Asakawa Kan’ichi: Criticizes Prime Minister Ohkuma For His Attitude Toward China

-

Fig. Okuma Shigenobu, the prime minister of Japan.

Courtesy Waseda University Library

大隈重信写真 ヌ06 09384

Fig. Jiaozhou City, China

Source: Google earth modified by the author

Fig. Asakawa Kan’ichi

"Kan'ichi Asakawa Papers (MS 40). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library."

https://japanesehistory.yale.edu/about 

Asakawa Kan’ichi (1873 –1948) was a Professor of History at Yale, a peace advocate, and a curator at the Yale Library. Born in Japan as the son of a samurai, he spent the majority of his life in America.

Asakawa penned at least ten letters to Okuma, primarily critiquing his policies.

Jiaozhou City

Among these correspondences, one notable topic was Jiaozhou City in China. In 1915, following Germany's defeat in World War I, Japan demanded the transfer of Jiaozhou City from Germany to Japan. In a letter dated August 22, 1914, addressed to Ohkuma, Asakawa writes (translation by the author):

The tone of the letter is assertive, reflecting the scholarly concern of Asakawa. This may be attributed to the fact that Asakawa had a close relationship with Prime Minister Ohkuma during his student days, when Ohkuma served as the school’s president.

Twenty-One Demands by Japan against China

In an April 4 letter, he wrote (translation by the author):

[1] Asakawa. K., “Letters of Dr. Kanichi Asakawa”, Waseda University Press, Tokyo, 1990



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Japan: A Late Bloomer

-
Image
The purpose of this blog post is to show that Japan was a late bloomer in terms of an index which will be explained later. From a Western viewpoint, “Japan didn’t exist” until the 16th century CE when the first encounter with the West occurred. I will discuss the views of two individuals on Japan: Francisco Xavier and Alessandro Valignano. Both were missionaries. Although their mission was far from successful, there are several reasons why I focus on them: a. They were highly educated elites of European at the time, capable of describing things as they were. b. Their observations are well documented. Despite their primary goal being missionary work, their records are invaluable for studying 16th-century Japan, even for nonspecialists like myself. c. Some of their views are shared. d. Both visited other Asian countries before visiting Japan, allowing them to place Japan in a relative perspective. e. Their observations align with at least one quantitative data, which will be explained la
Read more

Movie Review: “Visas and Virtue” (1997), A 26-minute Short Film Directed By Chris Tashima.

-
Image
    Fig.    A scene from “Visas and Virtue ( courtesy Ceder Grove Productions ) “Visas and Virtue” is a short movie motivated by a true story of Sugihara Chiune, a Japanese diplomat who risked his and his family's life to save thousands of Jewish refugees in WWII by issuing transit visas to Japan from his consulate in Lithuania, in August 1940. The act, however, was a defiance against Japanese government because of Japan’s relationship with Germany. In the morning of August 18,1940, Sugihara observed hundreds of people surrounding his Kaunas consulate. They looked exhausted. They were the Jewish people from Poland as well as from Lithuania who were facing an existential threat by the Nazis.  The following scene vividly captures the anguish of Sugihara and his wife. +++++++++++ Yuki ( Sugihara’s wife): Chiune, you promised that everyone would get a visa. Sugihara: If I lose my career- Don’t you care what happens to us? Yuki, I am issuing illegal visas. We w
Read more

Movie Review: "Lil Tokyo Reporter (2012)" A Short Film Directed By Jeffrey Gee Chin.

-
Image
Fig. A scene from “Lil Tokyo Reporter”. “ I was read the story of a small samurai ....." ( Courtesy of Leap Man Productions )   time: 1935 place: Los Angeles, California Fujii:     “ I was read the story of a small samurai who traveled to a far off island to defeat demons and ogres. 　 I came to America with that same dream . ”   Fujii exposes the criminal activities of the Japanese club on the front page of his paper.    Fujii   shot ( Courtesy of Leap Man Productions )   Fujii survives   After a police raid, the club was shut down. Fujii continued to defend the Japanese of Los Angeles his whole life.   I never knew Fujii before I stumbled on this movie. Directed by Jeffrey Gee Chin, the 30-minute short film “ Lil Tokyo Reporter ” delves into the life of Fujii (1882–1954). Born in Iwakuni, Japan, Fujii embarked on a transformative journey when he moved to America at the age of 20. He was incarcerated by the US government, but this  setback
Read more