@article{ART003315137},
author={Young Shil Youn},
title={“Italian Romance” of Meiji Japan (1892-1900): Narrative Strategies of the Italian “Three Heroes” Biographies and the Modulation of Meiji Nationalism},
journal={Journal of Humanities, Seoul National University},
issn={1598-3021},
year={2026},
volume={83},
number={1},
pages={295-342}
TY - JOUR
AU - Young Shil Youn
TI - “Italian Romance” of Meiji Japan (1892-1900): Narrative Strategies of the Italian “Three Heroes” Biographies and the Modulation of Meiji Nationalism
JO - Journal of Humanities, Seoul National University
PY - 2026
VL - 83
IS - 1
PB - Institute of Humanities, Seoul National University
SP - 295
EP - 342
SN - 1598-3021
AB - This study analyzes the re-narrativization of biographies concerning the “Three Heroes of Italian Unification” published in Meiji Japan between 1892 and 1900. These texts were products of “intellectual editing” that selected, adapted, and reconstructed information from over 14 English sources.
They functioned as an “Italian Romance” that projected diverse political imaginations aligned with contemporary Japanese nationalism. Hirata Hisashi inherited British Whig historiography but adapted it into a narrative of war urging for Japanese “national integration” and external expansion.
Matsumura Kaiseki used Cavour’s practical diplomacy as a model to project an imperialist vision of Japan-led Asian liberation and “Oriental Unification”.
Kishizaki Sho erased Garibaldi’s radical political nature, transforming him into a subject of popular consumption by portraying him as a romantic hero and a figure in traditional “gifted scholar and beautiful lady” (caizi jiaren) narratives. Ultimately, the “Italian Romance” of Meiji Japan functioned as a safe and attractive framework for historical interpretation that removed the dangers of republicanism while legitimizing the establishment of the Emperor-centered nation-state and its external expansion.
KW - Meiji Japan;Italian Unification;Intellectual Editing;Meiji Nationalism;Whig Historiography;Pan-Asianism;Narrative Strategy
DO -
UR -
ER -
Young Shil Youn. (2026). “Italian Romance” of Meiji Japan (1892-1900): Narrative Strategies of the Italian “Three Heroes” Biographies and the Modulation of Meiji Nationalism. Journal of Humanities, Seoul National University, 83(1), 295-342.
Young Shil Youn. 2026, "“Italian Romance” of Meiji Japan (1892-1900): Narrative Strategies of the Italian “Three Heroes” Biographies and the Modulation of Meiji Nationalism", Journal of Humanities, Seoul National University, vol.83, no.1 pp.295-342.
Young Shil Youn "“Italian Romance” of Meiji Japan (1892-1900): Narrative Strategies of the Italian “Three Heroes” Biographies and the Modulation of Meiji Nationalism" Journal of Humanities, Seoul National University 83.1 pp.295-342 (2026) : 295.
Young Shil Youn. “Italian Romance” of Meiji Japan (1892-1900): Narrative Strategies of the Italian “Three Heroes” Biographies and the Modulation of Meiji Nationalism. 2026; 83(1), 295-342.
Young Shil Youn. "“Italian Romance” of Meiji Japan (1892-1900): Narrative Strategies of the Italian “Three Heroes” Biographies and the Modulation of Meiji Nationalism" Journal of Humanities, Seoul National University 83, no.1 (2026) : 295-342.
Young Shil Youn. “Italian Romance” of Meiji Japan (1892-1900): Narrative Strategies of the Italian “Three Heroes” Biographies and the Modulation of Meiji Nationalism. Journal of Humanities, Seoul National University, 83(1), 295-342.
Young Shil Youn. “Italian Romance” of Meiji Japan (1892-1900): Narrative Strategies of the Italian “Three Heroes” Biographies and the Modulation of Meiji Nationalism. Journal of Humanities, Seoul National University. 2026; 83(1) 295-342.
Young Shil Youn. “Italian Romance” of Meiji Japan (1892-1900): Narrative Strategies of the Italian “Three Heroes” Biographies and the Modulation of Meiji Nationalism. 2026; 83(1), 295-342.
Young Shil Youn. "“Italian Romance” of Meiji Japan (1892-1900): Narrative Strategies of the Italian “Three Heroes” Biographies and the Modulation of Meiji Nationalism" Journal of Humanities, Seoul National University 83, no.1 (2026) : 295-342.
