Pan-Asianism and national reorganization: Japanese perceptions of China and the United States, 1914–19

Introduction Japanese Asianism was described by Hiraishi Naoaki, a specialist in Japanese political thought, as “one ideological inclination appearing and disappearing in modern Japanese history,” and as an idea appealing for unity with “Japan as the leader [in] resisting the pressure of the Western powers.”1 Hiraishi’s definition builds on a key argument previously proposed by Takeuchi Yoshimi. For Takeuchi, Asianism was a concept of Asian solidarity (Ajia rentairon) put forth originally by advocates of liberty and peoples’ rights. Thus, he distinguished Asianism (Ajiashugi) from later forms of Greater Asianism (DaiAjiashugi), as put forward from around the time of World War I by activists from associations like the Gen’yōsha (Black Ocean Society).2