明治期 일본의 아시아주의와 國權意識

Meiji Asianism and National Consciousness

Modem Japan’s Asianism is a controversal issue because it signified both imperialism and anti-imperialism. The overall consensus about the true nature of Asianism is that it was nothing more than a euphemism for Japanese expansionism. The problem is how to explain the apparent contradiction between its call for Asian interests and its obsession with Japan’s own national interests. This study is an attempt to find clues to this problem This study is based on the critique of previous assumptions on Asianism, especially of the assumption that Asianism had two distinctive elements of cooperativism and pan-Asianism. Instead, it argues that the difference between cooperativism and pan-Asianism should not be overemphasized and, instead, their essential sirnilaraties should be noted. In other words, it is necessary to focus on the common threads that bind diverse ideas and arguments into a thought called Asianism. As an attempt to do this, this study deals with national consciousness ubiquitous among Asianistic discussions and concludes that it was the most decisive factor that shaped Asianism as an ideology of Japanese imperialism.