The other empire : literary views of Japan from the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia / Ronald D. Klein.

While postcolonial studies have focused on the interaction between the colonized countries and their British or American colonizers, little attention has been paid to the literary influence of the other colonial empire Japan. Japan was a peaceful neighbor and trading partner from its post Perry opening in 1853. However, the tumultuous and brutal three and a half years of the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945 left an indelible impression on the collective psyches of the colonized peoples of the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia. Literary responses to Japan began almost from the beginning of the formation of national literatures in English in the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia .Images found in fiction range from the hardworking farmer on the hills in Northern Luzon, to the sadistic army lieutenant, the pliant Japanese maiden, the vocacious Japanese businessman, and the Filipina Japayuki in contemporary Tokyo. In this survey of literary images of Japan, Dr. Ronald D. Klein has identified more than 160 works with Japanese characters, providing both comprehensive overviews as well as individual monographs on specific writers. This book creates a subgenre of thematic work, positing an alternative postcolonial relationship.