ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the colonial history of Taiwan under Japanese rule. It deals with works outside and inside the island before the 1990s, and the boom in the studies of "Taiwanese history" on the island after the 1990s. During the White Terror era, the history of Taiwan, especially the period of Japanese rule, became a taboo. The chapter discusses the 50 years of Japanese rule in six themes, which cover: the cession of Taiwan to Japan and people's resistance; colonial governance and anti-colonial activities; the policy concerning aboriginals and the Wu-she Incident; colonization and modernization; the colonial education and modern arts; and the Kominka movement and wartime mobilization. The anti-colonial actions on the part of Han Taiwanese can be classified into two types: the clandestine armed struggle and the intelligentsia's non-violent anti-colonial movements. Colonial education shaped the mentality of Taiwanese who went to school under Japanese rule and left a far-reaching impact on the postwar Taiwanese society.
