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Military changes in japan from meiji restoration
Assess the role and significance of the Japanese army 1904-1937
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The militarization of Japanese society during the 1930s and 1940s was total and absolute. Military rule dominated nearly all aspects of life, from politics to education, a shift that seems incongruous with the democratic attitudes that defined the preceding Taishō era. However, this shift was in fact not so radical; rather, militarism progressed naturally out of the rapid modernization that Japan had undergone in the decades prior, and the fundamental values that formed the basis of the Meiji Revolution and Taishō democracy would continue to power Japan’s war engine through World War II.
A key defining characteristic of pre-occupation Japan was the sacred, central role of the Emperor. In fact, this attitude toward the Emperor existed even before
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Building on this apparent contradiction, Andrew Gordon describes the Taishō democracy as an “imperial democracy” (164), a term that is strikingly appropriate for both meanings of the word “imperial.” In one sense, Japan continued its imperialism abroad, particularly with regards to “defending” its Asian neighbors: Kita Ikki states dramatically in his Outline Plan for the Reorganization for Japan that Japan, as “the noble Greece of Asian culture,” should “lift the virtuous banner of an Asian league and take the leadership in the world federation that must come.” In the other sense, Japan was still very much enthralled with the idea of Emperor as ultimate sovereign; in Democracy as Minpon Shugi, Yoshino Sakuzō is careful to define the term “democracy” as minpon shugi, where the people serve as the basis of democracy, rather than minshu shugi, where the “sovereignty of the nation resides in the people.” In his article, he claims that popular sovereignty is “inappropriate to a country like [Japan]” and that to “think that democracy and the monarchcial system are completely incompatible…is a serious misconception.” More interesting, however, is his unquestioning acceptance of the role of the Emperor; to him, not only is it “unthinkable that it should become necessary, ‘in the interest of imperial family,’ to disregard the interest of the people,” but that “it is the determination of the Japanese people to willingly go through fire and water for the sake of the emperor.” That …show more content…
Though some anti-militaristic sentiment had existed, “it was certainly not the majority sentiment even at the peak of postwar internationalism” (Gordon 179). As the economic boost of World War I wore off, Japan was hit by a series of crises, including the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and a major banking crisis in 1927 (140), that would create cracks in its political structure. With the New York stock market crash of 1929, Japan’s already “stumbling” (142) economy was now “paralyzed” (182). In response, people were “disgusted with the ineffective response of the established political parties” (182) and, backed by now suspicious views toward sexually liberated modern girls and vocally communist university students, a “belief that Japanese society faced unprecedented crisis” gripped the nation. Hope would come in Ishiwara Kanji’s fateful invasion of Manchuria. He argued in his Personal Opinion on the Manchuria-Mongolia Problem that not only is “making Manchuria-Mongolia into [Japan’s] territory…a just action,” but that the economic impacts of doing so would “solve the problem of food supplies for our people…[and] enable us to break out of economic depression.” He would then take matters into his own hands, and orchestrate an explosion that his army would use as a pretext for invading the area (Gordon 189). True to his word, the economy soon grew dramatically,
Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.
In chapter two “Stalin, Truman, and Hirohito Face New Challenges” Hasegawa takes ample time to discuss key policy decisions as the war came to a close. Beginning with the planning of the American invasion of Japan to commence on November 1, 1945, and the staggering American casualties at Okinawa causing planners to rethink invasion. The key to this chapter however, is the transition of power from Roosevelt to Truman. As Truman inherited wartime America, he had difficult decisions...
"(Doc. A) The beliefs Japanese grew up with were that the Emperor was sublime and his empire should be followed everywhere nerveless by everyone. They were trained to be dedicated; willing to do anything to please their superior. “An old order... (European and American)... is now crumbling.
Townsend, Susan. "Japan's Quest for Empire 1931-1945." BBC News. BBC, 30 Mar. 2011. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.
Although the term “revolution from above” is often used to explain the GHQ’s method of postwar reform in Japan (Dower, 1999: p.69), I argue that a similar motivation was in effect in the U.S.’s efforts to isolate all Japanese descendants in America and subject them to coerced American soci...
When the American Commodore Perry arrived and forced the Japanese to open up trading with the Americans in 1853 it caused a massive shift in the way Japan was run. The shogun could not deal with the looming threat and began a campaign of anti-foreignism “’Toi!’ (Expel the Barbarians!)” . The shogun eventually capitulated and began to allow foreign ships into Japan; this sparked the anti-foreign element, created by the shogun, to remove the shogun and reinstate the Emperor into power: “’Sonno’ (Revere the Emperor) was added to their mantra of ‘Toi’ to represent the old system where the Emperor was like a god. The Emperor took power back into his hands and renamed himself Meiji meaning “Enlightened Rule.” However, the Emperor did not expel the ‘barbarians’, instead he saw them as a method of creating a better Japan and began a campaign known as the ‘Meiji Restoration’ to modernize the nation. Japan needed to modernize because the western countries had forced the Tokugawa shogunate to sign unfair treaties that greatly favoured the western countries, notably the United States of America, Russia, Great Britain and France . One of the key events of the Meiji Restoration was the decline and fall of the samurai class in Japan. This essay intends to show the reasons for the decline of the samurai at the beginning of the Empire of Japan through the policies enacted during the Meiji Restoration. This will be shown through the military, cultural, political and social reforms enacted by the Japanese government.
In 1900 Britain was in many respects the world’s leading nation, enjoying a large share of world trade, a dominant position in the international money market, and possessing a far flung empire supported by the world’s most powerful navy. Japan was a complete contrast, sharing with Britain only the fact that it too was a nation of Islands lying off the shore of a major continent. Until the 1860s it had possessed a social and economic structure more akin to that of feudal, rather than twentieth century, Europe. By the 1990s, the positions were almost reversed. This paper sets out to examine the contrasting democratic political systems of the two nations and to explore the social and democratic consequences of the changes that have occurred.
...feat of Japan in World War 2). With the changes of the nature of power, Japan by balancing out aggressive economic policies and a quiet military buildup, was able to build herself up to become a prominent player in the international sphere today. In closing, while Japan’s policies today in general have been skewered towards the arguments of the ‘Gentleman’, increasingly Japan has considered more realist concerns of security in the escalation of tensions of the East Asian geopolitical sphere. Chomin’s Discourse has nonetheless served as a prophetic blueprint for more than a century of Japan policy-making.
Outline the growth of nationalism and militarism in Japan in the 1930s and how it manifested itself. How significant was this in Japan going to war with USA in 1941?
War played a central part in the history of Japan. Warring clans controlled much of the country. A chief headed each clan; made up of related families. The chiefs were the ancestors of Japan's imperial family. The wars were usually about land useful for the production of rice. In fact, only 20% of the land was fit for farming. The struggle for control of that land eventually ga...
Tsuzuki, Chushichi. The Pursuit of Power in Modern Japan, 1825-1995. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Questia. Web. 28 Apr. 2011.
Imperialism has not only influenced colonial territories to better themselves or to further the mother country’s realm of power, it also had a significant impact on the people’s culture, education, environment, and political systems. Japan and Britain were two imperial systems that countered each other in many facets but also had strikingly similar qualities that had helped them become strong imperial powers that needed one another to continue their position amongst others. The Japanese empire was an inspirational country to other Asians that spearheaded the fight against the European imperialism. After the Meiji restoration, the emperors decided that the modernization of Japan was going to begin and in order for it to be a success, the government had to change along with their culture, “.restored authority faced new dangers in a new age.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Chinese and Japanese faced much internal conflict, but while China faced a combination of economic setbacks and political weakness, the Japanese were riddled with wars along their countryside. First, the Chinese emperor was too weak in comparison to his bureaucracy, which ended up making most of the decisions for the last Ming dynasty emperor. This was due to the emperor’s realization that having a title as Son of Heaven did not mean he had all the power of the empire. Instead he lived a laid back life where the bureaucrats vied for power and wealth amongst themselves and he merely managed them. Like the Chinese, the Japanese also saw elites battling it out for power, but this time on the battlefield with armies of samurai. These battles put Japan in a period much like the Warring States period in early Chinese history, where families fought and fought for power almost endlessly. The political weakness in China contributed to its economic failure as well. With no force to manage to seas, pirates were free to raid trade ships and villages along the coast line, weakening the Chinese economy that relied on a transport system to supply the country. These two major forces led to China’s fragmentation and eventual takeover by the Manchu. In contrast, the battles happening in Japan were not harmful to the economy as much as they were in China. This is due to the fact that the Japanese daimyos were independent...
Our preliminary class gave a brief, yet detailed outline of major events affecting the East Asian region. Within that class, prompted by our limited geographical knowledge of Asia, we were given a fundamental explanation of the geographical locations of the various events taking place in the region. In subsequent classes, we were introduced to the major wars, political shifts, and economic interests which shaped Japan, China and Korea to what they are today. We examined the paradigm of pre-modern Japanese governance, the Shogunate, and the trained warriors which defended lord and land, Samurai. In addition, we examined the socio-economic classes of Medieval Japan, which included the Samurai, peasants, craftsmen, and the merchants. We also examined pre-1945 Japan’s policies toward foreign entities, notably the Sakoku Policy, which sought to expunge all foreign presence and commerce in an effort to protect its borders and culture. 1945, however, saw ...