Prelude to Pearl Harbor: Ideology and Culture in US-Japan Relations, 1919-1941

by John Gripentrog

Overview

In this absorbing account of the origins of the Asia-Pacific War, historian John Gripentrog argues that competing ideologies of world order—chiefly the rift between liberal internationalism and Pan-Asian regionalism—lay at the heart of the conflict. Drawing from a rich diversity of primary and secondary sources, the author also examines the Japanese government’s vigorous cultural diplomacy in the U.S., which sought to win over American hearts and minds and soft-pedal its imperialist ambitions in Asia. The result is a book that both challenges and amplifies standard interpretations of US-Japan relations in the interwar era, while weaving diplomatic, political, intellectual, and cultural history. Moreover, the author’s wide-angle lens offers readers insights into a fascinating assemblage of historical actors—from Japanese and American diplomats, politicians, and military leaders, to cosmopolitan art enthusiasts and major league baseball players.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538166505
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/18/2021
Pages:	284
Sales rank:	1,117,748
Product dimensions:	6.04(w) x 8.62(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

John Gripentrog is professor of history at Mars Hill University, North Carolina. He earned his PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and specializes in US foreign relations in East Asia. Dr. Gripentrog is the recipient of the Robert S. Gibbs Outstanding Teaching Award at Mars Hill University as well as the Letters and Science Teaching Award at UW–Madison.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Notes on Usage

Introduction

1 “Too Proud to Fight”: The Dream World of Orderly Processes (1919–1930)

2 Toward Two Worlds: The Manchurian Crisis (1931–1933)

3 Japan’s Charm Offensive (1933–1934)

4 The High Tide of Cultural Diplomacy (1935–1936)

5 A New Order in East Asia (1937–1938)

6 “This Mad World of Ours” (1939–1940)

7 “So Many Unexplainable Things Are Happening” (1940–1941)

Epilogue

Notes

Bibliography

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

...a brisk and insightful book on U.S.-Japanese relations in the interwar period.... By situating his story of cultural diplomacy in the broader context of U.S.-Japanese interwar relations, Gripentrog shows how fundamental ideological differences made overcoming supposed misunderstandings on both sides impossible. The result is a useful synthesis of U.S.-Japanese relations, punctuated by colorful characters like the diplomat and University of Oregon law school graduate Matsuoka Yōsuke, and scenes such as baseball icon Babe Ruth's 1934 visit to Japan.

...a cogent and timely study of how the United States and Japan came to blows in the Pacific.

In examining the lead-up to the infamous 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Gripentrog argues that traditional explanations, which focus on Japan's desire to secure resources and markets as a factor catalyzing war in the Pacific, ignore the true fundamental cause: irreconcilable ideological views held in Washington, DC, and Tokyo regarding the principles of world order.... Well-written and succinctly argued.... Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.

In this excellent book, John Gripentrog traces the complex ways in which ideology, cultural relations, and policy were knotted together in US-Japan relations between the world wars. The reward for readers is a deepened understanding of the bumpy road that led to World War II and beyond.

John Gripentrog gives us an expanded and energized understanding of a troubled period of international history. Recurring themes are treated in fascinating depth, including the American insistence on 'orderly processes' of world order and the mirage entertained by Ambassador Joseph Grew and others that a liberal element among Japan's leaders would ultimately rise to disable the hawks. By astute use of archival documents, diaries, press materials, and reliable published accounts of the period, Gripentrog brings to life key historical personalities including Cordell Hull, Hirota Kōki, Matsuoka Yōsuke, and Franklin Roosevelt. Graced with lucid, quality prose, the book is a captivating read.

John Gripentrog's Prelude to Pearl Harbor reminds us that we still have much to learn about the onset of the Pacific War. For those unfamiliar with the period, Gripentrog provides an exceptionally clear narrative of the unfolding war and the early American response. Drawing on Japanese- and English-language source material, the author successfully examines the clash between the American 'ideology of liberal internationalism' and Tokyo's 'exclusive regionalist arrangement.' While this clash has been studied before, Gripentrog's focus on Japanese soft power, specifically the Kokusai Bunka Shinkōkai [Society for International Cultural Relations], is new, and his conclusion that KBS initiatives backfired by ­feeding a prevailing American misperception of a Japan divided between peaceful moderates and fire-eating ­militarists is particularly compelling.... Coverage of KBS alone, which the author does better than anyone, is reason enough to read his latest work. Prelude to Pearl Harbor...will surely move even the most skeptical reader to appreciate the mammoth ideological divide separating the two combatants....and... the remarkably different world that each side fought to create.

"...a brisk and insightful book on U.S.-Japanese relations in the interwar period...punctuated by colorful characters like the diplomat and University of Oregon law school graduate Matsuoka Yōsuke, and scenes such as baseball icon Babe Ruth's 1934 visit to Japan."

"...an important contribution to understanding the ideological dimension of the crisis that led to the Pacific War....an excellent discussion of 'liberal internationalism' as a key to tracing US-Japan relations in the aftermath of the Great War."

"...an original contribution to the scholarship on the 1930s. The book is evenly balanced in explaining Japanese and American policy making and describing the people responsible for those policies. A synthesis in the best sense of the word."

"...possibly the best account to date of the 1930s divide between the United States and Japan as reflected in both sides' official diplomacy.... gripping in its telling."

"...a masterful work... one of the most highly researched and documented accounts of the Pacific War."

"...an invaluable addition to the historiography of US-Japan relations...written in lucid and compelling prose."

"A welcome addition to the literature on the origins of the Pacific War and a provocative reassessment of the legacy of liberal internationalism."

From the Publisher

John Gripentrog gives us an expanded and energized understanding of a troubled period of international history. Recurring themes are treated in fascinating depth, including the American insistence on ‘orderly processes’ of world order and the mirage entertained by Ambassador Joseph Grew and others that a liberal element among Japan’s leaders would ultimately rise to disable the hawks. By astute use of archival documents, diaries, press materials, and reliable published accounts of the period, Gripentrog brings to life key historical personalities including Cordell Hull, Hirota Kōki, Matsuoka Yōsuke, and Franklin Roosevelt. Graced with lucid, quality prose, the book is a captivating read.

Thomas W. Burkman

…an important work on a major topic in the international history of the interwar era.... a fascinating narrative in lucid prose that brings to life key figures in U.S.-Japan relations and casts new light on the relationship between hard and soft power, official and cultural diplomacy, and ideology and strategic calculations.

Pacific Historical Review

A welcome addition to the literature on the origins of the Pacific War and a provocative reassessment of the legacy of liberal internationalism.”

Diplomatic History

…possibly the best account to date of the 1930s divide between the United States and Japan as reflected in both sides’ official diplomacy…. gripping in its telling.”

“…a masterful work… one of the most highly researched and documented accounts of the Pacific War.”

“…an invaluable addition to the historiography of US-Japan relations…written in lucid and compelling prose.”

H-Diplo

…a brisk and insightful book on U.S.-Japanese relations in the interwar period…. By situating his story of cultural diplomacy in the broader context of U.S.-Japanese interwar relations, Gripentrog shows how fundamental ideological differences made overcoming supposed misunderstandings on both sides impossible. The result is a useful synthesis of U.S.-Japanese relations, punctuated by colorful characters like the diplomat and University of Oregon law school graduate Matsuoka Yōsuke, and scenes such as baseball icon Babe Ruth’s 1934 visit to Japan.

Journal of Military History

In examining the lead-up to the infamous 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Gripentrog argues that traditional explanations, which focus on Japan's desire to secure resources and markets as a factor catalyzing war in the Pacific, ignore the true fundamental cause: irreconcilable ideological views held in Washington, DC, and Tokyo regarding the principles of world order…. Well-written and succinctly argued…. Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.

Choice Reviews

…an important contribution to understanding the ideological dimension of the crisis that led to the Pacific War….an excellent discussion of ‘liberal internationalism’ as a key to tracing US-Japan relations in the aftermath of the Great War.”

Akira Iriye

John Gripentrog’s Prelude to Pearl Harbor reminds us that we still have much to learn about the onset of the Pacific War. For those unfamiliar with the period, Gripentrog provides an exceptionally clear narrative of the unfolding war and the early American response. Drawing on Japanese- and English-language source material, the author successfully examines the clash between the American ‘ideology of liberal internationalism’ and Tokyo’s ‘exclusive regionalist arrangement.’ While this clash has been studied before, Gripentrog’s focus on Japanese soft power, specifically the Kokusai Bunka Shinkōkai [Society for International Cultural Relations], is new, and his conclusion that KBS initiatives backfired by ­feeding a prevailing American misperception of a Japan divided between peaceful moderates and fire-eating ­militarists is particularly compelling.… Coverage of KBS alone, which the author does better than anyone, is reason enough to read his latest work. Prelude to Pearl Harbor…will surely move even the most skeptical reader to appreciate the mammoth ideological divide separating the two combatants….and… the remarkably different world that each side fought to create.

American Historical Review

Prelude to Pearl Habor caters to a variety of scholars, including academics in US-Japanrelations, diplomatic relations, military history, and East Asian cultural history. Gripentrog’s book analyzes multiple documents from the interwar period that shaped peace relations leading up to World War II. Undergraduate and graduate students can use this book to grasp the global understanding of peace notions from 1919 to 1941. Gripentrog has written a superb book that pairs nicely with Barnhart’s Japan Prepares for Total War in understanding interwar US-Japan relations.

H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online

…an original contribution to the scholarship on the 1930s. The book is evenly balanced in explaining Japanese and American policy making and describing the people responsible for those policies. A synthesis in the best sense of the word.”

Marc Gallicchio Marc Gallicchio

In this excellent book, John Gripentrog traces the complex ways in which ideology, cultural relations, and policy were knotted together in US-Japan relations between the world wars. The reward for readers is a deepened understanding of the bumpy road that led to World War II and beyond.

Frank Ninkovich

…a cogent and timely study of how the United States and Japan came to blows in the Pacific.

Japan Times

…an original contribution to the scholarship on the 1930s. The book is evenly balanced in explaining Japanese and American policy making and describing the people responsible for those policies. A synthesis in the best sense of the word.”

Marc Gallicchio

Is another book detailing the “road to Pearl Harbor” really necessary? This volume proves that indeed it is. As the title suggests, the book is a “synthetic narrative history” told through the lens of ideology and cultural relations. By ideology, Gripentrog means the competing and irreconcilable ideologies of world order at the center of the conflict between the two countries: “liberal internationalism” on the part of the US and “Pan-Asianist regionalism” on the part of Japan. The focus on cultural relations during this period and, in particular, Japan’s soft power campaign to influence the American public and its elites through baseball, traditional arts, and paid junkets is new and very revealing. The gradual change in US policy toward Japan is well told…. [T]his compelling story adds much to what was previously known. Recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.

Choice