Hegemoninen länsi: Japanissa julkaistun länsimaisen lehdistön suhtautuminen länsimaisen tiedon ja oppineisuuden hyödyntämiseen 1870-luvun alun Japanissa

摘要

Tämän artikkelin lähtökohtana on Jeremy Blackin näkemys siitä, kuinka kyky kerätä, manipuloida ja käyttää hyväksi informaatiota on antanut läntiselle maailmalle ilmeisen ja strategisesti merkittävän edun sekä osoittautunut ratkaisevaksi läntiselle taloudelliselle kehitykselle verrattuna ei-läntisiin kulttuureihin.1 Blackin johtopäätös korostaa sitä, kuinka tärkeätä historiassa on tutkia informaatiota sen eri näkökulmista, joista yksi keskeisimmistä on informaation voimavaraominaisuus erilaisissa yhteyksissä.%Information in its various forms and its exploitation has been considered to be a primary resource for the development of Western culture and for its strong position in the world. The underlying theoretical principle of this study is that world history is viewed as the history of globalisation. According to the theory of thermodynamics, globalisation, i.e. increasing interdependence, has progressed as cultures - in order to develop - have needed ever newer external resources to counterbalance the continuous threat of entropy. These resources have been acquired especially through various networks. In the 1800s, globalisation happened on the terms of Western culture, whereupon it was possible to acquire new resources from Japan, among others, which was "opened" to the Western world in the 1850s. This article examines writings published in Western newspapers that appeared in Japan in the 1870s, which dealt with assimilation of Western knowledge and learning in the country, the reasons behind the writings and how the articles functioned as a resource that strengthened Western culture. Western newspapers that appeared in Japan closely followed how the Japanese sought to assimilate and mimic new Western inventions and models related to science, technology and education. Their attitudes towards various innovations and proposals ranged from genuine admiration to warnings and absolute resistance. Essentially, these views reflected unquestioning belief in the dominant position of Western culture and the model it created for the rest of the world, which was only reinforced further by Japan's ambitions. Thus the discourse in the press regarding the exploitation of Western knowledge and learning in Japan provided additional resources for the idea of hegemony, i.e. it reinforced the belief in the superior position of Western culture in the world. Although the receiving culture was also respected, apparently the main reason for the appreciation was satisfaction with how actively and extensively the Japanese sought to assimilate Western culture.