Orientalism—the War in English Eyes

When Japanese lampooned, denigrated, and dehumanized the enemy, they were treading both familiar and unfamiliar ground. Caucasian artists (and writers) routinely ridiculed peoples of different races and colors, portraying themselves as the epitome of “civilization” in the process.

The entries here convey this flavor as presented in pictures, prose, and verse about the Sino-Japanese War that appeared in the celebrated English satirical journal Punch (which often leavened its wit with a healthy dose of self-criticism).

What was new on the scene where racial and cultural stereotyping was concerned in 1894 and 1895 was the sudden emergence of the “little Japanese” as powerful in Western eyes—and, on the other hand, the Japanese themselves joining in the game of stereotyping Asians where China, at least, was concerned.

Throwing Off Asia, by John W. Dower

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
© 2008 Visualizing Cultures