Transnational History and Japan’s “Comparative Advantage”

The growing field of transnational or global history spotlights connections among nations and empires. This essay suggests ways in which historians of modern Japan might contribute to transnational history, taking advantage of their Japanese subjects’ determined emulation of ideas and practices in other nations. Thinking transnationally about Japan not only challenges myths of Japanese exceptionalism but also enriches transnational history by going beyond Euro-centric and U.S.-centered accounts to illuminate global currents. To demonstrate the potential benefits, I draw on several transnational studies of Japan as well as my own global history of saving money and current research on the “transnational home front.”