In many non-Western contexts, modernization has tended to be equated with Westernization, and hence with an abandonment of authentic indigenous identities and values. This is evident in the recent history of many Asian societies, where efforts to modernize - spurred on by the spectre of foreign domination - have often been accompanied by determined attempts to stamp national variants of modernity with the brand of local authenticity: 'Asian values', 'Chinese characteristics', a Japanese cultural 'essence' and so forth. Highlighting (or exaggerating) associations between the more unsettling...

In the decades since her defeat in the Second World War, Japan has continued to loom large in the national imagination of many of her East Asian neighbours. While for many, Japan still conjures up images of rampant military brutality, at different times and in different communities, alternative images of the Japanese 'Other' have vied for predominance - in ways that remain poorly understood, not least within Japan itself.

Imagining Japan in Postwar East Asia analyses the portrayal of Japan in the societies of East and Southeast Asia, and asks how and why this has changed in...

In the decades since her defeat in the Second World War, Japan has continued to loom large in the national imagination of many of her East Asian neighbours. While for many, Japan still conjures up images of rampant military brutality, at different times and in different communities, alternative images of the Japanese Other have vied for predominance in ways that remain poorly understood, not least within Japan itself.

Imagining Japan in Postwar East Asia analyses the portrayal of Japan in the societies of East and Southeast Asia, and asks how and why this has changed in...