‘The warrior has always shewed himself greater than his weapons’: the Royal Navy’s interpretation of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–5

During the Russo-Japanese War, British naval attachés serving with the Japanese produced a series of reports on both technical and cultural aspects of the conflict. In seeking to explain the Japanese successes, the attachés compared and contrasted their hosts with themselves, Royal Navy and Britain more generally. These reports offer a rare insight of the cultural preconceptions of Royal Navy officers prior to the First World War, presenting explicitly the norms and beliefs that served to unite the service. Recovering these collective understandings helps to illuminate the decision-making processes that took place within the Royal Navy both prior to and during the First World War.     

Resistance and Negotiation: “Herbivorous Men” and Murakami Haruki’s Gender and Political Ambiguity

In recent years, both Japanese and Western media have devoted a great deal of attention to a new type of Japanese man, so-called sōshoku-kei danshi (“herbivorous men”), as an example of a new, “softened” masculinity. In this paper, I draw a parallel between the growing number of “herbivores” and the increasing popularity of Japanese contemporary author Murakami Haruki, and in particular of the young male protagonists of his novels. Apart from the apparent similarities in the personalities of Murakami’s characters and the herbivores, a significant commonality can be found in their way of relating to their representation, especially their rebellious image constructed by society. Through an analysis of the formation of such an image, we will find that their popularity is closely associated with the history of Japanese masculinity, and more importantly with their astute distancing from society and their complicity with the capitalist system. In this article I examine Murakami’s and the herbivores’ ways of positioning themselves in Japanese society in order to provide a more nuanced understanding of both types of men.     

The Evolution of the Pre-Confucian Meaning of Jen 仁 and the Confucian Concept of Moral Autonomy

Abstract

Once ostracized and relegated to a mere marginal position in the history of modern Chinese literature, Lin Shu 林紓 (1852–1924) has now become an important and relatively well-known figure. This paper summarizes existing research on Lin Shu's translations and the controversy between the vernacular and the classical language, emphasizing the achievements of Chinese and Japanese scholarship during the past century. For practical reasons, results have been divided chronologically into four categories: (1) Criticism of Lin Shu before 1924; (2) Early Chinese Scholarship (1924–1935); (3) Late Chinese and Early Japanese Scholarship (1935–1960); (4) Renaissance of Studies on Lin Shu outside China (1960–2000). This periodization is supplemented with a brief excursus on the current state of Lin Shu studies.     

Japan’s Most Beloved Suicide Bombers: The Nikudan-san’yūshi Phenomenon (1932–1945)

In 1932, three Japanese soldiers died in the line of duty during the Shanghai Incident. Battlefield gossip blamed their deaths on incompetence. Sensational newspaper reports lauded them as suicide bombers who crippled the defences of an enemy stronghold with only a Bangalore torpedo and ‘pieces of torn flesh.’ Hero worship and commercialization followed shortly thereafter. Their alleged exploits inspired books, movies, theatrical performances, political speeches, radio dramas, and popular music. This article is about the Nikudan-san’yūshi (Three Heroic Human Bullets) phenomenon, a cultural sensation that penetrated into nearly every corner of Japanese society and which groomed the nation for military extremism.     

The Beasts at Large – Perennial Questions and New Paradigms for Caribbean Translocation Research. Part I: Ethnozoogeography of Mammals

ABSTRACT

While researchers have long appreciated that mammal introductions were an important aspect of Amerindian-environment interaction in the prehistoric Caribbean, persistent questions about dispersal routes, animal management practices, possible domestication, and ritual use remain unresolved. In this three-article series, offered as a model approach for prehistoric translocation studies, I review the present state of knowledge on pre-Columbian Caribbean mammal translocations, focusing on three fundamental areas: (1) ethnozoogeographic distributions; (2) the sociocultural significance of translocated fauna; and (3) the ecological impact of introduced species. Here, in Part I, I consider species introduction patterns in relation to dispersal modes, the need to distinguish live introductions from the import of animal products, and the importance of direct-dating specimens to establish translocation chronology. In subsequent papers I explore topics II and III, advocating for a holistic approach to translocation research that integrates all three investigative areas to address larger questions about the role of introduced mammals in island society and ecology and their impact on human adaptation to the landscape. This first paper provides foundations for an ensuing final discussion in which I argue that intentional faunal translocation is sufficiently robust as a behavioural phenomenon across time and space to warrant theoretical treatment from an evolutionary perspective.     

A civilized nation: Japan and the Red Cross 1877–1900

Abstract

The history of both the Red Cross and the Japanese Red Cross is based on a teleological and eurocentric narrative which is strongly shaped by national histories and focused on persons. To assume 1863 as the founding date of the Red Cross is highly debatable, considering that most national relief organisations were renamed ‘Red Cross Societies’ only in the 1880s. In this Japan is no exception, since first a Haku-Ai-Sha (Philanthropic Society) was founded in 1877 and then turned into the Japanese Red Cross Society in 1887. Japanese actors must be regarded as intrinsically motivated and active participants in the Red Cross movement who saw an ideal and a model in the Euro-American ‘way of civilisation’ and humanity. It has taken about 30 years to turn the Haku-Ai-Sha in Japan into a humanitarian society which is accepted both at home and abroad and, with its 728,507 members in 1900, which constituted the largest Red Cross Society in the world.     

CANADA-JAPAN COAL TRADE: AN ALTERNATIVE FORM OF THE STAPLE PRODUCTION MODEL

The Innis model of staple production has been used as the framework for evaluating many Canadian resource trades. This paper argues that Japanese resource trade differs from that with Europe or the United States and that the distinct set of institutional arrangements governing Japanese resource trade requires the modification of the Innis model to recognize this new form of Canadian staple production and trade. The one billion dollars per annum Canada-Japan coal trade provides a detailed case study of the institutional complexity of Japanese resource trade, as revealed through corporate strategies, trade intermediaries, equity investment, loan arrangements, export contracts, and public infrastructure. Minority Japanese investments in joint ventures replace the dominant role of foreign capital in earlier versions of the staples model. The role of finance capital is highlighted by Japanese loans typically exceeding equity investments in size. The high transaction cost of negotiating hundreds of contracts is reduced through the use of sogo shosha (Japanese general trading companies) as intermediaries. Unequal relations are demonstrated by the greater risk borne by local investors as private firms provide equity and public institutions invest in infrastructure. The Quintette mine in northeast British Columbia highlights these risks. Overall, the complexity of the Japanese supply system reduces the bargaining power of any single supplier. However, the stability promoted by the security objectives of the Japanese supply system leads to long-term trading relations that can provide corporate cash flows and maintain community viability during cyclical downturns in the industry. Le modele d'lnnis sur la production des matieres premiéres a servi a analyser les effets du commerce des ressources naturelles au Canada. Le texte maintient que les echanges de ressources naturelles avec lelapon different de ceux qui lient le Canada aux Etats-Unis et à l'Europe, et que la particularité des structures servant à administrer le commerce avec le Japon nécessite une modification du modele d'lnnis vouéà l'analyse des effets de ce commerce. Le texte se penche sur le commerce du charbon entre le Canada et le Japon, dont la valeuratteint 7 milliard$ parannée. Cette étude de cas va permettre de saisir la complexité institutionnelle des échanges ayant trait aux ressources naturelles avec le Japon, perceptible dans les stratégies des corporations, la présence d'intermédiaires, les investissements, les modalités de prêts, les contrats d'exportation et les infrastructures. Les investissements minoritaires des japonais dans des entreprises conjointes remplacent le rôle dominant des investisseurs étrangers caractéristique des modeles antérieurs d'extraction des matieres premieres. Le rôle accru du capital financier est souligné par les prêts des japonais qui exddent habituellement leur achat d'actions. Les hauts cocits transactionnels lie's à la négociation de centaines de contrats est réduit par l'intermédiaire de sogo shosha (compagnies japonaises se spkcialisant dans les échanges entre corporations). Nous constatons l'exis- tence de rapports inégaux olj le gros des risques est assumé par les investisseurs locaux et les agences gou- vernementales qui assurent la mise en place d'infrastructures. La mine Quintette dans le nord-est de la Colombie-Britannique illustre bien ces risques. La complexité du systeme d'approvisionnement japonais réduit les atouts dans les négociations des fournisseurs pris individuellement. It demeure que la stabilité, qui découle des objectifs d'approvisionnement a long terme des japonais, permet d'établir des rapports d'échange durables qui garantissent aux entreprises des revenus persistants ainsi que la prospérité des localites olj se trouvent les opérations d'extraction. Ces localités se trouvent alors soustraites aux effets des cycles économiques.     

抗战时期贵州人口变迁对社会的影响

抗战时期,中国出现了一场自东向西的人口大迁徙,随着大量人口及政府机关、厂矿、企业、文教团体迁入西部地区,给当地的经济、政治、思想文化产生很大影响,这些影响对于促进贵州社会进步与发展起到很大作用。