"All is not Skittles and Beer in the Land of the Cherry Blossom:" Women Travel Writers and American Imperial Influence in Meiji Japan, 1890-1910

Object Type: Asset
In Folder: History, MA

Expand to show object metadata

"All is not Skittles and Beer in the Land of the Cherry Blossom:" Women Travel Writers and American Imperial Influence in Meiji Japan, 1890-1910

Dunn, Alexandra - Thesis

Dublin Core Metadata

title: "All is not Skittles and Beer in the Land of the Cherry Blossom:" Women Travel Writers and American Imperial Influence in Meiji Japan, 1890-1910

creator: Dunn, Alexandra

subject: Academic theses.

description: The scholarly narrative concerned with women travel writers is a broad and diverse field, yet there is little research into non-missionary American women who traveled to Japan post its opening in 1854. Scholars have instead focused upon the male writers or the female British writers like Isabella Bird. However, as my sources attest, there is a distinct difference between American and British writers as the American women I studied carried the idea of American exceptionalism throughout their works. This thesis will argue that, despite what some of these women may have intended, they viewed Japan through the lens of American imperialism. By treating Japan as an exotic tourist location, they maintained the subordinate position of a rapidly Westernizing Japan while also establishing themselves as voices of authority in the United States. This thesis will further argue that these women used Japan’s subordinate position to elevate their own gendered positions to become authorities on Japan and its status in the “civilized” world. Through the use of published works such as diaries, culture studies, guidebooks, and travel narratives, I will show the complexity of engagement that these women had with Japan and the Japanese.

publisher: Simmons College (Boston, Mass.)

contributor:

date: 2018

type: Text

format: 1 PDF (80 Pages)

identifier: td_his_2018_ad

source:

language: English

relation:

coverage:

rights: Material from the Simmons University Archives collections are made available for study purposes only. For more information, or to request rights to reproduce or reuse any material, contact the University Archives at archives@simmons.edu.

Show more ▼