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Japan's Imperial Diplomacy: Consuls, Treaty Ports, & War in China 1895-1938
BROOKS Barbara
In November 1937, Ishii Itaro, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Bureau of Asiatic Affairs, reflected bitterly on the decline of the ministry's influence in China and his own long and debilitating struggle to guide China policy. Ishii was the most notable member of a group of middle-level diplomats who, having served in China, strongly advocated that Japan adopt policies in harmony with China's rising nationalism and national interests. Japan's Imperial Diplomacy profiles this distinct strain of 'China service diplomat,' while providing a comprehensive look at the institutional history and internal dynamics of the Japanese Foreign Ministry and its handling of China affairs in the years leading up to and through World War II. Moving from a thorough examination of a wide range of primary sources, including the extensive archives of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, memoirs, diaries, and unpublished speeches, Japan's Imperial Diplomacy offers integrated interpretations of Japanese imperialism, diplomacy, and the bureaucratic restructuring of the 1930s that were fundamental to Japan's version of fascism and the move toward war. Specialists of China, Japan, comparative colonialism, and World War II diplomacy will find this well-conceived and carefully researched and organized work of first-rate importance to the understanding of modern Japanese history in general and Japanese imperialism in particular. Barbara J. Brooks is assistant professor in the Department of History at the City College, City University of New York. 'Carefully researched and well-documented.... Brooks presents a compelling diplomatic historical analysis and demonstrates that the prewar Japanese state was less than monolithic and its celebrated bureaucracy and liberal diplomacy was severely stressed in China.' - H-Net Reviews, April 2001 'An important dissenting voice that helps to broaden our understanding of Japan's diplomatic history.' - China Journal 46 (2001) 'A study in failure that succeeds on nearly every level. Beautifully structured ... clearly the product of many years of painstaking research.' - Monumenta Nipponica 56 (2001) 'This volume deserves hearty applause as it enriches the current scholarship explaining Japan's road to war with China.' - Choice, July 2001 A STUDY OF THE EAST ASIA INSTITUTE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
