In 1871-1882 fifty Americans, along with other foreign experts, were employed by the Japanese government to develop Japan's northern frontier, Hokkaido. Their work covered a wide scope of activities, from introducing Western agriculture and industry, constructing roads and a railroad, and surveying topography and mines, to establishing an agricultural college. While examining the overall undertaking, Professor Fujita specifically focuses on the prominent members who left copious private and public records. She thoroughly examines their ideas as well as their attitudes toward an alien...

The first work to chronicle the history of Vietnam beginning in the legendary past--a memory that is so significant to the Vietnamese identity and belief system. Written by a native, this history portrays the Sino-Viet interdependence that lasted for 1,000 years and had such an influence on Vietnamese culture. When in the 15th century, the Vietnamese finally evicted their Chinese masters, they were subsequently overrun with the forces of Westernization, the spice trade and industrialization. Chapuis's history takes us to the French conquest through the regimes of Emperors Gia Long, Ming...

This book tells the story of French interaction with Vietnam and the neighboring region, which began with the French seizure of Cochin-China and Tonking in the 19th century under Emperor Tu Duc and ended with their humiliating defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. After the conclusion of treaties with China in the nineteenth century, Western nations sought access to the resource-rich region of Yunnan. After attempts at exploring the Mekong River, the French turned their sights to the Red River. Only after Jean Dupuis successfully linked Hanoi with Yunnan was Admiral Dupre able to begin the...

Nimmo examines Japanese and Russian attempts to resolve outstanding differences lingering since the end of World War II. He provides an in-depth analysis of Japanese efforts to regain control of the Northern Territories and explores attitudes of both Japanese and Russians at the grass roots level.

As the end of the twentieth century approaches, lingering shadows of the devastating mid-century conflict witnessed in World War II are reflected in a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia over possession of the South Kurile Islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan. For more...

Can China now be considered urbanized? Unlike earlier studies that viewed China as a peasant or rural society, this book focuses on the question of whether China is already urbanized. Each of the contributors considers the degree to which the town-country dichotomy has been obliterated in the China of the 1980s and 1990s. The focus is unique, for previous studies have failed to raise this fundamental question.

The contributors to the volume, who are from China, Hong Kong, the United States, and Canada, collectively address China's past and continuing transformation, the...