Technology of Empire : Telecommunications and Japanese Expansion in Asia, 1883-1945 / Daqing Yang.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Daqing, Yang, author.

Series:

Harvard University Asia Center E-Book Collection ISBN: 9789004407077.

Harvard University Asia Center E-Book Collection

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Telecommunication systems.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Other Title:

Telecommunications and Japanese Expansion in Asia, 1883-1945

Place of Publication:

Leiden; Boston : BRILL, 2010.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Nearly half a century ago, the economic historian Harold Innis pointed out that the geographical limits of empires were determined by communications and that, historically, advances in the technologies of transport and communications have enabled empires to grow. This power of communications was demonstrated when Japanese Emperor Hirohito's radio speech announcing Japan's surrender and the dissolution of its empire was broadcast simultaneously throughout not only the Japanese home islands but also all the territories under its control over the telecommunications system that had, in part, made that empire possible. In the extension of the Japanese empire in the 1930s and 1940s, technology, geo-strategy, and institutions were closely intertwined in empire building. The central argument of this study of the development of a communications network linking the far-flung parts of the Japanese imperium is that modern telecommunications not only served to connect these territories but, more important, made it possible for the Japanese to envision an integrated empire in Asia. Even as the imperial communications network served to foster integration and strengthened Japanese leadership and control, its creation and operation exacerbated long-standing tensions and created new conflicts within the government, the military, and society in general.

Contents:

Preliminary Material

Introduction

Genesis, 1853-1931

An Emerging Empire in the Age of Submarine Telegraphy

Wireless and the Crisis in the Informal Empire

Technology, 1931-1940

Toward a New Order on the Continent

Inventing Japanese Technology

Envisioning Imperial Integration

Control, 1936-1945

Negotiating Control at Home

Consolidating Control in China

Gaining Control in Southeast Asia

Network, 1939-1945

Systemic Integration

Operation, Meltdown, and Aftermath

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Harvard East Asian Monographs.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Technology of Empire: Telecommunications and Japanese Expansion in Asia, 1883-1945,

ISBN:

9781684173792

9780674010918

OCLC:

1001536884

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9781684173792 DOI

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.