From 1932 until the end of World War II, the Japanese established and maintained by bloody rule a puppet regime in the Chinese region of Manchuria. This region was composed of three northern provinces in China; the puppet ruler was the last Chinese Emperor, Pu Yi, and this rich industrial region was clearly coveted and managed by the Japanese as a critical element in their imperial dominion. Yamamuro Shin'ichi's extraordinary book rereads this occupation under new light. The author shows that right-wing Japanese military and civilian groups thought of construction in this sparsely populated region as an effort to build a paradise on earth, with roots deep in Asian traditions. At the same time, Chinese and Korean populations in the region were abused by the Japanese military, and many Japanese were deliberately misinformed about what was being done in their name. Yamamuro examines the policies and events unfolding on the ground during this time. With close attention to the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans involved, and the links between the military and the home islands, he offers his own overall assessment of this distinctive instance of state-building.Making use of numerous sources in Chinese and Japanese, from legal documents and government decrees to memoirs and poetry, Manchuria Under Japanese Dominion goes beyond rhetoric to provide a unique assessment of the history of this period.

山室信一，日本京都大學人文科學研究所教授，研究領域為近代日本政治史、法政思想史。除《滿洲國的實相與幻象》外，亦著有《法制官僚的時代——國家的設計與知識的歷程》（一九八四年每日出版文化獎）、《作為思想課題的亞洲——基軸．連鎖．投企》（二○○一年亞洲太平洋特別獎）、《憲法九條的思想脈絡》（二○○八年司馬遼太郎獎）、《日俄戰爭的世紀——從連鎖視點所見的日本與世界》等書。