Controversies often provoke very useful discussions that lead to a more complex and multidimensional analysis and understanding of the issues. Alexis Dudden's study of the discursive, international legal aspects of Japan's controversial annexation of Korea is a good example. She deftly focuses on two recently resurfaced polemic questions—Was Japan's annexation of Korea illegal? Was it forged, forced, and therefore invalid?—and guides us through an in-depth reexamination of Meiji Japan's adoption and manipulation of international legal norms and discourse, world reaction, and judicial and legal policies in Korea from 1907 to 1913.
In her early chapters, Dudden addresses the fascinating issue of how Western legal terms and concepts that are key to international relations, including “international,” “independence,” and “sovereign nation state,” were translated by early Meiji writers into Kambun (Chinese characters) terms. She discusses the activities of Meiji scholars such as Nishi Amane, Tsutsumi Kokushishi, Mitsukuri Rinsho, as well as the...