‘To Adopt the Principles of Freedom’: Christianity, Women’s Education, and Progress in U.S. Press Coverage of the Iwakura Mission

IF 0.2 Q2 HISTORY
Joseph M. Henning, Leo Makalsky
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Abstract

In U.S. press reports, the visit of Meiji Japan’s Iwakura Mission in 1872 presented both an opportunity for Americans to facilitate progress in Japan and evidence of social reform already underway there. As an opportunity, the mission served as a potential medium for American efforts to improve the Meiji government’s treatment of Japanese Christians. Many American political and religious leaders hoped to convince the mission ambassadors that freedom of religion was an essential component of civilization and a prerequisite for engaging with the treaty powers on equal terms. As evidence of social reform, the five Japanese girls who came with the mission to study in the United States embodied Japan’s new commitment to expanding educational opportunities for women. Focusing on the themes of religion and gender in U.S. newspaper coverage, this article shows how Americans projected onto the Iwakura Mission their own images of the United States as an inspiration and model for reform in Japan. Treating the mission as both an opportunity and evidence, the U.S. press depicted it in a self-congratulatory fashion to embellish Americans’ national identity as a people committed to progress.
采纳自由原则":基督教、妇女教育和美国媒体对岩仓传教团的报道中的进步
在美国媒体的报道中,1872 年明治日本岩仓使团的访问既为美国人提供了促进日本进步的机会,也证明了日本已经在进行社会改革。作为一个机会,使团成为美国努力改善明治政府对待日本基督徒的潜在媒介。许多美国政治和宗教领袖希望说服使团大使,宗教自由是文明的重要组成部分,也是与条约列强平等交往的先决条件。作为社会改革的证明,随使团赴美学习的五名日本女孩体现了日本为女性扩大教育机会的新承诺。这篇文章以美国报纸报道中的宗教和性别主题为重点,展示了美国人如何将自己心目中的美国形象投射到岩仓使节团身上,将其视为日本改革的灵感和典范。美国报刊将使团视为机遇和证据,以自我陶醉的方式对其进行了描述,以美化美国人作为一个致力于进步的民族的身份。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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CiteScore
0.30
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13
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