Provincializing Empire: Omi Merchants in the Japanese Transpacific Diaspora

Description

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Provincializing Empire explores the global history of Japanese expansion through a regional lens. It rethinks the nation-centered geography and chronology of empire by uncovering the pivotal role of expeditionary merchants from Ōmi (present-day Shiga Prefecture) and their modern successors. Tracing their lives from the early modern era, and writing them into the global histories of empire, diaspora, and capitalism, Jun Uchida offers an innovative analysis of expansion through a story previously untold: how the nation's provincials built on their traditions to create a transpacific diaspora that stretched from Seoul to Vancouver, while helping shape the modern world of transoceanic exchange. Cover Title Copyright Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Map of Japan and the Pacific World Introduction Part One. Ōmi Merchants in the Early Modern Era 1. The Rise of Ōmi Shōnin as Diasporic Traders 2. At the Nexus of Colonialism and Capitalism in Hokkaido Part Two. Ōmi Merchants as a Model of Expansion 3. A Vision of Transpacific Expansion from the Periphery 4. The Production of Global Ōmi Shōnin Part Three. Ōmi Merchants across the Transpacific Diaspora 5. The “Gōshū Zaibatsu” in Japan’s Cotton Empire 6. Ōmi Merchants in the Colonial World of Retail 7. A Shiga Immigrant Diaspora in Canada Conclusion Notes Bibliography Glossary-Index