Examining the Perceptions and Responses to the Concept of the “Yellow Race” in Meiji Japan: A Case Study

Weijun Cai

doi:10.54097/tc193286

Authors

Weijun Cai

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/tc193286

Keywords:

“Yellow race”, white race, Meiji Japan, The Russo-Japanese War, Japanized Sinocentrism.

Abstract

In 1904, the Russo-Japanese War broke out. The factors that contributed to the outbreak of the war included the competition between Russia and Japan over spheres of influence, as well as the perspective of the "yellow-white conflict." This calls for research on Japan's perception of the concept of the "yellow race" and its reaction to it during the Meiji period. The concept of the "yellow race" was introduced to Japan as part of the modern Western "knowledge," which led to different perceptions. However, especially after the First Sino-Japanese War, the conflict between the concept of "white superiority and yellow inferiority," typified by the "Yellow Peril," and the concept of "Japan the civilized and the West the barbarian," implied in Japan's anti-foreign (jōi) movement, intensified and finally became irreconcilable.

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