuminating and extensive account of the historical backgrounds of current debates surrounding Asian identity and essential information and analyses for anyone with an interest in history as well as Asian and Japanese studies.

Regionalism has played an increasingly important role in the changing international relations of East Asia in recent decades, with early signs of integration and growing regional cooperation. This in-depth volume analyzes various historical approaches to the construction of a regional order and a regional identity in East Asia. It explores the ideology of Pan-Asianism as a predecessor of contemporary Asian regionalism, which served as the basis for efforts at regional integration in East Asia, but also as a tool for legitimizing Japanese colonial rule. This mobilization of the Asian peoples occurred through a collective regional identity established from cohesive cultural factors such as language, religion, geography and race. In discussing Asian identity, the book succeeds in bringing historical perspective to bear on approaches to regional cooperation and integration, as well as analyzing various utilizations and manifestations of the pan-Asian ideology.Pan-Asianism in Modern Japanese History provides an illuminating and extensive account of the historical backgrounds of current debates surrounding Asian identity and essential information and analyses for anyone with an interest in history as well as Asian and Japanese studies.

The Mito Ideology: Discourse, Reform, and Insurrection in Late Tokugawa Japan, 1790–1864 provides a deep dive into the pivotal role played by the Mito branch of the Tokugawa family in shaping ideological activism and reformist discourse during the late Edo period. This groundbreaking study explores how Mito scholars and leaders combined historical reflection with political action to address both internal and external threats to Japan's stability. From the formulation of reformist slogans like "Revere the emperor and expel the barbarian" (sonnō jōi) to the violent activism culminating in the assassination of Ii Naosuke and the Tengu Rebellion, the book examines the ways in which Mito ideologues influenced Japan's trajectory toward modernization and the eventual collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate.The narrative contextualizes Mito's intellectual and political contributions within broader ideological trends of the time, including the interplay of neo-Confucianism, Shinto, and nativist thought. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from thinkers such as Paul Ricoeur and Michel Foucault, the author investigates how Mito discourse operated not only as a form of scholarly inquiry but as a practical tool for mobilizing social and political change. The book also highlights the paradox of Mito's ideological legacy: while its reformist zeal contributed significantly to the erosion of the Tokugawa order, its internal conflicts and premature insurrections sidelined its radicals from the ultimate Meiji Restoration. This meticulous study sheds light on the dynamic interaction between ideology, action, and historical transformation in a period of profound upheaval in Japan.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1987.

The Mito Ideology: Discourse, Reform, and Insurrection in Late Tokugawa Japan, 1790–1864 provides a deep dive into the pivotal role played by the Mito branch of the Tokugawa family in shaping ideological activism and reformist discourse during the late Edo period. This groundbreaking study explores how Mito scholars and leaders combined historical reflection with political action to address both internal and external threats to Japan's stability. From the formulation of reformist slogans like "Revere the emperor and expel the barbarian" (sonnō jōi) to the violent activism culminating in the assassination of Ii Naosuke and the Tengu Rebellion, the book examines the ways in which Mito ideologues influenced Japan's trajectory toward modernization and the eventual collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate.The narrative contextualizes Mito's intellectual and political contributions within broader ideological trends of the time, including the interplay of neo-Confucianism, Shinto, and nativist thought. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from thinkers such as Paul Ricoeur and Michel Foucault, the author investigates how Mito discourse operated not only as a form of scholarly inquiry but as a practical tool for mobilizing social and political change. The book also highlights the paradox of Mito's ideological legacy: while its reformist zeal contributed significantly to the erosion of the Tokugawa order, its internal conflicts and premature insurrections sidelined its radicals from the ultimate Meiji Restoration. This meticulous study sheds light on the dynamic interaction between ideology, action, and historical transformation in a period of profound upheaval in Japan.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1987.

A collection of essays by North American and Japanese scholars on the life, work and influence of Yanagita Kunio (1875–1962), the founder of Japanese Folklore Studies. In addition to providing background information on Yanagita and his discipline, the eight contributors whose evaluations of Yanagita vary critically examine his research methodology, political stance, use of language, relevance for nation-building efforts in the Third World, and impact on Japanese intellectuals. Also included is an annotated translation of Chapter Two of Yanagita's 1941 essay, Nihon no matsuri (The Festivals of Japan).

A product of international collaborative research, this collection of essays by scholars from Japan, North America and Europe illuminates the many important ways in which mobilization for total war in the 1930s and early-1940s laid the foundation for "postwar democracy." The essays, all but two of which focus primarily on the Japanese case, analyze intellectual, political, and socioeconomic processes that extend from the 1930s down as far as the 1970s, and suggest that in this era not only Japan but Germany, the U.S., and other advanced industrial nations formed "system societies" characterized by rationalization, mobilization and high levels of social integration and control.

First published by Princeton University Press in 1982, this volume depicts the conflict and uncertainty that have bedeviled modern Japan. The eighteen contributors explore dissent, secession, and conflict first in the 1850s and 1860s, when the Tokugawa regime gave way to the Meiji government, and then from the end of the Russo-Japanese War through the mid-1920s. Includes an introduction by Tetsuo Najita and concluding chapter by J. Victor Koschmann.