Imperial Gateway: Colonial Taiwan and Japan's Expansion in South China and Southeast Asia, 1895–1945

Seiji Shirane's Imperial Gateway examines the political, social, and economic significance of colonial Taiwan in Japan's empire from 1895 to the end of World War II. It challenges the idea of a simple relationship between the metropole and the colonial periphery and reveals a half-century of dynamic relations between Japan, Taiwan, China, and Western regional powers. Taiwanese subjects seized new opportunities for socioeconomic advancement that did not always align with Japan's imperial interests, transforming Taiwan into a regional gateway for expansion.

Format: Hardback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 15 December 2022
Publisher: Cornell University Press

In Imperial Gateway, Seiji Shirane delves into the profound political, social, and economic implications of colonial Taiwan in Japan's expansionist empire from 1895 to the conclusion of World War II. By shifting the focus away from traditional bilateral relations between the metropole and its colonial periphery, Shirane unveils a captivating half-century of dynamic interactions between Japan, Taiwan, China, and Western regional powers. Contrary to popular perceptions, Japanese officials in Taiwan did not merely follow orders from Tokyo; rather, they often pursued their own expansionist agendas in South China and Southeast Asia. When direct conquest proved elusive, they employed a range of strategies, including naturalizing resident Chinese as overseas Taiwanese subjects, expanding colonial police networks, and deploying tens of thousands of Taiwanese to war. The Taiwanese, comprising merchants, gangsters, policemen, interpreters, nurses, and soldiers, seized upon new opportunities for socioeconomic advancement that sometimes ran counter to Japan's imperial interests.

Drawing upon multilingual archives from six countries, Imperial Gateway offers a groundbreaking exploration of how Japanese officials and Taiwanese subjects transformed Taiwan into a pivotal regional gateway for expansion amidst an ever-evolving international order. This insightful work is made accessible to a wider audience through generous funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities Open Book Program and its participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem). The ebook editions of this book are freely available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other reputable repositories, ensuring that the rich insights and narratives contained within it reach a broader readership.

Dimension: 229 x 152 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501765575