History

This book focuses on the politics, discourse and actors surrounding climate change issues in China. This framework offers a new way of observing Chinese discourses around climate change. Discursive changes in coal consumption and air pollution have been raised to uncover the various motivations of China towards addressing climate issues. This book will be of interest to a variety of different stakeholders including policy-makers, non-state actors, business communities and media, and anyone who are interested in the climate governance of China.

The book examines the relationship between imperial examinations and literature from the perspective of restoring the cultural ecology of imperial examinations in Ming China, breaking through the paradigm of pure literature research. This book presents an important practice in adjusting the pattern of literary research. The contents of this book include five mutually independent but supportive parts:  1) the living conditions and careers of the literary attendants; 2) the educational background and school’s consciousness of the Ming literati; 3) top candidates and Ming literature; 4) genres of imperial examination and the Ming society; 5) exam cheating cases from the perspective of politics and literature. This book will appeal to readers interested in Chinese literature and culture and the imperial examination system in ancient China.

This book provides a sweeping overview of East Asian international relations in history from the nineteenth century onwards, with a focus on Korea and its relationship with East Asia and the USA. In contrast with many books which concentrate exclusively on the twentieth century, this book offers a long-term perspective on modernity and modernization in East Asia. It addresses the tributary system, the Meiji Restoration, Japanese imperialism in East Asia, and the Cold War in East Asia. It also incorporates the First and Second Indochina Wars from Vietnam's perspective and expands the geographical scope of East Asia beyond the traditional framework of Korea, Japan, and China. The book begins with the tributary system as a starting point of East Asian modernity in contrast to the old view that the tributary system was not a "modern" system. It rejects the idea that Japan was modernizing while Korea remained stagnant and shows why Japanese colonialism continues to be controversial and problematic. Through the book's emphasis on Vietnam's perspective of the Indochina Wars, it places much value on nationalism, anti-imperialism, and decolonization as forces of modernity and modernization. Relevant to scholars and students in history, international relations, and East Asian studies more broadly, the book brings with it a novel, fresh and innovative approach to East Asian history. 

This book explores how public history, a field developing globally, is gaining attention in Japan and being incorporated into existing Japanese academic studies and practices. Public history in Japan is conducted through an interdisciplinary approach, involving not only history but also folklore, sociology, cultural studies, and tourism studies.

Introducing the perspective of public history means more than just applying an imported discipline to Japan; it involves a broad reconsideration of existing scholarly research and practices. Part I of the book provides an overview of the current state of academia in Japan as described above. Part II presents several case studies of public history practices, digital public history, and museums and archives dealing with difficult aspects of the past such as minority issues and environmental pollution in postwar Japan.

This book not only illustrates the current state of public history in Japan but also offers a glimpse into the internationalization of today's public history, fostering active exchanges among researchers and practitioners worldwide.