Visual Cultures of Japanese Imperialism: A Special Issue of Positions

Under pressure of cultural colonization from the West and expanding an imperialist force and cultural colonizer within Asia, Japan occupied a unique space on the international landscape in the years from the beginning of the Meiji Period to the Pacific War. This special issue of Positions examines the integral role that visual culture played both in representing and constituting this imperial reality. The articles, contributed by scholars in the fields of art history, cultural history, and Japanese literature, address the interactions between Japan, the West, and the rest of Asia. Costumes, architecture, tourism propaganda, pottery, and a host of other sources provide the raw materials for Visual Cultures of Japanese Imperialism , and the essays built from these sources aim to change readers’ understanding of the visual culture(s) of imperialism.