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202-763: Shōwa period The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Korea . After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the ports of Lüshunkou (Port Arthur) and Weihaiwei , the Qing government sued for peace in February 1895 and signed

404-471: A cavalry unit, a company of engineers, an artillery battery and rear-echelon units. They were to serve as recruiting bases for their front-line divisions and could also perform secondary combat operations, and if necessary they could be expanded into full divisions with a total of 24 territorial force regiments. However, formation of these units was hindered by a lack of sufficient amounts of equipment, especially uniforms. Japanese troops were equipped with

606-697: A Japanese inn in the International Settlement . After some hesitation, the British authorities in Shanghai concluded that rules against extradition did not apply to a corpse and turned his body over to Chinese authorities. His body was then taken aboard a Chinese warship and sent back to Korea, where it was cut up by the Korean authorities, quartered and displayed in all Korean provinces as a warning to other purported rebels and traitors. In Tokyo,

808-478: A boundary between private and public matters and, thus, demanded loyalty in all spheres of society. Subsequently, any ideological attack, such as a proposal for socialist reforms, was seen as an attack on the very existence of the state. The meaning of the law was gradually stretched to academic spheres. After the passage of the Peace Preservation Law and related legislation, kokutai emerged as

1010-548: A complete coup d'état, but it effectively ended rule by political parties in Japan. From 1932 to 1936, the country was governed by admirals. Mounting nationalist sympathies led to chronic instability in government. Moderate policies were difficult to enforce. The crisis culminated on February 26, 1936. In what became known as the February 26 Incident , about 1,500 ultranationalist army troops marched on central Tokyo . Their mission

1212-465: A constitutional monarchy; the revision of land tax laws; cancellation of the grain loan system; the unification of all internal fiscal administrations under the jurisdiction of the Ho-jo; the suppression of privileged merchants and the development of free commerce and trade, the creation of a modern police system including police patrols and royal guards; and severe punishment of corrupt officials. However,

1414-507: A lack of central coordination. These difficulties affected the effectiveness of the reforms and prevented China from achieving the same level of modernization and industrialization as Japan. As a result, by the time of the First Sino-Japanese War, China remained a largely agrarian society with a relatively weak military, unable to match the rapidly modernizing Japanese forces. In January 1864, King Cheoljong died without

1616-513: A larger role on the peninsula. To Meiji leaders, the issue was not whether Korea should be reformed but how these reforms might be implemented. There was a choice of adopting a passive role which required the cultivation of reformist elements within Korean society and rendering them assistance whenever possible, or adopting a more aggressive policy, actively interfering in Korean politics to assure that reform took place. Many Japanese advocates of Korean reform swung between these two positions. Japan in

1818-488: A male heir, and through Korean succession protocols King Gojong ascended the throne at the age of 12. However, as King Gojong was too young to rule, the new king's father, Yi Ha-ŭng, became the Daewongun , or lord of the great court, and ruled Korea in his son's name as regent. Originally the term Daewongun referred to any person who was not actually the king but whose son took the throne. With his ascendancy to power

2020-648: A matter of opportunism as the intervention by Chinese troops led to subsequent exile of the rival Daewongun in Tianjin and the expansion of Chinese influence in Korea, but it also reflected an ideological disposition shared by many Koreans toward the more comfortable and traditional relationship as a tributary of China. Consequently, the Min clan became advocates of the dongdo seogi ("adopting Western knowledge while keeping Eastern values") philosophy, which had originated from

2222-585: A military presence in Manchuria . On September 18, 1931, the Mukden Incident occurred. There was a small explosion on the tracks of a Japanese railway, north of Mukden . Japan invaded Manchuria in the aftermath. The Imperial Japanese Army mobilized the Kwantung Army and attacked Chinese troops. The Minseito government, headed by Hamaguchi's successor Wakatsuki Reijirō , was unable to curb

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2424-582: A mission sent to Japan to apologize for the Imo incident in 1882. He had been accompanied by Seo Gwang-beom and by Kim Ok-gyun, who later came under the influence of Japanese modernizers such as Fukuzawa Yukichi . Kim Ok-gyun, while studying in Japan, had also cultivated friendships with influential Japanese figures and became the de facto leader of the group. They were also strongly nationalistic and desired to make their country truly independent by ending Chinese interference in Korea's internal affairs. The Sadaedang

2626-531: A new queen for his son an orphaned girl from among the Yŏhŭng Min clan , which lacked powerful political connections. With Queen Min as his daughter-in-law and the royal consort, the Daewongun felt secure in his power. However, after she had become queen, Min recruited all her relatives and had them appointed to influential positions in the name of the king. The Queen also allied herself with political enemies of

2828-555: A powerful force in society. Mass education and conscription served as a means to indoctrinate the coming generation with "the idea of Japan" as a nation state instead of a series of daimyōs . In this way, loyalty to feudal domains was supplanted with loyalty to the central government. Industrialization and centralization gave the Japanese a strong sense that their country could once more rival and dominate Western powers technologically and socially. Moreover, successful foreign wars gave

3030-532: A sign of the West's desire to incorporate Japan into the imperialism that had been taking hold of the continent. Among other measures, they gave the Western nations unequivocal control of tariffs on imports and the right of extraterritoriality to all their visiting nationals. They would remain a sticking point in Japan's relations with the West up to the turn of the 20th century. Several missions were sent abroad by

3232-491: A site for the building of a new legation. Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi , in order to overcome Japan's disadvantageous position in Korea followed by the abortive coup, visited China to discuss the matter with his Chinese counterpart, Li Hongzhang. The two parties succeeded in concluding the Convention of Tianjin on May 31, 1885. They also pledged to withdraw their troops from Korea within four months, with prior notification to

3434-548: A subordinate status within the Chinese tributary system . Japan's generally constructive official diplomatic relationship with Joseon Korea allowed regular embassies ( Tongsinsa ) to be dispatched by Korea to Japan. Together with the brisk trade between Tsushima and Korea, as well as the presence of Japanese in the Busan wakan , Japan was able to access Chinese cultural, intellectual and technological developments throughout

3636-472: A threat to all Asians and that Asia could only survive by following the Japanese example. Japan had been the only Asian and non-Western power to industrialize itself successfully and rival great Western empires. While largely described by contemporary Western observers as a front for the expansion of the Japanese army, the idea behind the Co-Prosperity Sphere was that Asia would be united against

3838-514: A wave of anti-Chinese sentiment in Japan. A poor harvest in 1889 led the governor of Korea's Hamgyong Province to prohibit soybean exports to Japan. Japan requested and received compensation in 1893 for their importers. The incident highlighted the growing dependence Japan felt on Korean food imports. On March 28, 1894, a pro-Japanese Korean revolutionary, Kim Ok-gyun, was assassinated in Shanghai . Kim had fled to Japan after his involvement in

4040-530: Is a historical period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until his death on January 7, 1989 . It was preceded by the Taishō era and succeeded by the Heisei era . The pre-1945 and post-war Shōwa periods are almost completely different states: the pre-1945 Shōwa era (1926–1945) concerns the Empire of Japan , and post-1945 Shōwa era (1945–1989) concerns

4242-519: Is an issue of fierce debate between Chinese and Japanese historians. By 1939, the Japanese war effort had become a stalemate. The Japanese Army had seized most of the vital cities in China, including Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing, and Wuhan . The Nationalists and the Communists, however, fought on from Chongqing and Yenan , respectively. Negotiations for a German-Japanese alliance began in 1937 with

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4444-592: Is said to have spurred the imposition of sakoku was the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637–38, an uprising of 40,000 mostly Christian peasants. In the aftermath, the shogunate accused missionaries of instigating the rebellion, expelled them from the country, and strictly banned the religion on penalty of death. The remaining Japanese Christians, mostly in Nagasaki, formed underground communities and came to be called Kakure Kirishitan . All contact with

4646-537: The shōgun in Edo and at Osaka Castle . The policy ended after 1853 when the Perry Expedition commanded by Matthew C. Perry forced the opening of Japan to American (and by extension, Western) trade through a series of treaties , called the Convention of Kanagawa . No Japanese ship ... nor any native of Japan, shall presume to go out of the country; whoever acts contrary to this, shall die, and

4848-523: The Onra , or common jail of the town. The whole race of the Portuguese with their mothers, nurses and whatever belongs to them, shall be banished to Macao. Whoever presumes to bring a letter from abroad, or to return after he hath been banished, shall die with his family; also whoever presumes to intercede for him, shall be put to death. No nobleman nor any soldier shall be suffered to purchase anything from

5050-512: The Sadaedang faction. After the coup, the Gaehwadang members formed a new government and devised a program of reform. The radical 14-point reform proposal stated that the following conditions be met: an end to Korea's tributary relationship with China; the abolition of ruling-class privilege and the establishment of equal rights for all; the reorganization of the government as virtually

5252-498: The bakufu 's supremacy. This is consistent with the generally agreed rationale for the Tokugawa bakufu 's implementation of the system of alternate attendance, or sankin-kōtai . Directing trade predominantly through Nagasaki , which came under Toyotomi Hideyoshi 's control in 1587, would enable the bakufu, through taxes and levies, to bolster its own treasury. This was no small matter, as lack of wealth had limited both

5454-543: The Chinese concession of Incheon . During the 1880s two rival factions emerged in Korea. One was a small group of reformers that had centered around the Gaehwadang (Enlightenment Party), which had become frustrated at the limited scale and arbitrary pace of reforms. The members who constituted the Enlightenment Party were well-educated Koreans and most were from the yangban class. They were impressed by

5656-509: The Convention of Kanagawa in response to demands made by Commodore Perry in 1854. Trade prospered during the sakoku period, and though relations and trade were restricted to certain ports, the country was far from closed. Even as the shogunate expelled the Portuguese, they simultaneously engaged in discussions with Dutch and Korean representatives to ensure that the overall volume of trade did not suffer. Thus, it has become increasingly common in scholarship in recent decades to refer to

5858-560: The Daewongun initiated a set of reforms designed to strengthen the monarchy at the expense of the Yangban class. He also pursued an isolationist policy and was determined to purge the kingdom of any foreign ideas that had infiltrated into the nation. In Korean history, the king's in-laws enjoyed great power, consequently the Daewongun acknowledged that any future daughters-in-law might threaten his authority. Therefore, he attempted to prevent any possible threat to his rule by selecting as

6060-532: The Daewongun , so that by late 1873 she had mobilized enough influence to oust him from power. In October 1873, when the Confucian scholar Choe Ik-hyeon submitted a memorial to King Gojong urging him to rule in his own right, Queen Min seized the opportunity to force her father-in-law's retirement as regent. The departure of the Daewongun led to Korea's abandonment of its isolationist policy. On February 26, 1876, after Japanese troops attacked Korean forces in

6262-778: The Dutch East Indies ( Indonesia ). Thailand managed to stay independent by becoming a satellite state of Japan. On 13 April 1941, the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact was signed. In December 1941 to May 1942, Japan sank major elements of the American, British and Dutch fleets, captured Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies, and reached the borders of India and Australia. Japan suddenly had achieved its goal of ruling

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6464-430: The Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and almost all foreign nationals were banned from entering Japan, while common Japanese people were kept from leaving the country. The policy was enacted by the shogunate government ( bakufu ) under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633 to 1639. The term sakoku originates from

6666-553: The Edo period . At the time of the promulgation of the strictest versions of the maritime prohibitions, the Ming dynasty had lost control of much of China and it was unnecessary, and perhaps undesirable, for Japan to pursue official diplomatic relations with either of the Ming or the Qing governments while the issue of imperial legitimacy was unsettled. Japan was able to acquire the imported goods it required through intermediary trade with

6868-654: The Ganghwa Island incident , the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876 was signed, opening Korea to Japanese trade. In 1880, the King sent a mission to Japan that was headed by Kim Hong-jip , an enthusiastic observer of the reforms taking place there. While in Japan, the Chinese diplomat Huang Zunxian presented him with a study called "A Strategy for Korea" ( Chinese : 朝鮮策略 ; pinyin : Cháoxiǎn cèlüè ). It warned of

7070-651: The Great War in France . In the presence of such devastation, I understand the blessing of peace and the necessity of concord among nations. The election of Katō Takaaki as the Prime Minister of Japan continued democratic reforms that had been advocated by influential individuals on the left. This culminated in the passage of universal adult male suffrage in May 1925. General Election Law gave all male subjects over

7272-593: The Imperial General Headquarters tolerated many atrocities against local populations , such as the experimentations of Unit 731 , the sankō sakusen , the use of chemical and biological weapons , and civilian massacres such as those in Nanjing , Singapore and Manila . Some of the atrocities were motivated by racism. For instance, Japanese soldiers were taught to think of captured Chinese as not worthy of mercy. On July 7, 1937, at

7474-571: The Russian Revolution were subsequently crushed and scattered. This was in part due to the Peace Preservation Act, but also due to the general fragmentation of the left. Conservatives forced the passage of the Peace Preservation Law because the party leaders and politicians of the Taishō era had felt that, after World War I , the state was in danger from revolutionary movements. The Japanese state never clearly defined

7676-551: The Ryūkyū Islands and Korea, the clans in charge of trade built trading towns outside Japanese territory where commerce actually took place. Due to the necessity for Japanese subjects to travel to and from these trading posts, this resembled something of an outgoing trade, with Japanese subjects making regular contact with foreign traders in essentially extraterritorial land. Commerce with Chinese and Dutch traders in Nagasaki took place on an island called Dejima , separated from

7878-875: The Ryūkyū Kingdom ), where the Dutch East India Company was also permitted to operate. The Matsumae clan domain in Hokkaidō (then called Ezo ) traded with the Ainu people . Through the Sō clan daimyō of Tsushima, there were relations with Joseon -dynasty Korea. Ryūkyū, a semi-independent kingdom for nearly all of the Edo period, was controlled by the Shimazu clan daimyō of Satsuma Domain . Tashiro Kazui has shown that trade between Japan and these entities

8080-808: The State of Japan . Before 1945, Japan moved into political totalitarianism, ultranationalism and statism , culminating in Japan's invasion of China in 1937, part of a global period of social upheavals and conflicts such as the Great Depression and the Pacific War . Defeat in the Pacific War brought about radical change in Japan. For the first and only time in its history, Japan was occupied by foreign powers , an American-led occupation which lasted for six years and eight months. Allied occupation brought forth sweeping democratic reforms. It led to

8282-617: The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers ; he and his staff exerted wide but indirect power, for the decisions were carried out by Japanese officials. A War Crimes Tribunal , similar to that at Nuremberg , was set up in Tokyo. On 3 May 1946, the prosecution began of Japanese military leaders for war crimes. Several prominent members of the Japanese cabinet were executed, most notably former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo . But

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8484-577: The Treaty of Chemulpo , signed on the evening of August 30, 1882. The agreement specified that the Korean conspirators would be punished and ¥ 50,000 would be paid to the families of slain Japanese. The Japanese government would also receive ¥500,000, a formal apology, and permission to station troops at their diplomatic legation in Seoul. In the aftermath of rebellion, the Daewongun was accused of fomenting

8686-652: The Western powers under the auspices of the Japanese. The idea drew influence in the paternalistic aspects of Confucianism and Koshitsu Shinto . Thus, the main goal of the Sphere was the hakkō ichiu , the unification of the eight corners of the world under the rule ( kōdō ) of the Emperor. The reality during this period differed from the propaganda. Some nationalities and ethnic groups were marginalized, and during rapid military expansion into foreign countries,

8888-522: The bakufu , in order to learn about Western civilization, revise treaties, and delay the opening of cities and harbours to foreign trade. A Japanese Embassy to the United States was sent in 1860, on board the Kanrin Maru . In the 1861 Tsushima Incident , a Russian fleet tried to force open a harbour not officially opened to foreign trade with foreign countries, but it was repelled with

9090-579: The economic collapse brought new hardship to the people of Japan. Silk and rice prices plummeted and exports decreased 50%. Unemployment in both the cities and the countryside skyrocketed and social agitation came to a head. Meanwhile, the London Naval Treaty was ratified in 1930. Its purpose was to extend the Washington Treaty System. The Japanese government had desired to raise their ratio to 10:10:7, but this proposal

9292-484: The unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki two months later, ending the war. In the late 19th century, Korea remained one of China's tributary states , while Japan viewed it as its first target of expansion. In June 1894, the Qing government, at the request of the Korean emperor Gojong , sent 2,800 troops to aid in suppressing the Donghak Peasant Revolution . The Japanese considered this a violation of

9494-411: The "crass" materialism of the West. In practice, however, the Japanese installed organizationally-minded bureaucrats and engineers to run their annexed territories, and they believed in ideals of efficiency, modernization, and engineering solutions to social problems. It was fascism based on technology and rejected Western norms of democracy. After 1945, the engineers and bureaucrats took over and turned

9696-459: The 1884 coup, and the Japanese had turned down Korean demands for him to be extradited. Many Japanese activists saw in him potential for a future role in Korean modernization; however, Meiji government leaders were more cautious. After some reservations, they exiled him to the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands . Ultimately, he was lured to Shanghai, where he was killed by a Korean, Hong Jong-u , in his room at

9898-650: The 1885 Convention of Tientsin , and sent an expeditionary force of 8,000 troops, which landed at Chemulpo , moved to Seoul , seized the emperor, and set up a pro-Japanese government on 23 July 1894. The Qing government decided to withdraw its troops but rejected recognition of the pro-Japanese government, which granted the Imperial Japanese Army the right to expel the Chinese Huai Army from Korea. About 20,000 Chinese troops still remained in Korea and could be supplied only by sea; on 25 July,

10100-483: The 18th century, but they came to nothing. Later on, the sakoku policy was the main safeguard against the total depletion of Japanese mineral resources—such as silver and copper—to the outside world. However, while silver exportation through Nagasaki was controlled by the shogunate to the point of stopping all exportation, the exportation of silver through Korea continued in relatively high quantities. The way Japan kept abreast of Western technology during this period

10302-533: The 8-mm single-shot Murata Type 18 breech-loading rifle . The improved eight-round- magazine Type 22 was just being introduced and consequently in 1894, on the eve of the war, only the Imperial Guard and 4th Division were equipped with these rifles. The division artillery consisted of 75-mm field guns and mountain pieces manufactured in Osaka . The artillery was based on Krupp designs that were adapted by

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10504-445: The American demands. ...we cannot let the present situation continue. If we miss the present opportunity to go to war, we will have to submit to American dictation. Therefore, I recognize that it is inevitable that we must decide to start a war against the United States. I will put my trust in what I have been told: namely, that things will go well in the early part of the war; and that although we will experience increasing difficulties as

10706-461: The Americans. Finally, the death agony of the Empire of Japan came in August 1945. On August 6, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima , instantly killing approximately 70,000 people when the attack took place (plus another estimated 130,000 by 1960 due to after-effects). On August 8, the Soviet invasion of Manchuria began. The following day, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki , killing approximately 40,000 people. These attacks with

10908-448: The Bay of Edo ( Tokyo ) and displayed the threatening power of his ships' Paixhans guns . He demanded that Japan open to trade with the United States. These ships became known as the kurofune , the Black Ships . The following year, at the Convention of Kanagawa (March 31, 1854), Perry returned with eight ships and forced the Shogun to sign the " Treaty of Peace and Amity ", establishing formal diplomatic relations between Japan and

11110-419: The Chinese diplomat Ma Jianzhong . A staff of Chinese officers also took over the training of the army, providing the Koreans with 1,000 rifles, two cannons, and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. Furthermore, the Chingunyeong (Capital Guards Command), a new Korean military formation, was created and trained along Chinese lines by Yuan Shikai . In October, the two countries signed a treaty stipulating that Korea

11312-413: The Chinese for trial. Nationalistic groups immediately began to call for war with China. Tensions ran high between China and Japan, but war was not yet inevitable, and the fury in Japan over Kim's assassination began to dissipate. However, in late April, the Donghak Rebellion erupted in Korea. Korean peasants rose up in open rebellion against oppressive taxation and incompetent financial administration of

11514-412: The Chinese government in suppressing the Donghak Rebellion. Although the rebellion was not as serious as it had initially seemed and so the Chinese forces were not necessary, the decision was made to send 2,500 men under the command of General Ye Zhichao to the harbor of Asan , about 70 km (43 mi) from Seoul. The troops destined for Korea sailed on board three British-owned steamers chartered by

11716-401: The Chinese government, arriving at Asan on June 9. On June 25, a further 400 troops had arrived. Consequently, by the end of June, Ye Zhichao had about 2,800–2,900 soldiers under his command at Asan. Closely watching the events on the peninsula, the Japanese government had quickly become convinced that the rebellion would lead to Chinese intervention in Korea. As a result, soon after learning of

11918-439: The Chinese troops camped at Asan. Simultaneously, a reinforced brigade of approximately 8,000 troops (the Oshima Composite Brigade), under the command of General Ōshima Yoshimasa , was also dispatched to Chemulpo by June 27. According to the Japanese, the Chinese government had violated the Convention of Tientsin by not informing the Japanese government of its decision to send troops, but the Chinese claimed that Japan had approved

12120-425: The Chinese troops stationed in Korea were withdrawn. On December 4, 1884, with the help of Japanese minister Takezoe Shinichiro who promised to mobilize Japanese legation guards to provide assistance, the reformers staged their coup under the guise of a banquet hosted by Hong Yeong-sik, the director of the General Postal Administration. The banquet was to celebrate the opening of the new national post office. King Gojong

12322-523: The Dutch and through the Ryukyu Islands . The Japanese actually encouraged the Ryūkyū Kingdom 's rulers to maintain a tributary relationship with China, even though the Shimazu clan had surreptitiously established great political influence in the Ryukyu Islands. The Qing became much more open to trade after it had defeated the Ming loyalists in Taiwan, and thus Japan's rulers felt even less need to establish official relations with China. Liberalizing challenges to sakoku came from within Japan's elite in

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12524-476: The Emperor Hirohito was neither tried at the Tokyo trials nor dethroned, nor any members of the imperial family . Instead, under the Post-war Constitution , the Japanese Emperor was reduced to a figurehead nominal monarch without divine characteristics and is forbidden to play a role in politics. Douglas MacArthur sought to break the power of the zaibatsu ; Japan was democratized and liberalized along American " New Deal " liberal lines. Parliamentary party politics

12726-437: The Empire of Japan. One solution was war. During the first part of the Shōwa era, racial discrimination against other Asians was habitual in Imperial Japan, having begun with the start of Japanese colonialism. The Shōwa regime thus preached racial superiority and racialist theories, based on sacred nature of the Yamato-damashii . One of Emperor Shōwa's teachers, historian Kurakichi Shiratori, remarked, "Therefore nothing in

12928-469: The German-Prussian model as the basis for its army, adopting German doctrines and the German military system and organisation. In 1885 Jacob Meckel, a German adviser, implemented new measures, such as the reorganization of the command structure into divisions and regiments; the strengthening of army logistics, transportation, and structures (thereby increasing mobility); and the establishment of artillery and engineering regiments as independent commands. It

13130-407: The Great Powers met to set limits on naval armament. The Five Power Naval Limitation Agreement worked out in Washington limited competition in battleships and aircraft carriers to a ratio of 5:5:3 (in terms of tonnage) for the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan respectively. Japanese ultra-nationalists viewed this as an attempt by Western powers to curb Japanese expansionism in an area of

13332-420: The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The ideology of Japan's colonial empire, as it expanded dramatically during the war, contained two somewhat contradictory impulses. On the one hand, it preached the unity of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere , a coalition of Asian nations, directed by Japan, against Western imperialism . This approach celebrated the spiritual values of the East in opposition to

13534-411: The Italians at the beginning of the 1880s; although it could hardly be described as modern in 1894, in general it still matched contemporary battlefield requirements. By the 1890s, Japan had at its disposal a modern, professionally trained Western-style army which was relatively well equipped and supplied. Its officers had studied in Europe and were well educated in the latest strategy and tactics . By

13736-406: The Japanese Army invaded Manchuria, and captured Port Arthur on 21 November. Japan next captured Weihaiwei on the Shandong Peninsula on 12 February 1895. This gave them control over the approaches to Beijing, and the Qing court began negotiations with Japan in early March. The war concluded with the Treaty of Shimonoseki on 17 April, which required China to pay a massive indemnity and to cede

13938-446: The Japanese Navy sank the steamer Kow-shing , which was carrying 1,200 Chinese reinforcements. A declaration of war followed on 1 August. Following the Battle of Pyongyang on 15 September, the Chinese troops retreated to Manchuria, allowing the Japanese to take over Korea. Two days later, the Beiyang Fleet suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of the Yalu River , with its surviving ships retreating to Port Arthur. In October 1894,

14140-521: The Japanese government took that as an outrageous affront. Kim Ok-gyun's brutal murder was portrayed as a betrayal by Li Hongzhang and a setback for Japan's stature and dignity. The Chinese authorities refused to press charges against the assassin, and he was even allowed to accompany Kim's mutilated body back to Korea, where he was showered with rewards and honors. Kim's assassination had also called Japan's commitment to its Korean supporters into question. The police in Tokyo had foiled an earlier attempt during

14342-402: The Japanese legation, where Hanabusa Yoshitada the minister to Korea and twenty seven members of the legation resided. The mob surrounded the legation shouting its intention of killing all the Japanese inside. Hanabusa gave orders to burn the legation and important documents were set on fire. As the flames quickly spread, the members of the legation escaped through a rear gate, where they fled to

14544-442: The Japanese minister Takezoe. From there they boarded a Japanese ship for exile in Japan. In January 1885, with a show of force the Japanese dispatched two battalions and seven warships to Korea, which resulted in the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1885 , signed on 9 January 1885. The treaty restored diplomatic relations between Japan and Korea. The Koreans also agreed to pay the Japanese ¥ 100,000 for damages to their legation and to provide

14746-467: The Japanese to be able to separate religion and trade, while their Iberian counterparts were looked upon with much suspicion. The Dutch, eager to take over trade from the Spanish and Portuguese, had no problems reinforcing this view. The number of Christians in Japan had been steadily rising due to the efforts of missionaries, such as Francis Xavier and daimyō converts. The direct trigger which

14948-529: The Joseon government. It was the largest peasant rebellion in Korean history. However, on June 1, rumors reached the Donghaks that the Chinese and Japanese were on the verge of sending troops and so the rebels agreed to a ceasefire to remove any grounds for foreign intervention. On June 2, the Japanese cabinet decided to send troops to Korea if China did the same. In May, the Chinese had taken steps to prepare for

15150-455: The Korean government's request for Chinese military help, all Japanese warships in the vicinity were immediately ordered to Pusan and Chemulpo. By June 9, Japanese warships had consecutively called at Chemulpo and Pusan. A formation of 420 sailors, selected from the crews of warships anchored in Chempulo, was immediately dispatched to Seoul, where they served as a temporary counterbalance to

15352-486: The Korean government. When Korea demanded that Japan withdraw its troops from Korea, the Japanese refused. In July 1894, the 8,000 Japanese troops captured the Korean king Gojong and occupied the Gyeongbokgung in Seoul. By July 25, they had replaced the existing Korean government with members of the pro-Japanese faction. Even though Qing forces were already leaving Korea after they found themselves unneeded there,

15554-753: The Marco Polo Bridge, the Japanese Kwantung army stationed there used explosions heard on the Chinese side of Manchuria as a pretext for invasion. The invasion led to a large-scale war known as the Second Sino-Japanese War approved by the Emperor that was called a "holy war" ( Seisen ) in Imperial propaganda . At the time, China was divided internally between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which

15756-469: The Ming implementing Haijin from 1371. Unlike sakoku , foreign influences outside East Asia were banned by the Chinese and Koreans as well, while Rangaku allowed Western ideas other than Christianity to be studied in Japan. China was forced to open up in the Treaty of Nanking and in subsequent treaties, following its defeat in the First Opium War . Joseon, which had developed a reputation as

15958-543: The Nations for his actions. The withdrawal from the League of Nations meant that Japan was politically isolated. Japan had no strong allies and its actions had been internationally condemned , whilst internally popular nationalism was booming. Local leaders, such as mayors, teachers, and Shinto priests were recruited by the various movements to indoctrinate the populace with ultra-nationalist ideals. They had little time for

16160-778: The Netherlands, threatening to restrict the supply of vital materials to the Japanese war machine, especially oil, steel and money. The Japanese army, after sharp defeats by the Russians in Mongolia , wanted to avoid war with the Soviet Union, even though it would have aided the German war against the USSR . The Emperor became fatalistic about going to war, as the military assumed more and more control. Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe

16362-491: The Philippines, Malaysia , Papua New Guinea , French Indochina , Burma and many Pacific islands . The decisive naval/aerial Battle of Midway took place in early June 1942. That changed the momentum of the war. Japan was put on the defensive as the Americans pursued their policy of island hopping . Tokyo was repeatedly firebombed in 1945 and in the early spring and summer of 1945, Iwo Jima and Okinawa were seized by

16564-493: The Philippines, and 50 percent of military fatalities in China. The aerial bombing of a total of 69 Japanese cities appears to have taken a minimum of 400,000 and possibly closer to 600,000 civilian lives (over 100,000 in Tokyo alone, over 200,000 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined, and 80,000–150,000 civilian deaths in the battle of Okinawa). Civilian deaths among settlers who died attempting to return to Japan from Manchuria in

16766-573: The Spanish and Portuguese were invading and colonising in the New World , and thought that Japan would soon become one of the many countries in their possession. Protestant English and Dutch traders reinforced this perception by accusing the Spanish and Portuguese missionaries of spreading the religion systematically, as part of a claimed policy of culturally dominating and colonizing Asian countries. The Dutch and English were generally seen by

16968-444: The Spanish there led to increasing hostility from the Tokugawa as well. The motivations for the gradual strengthening of the maritime prohibitions during the early 17th century should be considered within the context of the Tokugawa bakufu 's domestic agenda. One element of this agenda was to acquire sufficient control over Japan's foreign policy so as to not only guarantee social peace, but also to maintain Tokugawa supremacy over

17170-514: The Tokugawa bakufu . Once the remnants of the Toyotomi clan had been defeated in 1615, Tokugawa Hidetada turned his attention to the sole remaining credible challenge to Tokugawa supremacy. Religious challenges to central authority were taken seriously by the bakufu as ecclesiastical challenges by armed Buddhist monks were common during the sengoku period. The Empress Meishō (r. 1629–43) also had grave doubts when she heard about how

17372-517: The U.S. president in a letter that Korea had special status as a tributary state of China. The treaty between the Korean government and the United States became the model for all treaties between it and other Western countries. Korea later signed similar trade and commerce treaties with Britain and Germany in 1883, with Italy and Russia in 1884, and with France in 1886. Subsequently, commercial treaties were concluded with other European countries. After 1879, China's relations with Korea came under

17574-498: The United States and dropped Japanese immigrants to the level of other Asians (who were already excluded). The overwhelming reaction in Japan, both at the highest levels and in mass rallies that reflected angry public opinion, was hostile and sustained. Commentators suggested the opening guns of a race war and called for a new buildup of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces . The Shōwa financial crisis

17776-458: The United States. After negotiations through Chinese mediation in Tianjin, the Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce, and Navigation was formally signed between the United States and Korea in Incheon on May 22, 1882. However, there were two significant issues raised by the treaty. The first concerned Korea's status as an independent nation. During the talks with the Americans, the Chinese insisted that

17978-709: The United States. The United Kingdom signed the Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty at the end of 1854. Between 1852 and 1855, Admiral Yevfimiy Putyatin of the Russian Navy made several attempts to obtain from the Shogun favourable trade terms for Russia. In June 1853, he brought to Nagasaki Bay a letter from the Foreign Minister Karl Nesselrode and demonstrated to Tanaka Hisashige a steam engine, probably

18180-495: The Western powers. These reforms transformed Japan from a feudal society into a modern industrial state. The Meiji government focused on strengthening the military, adopting Western-style training and technology, which led to the establishing of a powerful navy and a well-equipped army. Furthermore, Japan's economic infrastructure saw significant improvements, including the development of railways, telegraph lines, and modern factories, which led to rapid industrial growth and enhanced

18382-412: The advocates of this school of thought sought piecemeal adoptions of institutions that would strengthen the state while preserving the basic social, political, and cultural order. Through the ascendancy of Queen Min to the throne, the Min clan had also been able to use newly created government institutions as bases for political power; subsequently with their growing monopoly of key positions they frustrated

18584-405: The age of 25 the right to vote, provided they had lived in their electoral districts for at least one year and were not homeless. The electorate thereby nearly quadrupled in size, from 3.3 million to 12.5 million. However the forces of reaction grew more powerful and steadily; after 1925 there was a retreat from reform, liberal policies and democracy. Pressure from the conservative right forced

18786-481: The agreement was not a treaty but was in effect issued as a regulation for a vassal. Additionally, during the following year, the Chinese supervised the creation of a Korean Maritime Customs Service, headed by von Möllendorff. Korea was reduced to a semi-colonial tributary state of China with King Gojong unable to appoint diplomats without Chinese approval, and with troops stationed in the country to protect Chinese interests. China also obtained concessions in Korea, notably

18988-510: The ambitions of the Enlightenment Party. In the two years preceding the Imo incident, the members of the Gaehwadang had failed to secure appointments to vital offices in the government and were unable to implement their reform plans. As a consequence they were prepared to seize power by any means necessary. In 1884, an opportunity to seize power by staging a coup d'état against the Sadaedang presented itself. In August, as hostilities between France and China erupted over Annam , half of

19190-403: The army to quell the rebellion but it had become too late to suppress the mutiny. The original body of mutineers had been swelled by the poor and disaffected citizenry of the city; as a result the revolt had assumed major proportions. The rioters now turned their attention to the Japanese. One group headed to Lieutenant Horimoto's quarters and killed him. Another group, some 3,000 strong, headed for

19392-451: The army's offensive. The Kwantung Army conquered all of Manchuria and set up the puppet state of Manchukuo on March 1, 1932. The last Emperor of China , Puyi , was installed as the puppet ruler of Manchukuo. The Diet, now dominated by army officials, voted to withdraw from the League of Nations . The first seeds of the coming conflict had been sown. Prior to 1868, most Japanese more readily identified with their feudal domain rather than

19594-579: The arts of gunnery and seamanship. At the start of hostilities, the Imperial Japanese Navy was composed of a fleet of 12 modern warships, (the protected cruiser Izumi being added during the war), eight corvettes , one ironclad warship , 26 torpedo boats , and numerous auxiliary/armed merchant cruisers and converted liners . During peacetime, the warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy were divided among three main naval bases at Yokosuka , Kure and Sasebo and following mobilization,

19796-685: The authority of Li Hongzhang, who had emerged as one of the most influential figures in China after playing an important role during the Taiping Rebellion , and was also an advocate of the Self-Strengthening Movement . In 1879, Li was appointed as governor-general of Zhili Province and the imperial commissioner for the northern ports. He was in charge of China's Korea policy and urged Korean officials to adopt China's own self-strengthening program to strengthen their country in response to foreign threats, to which King Gojong

19998-413: The city by a narrow strait; foreigners could not enter Nagasaki from Dejima, nor could Japanese civilians enter Dejima without special permission or authorization. For the island's inhabitants, conditions on Dejima were humiliating; the police of Nagasaki could harass them at will, and at all times a strong Japanese guard was stationed on the narrow bridge to the mainland in order to prevent them from leaving

20200-516: The classical tradition in China, suffered a major blow. The loss of Korea as a tributary state sparked an unprecedented public outcry. Within China, the defeat was a catalyst for a series of political upheavals led by Sun Yat-sen and Kang Youwei , culminating in the 1911 Revolution and ultimate end of dynastic rule in China . The war is commonly known in China as the War of Jiawu ( Chinese : 甲午戰爭 ; pinyin : Jiǎwǔ Zhànzhēng ), referring to

20402-480: The country was opened to trade by the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. In the years following the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and the fall of the shogunate , the newly formed Meiji government embarked on reforms to centralize and modernize Japan. The Japanese had sent delegations and students around the world to learn and assimilate Western arts and sciences, with the intention of making Japan an equal to

20604-428: The country's military capabilities. During the same period, the Qing dynasty also attempted to implement reforms in response to internal rebellions and external threats. The Self-Strengthening Movement (1861-1895) aimed to modernize China's military and industry by adopting Western technology and military techniques. However, the movement faced significant challenges, including bureaucratic resistance, corruption, and

20806-567: The country, the Koreans had invited the Japanese military attaché Lieutenant Horimoto Reizō to serve as an adviser in creating a modern army. A new military formation called the Pyŏlgigun (Special Skills Force) was established, in which eighty to one hundred young men of the aristocracy were to be given Japanese military training. The following year, in January 1882, the government also reorganized

21008-526: The country. In 1882, the Korean Peninsula experienced a severe drought which led to food shortages, causing much hardship and discord among the population. Korea was on the verge of bankruptcy, even falling months behind on military pay, causing deep resentment among the soldiers. There was also resentment towards the Pyŏlgigun on the part of the soldiers of the regular Korean army, as the formation

21210-469: The court and was carried on the back of a faithful guard who claimed she was his sister. The Daewongun used the incident to reassert his power. The Chinese then deployed about 4,500 troops to Korea, under General Wu Changqing, which effectively regained control and quelled the rebellion. In response, the Japanese also sent four warships and a battalion of troops to Seoul to safeguard Japanese interests and demand reparations. However, tensions subsided with

21412-573: The creation of a Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere . Indeed, the Second Sino-Japanese War fueled the need for oil that could be found in the Dutch East Indies . After the Imperial General Headquarters refused to remove its troops from China (excluding Manchukuo ) and French Indochina , U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced in July 1941 an oil embargo on Japan. The Imperial Japanese Navy , increasingly threatened by

21614-486: The decision. The Japanese countered by sending an expeditionary force to Korea. The first 400 troops arrived on June 9 en route to Seoul , and 3,000 landed at Incheon on June 12. However, Japanese officials denied any intention to intervene. As a result, the Qing viceroy Li Hongzhang "was lured into believing that Japan would not wage war, but the Japanese were fully prepared to act". The Qing government turned down Japan's suggestion for Japan and China to co-operate to reform

21816-512: The developments in Meiji Japan and were eager to emulate them. Members included Kim Ok-gyun , Pak Yung-hio , Hong Yeong-sik , Seo Gwang-beom , and Soh Jaipil . The group was also relatively young; Pak Yung-hio came from a prestigious lineage related to the royal family and was 23, Hong was 29, Seo Gwang-beom was 25, and Soh Jaipil was 20, with Kim Ok-gyun being the oldest at 33. All had spent some time in Japan; Pak Yung-hio had been part of

22018-455: The early 1880s was weak, as a result of internal peasant uprisings and samurai rebellions during the previous decade. The country was also struggling financially, with inflation as a result of these internal factors. Subsequently, the Meiji government adopted a passive policy, encouraging the Korean court to follow the Japanese model but offering little concrete assistance except for the dispatch of

22220-408: The era name Meiwa ( 明和 ) during the Edo period in the late-18th century. There were two other candidates at the time – Dōwa ( 同和 ) and Genka ( 元化 ). The term could be roughly understood as meaning "enlightened peace" or in some interpretations "radiant Japan". In his enthronement address which was read to the people, the Emperor referenced this era name : I have visited the battlefields of

22422-518: The eve of hostilities, was generally cautious and even apprehensive, as the navy had not yet received the warships ordered in February 1893, particularly the battleships Fuji and Yashima and the protected cruiser Akashi . Hence, initiating hostilities at the time was not ideal, and the navy was far less confident than the army about the outcome of a war with China. Many of Japan's major warships were built in British and French shipyards (eight British, three French and two Japanese-built) and 16 of

22624-599: The existing five-army garrison structure into the Muwiyŏng (Palace Guards Garrison) and the Changŏyŏng (Capital Guards Garrison). During the 1880s, discussions in Japan about national security focused on the issue of Korean reform. The political discourse over the two were interlinked; as the German military adviser Major Jacob Meckel stated, Korea was "a dagger pointed at the heart of Japan". What made Korea of strategic concern

22826-611: The field. Supply issues and a general lack of preparedness for a sustained war would routinely delay operations and slow down the Japanese field armies as seen in the Yingkou Campaign , troops often had to forage or steal from the local populace and medicine and winter clothing was often in short supply during the latter stages of the war. The Japanese Army also possessed a large amount of coastal guns at key locations which could be used for siege operations, these weapons were as follows: The prevailing view in many Western circles

23028-417: The first ever seen in Japan. His efforts culminated in the signing of the Treaty of Shimoda in February 1855. Within five years, Japan had signed similar treaties with other western countries. The Harris Treaty was signed with the United States on July 29, 1858. These " Ansei Treaties " were widely regarded by Japanese intellectuals as unequal, having been forced on Japan through gunboat diplomacy , and as

23230-643: The focus of the nationalist movement in Japan. Japanese nationalism was buoyed by a romantic concept of Bushidō and driven by a modern concern for rapid industrial development and strategic dominance in East Asia . It saw the Triple Intervention of 1895 as a threat to Japanese success in East Asia and warned that the " ABCD Powers " (America, Britain , China , and the Dutch ), were threatening

23432-446: The foreign relations policy of the period not as sakoku , implying a totally secluded, isolated , and "closed" country, but by the term kaikin ( 海禁 , "maritime prohibitions") used in documents at the time, and derived from the similar Chinese concept haijin . During the sakoku period, Japan traded with five entities, through four "gateways". The largest was the private Chinese trade at Nagasaki (who also traded with

23634-399: The foreigner. It is conventionally regarded that the shogunate imposed and enforced the sakoku policy in order to remove the colonial and religious influence of primarily Spain and Portugal , which were perceived as posing a threat to the stability of the shogunate and to peace in the archipelago . The increasing number of Catholic converts in southern Japan (mainly Kyūshū )

23836-467: The formal end of the emperor's status as a demigod and the transformation of Japan from a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system with a liberal democracy . In 1952, with the Treaty of San Francisco , Japan became a sovereign state again. The postwar Shōwa period was characterized by the Japanese economic miracle . The Shōwa era

24038-608: The globe over which they had no interest. However, those in power in Japan readily agreed to the disarmament, realizing that the global taste for war had been soured after the First World War and knowing that, the ratio was sufficient to maintain hegemony in the Pacific. In 1924, however, friendly U.S.–Japanese relations were torpedoed by the Immigration Act of 1924 . The act closed off Japanese immigration to

24240-665: The government launched administrative reforms and established the T'ongni kimu amun (Office for Extraordinary State Affairs) which was modeled on Chinese administrative structures. Under this overarching organization, twelve sa or agencies were created. In 1881, a technical mission was sent to Japan to survey its modernized facilities. Officials traveled all over Japan inspecting administrative, military, educational, and industrial facilities. In October, another small group went to Tianjin to study modern weapons manufacturing, and Chinese technicians were invited to manufacture weapons in Seoul. Additionally, as part of their plan to modernize

24442-468: The harbor and boarded a boat which took them down the Han River to Chemulpo . Taking refuge with the Incheon commandant, they were again forced to flee after word arrived of the events in Seoul and the attitude of their hosts changed. They escaped to the harbor during heavy rain and were pursued by Korean soldiers. Six Japanese were killed, while another five were seriously wounded. The survivors carrying

24644-636: The help of the British. An Embassy to Europe was sent in 1862, and a Second Embassy to Europe in 1863. Japan also sent a delegation and participated to the 1867 World Fair in Paris. Other missions, distinct from those of the Shogunate, were also sent to Europe, such as the Chōshū Five , and missions by the fief of Satsuma . China under the Ming and Qing dynasties as well as Joseon had implemented isolationist policies before Japan did, starting with

24846-525: The idea of "Japan" as a whole. When the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown, the leaders of the revolt, Satsuma and Chōshū , were ideologically opposed to the house of Tokugawa since the Battle of Sekigahara . The Meiji era changed all of that. With the introduction of mass education , conscription , industrialization , centralization , and successful foreign wars, Japanese nationalism began to foment as

25048-580: The ideas of moderate Chinese reformers who had emphasized the need to maintain the perceived superior cultural values and heritage of the Sino-centric world while recognizing the importance of acquiring and adopting Western technology, particularly military technology, in order to preserve autonomy. Hence, rather than major institutional reforms such as the adoption of new values such as legal equality or introducing modern education like in Meiji Japan,

25250-417: The importation of "civilization" from the West. Korea required a program of self-strengthening like the post-Restoration reforms that were enacted in Japan. The Japanese interest in the reform of Korea was not purely altruistic. Not only would these reforms enable Korea to resist foreign intrusion, which was in Japan's direct interest, but through being a conduit of change they would also have opportunity to play

25452-426: The island of Formosa (Taiwan) to Japan. Japan also gained a predominant position in Korea. The war demonstrated the failure of the Qing dynasty's attempts to modernize its military and fend off threats to its sovereignty, especially when compared with Japan's successful Meiji Restoration . For the first time, regional dominance in East Asia shifted from China to Japan; the prestige of the Qing dynasty, along with

25654-467: The island. Many isolated attempts to end Japan's seclusion were made by expanding Western powers during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. American, Russian and French ships all attempted to engage in a relationship with Japan but were rejected. These largely unsuccessful attempts continued until July 8, 1853, when Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S. Navy with four warships : Mississippi , Plymouth , Saratoga , and Susquehanna steamed into

25856-431: The loss of its oil supplies, insisted on a decision, warning the alternatives were a high risk war, that Japan might lose, or a certain descent into third class status and a loss of China and Manchuria. Officially the Emperor made the decision, but he was told by a key civilian official on 5 November 1941: it is impossible, from the standpoint of our domestic political situation and of our self-preservation, to accept all of

26058-470: The manuscript work Sakoku-ron ( 鎖國論 ) written by Japanese astronomer and translator Shizuki Tadao in 1801. Shizuki invented the word while translating the works of the 17th-century German traveller Engelbert Kaempfer namely, his book, 'the history of Japan', posthumously released in 1727. Japan was not completely isolated under the sakoku policy. Sakoku was a system in which strict regulations were placed on commerce and foreign relations by

26260-477: The mobilization of their forces in the provinces of Zhili, Shandong and in Manchuria as a result of the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula. However, those actions were planned more as an armed demonstration to strengthen the Chinese position in Korea than as preparation for war against Japan. On June 3, King Gojong, on the recommendation of the Min clan and at the insistence of Yuan Shikai, requested aid from

26462-486: The navy was composed of five divisions of seagoing warships and three flotillas of torpedo boats with a fourth being formed at the beginning of hostilities. The Japanese also had a relatively large merchant navy , which at the beginning of 1894 consisted of 288 vessels. Of these, 66 belonged to the Nippon Yusen Kaisha shipping company, which received national subsidies from the Japanese government to maintain

26664-538: The new atomic weapons were a surprise. Japan lacked any atomic bomb technology and could not counter it. The government of the Empire of Japan (Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki ) surrendered on August 14. The official surrender ceremony was held on September 2. Total Japanese military fatalities between 1937 and 1945 were 2.1 million; most came in the last year of the war. Starvation or malnutrition-related illness accounted for roughly 80 percent of Japanese military deaths in

26866-421: The new government lasted no longer than a few days. This was possibly inevitable, as the reformers were supported by no more than 140 Japanese troops who faced at least 1,500 Chinese garrisoned in Seoul, under the command of General Yuan Shikai. With the reform measures being a threat to her clan's power, Queen Min secretly requested military intervention from the Chinese. Consequently, within three days, even before

27068-493: The new pro-Japanese Korean government granted Japan the right to expel Qing forces, and Japan dispatched more troops to Korea. The Qing Empire rejected the new Korean government as illegitimate. Japanese reforms under the Meiji government gave significant priority to the creation of an effective modern national army and navy, especially naval construction. Japan sent numerous military officials abroad for training and evaluation of

27270-458: The next six months, the Japanese had the initiative and went on the offensive. Hong Kong was overrun on December 8, 1941. By the summer of 1942, the Japanese had conquered Burma , Siam , the Dutch East Indies , and the Philippines . The Empire of Japan was one of the largest in history. In 1942 the Empire of Japan was at its greatest extent with colonies in Manchuria, China, Indonesia ,

27472-555: The onset of hostilities between Japan and China. On September 27, 1940, the Tripartite Pact was signed, creating the Rome-Tokyo-Berlin Axis . The alliance was shallow, with very little coordination or mutual help until the last two years of the war, when it was too late to make much difference. By 1938, the United States increasingly was committed to supporting China and, with the cooperation of Britain and

27674-514: The other if troops were to be sent to Korea in the future. After both countries withdrew their forces they left behind a precarious balance of power on the Korean Peninsula between the two nations. Meanwhile, Yuan Shikai remained in Seoul, appointed as the Chinese Resident, and continued to interfere with Korean domestic politics. The failure of the coup also marked a dramatic decline in Japanese influence over Korea. The Nagasaki incident

27876-522: The other powerful lords in the country, particularly the tozama daimyō . These daimyō had used East Asian trading linkages to profitable effect during the Sengoku period , which allowed them to build up their military strength as well. By restricting the ability of the daimyō to trade with foreign ships coming to Japan or pursue trade opportunities overseas, the Tokugawa bakufu could ensure none would become powerful enough to challenge

28078-515: The outside world became strictly regulated by the shogunate, or by the domains (Tsushima, Matsumae, and Satsuma) assigned to the task. Dutch traders were permitted to continue commerce in Japan only by agreeing not to engage in missionary activities. Today, the Christian percentage of the population (1%) in Japan remains far lower than in other East Asian countries such as China (3%), Vietnam (7%) and South Korea (29%). The sakoku policy

28280-492: The overseer of government finances and Queen Min's nephew, to handle the matter. Min in turn handed the matter over to his steward who sold the good rice he had been given and used the money to buy millet which he mixed with sand and bran. As a result, the rice became rotten and inedible. The distribution of the alleged rice infuriated the soldiers. On July 23, a military mutiny and riot broke out in Seoul . Enraged soldiers headed for

28482-512: The passage of the Peace Preservation Law of 1925 along with other anti- left-wing legislation, only ten days before the passage of universal manhood suffrage. The Peace Preservation Act curtailed activism on the left—which was not extensive—and the screws were steadily tightened. It outlawed groups that sought to alter the system of government or to abolish private ownership. The small leftist movements that had been galvanized by

28684-498: The peninsula, where they began to interfere in Korean internal affairs directly. After stationing troops at strategic points in the capital Seoul, the Chinese undertook several initiatives to gain significant influence over the Korean government. The Qing dispatched two special advisers on foreign affairs representing Chinese interests to Korea: the German Paul Georg von Möllendorff , a close confidant of Li Hongzhang , and

28886-448: The physical requirements of military service, became third Reserve ( hojū ). In time of war, the first Reserve ( yōbi ) were to be called up first and they were intended to fill the ranks of the regular army units. Next to be called up were the kōbi reserve who were to be either used to further fill in the ranks of line units or to be formed into new ones. The hojū reserve members were to be called up only in exceptional circumstances, and

29088-577: The populace a sense of martial pride in their country. The rise of Japanese nationalism paralleled the growth of nationalism within the West. Certain conservatives such as Gondō Seikei and Asahi Heigo saw the rapid industrialization of Japan as something that had to be tempered. During the Meiji era, such nationalists railed against the unequal treaties , but in the years following the First World War , Western criticism of Japanese imperial ambitions and restrictions on Japanese immigration changed

29290-590: The pragmatic ideas of the business elite and party politicians. Their loyalty lay to the Emperor and the military. In March 1932 the " League of Blood " assassination plot and the chaos surrounding the trial of its conspirators further eroded the rule of democratic law in Shōwa Japan. In May of the same year a group of right-wing Army and Navy officers succeeded in assassinating the Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi . The plot fell short of staging

29492-509: The preceding Kamakura bakufu and the Muromachi bakufu in crucial ways. The focus on the removal of Western and Christian influence from the Japanese archipelago as the main driver of the kaikin could be argued to be a somewhat eurocentric reading of Japanese history, although it is a common perception. Nevertheless, Christianity and the two colonial powers it was most strongly associated with were seen as genuine threats by

29694-467: The rebellion and its violence, and was arrested by the Chinese and taken to Tianjin. He was later carried off to a town about sixty miles southwest of Beijing, where for three years he was confined to one room and kept under strict surveillance. After the Imo Incident, early reform efforts in Korea suffered a major setback. In the aftermath of the incident, the Chinese reasserted their influence over

29896-422: The reform measures were made public, the coup was suppressed by Chinese troops who attacked and defeated the Japanese forces and restored power to the pro-Chinese Sadaedang faction. During the ensuing melee Hong Yeong-sik was killed, the Japanese legation building was burned down and forty Japanese were killed. The surviving Korean coup leaders including Kim Ok-gyun escaped to the port of Chemulpo under escort of

30098-562: The relative strengths and tactics of Western armies and navies. The Imperial Japanese Navy was modeled after the British Royal Navy , at the time the foremost naval power. British advisors were sent to Japan to train the naval establishment, while Japanese students were in turn sent to Britain to study and observe the Royal Navy. Through drilling and tuition by Royal Navy instructors, Japan developed naval officers expert in

30300-480: The residence of Min Gyeom-ho, who they had suspected of having swindled them out of their rice. Min, on hearing word of the revolt, ordered the police to arrest some of the ringleaders and announced that they would be executed the next morning. He had assumed that this would serve as a warning to the other agitators. However, after learning what had transpired, the rioters broke into Min's house to take vengeance; as he

30502-408: The same year to assassinate Pak Yung-hio, one of the other Korean leaders of the 1884 uprising. When two suspected Korean assassins received asylum at the Korean legation, that had instigated a diplomatic outrage as well. Although the Japanese government could have immediately used Kim's assassination to its advantage, it concluded that since Kim had died on Chinese territory, the treatment of the corpse

30704-463: The ship with the crew and goods aboard shall be sequestered until further orders. All persons who return from abroad shall be put to death. Whoever discovers a Christian priest shall have a reward of 400 to 500 sheets of silver and for every Christian in proportion. All Namban (Portuguese and Spanish) who propagate the doctrine of the Catholics, or bear this scandalous name, shall be imprisoned in

30906-439: The shogunate and certain feudal domains ( han ). There was extensive trade with China through the port of Nagasaki , in the far west of Japan, with a residential area for the Chinese. The policy stated that the only European influence permitted was the Dutch factory at Dejima in Nagasaki. Western scientific, technical and medical innovations flowed into Japan through Rangaku ("Dutch learning"). Trade with Korea

31108-404: The small military mission headed by Lieutenant Horimoto Reizo to train the Pyŏlgigun . What worried the Japanese was the Chinese, who had loosened their hold over Korea in 1876 when the Japanese succeeded in establishing a legal basis for Korean independence by ending its tributary status. Chinese actions appeared to be thwarting the forces of reform in Korea and re-asserting their influence over

31310-404: The start of the war, the Imperial Japanese Army could field a total force of 120,000 men in two armies and five divisions. The Japanese army despite the integration of supply troops into its divisions was unable to rely on its pre-existing logistical system and personnel to sustain its armies in the field with 153,000 labourers, contractors, and drivers being contracted to sustain the armies in

31512-657: The superior Japanese army. By October, Chiang Kai-shek 's best armies had been defeated at Shanghai . By the end of the year, the Chinese capital at Nanjing had also been seized . The use of brutal scorched earth tactics by both sides, the Chinese as in 1938 Yellow River flood and later by the Japanese with the Three Alls Policy , "kill all, burn all, loot all", initiated in 1940, claimed millions of lives. The Chinese nationalists resorted to massive civilian guerrilla tactics, which fatigued and frustrated Japanese forces. Countless Chinese civilians were executed on

31714-528: The suspicion of being resistance fighters. Japanese war crimes at Nanking and other sites in China and Manchukuo have been well documented. On December 13, 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army , following the capture of Nanjing, began the Nanjing Massacre (sometimes called the "Rape of Nanking"), which resulted in a massive number of civilian deaths including infants and elderly, and the large-scale rape of Chinese women. The exact number of casualties

31916-621: The symbol of the state. Kokutai was seen as the barrier against communist and socialist movements in Japan. With the challenge of the Great Depression on the horizon, this would be the death knell for parliamentary democracy in Japan. After World War I , the Western Powers, influenced by Wilsonian ideology, attempted an effort at general disarmament. At the Washington Naval Conference of 1921–1922,

32118-531: The tankers taking oil to Japan were sunk by American submarines, so Japan's oil shortage became increasingly acute. Japan sponsored an Indonesian nationalist movement under Sukarno . Sukarno finally came to power in the late 1940s after several years of battling the Dutch. With the defeat of the Empire of Japan , the Allied Powers dissolved it and placed the territories under occupation. The Soviet Union

32320-424: The territorial militia or national guard ( kokumin ). Following the period of active military service ( gen-eki ), which lasted for three years, the soldiers became part of the first Reserve ( yōbi numbering 92,000 in 1893 ) and then the second Reserve ( kōbi numbering 106,000 in 1893 ). All young and able-bodied men who did not receive basic military training due to exceptions and those conscripts who had not fully met

32522-477: The territorial militia or national guard would only be called up in case of an immediate enemy attack on or invasion of Japan. The country was divided into six military districts (headquarters Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sendai, Hiroshima and Kumamoto), with each being a recruitment area for a square infantry division consisting of two brigades of two regiments. Each of these divisions contained approximately 18,600 troops and 36 artillery pieces when mobilized . There

32724-630: The threat to Korea posed by the Russians and recommended that Korea maintain friendly relations with Japan, which was at the time too economically weak to be an immediate threat, to work closely with China, and seek an alliance with the United States as a counterweight to Russia. After returning to Korea, Kim presented the document to King Gojong, who was so impressed with the document that he had copies made and distributed to his officials. In 1880, following Chinese advice and breaking with tradition, King Gojong decided to establish diplomatic ties with

32926-585: The torpedo boats were known to have been built in France and assembled in Japan. The Meiji government at first modeled their army after the French Army . French advisers had been sent to Japan with two military missions (in 1872–1880 and 1884 ), in addition to one mission under the shogunate. Nationwide conscription was enforced in 1873 and a Western-style conscript army was established; military schools and arsenals were also built. In 1886, Japan turned toward

33128-478: The treaty contain an article declaring that Korea was a dependency of China and argued that the country had long been a tributary state of China. But the Americans firmly opposed such an article, arguing that a treaty with Korea should be based on the Treaty of Ganghwa, which stipulated that Korea was an independent state. A compromise was finally reached, with Shufeldt and Li agreeing that the King of Korea would notify

33330-479: The vessels for use by the navy in time of war. As a consequence, the navy could call on a sufficient number of auxiliaries and transports . Japan did not yet have the resources to acquire battleships and so planned to employ the Jeune École doctrine, which favoured small, fast warships, especially cruisers and torpedo boats, with the offensive capability to destroy larger craft. The Japanese naval leadership, on

33532-523: The war progresses, there is some prospect of success. With the Emperor's approval, Imperial General Headquarters launched the Greater East Asia War . It began with a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Japan declared war to the United States, Dutch and British. This marked the start of the Pacific War theatre of World War II . For

33734-448: The wartime techno-fascism into entrepreneurial management skills. The Japanese government established puppet regimes in Manchuria and China; they were dismantled at the end of the war. The Army operated ruthless governments in most of the conquered areas but paid more favorable attention to the Dutch East Indies. The main goal was to obtain oil. The Dutch sabotaged their oil wells but the Japanese were able to reopen them. However most of

33936-409: The winter of 1945 were probably around 100,000. Japan launched multiple attacks in East Asia. In 1937, the Japanese Army invaded and captured most of the coastal Chinese cities such as Shanghai. On 22 September 1940, the Japanese invasion of French Indochina began. Japan took over French Indochina ( Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia ), British Malaya ( Brunei , Malaysia and Singapore ) as well as

34138-421: The world compares to the divine nature (shinsei) of the imperial house and likewise the majesty of our national polity ( kokutai ). Here is one great reason for Japan's superiority." The Anti-Comintern Pact brought Nazi ideologues to Japan who attempted but ultimately failed to inject Nazi-style anti-Semitic arguments into mainstream public discussion. Where the government presented the popular image of Jews, it

34340-462: The world." Imperial Japanese Army General Kiichiro Higuchi and Colonel Norihiro Yasue allowed 20,000 Jews to enter Manchukuo in 1938. Higuchi and Yasue were well regarded for their actions and were subsequently invited to the independence ceremonies of the State of Israel. Diplomat Chiune Sugihara wrote travel visas for over 6,000 Lithuanian Jews to flee the German occupation and travel to Japan. In 1985, Israel honored him as Righteous Among

34542-494: The wounded then boarded a small boat and headed for the open sea where three days later they were rescued by a British survey ship, HMS  Flying Fish , which took them to Nagasaki . The following day, after the attack on the Japanese legation, the rioters forced their way into the royal palace where they found and killed Min Gyeom-ho, as well as a dozen other high-ranking officers. They also searched for Queen Min. The queen narrowly escaped, however, dressed as an ordinary lady of

34744-407: The year (1894) as named under the traditional sexagenary system of years. In Japan, it is called the Japan–Qing War ( Japanese : 日清戦争 , Hepburn : Nisshin sensō ) . In Korea, where much of the war took place, it is called the Qing–Japan War ( Korean : 청일전쟁 ; Hanja : 淸日戰爭). After two centuries, the Japanese policy of seclusion under the shōguns of the Edo period came to an end when

34946-402: Was a financial panic in 1927, during the first year of the reign of Emperor Hirohito. It was a precursor of the Great Depression . It brought down the government of Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijirō and led to the domination of the zaibatsu over the Japanese banking industry . From 1928 to 1932, a domestic crisis could no longer be avoided. As the left was vigorously put down by the state,

35148-409: Was a group of conservatives, which included not only Min Yeong-ik from the Min family but also other prominent Korean political figures that wanted to maintain power with China's help. Although the members of the Sadaedang supported the enlightenment policy, they favored gradual changes based on the Chinese model. After the Imo incident, the Min clan pursued a pro-Chinese policy. This was also partly

35350-401: Was a riot that took place in the Japanese port city of Nagasaki in 1886. Four warships from the Qing Empire's navy, the Beiyang Fleet , stopped at Nagasaki, apparently to carry out repairs. Some Chinese sailors caused trouble in the city and started the riot. Several Japanese policemen confronting the rioters were killed. The Qing government did not apologize after the incident, which resulted in

35552-419: Was a significant element of that which was seen as a threat. Based on work conducted by Japanese historians in the 1970s, some scholars have challenged this view, believing it to be only a partial explanation of political reality. Before the Tokugawa, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had previously begun to turn against the European missionaries after the Spanish conquest of the Philippines began, and the gradual progress of

35754-406: Was also a way of controlling commerce between Japan and other nations, as well as asserting its new place in the East Asian hierarchy. The Tokugawa had set out to create their own small-scale international system where Japan could continue to access the trade in essential commodities such as medicines, and gain access to essential intelligence about happenings in China while avoiding having to agree to

35956-432: Was also an Imperial Guard division which recruited nationally, from all around Japan. This division was also composed of two brigades but had instead two- battalion , not three-battalion, regiments; consequently its numerical strength after mobilization was 12,500 troops and 24 artillery pieces. In addition, there were fortress troops consisting of approximately six battalions, the Colonial Corps of about 4,000 troops which

36158-437: Was also an army that was equal to European armed forces in every respect. On the eve of the outbreak of the war with China all men between the ages of 17 and 40 years were eligible for conscription , but only those who turned 20 were to be drafted while those who had turned 17 could volunteer. All men between the ages of 17 and 40, even those who had not received military training or were physically unfit, were considered part of

36360-406: Was better equipped and treated. Additionally, more than 1000 soldiers had been discharged in the process of overhauling the army; most of them were either old or disabled, and the rest had not been given their pay in rice for thirteen months. In June of that year, King Gojong, being informed of the situation, ordered that a month's allowance of rice be given to the soldiers. He directed Min Gyeom-ho,

36562-528: Was by studying medical and other texts in the Dutch language obtained through Dejima. This developed into a blossoming field in the late 18th century which was known as Rangaku (Dutch studies). It became obsolete after the country was opened and the sakoku policy collapsed. Thereafter, many Japanese students (e.g., Kikuchi Dairoku ) were sent to study in foreign countries, and many foreign employees were employed in Japan (see o-yatoi gaikokujin ). The policies associated with sakoku ended with

36764-472: Was dependent on China and granted Chinese merchants the right to conduct overland and maritime business freely within its borders. It also gave the Chinese advantages over the Japanese and Westerners and granted them unilateral extraterritoriality privileges in civil and criminal cases. Under the treaty, the number of Chinese merchants and traders significantly increased, a severe blow to Korean merchants. Although it allowed Koreans reciprocally to trade in Beijing,

36966-426: Was divided into two kinds: Group A in which he places China and the Dutch, "whose relations fell under the direct jurisdiction of the Bakufu at Nagasaki" and Group B, represented by the Korean Kingdom and the Ryūkyū Kingdom, "who dealt with Tsushima (the Sō clan) and Satsuma (the Shimazu clan) domains respectively". Many items traded from Japan to Korea and the Ryūkyū Kingdom were eventually shipped to China. In

37168-451: Was expected to attend together with several foreign diplomats and high-ranking officials, most of whom were members of the pro-Chinese Sadaedang faction. Kim Ok-gyun and his comrades approached King Gojong falsely stating that Chinese troops had created a disturbance and escorted him to the small Gyoengu Palace, where they placed him in the custody of Japanese legation guards. They then proceeded to kill and wound several senior officials of

37370-420: Was far ahead of China in this respect, and was also in command of the world's third largest navy with 2,700 watercraft at its disposal. By the end of July 1937, the Japanese had slaughtered the elite 29th Army at Kupeikou and soon captured Beijing . From there, the Japanese advanced down south through the major railway lines (Peiping-Suiyan, Peiping-Hankow, and Tientsin-Pukow). These were easily conquered by

37572-519: Was limited to the Tsushima Domain (today part of Nagasaki Prefecture ) and the wakan in Choryang (part of present-day Busan ). There were also diplomatic exchanges done through the Joseon Tongsinsa from Korea. Trade with the Ainu people was limited to the Matsumae Domain in Hokkaidō , and trade with the Ryūkyū Kingdom took place in Satsuma Domain (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture ). Apart from these direct commercial contacts in peripheral provinces, trading countries sent regular missions to

37774-412: Was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor . Emperor Shōwa was both the longest-lived and longest-reigning historical Japanese emperor as well as the longest-reigning monarch in the world at the time. On 7 January 1989, Crown Prince Akihito succeeded to the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Shōwa, which marked the start of the Heisei era . Emperor Hirohito

37976-433: Was made responsible for North Korea , and annexed the Kuril Islands and the southern portion of the island of Sakhalin . The United States took responsibility for the rest of Japan's possessions in Oceania and took over South Korea . China, meanwhile, plunged back into its civil war , with the Communists in control by 1949. General Douglas MacArthur , from the US, was put in charge of the Allied Occupation of Japan as

38178-402: Was not at his residence the rioters vented their frustrations by destroying his furniture and other possessions. The rioters then moved on to an armory from which they stole weapons and ammunition, and then headed for the prison. After overpowering the guards, they released not only the men who had been arrested that day by Min Gyeom-ho but also many political prisoners as well. Min then summoned

38380-416: Was not merely its proximity to Japan but its inability to defend itself against outsiders. If Korea were truly independent, it posed no strategic problem to Japan's national security, but if the country remained undeveloped it would remain weak and consequently would be inviting prey for foreign domination. The political consensus in Japan was that Korean independence lay, as it had been for Meiji Japan, through

38582-422: Was not so much to persecute but to strengthen domestic ideological uniformity. The anti-Semitic policies of Adolf Hitler 's Nazi Germany were refused when foreign minister of Japan Yōsuke Matsuoka stated that: "Nowhere have I promised that we would carry out his anti-Semitic policies in Japan. This is not simply my personal opinion, it is the opinion of Japan, and I have no compunction about announcing it to

38784-442: Was outside its authority. However, the shocking murder of the Korean inflamed Japanese opinion since many Japanese considered the Chinese-supported actions to be directed against Japan as well. To the Japanese, the Chinese had also showed their contempt for international law when they set free the suspected assassin, who had been arrested by British authorities in Shanghai and then, in accordance with treaty obligations, turned over to

38986-452: Was receptive. The Korean government, immediately after opening the country to the outside world, pursued a policy of enlightenment aimed at achieving national prosperity and military strength through the doctrine of tongdo sŏgi ( Eastern ways and Western machines ). To modernize their country, the Koreans tried selectively to accept and master Western technology while preserving their country's cultural values and heritage. In January 1881,

39188-440: Was replaced by the war cabinet of General Hideki Tojo (1884–1948), who demanded war. Tōjō had his way and the attack was made on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, as well as British and Dutch strong points. The main American battle fleet was disabled, and in the next 90 days Japan made remarkable advances including the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, Malaya and Singapore. The quagmire in China did not stall imperial ambitions for

39390-433: Was restored. Old left-wing organizations such as the Social Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party reasserted themselves. The first post-war general election was held in 1946, and for the first time, women were allowed to vote . Sakoku Sakoku ( 鎖国 / 鎖國 , "chained country") is the most common name for the isolationist foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, during

39592-410: Was served by total of 33 prime ministers , beginning with Wakatsuki Reijiro and ending with Noboru Takeshita . The two kanji characters in Shōwa ( 昭和 ) were from a passage of the Chinese Book of Documents : 百姓昭明，協和萬邦 (Translated: "[T]he people (of his domain), ... all became brightly intelligent. (Finally), he united and harmonized the myriad states.") From this same quotation, Japan also adopted

39794-439: Was shot on November 14, 1930, by an ultranationalist and died in 1931. By this time, the civilian government had lost control of the populace. A New York Times correspondent called Japan a country ruled by "government by assassination". The army, moving independently of the proper government of Japan, took the opportunity to invade Manchuria in the summer of 1931. Since the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, Japan had maintained

39996-451: Was stationed on Hokkaido and the Ryukyu Islands , and a battalion of military police in each of the districts. In peacetime the regular army had a total of fewer than 70,000 men, while after mobilization the numbers rose to over 220,000. Moreover, the army still had a trained reserve, which, following the mobilization of the first-line divisions, could be formed into reserve brigades. These reserve brigades each consisted of four battalions,

40198-440: Was swiftly countered by the United States . Thanks to back-room dealing and other intrigues, though, Japan walked away with a 5:4 advantage in heavy cruisers, but this small gesture would not satisfy the populace of Japan, which was gradually falling under the spell of the various ultra-nationalist groups spawning throughout the country. As a result of his failings regarding the London Naval Treaty, Prime Minister Hamaguchi Osachi

40400-533: Was that the modernized Chinese military would crush the Japanese. Observers commended Chinese units such as the Huai Army and Beiyang Fleet. The German General Staff predicted a Japanese defeat and William Lang, who was a British advisor to the Chinese military, praised Chinese training, ships, guns, and fortifications, stating that "in the end, there is no doubt that Japan must be utterly crushed". Sh%C5%8Dwa (1926%E2%80%931989) The Shōwa era ( 昭和時代 , Shōwa jidai , [ɕoːwadʑidai] )

40602-428: Was to assassinate the government and promote a "Shōwa Restoration". Prime Minister Okada survived the attempted coup by hiding in a storage shed in his house, but the coup only ended when the Emperor personally ordered an end to the bloodshed. Within the state, the idea of a Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere began to foment. The nationalists believed that the "ABCD powers" (Americans, British, Chinese, Dutch) were

40804-402: Was under the leadership of Mao Zedong , and the Nationalist government of China, the Kuomintang (KMT), which was under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek . The years of 1937–38 were a time of rapid and remarkable success by the Japanese, who had a number of advantages over the Chinese army. While the Japanese army possessed a smaller force of armour and artillery than many Western powers, it

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