Research On Inaba Iwakichi’s Manchurian Studies

After Japan and Korea Merged in 1910,Japan sought to further integrate Manchuria into its empire.Therefore,Manchurian Studies became more and more important in Japanese academic circles,and a large number of scholars devoted themselves to it,including Inaba Iwakichi(稲叶岩吉).Inaba’s theory of inseparability of Manchuria and Korea is very characteristic.In order to combine Manchuria and Korea,Manchuria must be separated from China first.Therefore,the theory of independent development of Manchuria constitutes the premise of the theory of inseparability of Manchuria and Korea(満鲜不可分论).At present,scholars pay relatively little attention to the relationship between the two,so this paper will focus on Inaba Iwakichi’s research on Manchuria.This paper is divided into five parts.The first part is the Origin of Inaba Iwakichi’s Manchurian Studies.This part combs the early stage of Inaba Iwakichi’s Manchurian Studies career and analyzes the reasons why he paid attention to Manchuria.Inaba Iwakichi studied in China in his early years and served as an interpreter with the army during the Russo-Japanese War.After returning to China,Inaba joined the South Manchurian Railway Company(SMR)Research Division through the introduction of his mentor Naito Konan(内藤湖南),so he had a lot of direct contact with Manchuria.At the same time,after the Russo-Japanese War and the Merger of Japan and Korea,Manchuria became increasingly important to the Japanese Empire.Therefore,Manchuria naturally became the focus of Inaba Iwakichi’s attention.The second part is the Basis Point of Inaba Iwakichi’s Manchurian Studies.This part combs the basic views of Inaba Iwakichi on Manchuria at the beginning of his academic career.He believed that the Manchurian ethnic groups was always in opposition to the Han ethnic group,the establishment of the Qing Dynasty led to the breakdown of the Hua-Yi Distinction,and the history of Manchuria developed independently relative to the Han ethnic group.These views formed the basis of Inaba Iwakichi’s understanding of Manchuria and almost ran through his entire academic career.The third part is the politicization of Inaba Iwakichi’s Manchurian Studies.In1914,Inaba Iwakichi quit the SMR Research Division,and then he was successively employed by the Army University of Japan,Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff,Yamaguchi Higher Commercial School and other institutions.It is not difficult to find that the institutions Inaba Iwakichi worked in during this period were closely connected with the current politics and lacked the environment for objective academic research.At the same time,the outbreak of World War I caused a sharp change in the international situation.Japan intensified its expansion in East Asia,and Japanese public opinion and academic atmosphere also changed dramatically.Therefore,although Inaba Iwakichi compiled several articles during this period,the focus of these articles shifted from history to reality.Most of them were not academic,but closely related to current politics.Therefore,this period can also be regarded as the transition period of Inaba Iwakichi from academic to political.The fourth part,Inaba Iwakichi’s Mansen History(満鲜史)Studies.As early as around 1910,the view of Manchuria-Korea Integration appeared in Japanese academic circles,and Manchuria-Korea Relationship became an important research topic.Especially in 1919,when the 1919 Independence Movement of Korea broke out,a large number of Japanese scholars published articles to discuss the status of Korea,among which Inaba Iwakichi’s view was particularly unique.He believed that Manchuria and Korea had extremely close relations in politics,history,economy and other fields,and then he put forward the theory of Inseparability of Manchuria and Korea.This view coincided with Japan’s national policy of further expansion into Manchuria,and it was further developed with the outbreak of the Mukden Incident and the establishment of Puppet Manchukuo(満州国).The fifth part,from Manchuria to North China.After Marco Polo Bridge Incident,the main part of Japanese aggression against China extended from Manchuria to North China.In order to cope with this change,Inaba Iwakichi made a relatively systematic Studies on the history of the Manchurian ethnic group’s entry into North China.He stressed the role of the strategy of Exploiting the Han people in the process,and put forward the view that the Sinicization of the Manchurian led to its decline.At the same time,Inaba Iwakichi supported Puyi(溥仪)return to Peking and restoration.It should be said that,by this time,politics had overtaken academics and became Inaba’s primary concern.Inaba Iwakichi has done a lot of research on Manchuria and Korea in his life.Especially,the View of Mansen History proposed by him and Shiratori Kurakichi(白鸟库吉)and others is still influential today,and the Theory of Independent Development of Manchuria is the premise of this argument.Therefore,this paper starts with Inaba Iwakichi’s the Theory of Independent Development of Manchuria to analyze Japanese scholars’research on Northeast Asia centered on Manchuria and the impact of these studies.