帝国主義へのかなたへ ― 他者との関係性について―

Abstract

Since 1991, when the Taisho Democracy era celebrated, Japan has set a big slogan “imperialism outside, constitutionalism inside” and has begun to walk in the way of full-scale imperialism. That was a strong consciousness of taking monopoly of exclusive Asian interests, domination over the whole of Asia and discrimination against Asia as a war principle whereby Japan becomes the leader（of the whole Asia）. It was a way to postulate outsider for self-preservation within the relationship with outsider such as the powers of the West/Europe and America, and subsequently the whole of the neighboring Asian countries including Korea. That may indeed be an imperialistic tendency. Self-preservation here includes violent and colonialistic acts that understand outsider, control outsider and make use of outsider within the range of their own interests. In other words, imperialism is always likely to be accompanied by “consciousness of others” presupposing self-preservation. Although it is a minority, however, there were people who tried to build relationships with outsider from the perspective of “small countryism”. This study focused on three people（Kōtoku shūsui, Tani Tateki, Miura Tetsutaro） amongst them. At the root of their “small countryism” viewpoints, it seems that the process of building the relationship with outsider involved the self being shaken in the encounter with outsider, disassembling himself and creating a new identity there. I believe that this process may be an indispensable idea to rebuild “anther Japan” throughout history. Therefore, this paper presents a method of constantly separating “self” from “nationalism” and cross-linking to building relationships with outsider as a method of constructing “self-reform” through the process of “self-denial”.