Shigetaka Shiga is one of the most frequently cited intellectuals in the history of Japanese nationalism. As one of the editors of the magazine Nihonjin in the mid-Meiji period, he advocated the preservation of “nationality” (kokusui) in opposition to the government which was promoting Westernization (ōka) eagerly and preparing for the mixed residence outside the foreign settlements (naichi zakkyo).
However, a careful examination of his writings before and after the period of nationalist advocacy reveals contradictions in his thought. In his first book which brought him fame, Shiga depicted the inferiority of the Asian races to the “white people” observed in the “Southern Ocean” (nan’yō). And from the 1890s on, Shiga turned into a zealous advocate of emigration. Not only is emigration apparently detrimental to the preservation of nationality, it is a policy recommendation antithetical to his own perception that the Japanese are racially inferior to the Europeans and Americans.
This paper seeks to explain why these twists occurred in Shiga’s thought by delving into his readings and writings in his intellectual formation period with a particualr focus on the influence of Western ideas on him.
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