Imperial Gateway: Colonial Taiwan and Japan's Expansion in South China and Southeast Asia, 1895-1945

Often forgotten in the bloody history of the early 20th century, Japan embarked on a series of colonial conquests, seeking to establish itself as the world’s dominant eastern power. One of these colonies, Taiwan, has risen above the others in historical interest, its status bearing out wider implications for the Japanese empire. In his new book Imperial Gateway (Cornell University Press), City College of New York professor Seiji Shirane *14 seeks to shed light on the place colonial Taiwan occupied within imperial Japan, its relationship with the home island, and the role it played in the constant outward expansion of the empire.