The Making of Japanese Manchuria, 1904-1932

This book explores the history of Japanese imperialism in Manchuria from the acquisition of a railway concession following the Russ-Japanese War of 1904-5 to the founding of the puppet state of Manchoukuo in 1932.

The author argues that Japan's subjugation of this territory, although culminating in armed seizure in 1931, was, for the most part, an incremental process of establishing colonial realities on the ground.

He pays special attention to the activities of the South Manchuria Railway Company, a quasi-official corporation that played an instrumental role in laying the foundations of Japanese rule over the course of a quarter-century.

The evolving aims, strategies and meanings of Japanese empire-building in Northeast China are the focuses of this book.