Basil Hall Chamberlain and Lafcadio Hearn were two of the best known western interpreters of Meiji Japan. In their correspondence as well as published writings, they commented on the conclusion of the Aoki-Kimberley treaty of 1894 and the subsequent end of the "unequal treaties" and the treaty port system in Japan. Chamberlain, a resident in Tokyo for over two decades, was most concerned with the fate of foreigners in Japan who would be adversely affected by the end of extraterritoriality and the favourable commercial privileges which they had enjoyed since 1858. He was critical of the jingoism of the nationalistic reaction which developed during the course of treaty negotiations. Hearn, in contrast, praised this national or "racial" spirit and credited it with Japan's success at the negotiation table. Partial to ideas of racial difference and conflict, Hearn viewed the new treaty as evidence of the resurgence of an oriental race against the forces of western imperialism.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.26722 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Bowers, Romy Joanna. |
| Contributors | Ota, Yuzo (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of History.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001556406, proquestno: MQ29530, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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