To Africa

Abstract This article examines how one of modern Japanese literature's inaugural texts envisions Japan's geographical self-image. The focus here is on Ukishiro monogatari (Floating Castle) by Meiji statesman Yano Ryūkei (1851–1931). Ukishiro monogatari tells the story of an adventure undertaken by Japanese men with a shared political objective who are diversely skilled in areas such as military expertise, medicine, geography, and technology. They are so dissatisfied with the delay in Japan's territorial expansion that in 1878 they travel to Southeast Asia as the first step in an ambitious attempt to establish Japanese territory in central Africa. By exploring why and how the crew of the Ukishiro heads to Africa, this article argues that the Ukishiro crew's plans take shape in relation to their drive to eschew Japan's status as an island nation (deislandization) and establish Japan as a continent (pseudocontinent).