My dissertation involves a critique of the concept of life or seimei as it emerged in modern use during the Meiji era (1868-1912). Specifically, I have outlined the conditions of possibility for thinking seimei at particular moments in the development of the modern, market-centered Japanese nation-state in historical and literary terms such that I can begin to use these conditions to think its impossibilities. In short, I argue that a central condition of possibility for thinking life in its modern, historical form is a process of individuation that takes hold of and shapes bodies at an ontological level. By critiquing life and its ontology of individuation, I unearth the traces of an impossible “apriori collectivism” - that is, a collectivism not merely reducible to a congregation of individuals, but originally collective – buried under the calls for individual freedom, self-help, and industrialization that were at the heart of the Meiji era’s modernization project. I track this apriori collectivism in a lineage relating (through non-relation) the mutual aid societies or mujin-kô of the Edo period to the life insurance industry of the Meiji 10s and 20s. I then use this material history of life as backdrop to my study of the literary trends in the latter decades of the Meiji era, and end with a consideration of the political and aesthetic implications seimei has for thought by taking up a study of Iwano Hômei’s Shinpiteki hanjûshugi (Mystical Demi-animalism).

Fukuzawa Yukichi’s Datsu-A Ron is a relic of Japan’s modern nationalism. Since its’ publication in the year of 1885, arguably, it had been branded as the very seed that led Japan onto the war path in the Pacific War. Yet, this rather short and dense pre-war Japanese nationalistic theory contains complex layers that may easily complicate its readers’ comprehensions. The purpose of this thesis is to decode the key words that were used in this theory and dissect the layers of this theory’s intentions to the general public for a clear and objective understanding.

This thesis explores the affect of the emperor-centred visual culture on Sōseki’s use of visual methodologies in his travel writing in London and Manchuria, as well as his novel Sanshirō. In Part I of this thesis, I argue that Sōseki’s anxiety and ambivalence was in part due to the visual culture created around an imperial image infused with symbolic power. Part II of this thesis is almost a reversal of the first, as it discusses Sōseki’s use of deliberately visual methodologies to express his anxiety and ambivalence towards modernity. In light of my discussion of these complex visual techniques, I conclude by briefly addressing the allegations of Sōseki’s complicity in Japanese imperialism and the (non-)politicization of his work. While Sōseki’s anxiety and ambivalence may have been caused by the extremely visual culture centred on the emperor, it also provided him with a means and methodology for expressing his pessimism.

Fukuzawa Yukichi’s Datsu-A Ron is a relic of Japan’s modern nationalism. Since its’ publication in the year of 1885, arguably, it had been branded as the very seed that led Japan onto the war path in the Pacific War. Yet, this rather short and dense pre-war Japanese nationalistic theory contains complex layers that may easily complicate its readers’ comprehensions. The purpose of this thesis is to decode the key words that were used in this theory and dissect the layers of this theory’s intentions to the general public for a clear and objective understanding.

This thesis explores the affect of the emperor-centred visual culture on Sōseki’s use of visual methodologies in his travel writing in London and Manchuria, as well as his novel Sanshirō. In Part I of this thesis, I argue that Sōseki’s anxiety and ambivalence was in part due to the visual culture created around an imperial image infused with symbolic power. Part II of this thesis is almost a reversal of the first, as it discusses Sōseki’s use of deliberately visual methodologies to express his anxiety and ambivalence towards modernity. In light of my discussion of these complex visual techniques, I conclude by briefly addressing the allegations of Sōseki’s complicity in Japanese imperialism and the (non-)politicization of his work. While Sōseki’s anxiety and ambivalence may have been caused by the extremely visual culture centred on the emperor, it also provided him with a means and methodology for expressing his pessimism.

This essay deals with the political upheavals which occurred in Japan with the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and its impact on the Samurai Class. This transitional period in Japanese history is portrayed in the film The Last Samurai from 2003, and it's the comparison between this Hollywood production and the current research on the subject on which this essay focuses. Two key figures who are portrayed in the film are Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), an American soldier from the Indian Wars of the 1860/70s who travels to Japan to quell the Samurai rebellion but ends up in captivity; only to learn their codex of honor and way of life and eventually become a Samurai himself. The other character calls himself Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) and becomes the representative of the Samurai's struggle for their existence. Their friendship and cultural exchanges will remain a cornerstone throughout the film. Katsumoto has his historical counterpart in Saigō Takamori – also known as The Last Samurai during the times of the Meiji Restoration and its aftermath. Closely intertwined with the Samurai come ideals in which the warrior must follow specific precepts and behavior patterns both on the battlefield and in civilian life. Bushidō (“the way of the warrior”) and the ritual suicide that is seppuku (“stomach-cutting”) therefore play a significant role in the film and become a symbol of the clash between the old values of the Samurai and the inevitable process of modernization according to Western standards. The film explores both the theoretical and practical dimension of bushidō and is a tribute to the Samurai; their ideals, living and learning philosophy and to their codex of honor. It also depicts the unexpected and forbidden friendship between a Samurai and a soldier with their separate Western and Eastern values – which ultimately results in their common defeat before the new age in Japan.

In the tenets of Western political science, “limited government” is usually seen as the touchstone of modern constitutionalism. Yet significant issues can arise when one applies this framework to East Asia. By studying the origin of constitutionalism in China and Japan, my dissertation reexamines the idea that “limited government” is the core of modern constitutionalism. I argue that constitutionalism, as it was introduced in Meiji Japan and late Qing China, focused on strengthening the government rather than limiting it. Many might feel this affirms the popular belief in an inherent affinity for authoritarianism in the Chinese mind, but this dissertation disagrees, finding such a conclusion to be unfairly reductive, and dangerous to achieving a true cross-cultural understanding. It argues instead that Chinese constitutionalism’s desire to strengthen the state was not the manifestation of a cultural predisposition toward authoritarianism, but was instead consciously adopted and constructed in response to the chaotic realities of late 19th and early 20th century China. By studying the constitutional thought of Aristotle, Cicero, Machiavelli, Hobbes, the early English constitutionalists, Locke, Montesquieu, the American founding fathers, and others, I shine light on a dilemma that was as critical to late Qing China constitutionalism as it was to Aristotle’s ancient Greece, Machiavelli’s Renaissance Florence, and Lincoln’s splitting 19th century America: to achieve the delicate balance between a strong state and the limiting principles of a Republic. My argument calls for a reevaluation not only of Chinese constitutional thought, but also of current liberal constitutional theory, which tends to define the goal of constitutionalism simply as the limiting of governmental power. My research shows that the essential goal of constitutionalism, whether it takes place in the East or the West, in the present or the past, is not to move closer to one pole of authoritarianism or the other of limited government, but to strike an ideal balance between the two, depending on the specific context of a state’s time and place in history. / East Asian Languages and Civilizations

My dissertation involves a critique of the concept of life or seimei as it emerged in modern use during the Meiji era (1868-1912). Specifically, I have outlined the conditions of possibility for thinking seimei at particular moments in the development of the modern, market-centered Japanese nation-state in historical and literary terms such that I can begin to use these conditions to think its impossibilities. In short, I argue that a central condition of possibility for thinking life in its modern, historical form is a process of individuation that takes hold of and shapes bodies at an ontological level. By critiquing life and its ontology of individuation, I unearth the traces of an impossible “apriori collectivism” - that is, a collectivism not merely reducible to a congregation of individuals, but originally collective – buried under the calls for individual freedom, self-help, and industrialization that were at the heart of the Meiji era’s modernization project. I track this apriori collectivism in a lineage relating (through non-relation) the mutual aid societies or mujin-kô of the Edo period to the life insurance industry of the Meiji 10s and 20s. I then use this material history of life as backdrop to my study of the literary trends in the latter decades of the Meiji era, and end with a consideration of the political and aesthetic implications seimei has for thought by taking up a study of Iwano Hômei’s Shinpiteki hanjûshugi (Mystical Demi-animalism).

Thirteen assorted fairy tales by early 20th century Japanese poet/author Miyazawa Kenji, collected and translated with an analytical introduction by the translator. The introduction explores the presence of "the agent of the outside" in the majority of the author's work and how this literary concept serves to encourage the reader to escape subjective viewpoints.

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