Studying Asianism: The Impact and Legacy of Takeuchi Yoshimi

Abstract

This chapter discusses epistemological problems of Asianism as a study object. What does it mean to study Asianism, how can Asianism be studied and how has the way Asianism was studied in the past shaped our understanding of Asia, Japan, and China? Drawing on conceptual history, this chapter addresses problems of definitions, of canonization, and of the predominance of dichotomies that have formed our perception of Asianism. It contextualizes the influential works on Asianism by the Japanese Sinologist Takeuchi Yoshimi (1910–1977) who has been the inspiration for the recent surge in studies of Asian self-affirmation in China, Japan, and Korea as well as in the West.

Asianism is multifaceted. No matter how many definitions one assembles and classifies, it cannot be grasped as thought that has the shape of functioning in reality. This is not limited to Asianism but, in a sense, applies to all thought. This characteristic, however, is particularly strong in Asianism. ¹

—Takeuchi Yoshimi (1963)