Fukuzawa Yukichi · Politics
The hardest chapter in Fukuzawa’s thought: the 1885 editorial <em>Datsu-A Ron</em> (‘On Leaving Asia’), in which he urged Japan to abandon its ‘backward’ Asian neighbours and cast its lot with the civilized West - taught here honestly, as both an idea and a lasting stain.
You learned that in 1885 Fukuzawa’s anonymous editorial Datsu-A Ron urged Japan to ‘leave Asia’ - to give up on reforming its neighbours, align with the civilized West, and deal with China and Korea as the Western powers did. Explain the argument, its roots in his theory of civilization, and why it i…
Leads to Okakura Kakuzo.
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