Synopses & Reviews
This extended monograph examines the work of the radical journalist Kotoku Shusui and Japanand#8217;s anti-imperialist movement of the early twentieth century. It includes the first English translation of
Imperialism (Teikokushugi), Kotokuand#8217;s classic 1901 work.
Kotoku Shusui was a Japanese socialist, anarchist, and critic of Japanand#8217;s imperial expansionism who was executed in 1911 for his alleged participation in a plot to kill the emperor. Hisand#160;Imperialism was one of the first systematic criticisms of imperialism published anywhere in the world. In this seminal text, Kotoku condemned global imperialism as the commandeering of politics by national elites and denounced patriotism and militarism as the principal causes of imperialism.
In addition to translatingand#160;Imperialism,and#160;Robert Tierney offers an in-depth study of Kotokuand#8217;s text and of the early anti-imperialist movement he led. Tierney places Kotokuand#8217;s book within the broader context of early twentieth-century debates on the nature and causes of imperialism. He also presents a detailed account of the different stages of the Japanese anti-imperialist movement. Monster of the Twentieth Century constitutes a major contribution to the intellectual history of modern Japan and to the comparative study of critiques of capitalism and colonialism.
Synopsis
and#147;Tierney presents a novel examination of Kotoku Shusui, focusing on his critique of imperialism rather than his evolution toward anarchism. Providing the first English translation of Kotokuand#8217;s seminal pamphlet, Tierney greatly deepens our understanding of oppositional attitudes in early twentieth-century Japan toward imperialism.and#8221;and#151;Andrew Barshay, author of
The Social Sciences in Modern Japan: The Marxian and Modernist Traditions and
The Gods Left First: The Captivity and Repatriation of Japanese POWs in Northeast Asia, 1945and#150;1956 and#147;Tierney has given us not only a masterful translation and annotation of Kotokuand#8217;s original Japanese text, but a reminder that imperialism, patriotism, and militarism remain alive as transmogrified monsters in our own new millennium.and#8221;and#151;Takashi Fujitani, Dr. David Chu Chair in Asia Pacific Studies, University of Toronto
About the Author
Robert Thomas Tierney is Associate Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Kotoku Shusuiand#160;(1871and#150;1911) was one of the earliest advocates of Socialism in Japan and helped organize the Social Democratic Party in 1901. He was charged with being involved in a plot to assassinate the Emperor in 1910, arrested, and subsequently executed.and#160;
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
KOTOKU SHUSUI AND ANTI-IMPERIALIST THOUGHT
In the Shadow of Revolution
What Is Imperialism?
What Causes Imperialism?
JAPANand#8217;S FIRST ANTI-IMPERIALIST MOVEMENT
The Boxer Rebellion and the Band of Idealists
Heiminism and the Russo-Japanese War
The Asian Solidarity Association and the High Treason Case
IMPERIALISM: MONSTER OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
BY KOTOKU SHUSUI
Preface
Three preliminary observations
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. On Patriotism
Chapter 3. On Militarism
Chapter 4. On Imperialism
Conclusion
Epilogue: The Monster of the Twenty-First Century?
Notes
Bibliography
Index