Communicating without borders

How Japan pursued new international lingua franca in the century of global conflict

Examining the history of Esperanto in Japan up to the end of the Second World War, historian Dr Ian Rapley highlights the place of Esperanto in East Asia and the international language problem in his first book.

He charts how a wide range of the Japanese populace was drawn to the possibilities of Esperanto, revealing how adopters were active right across the country, and significantly at the League of Nations and in the Soviet Union as well.

Modernization for Japan meant growing contact with the wider world, with increasingly complex transnational interactions, including in trade, diplomacy and intellectual flow -all of which required a common language for communication. Writing essays and letters, Japanese Esperantists travelled internationally, built friendships, taught classes, and made radio broadcasts.

A European invention, Esperanto [Zamenhof, 1887] might be regarded an unlikely candidate for Japanese interest, but its potential solution to the international language problem - how to effectively communicate across linguistic and national borders – was championed enthusiastically.

With its simple grammar and system of word formation, Esperanto – known for its Green Star symbol symbolising 5 continents and peace - was designed to be easy to learn, irradicating the irregularities that national or regional languages develop over time.

In his research, the Japanophile historian has explored how in their quest to be modern many Japanese were drawn to mastering a second universal language over learning multiple foreign languages.

Closely examining the efforts to spread a language designed to bring peoples of the world together, Green Star Japan offers a new approach to understanding Japan’s global modernity.

Historian of modern Japan, Dr Ian Rapley specialises in blend of social, cultural, and intellectual history in the early 20th century.

Green Star Japan: Esperanto and the international language questionis out this month with University of Hawai’i Press.