After the Meiji Restoration, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Russo-Japanese War, Japan found itself occupying a prominent position in the global arena. Komura Jutaro, whom Mutsu Munemitsu had chosen as his successor, served on the Katsu Taro cabinet and set to forging a plan for Japan’s continental development in opposition to Russia, considering the influence of the United States and Britain. Komura accurately judged that Japan had no other option than war with Russia, given his piercing insights into Russia’s intentions, and that recognition enabled the Empire of Japan to stay on the right track. All the other merits and demerits of Komura’s diplomacy are directly connected to the merits and demerits of the steps taken by the Empire of Japan that eventually led to the country’s defeat in World War II. Komura’s diplomacy thus calls into question Japan’s national strategy itself: consistently pursuing independent diplomacy instead of entrusting Japan’s fate to collaboration with the Anglo-American world and, in Asia, expanding Japan’s exclusive sphere of influence beyond the Korean Peninsula deep into the Asian continent.

Lying in the Sea of Japan between Japan and the Korean Peninsula sits Takeshima, two islets surrounded by numerous rocks. At present, the issue of sovereignty over Takeshima remains contested between Japan and the Republic of Korea. Historically, the area has been the site of many interactions between Japanese and Koreans and is especially tied to the history of Japan’s southwestern San’in region. Shimane Prefecture native and teacher of regional history Sugihara Takashi brings this rich history into relief by tracing the many stories that unfolded in the region, from the hunting of sea lions on Takeshima to the peaceful coexistence of Japanese and Koreans living side by side on the nearby island of Ulleungdo. Takeshima and its history remain ever present in the hearts of the Japanese people and the story of this important region.

The histories of China, Korea, and Japan have been intimately intertwined for centuries. But of these three countries, it was Korea that occupied the pivotal geopolitical position. The Korean Peninsula shaped the dynamics of international interactions and relations in East Asia which, up until the start of the twentieth century, were underpinned by systems of order wholly removed from the sovereign state system we recognize as ubiquitous today. Contested Perceptions examines the coexistence of “neighborly relations” between Japan and Korea and “tributary relations” between Korea and the Qing dynasty from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, and Korean “tributary autonomy” in the late nineteenth century. It provides a cogent analysis of the differing perceptions that determined the success or failure of these past systems of order and their influence upon the balance of power in East Asia from the seventeenth century to modern times. Delving into the history of East Asian international relations, diplomacy, and power politics, this book elucidates the events that led to the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars, and the conflicts of interest that have defined these nations up to the present day.