The Steamy East
Steamy East settings
By William Wetherall
First posted circa 2005
Last updated 28 July 2024
Settings of Steamy East and related fiction The Steamy East knows no flags or borders
Settings of Steamy East and related fiction
The Steamy East knows no flags or borders
The ubiquitous Steamy East
By William Wetherall
The Steamy East is everywhere. It may once have existed only in the pages of literature in countries where people regarded Asia as exotic if not also inscrutable. But today it is found in virtually every national literature, including Asian countries where some local authors also pretend to believe the myths of uniqueness and exceptionalism for the sake of self-indulging entertainment.
No continent or ocean, no country or city, no planet or galaxy has been able to escape the reaches of fantasies about Asia and Asians, whatever the regional affiliation of the story teller. Asians by any name seem every bit as ready, willing, and able to mystify themselves as non-Asians.
All genres of fiction have visited every corner of Asia, and real and imaginary Asians and their real and imaginary Asiatic ways have been made to journey everywhere that travel is possible -- back or forward in time if not in the present -- to real and fabulous places on earth, and to planets, stars, galaxies, and universes limited only by an author's imagination.
Asians in fiction, as in real life, have bred with every other putative race of human being, and in science and fantasy fiction they have even mixed with other forms of intelligent life. Mixtures abound in all genres of fiction, and the odds of encountering a human or semi-human character with a few Asian genes and traits is fairly high.
Number of titles by country
English fiction set in or involving China outnumber Japan-related English fiction by roughly two to one. India rivals or exceeds Japan if one includes Anglo-Indian titles. Vietnam comes next -- "because of the war" one is tempted to say, but this would hold as well for Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and most other countries. Fiction that crosses borders is mostly inspired by the conflict between nations, war being the most dramatic stage.
To be continued.
Worlds
Forthcoming.
Earth
Forthcoming.
Planets
Forthcoming.
Galaxy
Forthcoming.
Territories
Forthcoming.
Taiwan
Forthcoming.
Karafuto
Forthcoming.
Kwantung Leasehold
Forthcoming.
Chōsen
Forthcoming.
South Seas Islands
Forthcoming.
Regions
Forthcoming.
Africa
Forthcoming.
East Asia
Forthcoming.
Eastern Europe
Forthcoming.
Mediterranean
Forthcoming.
Middle East
Forthcoming.
North America
Forthcoming.
Pacifica
Forthcoming.
Southeast Asia
Forthcoming.
Western Europe
Forthcoming.
Countries
Forthcoming.
China
China accounts for more titles of Steamy East stories, partly because of its sheer size and importance, but also because both Britain and the United States have been deeply involved in its affairs. Hong Kong is the dominant local setting, followed by Shanghai and Tibet.
To be continued.
India
India-related Steamy East fiction is predominately British, at least until 1947, when India becomes independent, and later in the 20th century when many Indians migrate to North America.
To be continued.
Japan
The vast majority of Japan and Korea related fiction is post World War II, and reflects the American occupations and continued interests in those countries. The Philippines, too, is mainly a province of American fiction, and most English fiction set in Vietnam is not only American but about the Vietnam War.
If you were to normalize the numbers to reflect both national interest and populations of interested nations, China and Japan would dramatically fall in the ranking, and Southeast Asia would sharply increase. In other words, if you factor in the number of, say, Brits and Aussies who were in Southeast Asia and the amount of fiction they produced, and the number of Yanks who were in, say, the Philippines and later Vietnam and the number of novels they produced, the vastly larger number of American titles loses its significance. If you work in post Pacific War and post Vietnam War factors related to how books are published and distributed, and the creation of the paperback market, the number of titles is even less impressive.
In other words, sheer number of titles is a measure of more than simply "interest" in a particular part of the world or event.
To be continued.
Korea
Forthcoming.
Manchoukuo
Forthcoming.
Philippines
Forthcoming.
Vietnam
Forthcoming.
Cities
Forthcoming.
Peking, Beijing
Forthcoming.
Bombay, Mumbai
Forthcoming.
Calcutta, Kolkata
Forthcoming.
Hong Kong
Forthcoming.
Honolulu
Forthcoming.
Kyoto
Forthcoming.
Macao
Forthcoming.
Manila
Forthcoming.
Saigon
Forthcoming.
Shanghai
Forthcoming.
Tokyo
Forthcoming.
London
Forthcoming.
Los Angeles
Forthcoming.
New York
Forthcoming.
SanFrancisco
Forthcoming.
Neighborhoods
Forthcoming.
China towns
Forthcoming.
Japan towns
Enclaves of residents of Japanese ancestry, outside Japan, are variously known as Nihonmachi (San Francisco), Little Tokyo (Los Angeles), and "J Town" if not "Japantown".
Korea towns
An urban enclave of people of Korean descent may be called "Koreantown" or "Korean Town" or "Little Korea" or "Little Seoul", depending on the locality outside the Korean peninsula. A few large cities in the United States have sizeable Koreatowns, inclulding Los Angeles (over 110,000), New York (over 90,000), and Honolulu (over 20,000). Six other California cities -- including Glendale and San Francisco -- have Korean populations of around 10,000 each, while Palisades Park in New Jersey also has about 10,000 Koreans. On account of activism in their Korean communities with the support of outside interest organiztions, Glendale, Palisades Park, and San Francisco sponsored the erection of controversial Comfort Women memorials.
Vietnam towns
Many "boat people" who arrived in the United States and other countries from the Republic of Vietnam, during and shortly after the Vietnam war of 1964-1975, while initially dispersed, eventually formed enclaves in large and small cities. These communities were commonly called "Little Saigons". But Saigon became Ho Chi Minh City in 1976. And over the decades relations with The Socialist Republic of Vietnam improved, to the point that such enclaves now include SRV immigrants. And now such enclaves are variously called "Little Vietname" or "Little Hanoi" if not "Vietnamtown". However, "Little Saigon" persists in a number of enclaves where it signifies a fossilization of the wartime exodus.
Kabukicho
Forthcoming.
Wartime settings
Forthcoming.
Battle zones
Forthcoming.
Occupied countries
An "occupied country" is one that has been invaded and occupied by another country, such as the Commonwealth of the Philippines by Japan at the outset of the Pacific War in from 1942-1945 -- or a vanquished country that is occupied by victors following its surrender, such as the Empire of Japan by the Allied Powers after the Pacific War from 1945-1952.
Internment camps
Forthcoming.
POW camps
Forthcoming.