Revolution Goes East

Revolution Goes East is an intellectual history that applies a novel global perspective to the classic story of the rise of communism and the various reactions it provoked in Imperial Japan. Tatiana Linkhoeva demonstrates how contemporary discussions of the Russian Revolution, its containment, and the issue of imperialism played a fundamental role in shaping Japan's imperial society and state.

In this bold approach, Linkhoeva explores attitudes toward the Soviet Union and the communist movement among the Japanese military and politicians, as well as interwar leftist and rightist intellectuals and activists. Her book draws on extensive research in both published and archival documents, including memoirs, newspaper and journal articles, political pamphlets, and Comintern archives. Revolution Goes East presents us with a compelling argument that the interwar Japanese Left replicated the Orientalist outlook of Marxism-Leninism in its relationship with the rest of Asia, and that this proved to be its undoing. Furthermore, Linkhoeva shows that Japanese imperial anticommunism was based on geopolitical interests for the stability of the empire rather than on fear of communist ideology.

Thanks to generous funding from New York University and its participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access (OA) volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.

Tatiana Linkhoeva is Assistant Professor of Japanese History at New York University. Follow her on X @linkhoeva.

Revolution Goes East is a welcome addition to the study of both Japanese and Russian foreign policy, and a fruitful discussion of the history of the left in Japan.

Tatiana Linkhoeva's Revolution Goes East: Imperial Japan and Soviet Communism is the first comprehensive work focusing on an enigma at the heart of the modern history of Japan. Revolution Goes East is indispensable for thinking more deeply about the history of Japan in the frst half of the twentieth century from an international perspective, and for reflecting more carefully on the history of the Soviet Union and communism in the East Asian world.

Revolution Goes East is an important addition to the growing literature on Japanese imperialism and nationalism of the interwar period. It offers a unique angle on this crucial period when the failure of the Japanese left to provide a viable alternative to nationalism and militarism, coupled with the repressions against the vibrant civil society, enabled the rise of nationalist extremism in the 1930s. Its chapters, built on a close and discerning reading of a broad range of Japanese leftist writings, will serve for a long time as go-to texts for scholars and students alike.

The almost picturesque histories of diplomats, intellectuals and underworld political agents in interwar Japan are all woven together by Linkhoeva's clear and punctual prose in such a way that makes the reader actually curious to know more and dig deeper. Beyond the remarkable historiographical contribution, perhaps the key quality that makes Revolution Goes East such a critical book is the fact that despite all the questions it answers, it is able to raise many new ones.

Revolution Goes East is the first in-depth study in English of the diplomatic and ideological impact of the Bolshevik Revolution on Japan. Linkhoeva's study is a welcome addition to the existing body of scholarship, and is a badly needed corrective to the Eurocentric bias in Western research on the history of Japanese foreign relations. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of Japan's foreign policy or in the development of leftist ideologies in early twentieth-century Japan.

Tatiana Linkhoeva's meticulously detailed Revolution Goes East shows that Japanese responses to Soviet socialism during the 1920s and 30s were no exception to this. Indeed given the country's situation at the time, the diversity of views on the revolution held by various government factions, the military, and society at large was especially diverse.

Janis Mimura, Associate Professor of History at SUNY at Stony Brook, author of Planning for Empire:

Revolution Goes East is a carefully researched and thoughtful study of the impact of the Russian revolution and Soviet communism on Japanese intellectual thought and imperial strategy during the 1920s.

Louise Young, Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, author of Japan's Total Empire:

Linkhoeva's book brings a new line of analysis and new material to modern Japanese history, and will impact histories of the left, of the interwar period, of prewar politics and of Russo-Japanese relations.