Reviews for Japanese Phoenix

The average rating for Japanese Phoenix based on 4 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-05-11 00:00:00 Maureen Steinhauer The angle of approaching the issue is interesting but the issue itself seems vague and its argument too strong and forceful. If a linguistic approach is employed in an analysis like this, the importance and the influence of languages is almost always overstated. As to this very book, the international recognition of Japan's colonization of Korea is not simply achieved by the alignment of so-called international laws shown with the import and choice of words and ideas; there are more decisive reasons including the economic, political and military struggles among the Powers. The language or wording are at best a sugar-up sweet cover of the real drive of the Japanese empire and hard battle under the table between relevant countries.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-05-12 00:00:00 Peggy Nemeth The author argues that Japan was successful in its colonization of Korea owing to its mastery of international legal discourse. But this leads to a simple question: If discourse mattered more than power, then why did the international community completely disregard Koreans, even those who made use of the very same discourse of international law? In the end, this is really a story of power, one that has been told better by other historians. Still, I appreciate the author's passion, and the comparison between empire and slavery is warranted and spot on.

Review # 3 was written on 2018-05-11 00:00:00 Mr. Uwe Matschke The angle of approaching the issue is interesting but the issue itself seems vague and its argument too strong and forceful. If a linguistic approach is employed in an analysis like this, the importance and the influence of languages is almost always overstated. As to this very book, the international recognition of Japan's colonization of Korea is not simply achieved by the alignment of so-called international laws shown with the import and choice of words and ideas; there are more decisive reasons including the economic, political and military struggles among the Powers. The language or wording are at best a sugar-up sweet cover of the real drive of the Japanese empire and hard battle under the table between relevant countries.

Review # 4 was written on 2008-05-12 00:00:00 Chris Kyaw The author argues that Japan was successful in its colonization of Korea owing to its mastery of international legal discourse. But this leads to a simple question: If discourse mattered more than power, then why did the international community completely disregard Koreans, even those who made use of the very same discourse of international law? In the end, this is really a story of power, one that has been told better by other historians. Still, I appreciate the author's passion, and the comparison between empire and slavery is warranted and spot on.