Greater Asianism

An ideology and movement that seeks to build a new Asia through solidarity and unity among Asian peoples in opposition to the invasion of Asia by the Western powers. It is used almost synonymously with Asianism and Pan-Asianism, and there are three types: (1) the lineage of Japanese Greater Asianism, (2) Sun Yat-sen's Greater Asianism, and (3) Nehru's Third Force theory.

Japan's Greater Asianism developed as a mixture of theories of solidarity with Asian nations under the oppression of the Western powers and theories of expansion and invasion of the Asian continent. The ideas of Asian solidarity originated from the left wing of civil rights, and are typified by the Greater East Union Theory of Tarui Tokichi, who advocated a union of Japan and Korea on an equal footing for joint defense against the Western powers, and the Osaka Incident of Oi Kentaro and others, who attempted to combine the establishment of a domestic constitutional government with reform in Korea. However, with the decline of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, it cannot be denied that there was a strong inclination from the theory of civil rights to the theory of national sovereignty. It was the Genyosha that sharply demonstrated this inclination, and the Black Dragon Society that made clear the idea of ​​national expansionist Asianism. The Black Dragon Society's platform advocated Emperorism and overseas development, and derived the idea of ​​preserving the Asian continent with Japan as the leader. However, there were also aspects that could not be described as one-sided invasionism, such as Uchida Ryohei being an advocate of a Japan-Korea union and being involved in the Philippine independence movement and the Chinese revolutionary movement.

With the establishment of the Emperor state and the intensification of imperialist aggression, Miyazaki Toten supported Sun Yat-sen's Chinese Revolution with consistent sympathy and a spirit of sacrifice, while Okakura Tenshin, who proclaimed that "Asia is one," criticized Western imperialism as a destroyer of the beauty that is the true nature of human beings, and while acknowledging the diversity of Japan, China, and India, praised Asian civilizations that were distinct from the West and advocated a romantic theory of Asian solidarity. However, the majority of Greater Asianism became linked to Japanese ideology and Imperial Way ideology, and became a self-righteous theory of solidarity carried by right-wing groups, eventually becoming the idea of ​​a new order in East Asia and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, with Japan's domination of Asia as its foundation.

Thus, Greater Asianism became an ideology that justified the government and military's policy of invading the continent, and Chinese revolutionary forces sharply criticized it as absorptionism. Li Dazhao preached the liberation of Asian peoples and the formation of a Great Asian Federation through an equal union, while Sun Yat-sen advocated Greater Asianism, arguing that Eastern culture was a kingly doctrine based on benevolence and righteousness in contrast to Western hegemonic doctrine, and he called for the peoples of Asia to unite under this doctrine to resist colonization and achieve independence.

After World War II, Indian Prime Minister Nehru advocated neutrality and the theory of a third force. As conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union intensified, he called for Asian peoples to remain neutral on either side, to protect their independence while increasing the authority of the United Nations Security Council, and to play a role as a stabilizing force in world politics. However, they faced major challenges, such as measures for economic independence and development, as symbolized by the North-South problem.

[Mamoru Wada]

"Japanese Asianism" (included in the Collected Works of Yoshitaka Takeuchi, Volume 8, 1980, Chikuma Shobo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

アジア諸民族の連帯・団結によって、西洋列強のアジア侵略に対抗し、新しいアジアを築こうという思想と運動。アジア主義、汎(はん)アジア主義とほぼ同義に用いられ、〔1〕日本の大アジア主義の系譜、〔2〕孫文の大亜州主義、〔3〕ネルーの第三勢力論の三類型がある。

　日本の大アジア主義は、ともに西洋列強の圧迫下にあるアジア諸民族との連帯論とアジア大陸への膨張侵略論が交錯しながら展開した。アジア連帯論は民権左派から発し、西洋列強への共同防衛のため日韓両国の対等合邦を説いた樽井藤吉(たるいとうきち)の大東合邦論、国内立憲政治樹立と朝鮮改革の結合を企図した大井憲太郎らの大阪事件が代表例であるが、自由民権運動衰退のもとで民権論から国権論への傾斜を強めたことは否めず、この傾斜を鋭角的に示したのが玄洋社であり、国権拡張主義的アジア主義を鮮明にしたのが黒竜会である。黒竜会の綱領には天皇主義、海外への発展が掲げられ、日本を盟主としたアジア大陸保全論を導出した。しかし、内田良平が日韓合邦論者であり、フィリピン独立運動や中国革命運動に関与するなど一方的な侵略主義とはいえない面もあった。

　天皇制国家の確立と帝国主義的侵略の本格化のもとで、宮崎滔天(とうてん)は孫文の中国革命を終始一貫した同情と犠牲的精神をもって支援し、「アジアは一つ」と唱えた岡倉天心は人間の本性たる美の破壊者として西洋帝国主義を批判し、日本、中国、インドとその多様性を認めつつ西洋とは異質のアジア文明を称揚しロマン主義的アジア連帯論を唱えた。しかし、大アジア主義の大勢は日本主義や皇道主義と結び付き、右翼団体に担われた独善的な連帯論となり、日本のアジア支配を根幹とした東亜新秩序、大東亜共栄圏の思想となっていった。

　このように政府・軍部の大陸侵略策を正当化するイデオロギーになった大アジア主義を、中国革命勢力は、吸収主義であると痛烈に批判、李大釗(りたいしょう)はアジア諸民族の解放と平等な連合によるアジア大連邦の結成を説き、孫文は西洋の覇道主義に対して東洋文化は仁義道徳に基づく王道主義であるとし、アジア諸民族はこの主義のもとに一致団結して植民地化に抵抗し独立を全うするよう大亜州主義を唱えた。

　第二次世界大戦後には、インドのネルー首相が中立主義・第三勢力論を提唱、米ソ両陣営の対立激化のもとで、アジア諸民族はいずれの陣営にも偏らず、国連安全保障理事会の権威を高めながら独立を守り、世界政治の安定勢力としての役割を果たすよう訴えたが、南北問題に象徴されるような経済的自立と発展の方策など大きな試練に直面することになった。

［和田　守］

『「日本のアジア主義」（『竹内好全集　第八巻』所収・1980・筑摩書房）』

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