Manchuria Under Japanese Dominion

by Shin'ichi Yamamuro, Joshua A. Fogel (Translator)

From 1932 until the end of World War II, the Japanese established and maintained by bloody rule a puppet regime in the Chinese region of Manchuria. This region was composed of three northern provinces in China; the puppet ruler was the last Chinese Emperor, Pu Yi, and this rich industrial region was clearly coveted and managed by the Japanese as a critical element in their imperial dominion. Yamamuro Shin'ichi's extraordinary book rereads this occupation under new light. The author shows that right-wing Japanese military and civilian groups thought of construction in this sparsely populated region as an effort to build a paradise on earth, with roots deep in Asian traditions. At the same time, Chinese and Korean populations in the region were abused by the Japanese military, and many Japanese were deliberately misinformed about what was being done in their name. Yamamuro examines the policies and events unfolding on the ground during this time. With close attention to the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans involved, and the links between the military and the home islands, he offers his own overall assessment of this distinctive instance of state-building. Making use of numerous sources in Chinese and Japanese, from legal documents and government decrees to memoirs and poetry, "Manchuria Under Japanese Dominion" goes beyond rhetoric to provide a unique assessment of the history of this period.

Genres: History

344 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Andre · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sigh, this book started so well, but I couldn't go through with it. After all the notion of Manzhouguo as an ideal Atlantean state, that was an interesting statement. However, if it weren't for the info on how Japanese expansionism affected Koreans in Manchuria and how the Chinese viewed those Koreans and how the policies on both sides led to ethnic tension, I probably would have given up on that chapter already as it is really not good, pretty boring and too long to be honest. This book was pretty boring at that point, usually I would be further ahead with such a book but this time... this was slow. I skipped the rest of this chapter as it really wasn't necessary to go into that much detail in regard to the reasoning behind the occupation of Manchuria and Mongolia, it can be summed up like this: Japan needed resources and a protective zone against attacks, now come up with external justifications. The End. I slogged through this book for days and barely made any progress and so I gave this up. This was not a good experience.