Selcuk Esenbel - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Selcuk Esenbel

The Decade of the Great War, 2014

In 1981, the Turkish diplomat Osman Olcay, who translated the records of the Sevres preparatory m... more In 1981, the Turkish diplomat Osman Olcay, who translated the records of the Sevres preparatory meetings into Turkish, offered a somewhat cynical view of the Japanese Delegation at the Sevres Preparatory Meetings, arguing that they kept a low profile in order to be accepted as honorary Westerners. The informal relations that transpired from 1920 to 1922 suggest that the truth was otherwise. The Japanese authorities outwardly maintained the formal posture and publicly declared a non-involvement stance in the post-war reconfiguration of the Near East. But Uchida and his Turkish interlocutors interacted in a form of "twilight diplomacy" following the precedent of Japanese-Turkish relations that had evolved in the late 19th century. The Japanese interest in joining the Straits Commission was in line with the Britain-oriented policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but the Commission became a venue for forming close contacts with the Turkish nationalists. Keywords: Japanese-Turkish relations; Straits Commission; twilight diplomacy

Shadows of the Past, 2009

This chapter explores the role of Islam in Japan's global claim to Asia in order to shed ligh... more This chapter explores the role of Islam in Japan's global claim to Asia in order to shed light on a number of themes, personalities and events that connect Japanese history to that of the world of Islam. Japan's relations with Muslims unfold as an enigmatic history of mostly informal contacts, transnational alliances between Japanese Pan-Asianist agents, intellectuals, diplomats and military officers, and their Muslim counterparts on a global platform: a transnational history of nationalisms that connected Japanese Pan-Asianism with Pan-Islamic currents and Muslim nationalisms. Both Japanese Pan-Asianists and Muslim intellectuals were concerned with the existential issue of how to be part of the modern world and benefit from its assets while preserving native cultures. Abdurresid Ibrahim's activities were the seeds which led to training Japanese agents to be sent to the Muslim countries under Muslim identity, a tactic that the military authorities were to use during the Second World War. Keywords: Abdurresid Ibrahim; Islam; Japanese Pan-Asianism; Muslim nationalisms; Pan- Asianism; transnational history

Diogenes, Nov 1, 2017

This paper outlines the development of Asian studies in Turkey from their early years to 2022. A ... more This paper outlines the development of Asian studies in Turkey from their early years to 2022. A particular focus is put on the development of academic programs at Bogazici University and on the international academic partnerships it entailed. The author argues that the end of the Cold War, the “rise of Asia” in public opinion, the new Asia initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the global attraction due to international employment opportunities, represent multiple factors that have accelerated interest in Asian Studies in Turkey.

関西大学東西学術研究所紀要, Mar 1, 1988

BRILL eBooks, 2018

Acknowledgements vii List of Illustrations viii Contributors (By Order of Chapter) x Introduction... more Acknowledgements vii List of Illustrations viii Contributors (By Order of Chapter) x Introduction - Selcuk Esenbel 1 Japan and the Great Game - Ian Nish 2 Western and Central Asia in the Eyes of the Japanese Radical Right - Christopher W.A. Szpilman 3 Fukushima Yasumasa's Travels in Central Asia and Siberia: Silk Road Romanticism, Military Reconnaissance, or Modern Exploration? - Sven Saaler 4 Fukushima Yasumasa and Utsunomiya Taro on the Edge of the Silk Road: Pan-Asian Visions and the Network of Military Intelligence from the Ottoman and Qajar Realms into Central Asia - Selcuk Esenbel 5 Mongolia as a Base for Central Asia and the Silk Road - Li Narangoa 6 Abdurreshid Ibrahim and Japanese Approaches to Central Asia - Komatsu Hisao 7 Exploring Asia, Reforming Japan: Otani Kozui and Ito Chuta - Brij Tankha 8 Otani Kozui and His Vision of Asia: From Villa Nirakuso to "The Rise of Asia" Project - Erdal Kucukyalcin 9 The Effects of the Russo-Japanese War on Turkic Nations: Japan and Japanese in Folk Songs, Elegies, and Poems - A. Merthan Dundar 10 Some Notes on the Japanese Records and Information on the "Turks" - Katayama Akio 11 Tracing Origins Along the Silk Road: Japanese Architect Ito Chuta's Travel in the Ottoman Lands -Miyuki Aoki Girardelli 12 The Beginning of Turkish Philology and Linguistics in Japan - Klaus Roehrborn 13 Appendix to the "The Beginning of Turkish Philology and Linguistics in Japan" - Mehmet OElmez 14 F. Beato beyond Empires: Flaneur, Photo Reporter, Merchant - Banu Kaygusuz 15 Translation Practices on the Silk Road and Akutagawa Ryunosuke's "Toshishun" - Oguz Baykara 16 Transforming an Ancient Myth into a Popular Medieval Tale - Masako Sato Index 365

New Perspectives on Turkey, 2006

The leading intellectual and ideologue of the Japanese Asianist agenda of Japanese imperialism un... more The leading intellectual and ideologue of the Japanese Asianist agenda of Japanese imperialism until the end of World War II, Okawa Shumei (1886-1957), was tried in the Tokyo War Crimes Trial as a war criminal but found to be mentally disturbed. The post-war memory about Okawa is an alien image-Okawa spending his days translating the Qur'an while detained in a mental hospital in solitary confinement. The clinical description of Okawa's hallucinations on 13 March 1947, while under psychiatric treatment, is a telling climax of the narrative on the fusion of Japanese Pan Asianism and Islam. The examination report describes in detail the psychological state of Okawa, who might have been suffering from syphilis-induced hallucinations: “Okawa believes Mohammed comes to him. In his vision, he states that he sees Mohammed dressed in a green mantle and white turban. Mohammed's eyes glow brilliantly, and his presence fills him with courage, enthusiasm, and contentment […] Patient believes that this is a religious experience. Mohammed enables him to understand the ‘Koran’ as he was never able to understand it before. There is no conflict with his Buddhist faith because he states there is only one God: and Mohammed, Christ, and Buddha are all prophets of the same God.” The report notes that the prisoner's principal interest is now in “Mohammedanism and the translation and interpretation of the Koran.”

The Effects of the Russo-Japanese War on Turkic Nations: Japan and Japanese in Folk Songs, Elegie... more The Effects of the Russo-Japanese War on Turkic Nations: Japan and Japanese in Folk Songs, Elegies, and Poems 199 A. Merthan Dündar vi Contents Some Notes on the Japanese Records and Information on the "Turks" 228 Katayama Akio 11 Tracing Origins Along the Silk Road: Japanese Architect Itō Chūta's Travel in the Ottoman Lands 245 Miyuki Aoki Girardelli 12 The Beginning of Turkish Philology and Linguistics in Japan 259 Klaus Röhrborn 13 Appendix to the "The Beginning of Turkish Philology and Linguistics in Japan" 289 Mehmet Ölmez 14 F. Beato Beyond Empires: Flaneur, Photo Reporter, Merchant 306 Banu Kaygusuz 15 Translation Practices on the Silk Road and Akutagawa Ryūnosuke's "Toshishun" 323 Oğuz Baykara 16 Transforming an Ancient Myth into a Popular Medieval Tale 339 Satō Masako Index 365 Japanese names are mostly given with last name first in line with Japanese practice unless preferred otherwise by the author. Turkish letter c is pronounced as j, ç is pronounced as ch, ş as sh in English, ğ as a soft g that is not pronounced, ö and ü as in German ö and ü. The Turkish letter ı which is an i without a dot is similar to the exclamation sound "uh" in English. Japanese words are written according to Hepburn romanization unless originally published in a different style. 10.3 Nakanome's book in which he claimed to discover Turkic Runic Characters at Temiya Cave, Otaru 240 10.4 "Japan-Turkey Trade Association is born"-Nakanome Akira and Ōtani Kōzui at the opening ceremony 242 11.1 Columns with entasis, Hōryū-ji Temple 246 11.2 Comparison of proportions between Etruscan temple and Hōryū

and consolidated the organization as a Board Member. She became its third president in 2002 Her m... more and consolidated the organization as a Board Member. She became its third president in 2002 Her major publications in English include Even the Gods Rebel: The Peasants of Takaino and the 1871 Nakano Uprising in Japan and The Rising Sun and the Turkish Crescent (co-authored). Her articles in Japanese have appeared in Kindai Nihon to Toruko sekai and Ibunka rikai no shiza: Sekai kara mita Nihon, Nihon kara mita sekai. Her articles in English have been published in journals such as the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (UK), and The American Historical Review (USA). Widely known for her writings on Islam with a particular focus on the transnational history of nationalism in Turkey and Japan, as well as her work on the social history of Tokugawa Japan, this volume brings together seventeen of the author's key essays written over a period of thirty years, a number of which have been edited to take account of more recent developments.

BRILL eBooks, 2008

Muslims celebrated the Japanese victory over Russia in the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War as the vi... more Muslims celebrated the Japanese victory over Russia in the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War as the victory of the oppressed against the invincible Western imperialists. Political and economic circumstances after the 1929 Great Depression and the specter of Nazi Germany in Europe that caused the Second World War helped the implementation of Islam Policy. The pilgrims apparently had great difficulties in automobile and camel transport, but accomplished their mission to contact Arab leaders. The Japanese Asianist agenda was brought to life by Japanese Muslim actors such as Omar Yamaoka and the others who immersed themselves in this transnational network of Muslims across Asia in order to forge contacts, gather information, and pass on political messages to Muslim leaders, by-passing the European colonial authorities. Keywords: European colonial authorities; Japanese pilgrims; Russo-Japanese War; Second World War

Institute of Developing Economies eBooks, 1990

Monumenta Nipponica, 2016

mura suggested long ago. If it could be shown that Japan did somehow find a way of utilizing fore... more mura suggested long ago. If it could be shown that Japan did somehow find a way of utilizing foreign capital to promote growth without falling into technological and financial dependency, the implications for the analysis of economic development might be considerable. As it stands, however, those who still want to believe in the autonomy of Japan’s development process can probably continue to sleep easy in their beds.

Monumenta Nipponica, 2000

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Global Perspectives

The paper discusses the recent rise of the Japanese “free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy of alli... more The paper discusses the recent rise of the Japanese “free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy of alliances and partnerships between Asia and the West in the context of Turkey’s current debate over its membership in the Western alliance of NATO versus the new Eurasianist turn toward Russia and China. The particular geographic focus of the paper is from Istanbul “between Europe and Asia,” looking at Japan’s “free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy from a historian’s perspective by making an analogy with Japan’s prewar foreign policy and global strategy with Britain. The paper argues that the Russian aggression that erupted with the Ukrainian crisis has been quickening the visibility of this emerging grand strategy of Japan, which has been in the making for some time. But the future of the global order is still unclear in view of the ongoing war in Ukraine and Russian and Chinese challenges to the international system. The situation also negatively impacts the global relations of the United S...

Diogenes

This paper presents the content of this thematic issue of Diogenes on Asian studies in Turkey. It... more This paper presents the content of this thematic issue of Diogenes on Asian studies in Turkey. It explains the origins of this set of papers in light of relevant scholarship, relates it to current academic work in the field, and provides a rationale for issuing a volume on Asian scholarship in Turkey.

The Journal of Japanese Studies

Journal of Law and Religion, 2021

Global History, Globally, 2018