In this episode, Prof. Tessa Morris-Suzuki de-centers the history of the Meiji Restoration by refocusing our attention on the territorial incorporation of Japan’s frontier areas: Ezo, Sakhalin, the Ryūkyūs, Tsushima, and the Bōnin Islands.  We discuss Japanese proto-colonialism prior to 1868, continuities in colonialist expansion into Hokkaidō and Korea, and changing conceptions of Japan’s position in the world in response to western imperialism as seen in mid-19th century maps. (Transcript here).