Gregory Smits is professor of history and Asian studies at Pennsylvania State University.
Gregory Smits' Visions of Ryuku examines the fallout from
conflicting visions of Okinawa from its time as a kingdom, through
its seizure by Japan in the Meiji Period (1868-1912), and up to the
ambiguous position it occupies today. Smits shows the dangers of
eradicating collective memory and how the forced, transformation of
an independent kingdom into a Japanese prefecture can, with a
little finessing, appear to be a perfectly natural step in
political evolution.-- "Japan Times"
. . . provides a welcome historical perspective on contemporary
Okinawan politics.-- "American Historical Review"
. . . this book casts considerable new light on the intellectual
and political life of the Ryukyu archipelago. . . . Visions of
Ryukyu marks an important milestone in the development of the Japan
field. Judging from the high standards of scholarship evidenced in
this fine book, we may look forward to learning much more from
Gregory Smits in the years to come.-- "Journal of Japanese
Studies"
The book should certainly be read by anyone interested in recent
theories of nationalism, as well as by those interested in the
Ryukyus.-- "Monumenta Nipponica"
Visions of Ryukyu is a stimulating first look in English at the
politics and ideology of the early modern Ryukyu kingdom. The
scholarship is very strong--Smits is obviously familiar with the
primary and secondary literatures in Chinese, Japanese, and
Okinawan. Smits has outlined an important field for future
inquiry--not just for Okinawa specialists, but for all students of
early modern East Asia.-- "Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies"
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