Mooring the Global Archive: A Japanese Ship and its Migrant Histories

Martin Dusinberre's book explores Japan's engagement with the outside world in the late-nineteenth century, reconstructing the lives of migrants who left Japan for work in Hawai i, Southeast Asia, and Australia. He uses an unconventional and material archive to address key questions of method and authorial positionality in global history.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 300 pages
Publication date: 05 October 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Martin Dusinberre embarks on an innovative exploration of Japan's late-nineteenth-century engagement with the world, tracing the journey of the Yamashiro-maru steamship across Asian and Pacific waters. Through his compelling in-depth analysis, he reconstructs the lives of thousands of male and female migrants who left Japan in search of work in Hawai i, Southeast Asia, and Australia. These narratives intertwine diverse transpacific historiographies of settler colonialism, labor history, and resource extraction, offering fresh perspectives. Dusinberre's research, supported by an unconventional and richly diverse archive encompassing gravestones, government files, paintings, songs, digitized records, and even the earth itself, delves into critical questions of method and authorial positionality in the writing of global history. This engaging investigation into archival practice raises profound questions about the nature of the global archive, its sources, and our role in citing it. Additionally, this title is available as Open Access, expanding its accessibility to a wider audience.

Weight: 486g
Dimension: 153 x 229 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781009346528