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114-550: When Western powers began to use their superior military strength to press Japan for trade relations in the 1850s, the country's decentralized and antiquated military forces were unable to provide an effective defense against their advances. The fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867 led to the restoration of the Meiji Emperor and a remarkable period of national growth. De facto political and administrative power shifted to

228-666: A compromise over the issue of Korea. Extremists saw it as an open invitation for imperial expansion, many in Japan having long desired a showdown with Russia. The provision on the involvement of more than one power (article 3) recalled the Triple Intervention by the Russian-French-German coalition in 1895, and strengthened Japan's hand both diplomatically and militarily against a potential European coalition. In May 1902, Major General Fukushima Yasumasa , who

342-462: A conflict arose where Japan only had one adversary. Japan was likewise not obligated to defend British interests unless there were two adversaries. Although written using careful and clear language, the two sides understood the Treaty slightly differently. Britain saw it as a gentle warning to Russia, while Japan was emboldened by it. From that point on, even those of a moderate stance refused to accept

456-665: A conscript army was firmly established. The Imperial Army General Staff Office , created after the Prussian model of the Generalstab , was established directly under the emperor in 1878 and was given broad powers for military planning and strategy. The new force eventually made the samurai spirit its own. Loyalties formerly accorded to feudal lords were transferred to the state and the emperor. Upon release from service, soldiers carried these ideals back to their home communities, extending military-derived standards to all classes. Japan

570-544: A cultural-historical parallel between Britain and Japan as symmetrical "Island Empires" in East and West. Organized by the Japanese government, it was one of the largest such expositions at its time. Despite the ostensibly friendly relations between Britain and Japan during the early 20th century, the relationship started to strain over various issues. One such strain was the issue of the " racial equality clause " as proposed by

684-441: A group of younger samurai who had been instrumental in forming the new system and were committed to modernizing the military. They introduced drastic changes, which cleared the way for the development of modern, European-style armed forces. In an attempt to increase the number of soldiers the use of conscription became universal and obligatory in 1872 and, although samurai wedded to their traditional prerogatives resisted, by 1880

798-461: A growing threat to the stability of the shogunate. As Ōgosho ("Cloistered Shōgun "), he influenced the implementation of laws that banned the practice of Christianity. His successors followed suit, compounding upon Ieyasu's laws. The ban of Christianity is often linked with the creation of the Seclusion laws, or Sakoku , in the 1630s. The late Tokugawa shogunate ( Japanese : 幕末 Bakumatsu )

912-752: A loose alliance without any commitment to armed alliances. The Four-Power Treaty at the Washington Conference made the Anglo–Japanese Alliance defunct in December, 1921; however, it would not officially terminate until all parties ratified the treaty on 17 August 1923. At that time, the Alliance was officially terminated, as per Article IV in the Anglo–Japanese Alliance Treaties of 1902 and 1911. The distrust between

1026-474: A major limitation of the alliance. British banks saw Japan as a risky investment due to what they saw as restrictive property laws and an unstable financial situation, and offered loans to Japan with high interest rates, similar to those they offered the Ottoman Empire , Chile, China, and Egypt , which was disappointing to Japan. The banker and later Prime Minister Takahashi Korekiyo argued that Britain

1140-412: A productive member of society; education was for the betterment of the state. For men to serve in the army, they were required to submit to a medical examination. This conscription exam measured height, weight and included an inspection of the candidate's genitals. Those unable to pass the exam, the "congenitally weak, inveterately diseased, or deformed", were sent back to their families. The exam "divided

1254-414: A reconciliation with Russia. He was mostly unsuccessful, and Britain expressed concerns over duplicity on Japan's part, so Hayashi hurriedly re-entered negotiations in 1902. " Splendid isolation " was ended as for the first time Britain saw the need for a peace-time military alliance. It was the first alliance on equal terms between East and West. For Britain, the revision of "Splendid isolation" spurred by

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1368-506: A result of these factors many Russians blamed the British for their defeat. Outright war between Russia and Britain came close during the Dogger bank incident . Japan, for its part, did not attempt to involve the British, instead going to great pains to show their victories were their own. Meanwhile, even before the war, British and Japanese intelligence had co-operated against Russia due to

1482-561: A result, the tax revenues collected by the samurai landowners increasingly declined over time. A 2017 study found that peasant rebellions and desertion lowered tax rates and inhibited state growth in the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, both the shogun and daimyos were hampered by financial difficulties, whereas more wealth flowed to the merchant class. Peasant uprisings and samurai discontent became increasingly prevalent. Some reforms were enacted to attend to these issues such as

1596-523: A rural population flow to urban areas. By the Genroku period (1688–1704) Japan saw a period of material prosperity and the blossoming of the arts, such as the early development of ukiyo-e by Moronobu . The reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune (1716–1745) saw poor harvests and a fall in tax revenue in the early 1720s, as a result he pushed for the Kyoho reforms to repair the finances of the bakufu as he believed

1710-471: A unified international policy. One of the major issues of the conference was the renewal of the Anglo–Japanese Alliance. The conference began with all but Canadian Prime Minister Arthur Meighen supporting the immediate renewal of an alliance with Japan. The prevailing hope was for a continuance of the alliance with the Pacific power, which could potentially provide security for British imperial interests in

1824-731: Is dedicated to the 72 Japanese sailors who died in the conflict, including the 1917 torpedoing of the Japanese destroyer Sakaki . The alliance formed the basis for positive trading and cultural exchanges between Britain and Japan. Japanese agencies published numerous English-language releases and publications. Rapid industrialisation and the development of the Japanese armed forces provided significant new export opportunities for British shipyards and arms manufacturers. Japanese educated in Britain were also able to bring new technology to Japan, such as advances in ophthalmology . British artists of

1938-508: The Telegraph were the driving force behind such support, while in Japan the pro-alliance mood of politician Ōkuma Shigenobu stirred the Mainichi and Yomiuri newspapers into pro-alliance advocacy. The 1894 Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation had also paved the way for equal relations and the possibility of an alliance. In the end, the common interest truly fuelling

2052-641: The Edo shogunate ( 江戸幕府 , Edo bakufu ) , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara , ending the civil wars of the Sengoku period following the collapse of the Ashikaga shogunate . Ieyasu became the shōgun , and the Tokugawa clan governed Japan from Edo Castle in

2166-627: The Entente Cordiale with Britain and limited its support of Russia to providing loans. However, Britain siding with Japan angered the United States and some British dominions, whose opinion of the Empire of Japan worsened and gradually became hostile. The possibility of an alliance between Great Britain and Japan had been canvassed since 1895, when Britain refused to join the Triple Intervention of France, Germany and Russia against

2280-768: The Imperial Court in Kyoto to the Tokugawa family. While the Emperor officially had the prerogative of appointing the shōgun and received generous subsidies, he had virtually no say in state affairs. The shogunate issued the Laws for the Imperial and Court Officials ( kinchu narabini kuge shohatto 禁中並公家諸法度) to set out its relationship with the Imperial family and the kuge (imperial court officials), and specified that

2394-489: The Kansei reform (1787–1793) by Matsudaira Sadanobu . He bolstered the bakufu's rice stockpiles and mandated daimyos to follow suit. He cut down urban spending, allocated reserves for potential famines, and urged city-dwelling peasants to return to rural areas. By 1800, Japan included five cities with over 100,000 residents, and three among the world's twenty cities that had more than 300,000 inhabitants. Edo likely claimed

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2508-551: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920. On 8 July 1920, the two governments issued a joint statement to the effect that the alliance treaty "is not entirely consistent with the letter of that Covenant (of the League of Nations), which both Governments earnestly desire to respect". The demise of the alliance was signaled by the 1921 Imperial Conference , in which British and Dominion leaders convened to determine

2622-528: The gundai ( 郡代 ), the daikan ( 代官 ) and the kura bugyō ( 蔵奉行 ), as well as hearing cases involving samurai. The gundai managed Tokugawa domains with incomes greater than 10,000 koku while the daikan managed areas with incomes between 5,000 and 10,000 koku. The shogun directly held lands in various parts of Japan. These were known as shihaisho (支配所); since the Meiji period, the term tenryō ( 天領 , literally "Emperor's land") has become synonymous, because

2736-528: The han and the court in Edo. During their absences from Edo, it was also required that they leave their family as hostages until their return. The hostages and the huge expenditure sankin-kōtai imposed on each han helped to ensure loyalty to the shōgun . By the 1690s, the vast majority of daimyos would be born in Edo, and most would consider it their homes. Some daimyos had little interest in their domains and needed to be begged to return "home". In return for

2850-442: The jisha , kanjō , and machi-bugyō , which respectively oversaw temples and shrines , accounting, and the cities. The jisha-bugyō had the highest status of the three. They oversaw the administration of Buddhist temples ( ji ) and Shinto shrines ( sha ), many of which held fiefs. Also, they heard lawsuits from several land holdings outside the eight Kantō provinces. The appointments normally went to daimyōs ; Ōoka Tadasuke

2964-408: The rōjū to a more distant part of the castle. Some of the most famous soba yōnin were Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu and Tanuma Okitsugu . The ōmetsuke and metsuke were officials who reported to the rōjū and wakadoshiyori . The five ōmetsuke were in charge of monitoring the affairs of the daimyōs , kuge and imperial court. They were in charge of discovering any threat of rebellion. Early in

3078-427: The sankin-kōtai system ensured that daimyōs or their family were always in Edo, observed by the shogun. The shogunate had the power to discard, annex, and transform domains, although they were rarely and carefully exercised after the early years of the shogunate, to prevent daimyōs from banding together. The sankin-kōtai system of alternative residence required each daimyō to reside in alternate years between

3192-410: The shōgun . Under the wakadoshiyori were the metsuke . Some shōguns appointed a soba yōnin . This person acted as a liaison between the shōgun and the rōjū . The soba yōnin increased in importance during the time of the fifth shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi , when a wakadoshiyori, Inaba Masayasu , assassinated Hotta Masatoshi , the tairō . Fearing for his personal safety, Tsunayoshi moved

3306-502: The treaty ports of Nagasaki and Kanagawa (Yokohama). Source: Over the course of the Edo period, influential relatives of the shogun included: Anglo-Japanese Alliance The first Anglo-Japanese Alliance ( 日英同盟 , Nichi-Ei Dōmei ) was an alliance between Britain and Japan . It was in operation from 1902 to 1922. The original British goal was to prevent Russia from expanding in Manchuria while also preserving

3420-644: The ōmetsuke evolved into one of passing orders from the shogunate to the daimyōs , and of administering to ceremonies within Edo Castle. They also took on additional responsibilities such as supervising religious affairs and controlling firearms. The metsuke , reporting to the wakadoshiyori , oversaw the affairs of the vassals of the shōgun . They were the police force for the thousands of hatamoto and gokenin who were concentrated in Edo. Individual han had their own metsuke who similarly policed their samurai. The san- bugyō (三奉行 "three administrators") were

3534-467: The "restoration" ( 王政復古 , Ōsei fukko ) of imperial rule. Some loyal retainers of the shogun continued to fight during the Boshin war that followed but were eventually defeated in the notable Battle of Toba–Fushimi . The bakuhan system ( bakuhan taisei 幕藩体制 ) was the feudal political system in the Edo period of Japan. Baku is an abbreviation of bakufu , meaning " military government "—that is,

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3648-542: The 1911 revision. The first version of the alliance was announced on 12 February 1902. In response, Russia sought to form alliances with France and Germany, which Germany declined. The French also were reluctant to become more deeply involved with Russia in east Asia. On 16 March 1902, a joint Franco-Russian declaration was issued responding to the alliance, reserving their right to intervene in and around China to defend their interests. The British and later historians found this declaration to be "anodyne", signaling that France

3762-542: The Anglo-Japanese Alliance, culminated in the Entente Cordiale (1904) with France and Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 . The treaty contained six articles: Article 1 Article 2 Article 3 Article 4 Article 5 Article 6 Articles 2 and 3 were most crucial concerning war and mutual defense. The treaty laid out an acknowledgment of Japanese interests in Korea without obligating Britain to help if

3876-509: The Anglo-Japanese Alliance. During the war, Indian Army stations in Malaya and China often intercepted and read wireless and telegraph cable traffic relating to the war, which was shared with the Japanese. In their turn, the Japanese shared information about Russia with the British with one British official writing of the "perfect quality" of Japanese intelligence. In particular, British and Japanese intelligence gathered much evidence that Germany

3990-546: The Anglo–Japanese Alliance would create a Japanese-dominated market in the Pacific, and close China off from American trade. These fears were elevated by the news media in America and Canada, which reported alleged secret anti-American clauses in the treaty, and advised the public to support abrogation. The press, combined with Meighen's convincing argument of Canadian fears that Japan would attack imperial assets in China, caused

4104-538: The British Empire and Japan, as well as the manner in which the Anglo–Japanese Alliance concluded, have been suggested by some as being leading causes in Japan's involvement in World War II . However, more recent scholarship has argued against this, on the basis that Japan-British imperial interests had already substantially conflicted before 1921: therefore the end of the Alliance was instead symptomatic of

4218-407: The Edo period, daimyōs such as Yagyū Munefuyu held the office. Soon, however, it fell to hatamoto with rankings of 5,000 koku or more. To give them authority in their dealings with daimyōs , they were often ranked at 10,000 koku and given the title of kami (an ancient title, typically signifying the governor of a province ) such as Bizen-no-kami . As time progressed, the function of

4332-417: The Edo period. They were ranked by size, which was measured as the number of koku of rice that the domain produced each year. One koku was the amount of rice necessary to feed one adult male for one year. The minimum number for a daimyō was ten thousand koku ; the largest, apart from the shōgun , was more than a million koku . The main policies of the shogunate on the daimyos included: Although

4446-495: The Emperor should dedicate to scholarship and poetry. The shogunate also appointed a liaison, the Kyoto Shoshidai ( Shogun's Representative in Kyoto ), to deal with the Emperor, court and nobility. Towards the end of the shogunate, however, after centuries of the Emperor having very little say in state affairs and being secluded in his Kyoto palace , and in the wake of the reigning shōgun , Tokugawa Iemochi , marrying

4560-563: The Imperial Conference to shelve the alliance. The conference communicated their desire to consider leaving the alliance to the League of Nations , which stated that the alliance would continue, as originally stated with the leaving party giving the other a twelve-month notice of their intentions. The British Empire decided to sacrifice its alliance with Japan in favour of goodwill with the United States, yet it desired to prevent

4674-514: The Japanese delegation at the Paris Peace Conference . The clause, which was to be attached to the Covenant of the League of Nations , was compatible with the British stance of equality for all subjects as a principle for maintaining imperial unity; however, there were significant deviations in the stated interests of Britain's dominions , notably Australia , and the British delegation ultimately acceded to imperial opposition and declined to support

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4788-489: The Japanese government gained little influence in China, but lost prestige amongst the Western nations (including Britain, which was affronted and no longer trusted the Japanese as a reliable ally). Even though Britain was the wealthiest industrialized power, and Japan was a newly industrialized power with a large export market, which would seem to create natural economic ties, those ties were somewhat limited, which provided

4902-590: The Japanese government to channel it through some controlled enterprises acting as intermediaries with the private sector in London and Tokyo, which was seen as excess regulation by some British industrialists. Nevertheless, Britain did lend capital to Japan during the Russo-Japanese War, while Japan provided major loans to the Entente during World War I. The alliance was viewed as an obstacle already at

5016-603: The Japanese occupation of the Liaodong Peninsula . While this single event was an unstable basis for an alliance, the case was strengthened by the support Britain had given Japan in its drive towards modernisation and their co-operative efforts to put down the Boxer Rebellion . Newspapers of both countries voiced support for such an alliance; in Britain, Francis Brinkley of The Times and Edwin Arnold of

5130-659: The Pacific Ocean. During the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) in China, the Japanese contingent was the largest among the Eight-Nation Alliance . The Russian Civil War led to Japanese intervention in Siberia to prop up the White Guard . The Naval General Staff , independent from the supreme command from 1893, became even more powerful after World War I. At the 1921–22 Washington Naval Conference ,

5244-654: The Resident-General to Seoul. At the renewal in 1911, Japanese diplomat Komura Jutarō played a key role to restore Japan's tariff autonomy. Although the "second" alliance in 1905 was meant to last a decade, the alliance was renewed earlier in 1911. Over those six years, great power politics had substantially changed, following the Anglo-Russian entente of 1907 settling the Russo-British Great Game ; continuing Japanese negotiations in

5358-586: The Sunpu government's cabinet was consisted of trusted vassals of Ieyasu which was not included in Hidetada's cabinet. including William Adams (samurai) and Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn , which Ieyasu entrusted with foreign affairs and diplomacy. The earliest structure of Edo Shogunate organization has Buke Shitsuyaku as the highest rank. the earliest members of this office were Ii Naomasa , Sakakibara Yasumasa , and Honda Tadakatsu . The personal vassals of

5472-459: The Tokugawa clan in the Battle of Sekigahara had their estate reduced substantially. They were often placed in mountainous or far away areas, or placed between most trusted daimyos. Early in the Edo period, the shogunate viewed the tozama as the least likely to be loyal; over time, strategic marriages and the entrenchment of the system made the tozama less likely to rebel. In the end, however, it

5586-414: The Tokugawa shoguns were classified into two groups: By the early 18th century, out of around 22,000 personal vassals, most would have received stipends rather than domains. The rōjū ( 老中 ) were normally the most senior members of the shogunate. Normally, four or five men held the office, and one was on duty for a month at a time on a rotating basis. They supervised the ōmetsuke (who checked on

5700-574: The US, which was uncomfortable with the rise of Japan as a power. Furthermore, Britain was unwilling to protect Japanese interests in Korea and likewise, the Japanese were unwilling to support Britain in India. Hayashi and Lord Lansdowne began their discussions in July 1901, and disputes over Korea and India delayed them until November. At this point, Hirobumi Itō requested a delay in negotiations in order to attempt

5814-518: The United States, demanded the British Empire remove itself from the treaty to avoid being forced into a war between the two nations. The rest of the delegates agreed that it was best to court America and try to find a solution that the American government would find suitable, but only Meighen called for the complete abrogation of the treaty. The American government feared that the renewal of

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5928-507: The alliance and used it as a foundation for their diplomacy for two decades. In 1905, the treaty was redefined in favor of Japan concerning Korea. It was renewed in 1911 for another ten years and replaced by the Four-Power Treaty in 1922. The alliance was signed in London at Lansdowne House on 30 January 1902 by Lord Lansdowne , British Foreign Secretary , and Hayashi Tadasu , Japanese diplomat. The Anglo-Japanese alliance

6042-511: The alliance was opposition to Russian expansion, such as the invasion of Manchuria continuing after the Boxer Rebellion. This was made clear as early as the 1890s, when the British diplomat Cecil Spring Rice identified that Britain and Japan working in concert was the only way to challenge Russian power in the region. Negotiations began when Russia began to move into China . Nevertheless, both countries had their reservations. Britain

6156-606: The already-present political reality of eroding ties between both countries, rather than its cause. Britain had for example, become increasingly suspicious of a potential Japanese threat to its Asian colonies and interests, due to growing Japanese ambitions in China, the rise in Pan-Asianism, as demonstrated by Japanese support for Indian revolutionaries and the presence of Japanese propagandists in Malaya and India. According to Zoltan Buzas, racially shaped threat perceptions led

6270-476: The area. The Australians feared that they could not fend off any advances from the Imperial Japanese Navy , and desired a continuance of the buildup of naval resources for a possible future conflict as they feared that an alliance with the United States (then in a state of post-war isolationism ) would provide little protection. Meighen, fearing that a conflict could develop between Japan and

6384-556: The book as having a major impact on opportunities for people with blindness. The Japan–British Exhibition in 1910 in White City, London had eight million visitors. It sought to promote knowledge of Japan's modernization and the idea of an 'alliance of peoples' between Britain and Japan. It featured Japanese fine arts, musicians, Sumo demonstrations, and influenced by Edwardian expectations, it featured exhibitions of Ainu, Taiwanese and Japanese 'villages'. The organizers portrayed

6498-606: The capital as hostages. In 1616, there was a failed attempt of the invasion of Taiwan by a Shogunate subject named Murayama Tōan . A long period of peace occurred between the Siege of Osaka in 1615 and the Keian Uprising in 1651. This period saw the bakufu prioritise civil administration, while civil society witnessed a surge in trade and industrial activities. Trade under the reign of Ieyasu saw much new wealth created by mining and goods manufacturing, which resulted in

6612-484: The centralization, peace among the daimyos was maintained; unlike in the Sengoku period , daimyos no longer worried about conflicts with one another. In addition, hereditary succession was guaranteed as internal usurpations within domains were not recognized by the shogunate. The Tokugawa clan further ensured loyalty by maintaining a dogmatic insistence on loyalty to the shōgun . Daimyos were classified into three main categories: The tozama daimyos who fought against

6726-406: The citizenry into those who were fit for duty and those who were not". There was no material penalty for failing the exam, but those who were unable to serve could be marginalized by society. An imperial rescript of 1882 called for unquestioning loyalty to the emperor by the new armed forces and asserted that commands from superior officers were equivalent to commands from the emperor. Thenceforth,

6840-577: The clause. Another strain was the Twenty-One Demands issued by Japan to the Republic of China in 1915. The demands would have drastically increased Japanese influence in China and transformed the Chinese state into a de facto protectorate of Japan. Feeling desperate, the Chinese government appealed to Britain and the U.S., which forced Japan to moderate the demands issued; ultimately,

6954-446: The conscription system was a way of stabilizing that dissent. Some of the samurai, more disgruntled than the others, formed pockets of resistance to circumvent the mandatory military service. Many committed self-mutilation or openly rebelled ( Satsuma Rebellion ). They expressed their displeasure, because rejecting Western culture "became a way of demonstrating one's commitment" to the ways of the earlier Tokugawa era. The law also allowed

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7068-713: The countries of the future." Henry Dyer wrote after 1906 that Japanese bonds "has aroused keen interest among British investors, who have always been partial to Japanese bonds." Dyer, a recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun from Emperor Meiji, had played a role in the expansion of industrialization and engineering in Japan as part of a significant foreign investment. Dyer criticized what he saw as widespread British skepticism of Japan's economy. Meanwhile, influential industrialists in Japan such as businessman Iwasaki Yanosuke were at times skeptical of foreign investment, which led

7182-533: The country was still nominally organized as imperial provinces . Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan experienced rapid economic growth and urbanization, which led to the rise of the merchant class and Ukiyo culture. The Tokugawa shogunate declined during the Bakumatsu period from 1853 and was overthrown by supporters of the Imperial Court in the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The Empire of Japan

7296-408: The country, particularly smaller regions, daimyō, and samurai were more or less identical, since daimyō might be trained as samurai, and samurai might act as local rulers. The largely inflexible nature of this social stratification system unleashed disruptive forces over time. Taxes on the peasantry were set at fixed amounts that did not account for inflation or other changes in monetary value. As

7410-531: The daimyos), machi - bugyō (commissioners of administrative and judicial functions in major cities, especially Edo), ongoku bugyō  [ ja ] (遠国奉行, the commissioners of other major cities and shogunate domains) and other officials, oversaw relations with the Imperial Court in Kyoto , kuge (members of the nobility), daimyō, Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines , and attended to matters like divisions of fiefs . Other bugyō (commissioners) in charge of finances, monasteries and shrines also reported to

7524-699: The development and protection of the homeland. Territorial gains were achieved in Korea, the southern half of Sakhalin ("Karafuto" in Japanese), and Manchuria . As an ally of Britain in World War I , Japan assumed control over Germany's possessions in Asia in the Treaty of Versailles , notably in China's Shandong Province, and the German-controlled Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands in

7638-417: The eastern city of Edo ( Tokyo ) along with the daimyō lords of the samurai class. The Tokugawa shogunate organized Japanese society under the strict Tokugawa class system and banned most foreigners under the isolationist policies of Sakoku to promote political stability. The Tokugawa shoguns governed Japan in a feudal system, with each daimyō administering a han (feudal domain), although

7752-632: The end of 1935, Japan had entered a period of unlimited military expansion and ignored its previous commitments. By the late 1930s, the proportion of Japanese to United States naval forces was 70.6 percent in total tonnage and 94 percent in aircraft carriers, and Japanese ships slightly outnumbered those of the United States. They also had many people fight for their country. Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate ( / ˌ t ɒ k uː ˈ ɡ ɑː w ə / TOK -oo- GAH -wə ; Japanese : 徳川幕府 , romanized :  Tokugawa bakufu , IPA: [tokɯgawa, tokɯŋawa baꜜkɯ̥ɸɯ] ), also known as

7866-433: The equator during the War. Japan attacked the German base at Qingdao in 1914 and forced the Germans to surrender (see Siege of Tsingtao ). Japanese officers aboard British warships were casualties at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. In 1917, Japanese warships were sent to the Mediterranean and assisted in the protection of Allied shipping near Malta from U-boat attacks. A memorial at the Kalkara Naval Cemetery in Malta

7980-418: The expected alliance between Japan and either Germany or Russia from coming into being. Empire delegates convinced America to invite several nations to Washington to participate in talks regarding Pacific and Far East policies, specifically naval disarmament. Japan came to the Washington Naval Conference with a deep mistrust of Britain, feeling that London no longer wanted what was best for Japan. Despite

8094-418: The growing rift, Japan joined the conference in hopes of avoiding a war with the United States. The Pacific powers of the United States, Japan, France and Britain would sign the Four-Power Treaty , and adding on various other countries such as China to create the Nine-Power Treaty . The Four-Power Treaty would provide a minimal structure for the expectations of international relations in the Pacific, as well as

8208-507: The leaders of the island country. Another strategy that Japan used to advance their position in the world would be to ally with European nations. Japan saw itself vulnerable to European powers, thus the country decided to ally with Great Britain in 1902. The alliance, named the Anglo-Japanese alliance , called for both nations to come to each others aid if a war with more than two additional nations broke out. The first overseas test of

8322-528: The main vector of trade exchanges, followed by the addition of Dutch, English, and sometimes Spanish ships. From 1603 onward, Japan started to participate actively in foreign trade. In 1615, an embassy and trade mission under Hasekura Tsunenaga was sent across the Pacific to Nueva España (New Spain) on the Japanese-built galleon San Juan Bautista . Until 1635, the Shogun issued numerous permits for

8436-562: The major powers signed the Five Power Naval Disarmament Treaty, which set the international capital ship ratio for the United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy at 5, 5, 3, 1.75, and 1.75, respectively. The Imperial Navy insisted that it required a ratio of seven ships for every eight United States naval ships but settled for three to five, a ratio acceptable to the Japanese public. The London Naval Treaty of 1930 brought about further reductions but, by

8550-407: The military aristocracy was losing its power against the rich merchants and landowners. Society in the Tokugawa period , unlike in previous shogunates, was supposedly based on the strict class hierarchy originally established by Toyotomi Hideyoshi . The daimyō (lords) were at the top, followed by the warrior-caste of samurai, with the farmers, artisans, and traders ranking below. In some parts of

8664-407: The military existed in an intimate and privileged relationship with the imperial institution. Top-ranking military leaders were given direct access to the emperor and the authority to transmit his pronouncements directly to the troops. The sympathetic relationship between conscripts and officers, particularly junior officers who were drawn mostly from the peasantry, tended to draw the military closer to

8778-434: The military to educate the enlisted. With the swing towards urbanization, the government was concerned about the population’s education lagging behind: Most commoners were illiterate and unknowing. The military provided "fresh opportunities for education" and career advancement. The "raw recruits would, especially in the first years of conscription, learn how to read". The government realized that an educated soldier could become

8892-482: The most powerful han , the hereditary fief of the House of Tokugawa, which also included many gold and silver mines. Towards the end of the shogunate, the Tokugawa clan held around 7 million koku of land (天領 tenryō), including 2.6–2.7 million koku held by direct vassals, out of 30 million in the country. The other 23 million koku were held by other daimyos. The number of han (roughly 270) fluctuated throughout

9006-483: The nation's new military capabilities was the Taiwan Expedition of 1874 , which was in retaliation for the 1871 murder of shipwrecked Ryūkyūan sailors . It was followed by a series of victorious military ventures until World War II . Japan moved against Korea and China ( First Sino-Japanese War ), and Russia ( Russo-Japanese War ) to secure the raw materials and strategic territories it believed necessary for

9120-406: The office, and alternated by month. Three Edo machi bugyō have become famous through jidaigeki (period films): Ōoka Tadasuke and Tōyama Kagemoto (Kinshirō) as heroes, and Torii Yōzō ( ja:鳥居耀蔵 ) as a villain. The san-bugyō together sat on a council called the hyōjōsho (評定所). In this capacity, they were responsible for administering the tenryō (the shogun's estates), supervising

9234-456: The offices close to the shōgun , such as soba yōnin  [ ja ] (側用人), Kyoto Shoshidai , and Osaka jōdai . Irregularly, the shōguns appointed a rōjū to the position of tairō (great elder). The office was limited to members of the Ii , Sakai , Doi , and Hotta clans , but Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was given the status of tairō as well. Among the most famous was Ii Naosuke , who

9348-418: The people. In time, most people came to look more for guidance in national matters to military commanders than to political leaders. The main concern of Japanese military modernization in the early 1900s focused on adopting the weaponry of the Western world. To do so Japan had to create a system where they could manufacture the technology themselves. This would cause the industrialization of Japan, called for by

9462-532: The pro-imperialist Ishin Shishi ( nationalist patriots ) and the shogunate forces; aside from the dominant two groups, other factions attempted to use the chaos of the Bakumatsu era to seize personal power. An alliance of daimyos and the emperor, succeeded in overthrowing the shogunate, which came to an official end in 1868 with the resignation of the 15th Tokugawa shogun , Tokugawa Yoshinobu , leading to

9576-491: The rōjū. The roju conferred on especially important matters. In the administrative reforms of 1867 ( Keiō Reforms ), the office was eliminated in favor of a bureaucratic system with ministers for the interior, finance, foreign relations, army, and navy. In principle, the requirements for appointment to the office of rōjū were to be a fudai daimyō and to have a fief assessed at 50 000 koku or more. However, there were exceptions to both criteria. Many appointees came from

9690-481: The samurai were unhappy with reforms and openly shared their concerns. The conscription law was a way of social control: placing the unruly samurai class back into their roles as warriors. The Japanese government intended that conscription would build a modern army capable of standing against the armies of Europe. However, the Meiji Restoration initially caused dissent among the dissolved samurai class, but

9804-566: The shogun issued certain laws, such as the buke shohatto on the daimyōs and the rest of the samurai class, each han administered its autonomous system of laws and taxation . The shōgun did not interfere in a han 's governance unless major incompetence (such as large rebellions) was shown, nor were central taxes issued. Instead, each han provided feudal duties, such as maintaining roads and official courier stations, building canals and harbors, providing troops, and relieving famines. Daimyōs were strategically placed to check each other, and

9918-647: The shogun's lands were returned to the emperor. In addition to the territory that Ieyasu held prior to the Battle of Sekigahara, this included lands he gained in that battle and lands gained as a result of the Summer and Winter Sieges of Osaka . Major cities as Nagasaki and Osaka, and mines , including the Sado gold mine , also fell into this category. The gaikoku bugyō were administrators appointed between 1858 and 1868. They were charged with overseeing trade and diplomatic relations with foreign countries, and were based in

10032-468: The shogunate in Edo and the daimyōs with domains throughout Japan. The shōgun and lords were all daimyōs : feudal lords with their own bureaucracies, policies, and territories. Provinces had a degree of sovereignty and were allowed an independent administration of the han in exchange for loyalty to the shōgun , who was responsible for foreign relations, national security, coinage, weights, measures, and transportation. The shōgun also administered

10146-576: The shogunate, yielding a huge profit. Foreign trade was also permitted to the Satsuma and the Tsushima domains . Rice was the main trading product of Japan during this time. Isolationism was the foreign policy of Japan and trade was strictly controlled. Merchants were outsiders to the social hierarchy of Japan and were thought to be greedy. The visits of the Nanban ships from Portugal were at first

10260-467: The shogunate. The han were the domains headed by daimyō . Beginning from Ieyasu's appointment as shogun in 1603, but especially after the Tokugawa victory in Osaka in 1615, various policies were implemented to assert the shogunate's control, which severely curtailed the daimyos' independence. The number of daimyos varied but stabilized at around 270. The bakuhan system split feudal power between

10374-496: The sister of Emperor Kōmei (r. 1846–1867), in 1862, the Imperial Court in Kyoto began to enjoy increased political influence. The Emperor would occasionally be consulted on various policies and the shogun even made a visit to Kyoto to visit the Emperor. Government administration would be formally returned from the shogun to the Emperor during the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Foreign affairs and trade were monopolized by

10488-677: The so-called " red seal ships " destined for the Asian trade. After 1635 and the introduction of seclusion laws ( sakoku ), inbound ships were only allowed from China , Korea , and the Netherlands . The primary source of the shogunate's income was the tax (around 40%) levied on harvests in the Tokugawa clan's personal domains (tenryō). No taxes were levied on domains of daimyos, who instead provided military duty, public works and corvee . The shogunate obtained loans from merchants, which were sometimes seen as forced donations, although commerce

10602-541: The territorial integrity of China and Korea. For the British, it marked the end of a period of " splendid isolation " while allowing for greater focus on protecting India and competing in the Anglo-German naval arms race. The alliance was part of a larger British strategy to reduce imperial overcommitment and recall the Royal Navy to defend Britain. The Japanese, on the other hand, gained international prestige from

10716-500: The time such as James McNeill Whistler , Aubrey Beardsley and Charles Rennie Mackintosh were heavily inspired by Japanese kimono , swords , crafts and architecture . Unique cultural exchanges included that the author Yoshimoto Tadasu (b. 1878, d. 1973), who wrote True Britain (Shin no Eikoku) in 1902, was the first blind person in Japan to receive higher education, and brought some British ideas on public welfare to Japan. The clergyman Kumagai Tetsutaro (b. 1883, d. 1979) praised

10830-451: The title of the world's most populous city, housing over one million people. Followers of Catholic christians first began appearing in Japan during the 16th century. Oda Nobunaga embraced Christianity and the Western technology that was imported with it, such as the musket. He also saw it as a tool he could use to suppress Buddhist forces. Though Christianity was allowed to grow until the 1610s, Tokugawa Ieyasu soon began to see it as

10944-555: The two in July. Fukushima represented Emperor Meiji at the coronation of King Edward VII on 9 August and stayed until September 1902 to work on the details. The existence and contents of the agreements were not made public. The alliance was renewed and extended in 1905. This was partly prompted by Japan's gains in the Russo-Japanese War which prompted a restatement of the Japanese-British agreement. It

11058-521: The wake of the Russo-Japanese War , including a 1907 partitioning of Manchuria with Russia; as well as increasing British-American rapprochement and the UK's growing rivalry with the German Empire . In this context, Japan and Britain augmented a "third" Anglo-Japanese alliance to reassure each other of their interests. Komura Jutarō and later Prime Minister Katō Takaaki were major organizers during

11172-580: Was a senior intelligence officer of the Army General Staff and the initial commander of the Japanese Army sent to China to stop the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, was sent to London to wrap up informal discussions on military intelligence cooperation. Director General of Mobilisation and Military Intelligence , Sir William Nicholson headed the British side of the negotiation, and various intelligence cooperation agreements were signed between

11286-520: Was also partly prompted by British suspicions about Russian intentions in South Asia, leading to Britain considering asking Japan to help defend India. The July 1905 renegotiations allowed for Japanese support of British interests in India and British support for Japanese progress into Korea. By November of that year, Korea was a Japanese protectorate, and in February 1906 Itō Hirobumi was posted as

11400-494: Was an exception, though he later became a daimyō . The kanjō-bugyō were next in status. The four holders of this office reported to the rōjū . They were responsible for the finances of the shogunate. The machi-bugyō were the chief city administrators of Edo and other cities. Their roles included mayor, chief of the police (and, later, also of the fire department), and judge in criminal and civil matters not involving samurai. Two (briefly, three) men, normally hatamoto, held

11514-484: Was assassinated in 1860 outside the Sakuradamon Gate of Edo Castle ( Sakuradamon incident ). Three to five men titled the wakadoshiyori (若年寄) were next in status below the rōjū. An outgrowth of the early six-man rokuninshū (六人衆, 1633–1649), the office took its name and final form in 1662. Their primary responsibility was management of the affairs of the hatamoto and gokenin , the direct vassals of

11628-454: Was cautious about abandoning its policy of "splendid isolation", wary of antagonizing Russia, and unwilling to act on the treaty if Japan were to attack the United States. There were factions in the Japanese government that still hoped for a compromise with Russia, including the highly powerful political figure Hirobumi Itō , who had served four terms as Prime Minister of Japan . It was thought that friendship within Asia would be more amenable to

11742-408: Was committed to retaining the daimyos and the han (domains) as components under his new shogunate. Daimyos who sided with Ieyasu were rewarded, and some of Ieyasu's former vassals were made daimyos and were located strategically throughout the country. The sankin-kotai policy, in an effort to constrain rebellions by the daimyos, mandated the housing of wives and children of the daimyos in

11856-520: Was dedicated to creating a unified, modern nation by the late nineteenth–century. Among their goals were to instill respect for the emperor, the requiring of universal education throughout the Japanese nation, and lastly the privilege and importance of military service. The Conscription Law established on January 10, 1873, made military service mandatory for all men in their twenties to enlist. "In 1873, no one could predict with certainty whether these quarrels would end peacefully or through military action, nor

11970-815: Was established under the Meiji government , and Tokugawa loyalists continued to fight in the Boshin War until the defeat of the Republic of Ezo at the Battle of Hakodate in June 1869. Following the Sengoku period ("Warring States period"), the central government had been largely re-established by Oda Nobunaga during the Azuchi–Momoyama period . After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, central authority fell to Tokugawa Ieyasu. While many daimyos who fought against him were extinguished or had their holdings reduced, Ieyasu

12084-420: Was implying, through unattractive loan terms, that Japan had reverted from one of the "civilized nations" to "undeveloped nations", referring that Japan had more easily received foreign capital to fund its First Sino-Japanese War than the Russo-Japanese War . Nathaniel Rothschild was initially skeptical of Japan's economy; however, he would later describe Osaka as the "Manchester of Japan" and Japan as "one of

12198-418: Was it clear which individuals or groups would come out on top in the expected power struggle." This legislation was the most significant military reform of the Meiji era. The samurai class no longer held a monopoly on military power; their benefits and status were stripped from them after the Meiji Restoration. The dissolution of the samurai class would create a modern army of men of equal status. However, many of

12312-424: Was not activated, because its terms stipulated a promise of support only if a signatory entered war with more than one power, whereas Japan was only at war with Russia. However, the nature of the alliance meant that Russia's then closest ally , France, was unable to come to Russia's aid as this would have meant going to war with Britain. This was considered Britain's diplomatic contribution in favour of Japan, and as

12426-538: Was often not taxed. Special levies were also imposed for infrastructure-building. During the earliest years of the Tokugawa shogunate institution, when Tokugawa Hidetada coronated as the second shogun and Ieyasu retired, they formed a dual governments, where Hidetada controlled the official court with the government central located in Edo city, Ieyasu, who now became the Ōgosho (retired shogun), also control his own informal shadow government which called "Sunpu government" with its center at Sunpu Castle . The membership of

12540-492: Was reconsidering its military obligations towards Russia. China and the United States were strongly opposed to the alliance. The Russo-Japanese War broke out in 1904, as Japan sought to halt the expansion of the Russian Empire's colonies in China. Britain did not officially join the Russo-Japanese War, but supported Japan in espionage, ship design, finance, and diplomacy during the war. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance

12654-446: Was renewed and expanded in scope twice, in 1905 and 1911, playing a major role in World War I before the alliance's demise in 1921 and termination in 1923. The main threat for both sides was from Russia . The initial treaty triggered if either country was at war with more than one power, and thus had the effect of deterring France from assisting its ally Russia militarily in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904. Instead, France concluded

12768-468: Was still the great tozama of Satsuma , Chōshū and Tosa , and to a lesser extent Saga , that brought down the shogunate. These four states are called the Four Western Clans, or Satchotohi for short. Regardless of the political title of the Emperor, the shōguns of the Tokugawa family controlled Japan. The shogunate secured a nominal grant of administration ( 体制 , taisei ) by

12882-526: Was supporting Russia in the war as part of a bid to disturb the balance of power in Europe, which led to British officials increasingly perceiving that country as a threat to the international order. The alliance's provisions for mutual defence permitted Japan to enter the First World War on the British side. The Treaty made possible the Japanese seizure of German possessions in the Pacific north of

12996-481: Was the period between 1853 and 1867, during which Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy called sakoku and modernized from a feudal shogunate to the Meiji government . The 1850s saw growing resentment by the tozama daimyōs and anti-Western sentiment following the arrival of a U.S. Navy fleet under the command of Matthew C. Perry (which led to the forced opening of Japan). The major ideological and political factions during this period were divided into

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