Ethnography of the ‘Southern islands’: Arai Hakuseki, Ryukyuan diplomacy, and the making of ethnological knowledge in early modern Japan
Published online on June 23, 2026
Abstract
Ethnography, Ahead of Print.
This study reexamines Arai Hakuseki’sNantōshi(Records of the Southern Islands, 1719) as more than a geographical description of the Ryukyuan Kingdom. It argues that Hakuseki’s text constitutes an early form of ethnographic knowledge production within ...
This study reexamines Arai Hakuseki’sNantōshi(Records of the Southern Islands, 1719) as more than a geographical description of the Ryukyuan Kingdom. It argues that Hakuseki’s text constitutes an early form of ethnographic knowledge production within ...