De-Japanization

After taking over Taiwan, the Nationalist government immediately launched comprehensive "de-Japanization" and "re-Sinicization" policies. Japanese was banned in public spaces, Japanese-style place names were replaced with Chinese ones, and school instruction switched from Japanese to Chinese. Social organizations, legal systems, and administrative practices formed during the Japanese era were completely overhauled.

However, this rapid cultural transformation caused severe social ruptures. Taiwanese intellectuals educated in Japanese suddenly lost their linguistic tools, becoming effectively "illiterate" under the new regime. The cultural chasm between native Taiwanese and mainlanders deepened steadily, becoming a significant root cause of future social conflicts.

This volume examines the policies and impacts of this cultural transition period, exploring the deep contradictions in language policy, educational reform, and cultural identity.