A richly documented study of the long-standing and complex
interactions between Canada and Japan from the late 19th century until
today.
Description
Patricia E. Roy is the winner of the 2013 Lifetime
Achievement Award, Canadian Historical Association.
Canada’s early participation in the Asia-Pacific region was
hindered by “contradictory impulses” shaping its approach.
For over half a century, racist restrictions curtailed immigration from
Japan, even as Canadians manoeuvred for access to the fabled wealth of
the Orient. Canada’s relations with Japan have changed profoundly
since then. In Contradictory Impulses, leading scholars draw
upon the most recent archival research to examine an important
bilateral relationship that has matured in fits and starts over the
past century. As they makes clear, the two countries’ political,
economic, and diplomatic interests are now more closely aligned than
ever before and wrapped up in a web of reinforcing cultural and social
ties.
Contradictory Impulses is a comprehensive study of the
social, political, and economic interactions between Canada and Japan
from the late nineteenth century until today.
Reviews
Contradictory Impulses with its wide range of essays and comprehensive suggestions for further reading, is an important contribution to the literature on Canada and the Pacific in the twentieth century. The book is a welcome contribution to a field still dominated by scholarly interests in Canada and the Anglo-American world and where Canada's connections with Asia and the Pacific are too often ignored or mentioned only in passing.
- Laura Madokorok, University of British Columbia