Coordinates: 35°41′N 139°46′E
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan,[c] also known as the
Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was
a historical nation-state[d] and great power
that existed from the Meiji Restoration in
1868 until the enactment of the post-World
War II 1947 constitution and subsequent
formation of modern Japan.[8] It
encompassed the Japanese archipelago and
several colonies, protectorates, mandates,
and other territories.
Under the slogans of fukoku kyōhei[e] and
shokusan kōgyō,[f] Japan underwent a
period of industrialization and militarization,
the Meiji Restoration being the fastest
modernisation of any country to date, all of
these aspects contributed to Japan's
emergence as a great power and the
establishment of a colonial empire following
the First Sino-Japanese War, the Boxer
Rebellion, the Russo-Japanese War, and
World War I. Economic and political turmoil
in the 1920s, including the Great
Depression, led to the rise of militarism,
nationalism and totalitarianism as embodied
in the Showa Statism ideology, eventually
culminating in Japan's membership in the
Axis alliance and the conquest of a large
part of the Asia-Pacific in World War II.[16]
Japan's armed forces initially achieved
large-scale military successes during the
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)
and the Pacific War. However, starting from
1942, particularly after the Battles of
Midway and Guadalcanal, Japan was forced
to adopt a defensive stance, and the
American island hopping campaign meant
that Japan was slowly losing all of the
territory it had gained, and eventually, the
Americans captured Iwo Jima and Okinawa
Island, leaving the Japanese mainland
completely unprotected. The U.S. forces
had planned an invasion, but Japan
surrendered following the atomic bombings
Empire of Japan
大日本帝國
Dai Nippon Teikoku or Dai Nihon Teikoku
1868–1947
Imperial Seal
Flag
Motto:
1868–1912:
五箇条の御誓文
Gokajō no Goseimon
(Charter Oath or The Oath in Five Articles)
Anthem:
(1869–1945)
"His Imperial Majesty's Reign"[1][2][a]
"Kimigayo" (
君が代)
0:00 / 0:00
The Empire of Japan at its peak in 1942:
Japan
Colonies (Korea, Taiwan, Karafuto) / Mandates
Puppet states / Protectorates / Occupied territories
Capital
Kyoto (1868–1869)[3]
Tokyo City (1869–1943)
Tokyo (1943–1947)
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the nearly
simultaneous Soviet declaration of war on
August 9, 1945, and subsequent invasion of
Manchuria and other territories. The Pacific
War officially came to a close on September
2, 1945. A period of occupation by the
Allies followed. In 1947, with American
involvement, a new constitution was
enacted, officially bringing the Empire of
Japan to an end, and Japan's Imperial Army
was replaced with the Japan Self-Defense
Forces. Occupation and reconstruction
continued until 1952, eventually forming the
current constitutional monarchy known as
Japan.
Largest city
Tokyo City (1868–1943)
Tokyo (1943–1947)
Official languages
Recognised
regional languages
Japanese
Religion
De jure: Secular state
De facto: State Shinto
(state ideology)[b]
Government
Unitary absolute
monarchy
(1868–1889)[7]
The Empire of Japan had three emperors,
although it came to an end partway through
Shōwa's reign. The emperors were given
posthumous names, and the emperors are as
follows: Meiji, Taisho, and Shōwa.
under Daijō-kan[7]
(1868–1885)
Unitary parliamentary
semi-constitutional
monarchy
(1889–1947)[8]
Contents
under a Toseiha
military dictatorship
(1931–1940)
under a Shōwa
Statist one-party
totalitarian military
dictatorship
(1940–1945)
under military
occupation
(1945–1947)
Terminology
History
Background
Boshin War
Meiji era (1868–1912)
Transposition in social order
and cultural destruction
Political reform
Economic development
First Sino-Japanese War
Boxer Rebellion
Russo-Japanese War
Annexation of Korea
Taishō era (1912–1926)
World War I
Siberian Intervention
"Taishō Democracy"
Early Shōwa (1926–1930)
Rise of militarism and its
social organisations
Nationalism and decline of
democracy
Economic factors
Later Shōwa (1931–1941)
Hokkien
Mandarin
Hakka
Korean
Emperor
• 1868–1912
• 1912–1926
• 1926–1947
Prime Minister
• 1885–1888 (first)
• 1946–1947 (last)
Meiji
Taishō
Shōwa
Itō Hirobumi
Shigeru Yoshida
Legislature
None (rule by decree)
(1868–1871)
House of Peers (1871–
1889)
Imperial Diet (since
1889)
• Upper house
House of Peers (1889–
1947)
House of
Representatives (from
1890)
• Lower house
Prewar expansionism
Manchuria
Second Sino-Japanese
War
Clashes with the Soviet
Union
Tripartite Pact
World War II (1941–1945)
Japanese conquests
Tide turns
Surrender
End of the Empire of Japan
Occupation of Japan
Influential personnel
Political
Diplomats
Military
Imperial Japanese Army
Early period
World War II
Imperial Japanese Navy
Early period
World War II
Historical era
Meiji • Taishō • Shōwa
• Meiji Restoration
• Meiji Constitution
• First Sino-Japanese War
• Russo-Japanese War
• World War I
• Mukden Incident
• Second Sino-Japanese War
• Founding of the IRAA
• World War II
• Surrender of Japan
• Reconstituted
3 January 1868[9]
11 February 1889
25 July 1894
8 February 1904
23 August 1914
18 September 1931
7 July 1937
12 October 1940
7 December 1941
2 September 1945
3 May 1947[8]
Area
1938[10]
1,984,000 km2
(766,000 sq mi)
7,400,000 km2
(2,900,000 sq mi)
1942[11]
Population
• 1920
• 1940
77,700,000a
105,200,000b
Currency
Japanese yen
Korean yen
Taiwanese yen
Japanese military
currency
Demographics
Economy
Education
Notable scholars/scientists
19th century
Anthropologists,
ethnologists, archaeologists,
and historians
Medical scientists, biologists,
evolutionary theorists, and
geneticists
Inventors, industrialists,
engineers
Philosophers, educators,
mathematicians, and
polymaths
Chemists, physicists, and
geologists
20th century
Timeline
Emperors
Emblems
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Tokugawa shogunate
Occupied
Japan
Republic of Ezo
a. 56.0 million lived in Japan proper.[12]
b. 73.1 million lived in Japan proper.[12]
Japanese Empire
Japanese name
Kanji
Hiragana
Katakana
Kyūjitai
大日本帝国
だいにっぽんていこく
だいにほんていこく
ダイニッポンテイコク
ダイニホンテイコク
大日本帝國
Transcriptions
Revised
Dai Nippon
Hepburn
Teikoku
Dai Nihon Teikoku
See also
Japanese Empire
Notes
Japanese name
References
Citations
Bibliography
Kyūjitai
Shinjitai
大日本帝國
大日本帝国
Transcriptions
External links
Romanization Dai Nippon Teikoku
Official Term name
Terminology
Official
Japanese Empire
Term
The historical state is frequently referred to as the "Empire of
Literal Translation name
Japan", the "Japanese Empire", or "Imperial Japan" in English. In
Imperial State of
Japanese it is referred to as Dai Nippon Teikoku (
),[13] Literal
which translates to "Empire of Great Japan" (Dai "Great", Nippon Translation Greater Japan
"Japanese", Teikoku "Empire"). Teikoku is itself composed of the
nouns Tei "referring to an emperor" and -koku "nation, state", so literally "Imperial State" or "Imperial
Realm" (compare the German Kaiserreich).
大日本帝國
This meaning is significant in terms of geography, encompassing Japan, and its surrounding areas. The
nomenclature Empire of Japan had existed since the anti-Tokugawa domains, Satsuma and Chōshū, which
founded their new government during the Meiji Restoration, with the intention of forming a modern state to
resist Western domination. Later the Empire emerged as a major colonial power in the world.
Due to its name in kanji characters and its flag, it was also given the exonym "Empire of the Sun".
History
Background
After two centuries, the seclusion policy, or sakoku, under the shōguns of the Edo period came to an end
when the country was forced open to trade by the Convention of Kanagawa which came when Matthew C.
Perry arrived in Japan in 1854. Thus, the period known as Bakumatsu began.
The following years saw increased foreign trade and interaction; commercial treaties between the
Tokugawa shogunate and Western countries were signed. In large part due to the humiliating terms of these
unequal treaties, the shogunate soon faced internal hostility, which materialized into a radical, xenophobic
movement, the sonnō jōi (literally "Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians").[17]
In March 1863, the Emperor issued the "order to expel barbarians." Although the shogunate had no
intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the shogunate itself and against
foreigners in Japan. The Namamugi Incident during 1862 led to the murder of an Englishman, Charles
Lennox Richardson, by a party of samurai from Satsuma. The British demanded reparations but were
denied. While attempting to exact payment, the Royal Navy was fired on from coastal batteries near the
town of Kagoshima. They responded by bombarding the port of Kagoshima in 1863. The Tokugawa
government agreed to pay an indemnity for Richardson's death.[18] Shelling of foreign shipping in
Shimonoseki and attacks against foreign property led to the bombardment of Shimonoseki by a
multinational force in 1864.[19] The Chōshū clan also launched the failed coup known as the Kinmon
incident. The Satsuma-Chōshū alliance was established in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the
Tokugawa bakufu. In early 1867, Emperor Kōmei died of smallpox and was replaced by his son, Crown
Prince Mutsuhito (Meiji).
On November 9, 1867, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned from his post and authorities to the Emperor,
agreeing to "be the instrument for carrying out" imperial orders,[20] leading to the end of the Tokugawa
shogunate.[21][22] However, while Yoshinobu's resignation had created a nominal void at the highest level
of government, his apparatus of state continued to exist. Moreover, the shogunal government, the
Tokugawa family in particular, remained a prominent force in the evolving political order and retained
many executive powers,[23] a prospect hard-liners from Satsuma and Chōshū found intolerable.[24]
On January 3, 1868, Satsuma-Chōshū forces seized the imperial palace in Kyoto, and the following day
had the fifteen-year-old Emperor Meiji declare his own restoration to full power. Although the majority of
the imperial consultative assembly was happy with the formal declaration of direct rule by the court and
tended to support a continued collaboration with the Tokugawa, Saigō Takamori, leader of the Satsuma
clan, threatened the assembly into abolishing the title shōgun and ordered the confiscation of Yoshinobu's
lands.[g]
On January 17, 1868, Yoshinobu declared "that he would not be bound by the proclamation of the
Restoration and called on the court to rescind it".[26] On January 24, Yoshinobu decided to prepare an
attack on Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Chōshū forces. This decision was prompted by his learning of a
series of arson attacks in Edo, starting with the burning of the outworks of Edo Castle, the main Tokugawa
residence.
Boshin War
戊辰戦争
The Boshin War (
, Boshin Sensō) was fought between
January 1868 and May 1869. The alliance of samurai from
southern and western domains and court officials had now secured
the cooperation of the young Emperor Meiji, who ordered the
dissolution of the two-hundred-year-old Tokugawa shogunate.
Tokugawa Yoshinobu launched a military campaign to seize the
emperor's court in Kyoto. However, the tide rapidly turned in favor
of the smaller but relatively modernized imperial faction and
The Naval Battle of Hakodate, May
resulted in defections of many daimyōs to the Imperial side. The
1869; in the foreground, Kasuga and
Battle of Toba–Fushimi was a decisive victory in which a
Kōtetsu of the Imperial Japanese
combined army from Chōshū, Tosa, and Satsuma domains defeated
Navy
the Tokugawa army.[27] A series of battles were then fought in
pursuit of supporters of the Shogunate; Edo surrendered to the
Imperial forces and afterward, Yoshinobu personally surrendered.
Yoshinobu was stripped of all his power by Emperor Meiji and most of Japan accepted the emperor's rule.
Pro-Tokugawa remnants, however, then retreated to northern Honshū (Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei) and later to
Ezo (present-day Hokkaidō), where they established the breakaway Republic of Ezo. An expeditionary
force was dispatched by the new government and the Ezo Republic forces were overwhelmed. The siege
of Hakodate came to an end in May 1869 and the remaining forces surrendered.[27]
Meiji era (1868–1912)
The Charter Oath was made public at the enthronement of Emperor Meiji of Japan on April 7, 1868. The
Oath outlined the main aims and the course of action to be followed during Emperor Meiji's reign, setting
the legal stage for Japan's modernization.[28] The Meiji leaders also aimed to boost morale and win
financial support for the new government.
Prominent members of the Iwakura
mission. Left to right: Kido
Takayoshi, Yamaguchi Masuka,
Iwakura Tomomi, Itō Hirobumi,
Ōkubo Toshimichi
Japan dispatched the Iwakura Mission in 1871. The mission
traveled the world in order to renegotiate the unequal treaties with
the United States and European countries that Japan had been
forced into during the Tokugawa shogunate, and to gather
information on western social and economic systems, in order to
effect the modernization of Japan. Renegotiation of the unequal
treaties was universally unsuccessful, but close observation of the
American and European systems inspired members on their return
to bring about modernization initiatives in Japan. Japan made a
territorial delimitation treaty with Russia in 1875, gaining all the
Kuril islands in exchange for Sakhalin island.[29]
The Japanese government sent observers to Western countries to
observe and learn their practices, and also paid "foreign advisors"
in a variety of fields to come to Japan to educate the populace. For
instance, the judicial system and constitution were modeled after
Prussia, described by Saburō Ienaga as "an attempt to control
popular thought with a blend of Confucianism and German conservatism."[30] The government also
outlawed customs linked to Japan's feudal past, such as publicly displaying and wearing katana and the top
knot, both of which were characteristic of the samurai class, which was abolished together with the caste
system. This would later bring the Meiji government into conflict with the samurai.
Several writers, under the constant threat of assassination from their political foes, were influential in
winning Japanese support for westernization. One such writer was Fukuzawa Yukichi, whose works
included "Conditions in the West," "Leaving Asia", and "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization," which
detailed Western society and his own philosophies. In the Meiji Restoration period, military and economic
power was emphasized. Military strength became the means for national development and stability.
Imperial Japan became the only non-Western world power and a major force in East Asia in about 25 years
as a result of industrialization and economic development.
As writer Albrecht Fürst von Urach comments in his booklet "The Secret
of Japan's Strength," published in 1942, during the Axis powers period:
The rise of Japan to a world power during the past 80 years is
the greatest miracle in world history. The mighty empires of
antiquity, the major political institutions of the Middle Ages
and the early modern era, the Spanish Empire, the British
Empire, all needed centuries to achieve their full strength.
Japan's rise has been meteoric. After only 80 years, it is one of
the few great powers that determine the fate of the world.[31]
Transposition in social order and cultural destruction
Emperor Meiji, the 122nd
emperor of Japan
In the 1860s, Japan began to experience great social turmoil and rapid modernization. The feudal caste
system in Japan formally ended in 1869 with the Meiji restoration. In 1871, the newly formed Meiji
government issued a decree called Senmin Haishirei (
Edict Abolishing Ignoble Classes)
giving burakumin equal legal status. It is currently better known as the Kaihōrei (
Emancipation
Edict). However, the elimination of their economic monopolies over certain occupations actually led to a
decline in their general living standards, while social discrimination simply continued. For example, the ban
on the consumption of meat from livestock was lifted in 1871, and many former burakumin moved on to
work in abattoirs and as butchers. However, slow-changing social attitudes, especially in the countryside,
meant that abattoirs and workers were met with hostility from local residents. Continued ostracism as well
as the decline in living standards led to former burakumin communities turning into slum areas.
賤民廃止令
解放令
In the Blood tax riots, the Japanese Meiji government brutally put down revolts by Japanese samurai angry
that the traditional untouchable status of burakumin was legally revoked.
The social tension continued to grow during the Meiji period, affecting
religious practices and institutions. Conversion from traditional faith was no
longer legally forbidden, officials lifted the 250-year ban on Christianity,
and missionaries of established Christian churches reentered Japan. The
traditional syncreticism between Shinto and Buddhism ended. Losing the
protection of the Japanese government which Buddhism had enjoyed for
centuries, Buddhist monks faced radical difficulties in sustaining their
institutions, but their activities also became less restrained by governmental
policies and restrictions. As social conflicts emerged in this last decade of
the Edo period, some new religious movements appeared, which were
directly influenced by shamanism and Shinto.
Emperor Ogimachi issued edicts to ban Catholicism in 1565 and 1568, but
Ōura Church, Nagasaki
to little effect. Beginning in 1587 with imperial regent Toyotomi
Hideyoshi's ban on Jesuit missionaries, Christianity was repressed as a
threat to national unity. Under Hideyoshi and the succeeding Tokugawa
shogunate, Catholic Christianity was repressed and adherents were persecuted. After the Tokugawa
shogunate banned Christianity in 1620, it ceased to exist publicly. Many Catholics went underground,
becoming hidden Christians (
, kakure kirishitan), while others lost their lives. After Japan
was opened to foreign powers in 1853, many Christian clergymen were sent from Catholic, Protestant, and
Orthodox churches, though proselytism was still banned. Only after the Meiji Restoration, was Christianity
re-established in Japan. Freedom of religion was introduced in 1871, giving all Christian communities the
right to legal existence and preaching.
隠れキリシタン
Eastern Orthodoxy was brought to Japan in the 19th century by St. Nicholas (baptized as Ivan Dmitrievich
Kasatkin),[32] who was sent in 1861 by the Russian Orthodox Church to Hakodate, Hokkaidō as priest to a
chapel of the Russian Consulate.[33] St. Nicholas of Japan made his own translation of the New Testament
and some other religious books (Lenten Triodion, Pentecostarion, Feast Services, Book of Psalms,
Irmologion) into Japanese.[34] Nicholas has since been canonized as a saint by the Patriarchate of Moscow
in 1970, and is now recognized as St. Nicholas, Equal-to-the-Apostles to Japan. His commemoration day is
February 16. Andronic Nikolsky, appointed the first Bishop of Kyoto and later martyred as the archbishop
of Perm during the Russian Revolution, was also canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as a Saint
and Martyr in the year 2000.
Divie Bethune McCartee was the first ordained Presbyterian minister missionary to visit Japan, in 1861–
1862. His gospel tract translated into Japanese was among the first Protestant literature in Japan. In 1865,
McCartee moved back to Ningbo, China, but others have followed in his footsteps. There was a burst of
growth of Christianity in the late 19th century when Japan re-opened its doors to the West. Protestant
church growth slowed dramatically in the early 20th century under the influence of the military government
during the Shōwa period.
Under the Meiji Restoration, the practices of the samurai classes, deemed feudal and unsuitable for modern
times following the end of sakoku in 1853, resulted in a number of edicts intended to 'modernise' the
appearance of upper class Japanese men. With the Dampatsurei Edict of 1871 issued by Emperor Meiji
during the early Meiji Era, men of the samurai classes were forced to cut their hair short, effectively
abandoning the chonmage (chonmage) hairstyle.[35]: 149
During the early 20th century, the government was suspicious towards a number of unauthorized religious
movements and periodically made attempts to suppress them. Government suppression was especially
severe from the 1930s until the early 1940s, when the growth of Japanese nationalism and State Shinto
were closely linked. Under the Meiji regime lèse majesté prohibited insults against the Emperor and his
Imperial House, and also against some major Shinto shrines which were believed to be tied strongly to the
Emperor. The government strengthened its control over religious institutions that were considered to
undermine State Shinto or nationalism.
The majority of Japanese castles were smashed and destroyed in the late 19th century in the Meiji
restoration by the Japanese people and government in order to modernize and westernize Japan and break
from their past feudal era of the Daimyo and Shoguns. It was only due to the 1964 Summer Olympics in
Japan that cheap concrete replicas of those castles were built for tourists.[36][37][38] The vast majority of
castles in Japan today are new replicas made out of concrete.[39][40][41] In 1959 a concrete keep was built
for Nagoya castle.[42]
During the Meiji restoration's Shinbutsu bunri, tens of thousands of Japanese Buddhist religious idols and
temples were smashed and destroyed.[43][44] Many statues still lie in ruins. Replica temples were rebuilt
with concrete. Japan then closed and shut done tens of thousands of traditional old Shinto shrines in the
Shrine Consolidation Policy and the Meiji government built the new modern 15 shrines of the Kenmu
restoration as a political move to link the Meiji restoration to the Kenmu restoration for their new State
Shinto cult.
Japanese had to look at old paintings in order to find out what the Horyuji temple used to look like when
they rebuilt it. The rebuilding was originally planned for the Shōwa era.[45]
The Japanese used mostly concrete in 1934 to rebuild the Togetsukyo Bridge, unlike the original destroyed
wooden version of the bridge from 836.[46]
Political reform
The idea of a written constitution had been a subject of heated debate within and outside of the government
since the beginnings of the Meiji government. The conservative Meiji oligarchy viewed anything
resembling democracy or republicanism with suspicion and trepidation, and favored a gradualist approach.
The Freedom and People's Rights Movement demanded the immediate establishment of an elected national
assembly, and the promulgation of a constitution.
The constitution recognized the need for change and modernization after the removal of the shogunate:
We, the Successor to the
prosperous Throne of Our
Predecessors, do humbly and
Prince Aritomo Yamagata,
who was twice Prime
Minister of Japan. He was
one of the main architects of
the military and political
foundations of early modern
Japan.
solemnly swear to the Imperial
Founder of Our House and to
Our other Imperial Ancestors
that, in pursuance of a great
policy co-extensive with the
Heavens and with the Earth,
We shall maintain and secure
from decline the ancient form
of
government.
...
In
consideration
of
the
progressive tendency of the
course of human affairs and in
parallel with the advance of
civilization, We deem it
expedient, in order to give
clearness and distinctness to
the instructions bequeathed by
the Imperial Founder of Our
House and by Our other
Imperial
Ancestors,
to
establish fundamental laws. ...
Interior of the Japanese
Parliament, showing the
Prime Minister speaking
addressing the House of
Peers, 1915
Imperial Japan was founded, de jure, after the 1889 signing of Constitution of the Empire of Japan. The
constitution formalized much of the Empire's political structure and gave many responsibilities and powers
to the Emperor.
Article 1. The Empire of Japan shall be reigned over and governed by a line of Emperors
unbroken for ages eternal.
Article 2. The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by Imperial male descendants,
according to the provisions of the Imperial House Law.
Article 3. The Emperor is sacred and inviolable.
Article 4. The Emperor is the head of the Empire, combining in Himself the rights of
sovereignty, and exercises them, according to the provisions of the present Constitution.
Article 5. The Emperor exercises the legislative power with the consent of the Imperial Diet.
Article 6. The Emperor gives sanction to laws, and orders them to be promulgated and
executed.
Article 7. The Emperor convokes the Imperial Diet, opens, closes and prorogues it, and
dissolves the House of Representatives.
Article 11. The Emperor has the supreme command of the Army and Navy.[47]
Article 13. The Emperor declares war, makes peace, and concludes treaties.
In 1890, the Imperial Diet was established in response to the Meiji Constitution. The Diet consisted of the
House of Representatives of Japan and the House of Peers. Both houses opened seats for colonial people as
well as Japanese. The Imperial Diet continued until 1947.[8]
Economic development
The process of modernization was closely monitored and heavily subsidized by the Meiji government in
close connection with a powerful clique of companies known as zaibatsu (e.g.: Mitsui and Mitsubishi).
Borrowing and adapting technology from the West, Japan gradually took control of much of Asia's market
for manufactured goods, beginning with textiles. The economic structure
became very mercantilistic, importing raw materials and exporting finished
products — a reflection of Japan's relative scarcity of raw materials.
Economic reforms included a unified modern currency based on the yen,
banking, commercial and tax laws, stock exchanges, and a communications
network. The government was initially involved in economic
modernization, providing a number of "model factories" to facilitate the
transition to the modern period. The transition took time. By the 1890s,
however, the Meiji had successfully established a modern institutional
framework that would transform Japan into an advanced capitalist
economy. By this time, the government had largely relinquished direct
control of the modernization process, primarily for budgetary reasons.
Many of the former daimyōs, whose pensions had been paid in a lump
sum, benefited greatly through investments they made in emerging
industries.
The Tokyo Industrial Exhibition, 1907
(Mitsubishi pavilion and Exhibition
halls)
Marunouchi District in 1920, looking
towards the Imperial Palace
Baron Masuda Tarokaja, a
member of the House of
Peers (Kazoku). His father,
Baron Masuda Takashi, was
responsible for transforming
Mitsui into a zaibatsu.
Japan
emerged
from
the
Tokugawa-Meiji transition as an
industrialized nation. From the
onset, the Meiji rulers embraced the
concept of a market economy and
adopted
British
and
North
American forms of free enterprise capitalism. Rapid growth and
structural change characterized Japan's two periods of economic
development after 1868. Initially, the economy grew only
moderately and relied heavily on traditional Japanese agriculture to
finance modern industrial infrastructure. By the time the RussoJapanese War began in 1904, 65% of employment and 38% of the
gross domestic product (GDP) were still based on agriculture, but
modern industry had begun to expand substantially. By the late
1920s, manufacturing and mining amounted to 34% of GDP,
compared with 20% for all of agriculture.[48] Transportation and
communications developed to sustain heavy industrial
development.
From 1894, Japan built an extensive empire that included Taiwan,
Korea, Manchuria, and parts of northern China. The Japanese
regarded this sphere of influence as a political and economic
necessity, which prevented foreign states from strangling Japan by
blocking its access to raw materials and crucial sea-lanes. Japan's
large military force was regarded as essential to the empire's
defense and prosperity by obtaining natural resources that the
Japanese islands lacked.
First Sino-Japanese War
A 1-yen banknote, 1881
The First Sino-Japanese War, fought in 1894 and 1895, revolved
around the issue of control and influence over Korea under the rule
of the Joseon Dynasty. Korea had traditionally been a tributary state of China's Qing Empire, which
exerted large influence over the conservative Korean officials who gathered around the royal family of the
Joseon kingdom. On February 27, 1876, after several confrontations between Korean isolationists and the
Japanese, Japan imposed the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876, forcing Korea
open to Japanese trade. The act blocks any other power from dominating
Korea, resolving to end the centuries-old Chinese suzerainty.
On June 4, 1894, Korea requested aid from the Qing Empire in suppressing
the Donghak Rebellion. The Qing government sent 2,800 troops to Korea.
The Japanese countered by sending an 8,000-troop expeditionary force (the
Oshima Composite Brigade) to Korea. The first 400 troops arrived on June
9 en route to Seoul, and 3,000 landed at Incheon on June 12.[49] The Qing
government turned down Japan's suggestion for Japan and China to
cooperate to reform the Korean government. When Korea demanded that
Japan withdraw its troops from Korea, the Japanese refused. In early June
1894, the 8,000 Japanese troops captured the Korean king Gojong,
occupied the Royal Palace in Seoul and, by June 25, installed a puppet
government in Seoul. The new pro-Japanese Korean government granted
Japan the right to expel Qing forces while Japan dispatched more troops to
Korea.
China objected and war ensued. Japanese ground troops routed the Chinese
forces on the Liaodong Peninsula, and nearly destroyed the Chinese navy
in the Battle of the Yalu River. The Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed
between Japan and China, which ceded the Liaodong Peninsula and the
island of Taiwan to Japan. After the peace treaty, Russia, Germany, and
France forced Japan to withdraw from Liaodong Peninsula. Soon
afterward, Russia occupied the Liaodong Peninsula, built the Port Arthur
fortress, and based the Russian Pacific Fleet in the port. Germany occupied
Jiaozhou Bay, built Tsingtao fortress and based the German East Asia
Squadron in this port.
Thomas Blake Glover was a
Scottish merchant in
Bakumatsu and received
Japan's second highest
order from Emperor Meiji in
recognition of his
contributions to Japan's
industrialization.
Boxer Rebellion
Map of the Japanese Empire in
1895. This map was issued shortly
after the Japanese invasion of
Taiwan and is consequently one of
the first Japanese maps to include
Taiwan as a possession of Imperial
Japan.
In 1900, Japan joined an
international military coalition set
up in response to the Boxer
Rebellion in the Qing Empire of
China. Japan provided the largest
contingent of troops: 20,840, as
well as 18 warships. Of the total,
20,300 were Imperial Japanese
Army troops of the 5th Infantry
Division under Lt. General
Yamaguchi
Motoomi;
the
remainder
were
540
naval
rikusentai (marines) from the
Imperial Japanese Navy.
Prince Katsura Tarō, thrice
Prime Minister and the Lord
Keeper of the Privy Seal of
Japan. Katsura commanded
the IJA 3rd Division under
his mentor, Field Marshal
Yamagata Aritomo, during
the First Sino-Japanese
War.
At the beginning of the Boxer Rebellion the Japanese only had 215 troops in northern China stationed at
Tientsin; nearly all of them were naval rikusentai from the Kasagi and the Atago, under the command of
Captain Shimamura Hayao.[50] The Japanese were able to contribute 52 men to the Seymour
Expedition.[50] On June 12, 1900, the advance of the Seymour Expedition was halted some 50 kilometres
(30 mi) from the capital, by mixed Boxer and Chinese regular army forces. The vastly outnumbered allies
withdrew to the vicinity of Tianjin, having suffered more than 300 casualties.[51] The army general staff in
Tokyo had become aware of the worsening conditions in China and had drafted ambitious contingency
plans,[52] but in the wake of the Triple Intervention five years before, the government refused to deploy
large numbers of troops unless requested by the western powers.[52] However three days later, a
provisional force of 1,300 troops commanded by Major General Fukushima Yasumasa was to be deployed
to northern China. Fukushima was chosen because he spoke fluent English which enabled him to
communicate with the British commander. The force landed near Tianjin on July 5.[52]
On June 17, 1900, naval Rikusentai from the Kasagi and Atago had joined
British, Russian, and German sailors to seize the Dagu forts near
Tianjin.[52] In light of the precarious situation, the British were compelled
to ask Japan for additional reinforcements, as the Japanese had the only
readily available forces in the region.[52] Britain at the time was heavily
engaged in the Boer War, so a large part of the British army was tied down
in South Africa. Further, deploying large numbers of troops from its
garrisons in India would take too much time and weaken internal security
there.[52] Overriding personal doubts, Foreign Minister Aoki Shūzō
calculated that the advantages of participating in an allied coalition were too
attractive to ignore. Prime Minister Yamagata agreed, but others in the
cabinet demanded that there be guarantees from the British in return for the
risks and costs of the major deployment of Japanese troops.[52] On July 6,
1900, the 5th Infantry Division was alerted for possible deployment to
China, but no timetable was set for this. Two days later, with more ground
troops urgently needed to lift the siege of the foreign legations at Peking,
the British ambassador offered the Japanese government one million British
pounds in exchange for Japanese participation.[52]
Marquess Komura Jutaro,
1911. Komura became
Minister for Foreign Affairs
under the first Katsura
administration, and signed
the Boxer Protocol on behalf
of Japan.
Shortly afterward, advance units of the 5th Division departed for China,
bringing Japanese strength to 3,800 personnel out of the 17,000 of allied
forces.[52] The commander of the 5th Division, Lt. General Yamaguchi
Motoomi, had taken operational control from Fukushima. Japanese troops were involved in the storming of
Tianjin on July 14,[52] after which the allies consolidated and awaited the remainder of the 5th Division and
other coalition reinforcements. By the time the siege of legations was lifted on August 14, 1900, the
Japanese force of 13,000 was the largest single contingent and made up about 40% of the approximately
33,000 strong allied expeditionary force.[52] Japanese troops involved in the fighting had acquitted
themselves well, although a British military observer felt their aggressiveness, densely-packed formations,
and over-willingness to attack cost them excessive and disproportionate casualties.[53] For example, during
the Tianjin fighting, the Japanese suffered more than half of the allied casualties (400 out of 730) but
comprised less than one quarter (3,800) of the force of 17,000.[53] Similarly at Beijing, the Japanese
accounted for almost two-thirds of the losses (280 of 453) even though they constituted slightly less than
half of the assault force.[53]
After the uprising, Japan and the Western countries signed the Boxer Protocol with China, which permitted
them to station troops on Chinese soil to protect their citizens. After the treaty, Russia continued to occupy
all of Manchuria.
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was a conflict for control of Korea and parts of Manchuria between the Russian
Empire and Empire of Japan that took place from 1904 to 1905. The victory greatly raised Japan's stature in
the world of global politics.[54] The war is marked by the Japanese opposition of Russian interests in
Korea, Manchuria, and China, notably, the Liaodong Peninsula, controlled by the city of Ryojun.
Originally, in the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Ryojun had been given to
Japan. This part of the treaty was overruled by Western powers,
which gave the port to the Russian Empire, furthering Russian
interests in the region. These interests came into conflict with
Japanese interests. The war began with a surprise attack on the
Russian Eastern fleet stationed at Port Arthur, which was followed
by the Battle of Port Arthur. Those elements that attempted escape
were defeated by the Japanese navy under Admiral Togo
Heihachiro at the Battle of the Yellow Sea. Following a late start,
the Russian Baltic fleet was denied passage through the Britishcontrolled Suez Canal. The fleet arrived on the scene a year later,
only to be annihilated in the Battle of Tsushima. While the ground
war did not fare as poorly for the Russians, the Japanese forces
were significantly more aggressive than their Russian counterparts
and gained a political advantage
that culminated with the Treaty of
Portsmouth, negotiated in the
United States by the American
president Theodore Roosevelt. As a
result, Russia lost the part of
Sakhalin Island south of 50 degrees
North latitude (which became
Karafuto Prefecture), as well as
many mineral rights in Manchuria.
In addition, Russia's defeat cleared
the way for Japan to annex Korea
outright in 1910.
Count Tadasu Hayashi was
the resident minister to the
United Kingdom. While
serving in London from
1900, he worked to
successfully conclude the
Anglo-Japanese Alliance
and signed on behalf of the
government of Japan on
January 30, 1902.
French illustration of a Japanese
assault on entrenched Russian
troops during the Russo-Japanese
War
Japanese riflemen during the RussoJapanese War
Annexation of Korea
In the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, various Western countries
actively competed for influence,
trade, and territory in East Asia,
and Japan sought to join these
modern colonial powers. The
newly
modernised
Meiji
government of Japan turned to Korea, then in the sphere of
influence of China's Qing dynasty. The Japanese government
initially sought to separate Korea from Qing and make Korea a
Japanese satellite in order to further their security and national
interests.[55]
Port Arthur viewed from the Top of
Gold Hill, after its capitulation in
1905. From left are the wrecks of
Russian pre-dreadnought battleships
Peresvet, Poltava, Retvizan, Pobeda
and the protected cruisers Pallada
In January 1876, following the Meiji Restoration, Japan employed gunboat diplomacy to pressure the
Joseon Dynasty into signing the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876, which granted extraterritorial rights to
Japanese citizens and opened three Korean ports to Japanese trade. The rights granted to Japan under this
unequal treaty,[56] were similar to those granted western powers in Japan following the visit of Commodore
Perry.[56] Japanese involvement in Korea increased during the 1890s, a period of political upheaval.
Korea was occupied and declared a Japanese protectorate following the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905. After
proclaimed the founding of the Korean Empire, Korea was officially annexed in Japan through the
annexation treaty in 1910.
일제 강점
일제시
倭政
In Korea, the period is usually described as the "Time of Japanese Forced Occupation" (Hangul:
; Ilje gangjeomgi, Hanja:
). Other terms include "Japanese Imperial Period" (Hangul:
, Ilje sidae, Hanja:
) or "Japanese administration" (Hangul:
, Wae jeong, Hanja:
). In
Japan, a more common description is "The Korea of Japanese rule" (
, Nippon Tōchijidai no Chōsen). The Korean Peninsula was officially part of the Empire of Japan for 35 years, from
August 29, 1910, until the formal Japanese rule ended, de jure, on September 2, 1945, upon the surrender
of Japan in World War II. The 1905 and 1910 treaties were eventually declared "null and void" by both
Japan and South Korea in 1965.
기
대
日帝强占期
日帝時代
왜정
日本統治時代の朝鮮
Taishō era (1912–1926)
World War I
Japan entered World War I on the
side of the Allies in 1914, seizing
the opportunity of Germany's
distraction with the European War
to expand its sphere of influence in
China and the Pacific. Japan
Topographic map of the Empire of
declared war on Germany on
Japan in November, 1918
August 23, 1914. Japanese and
allied British Empire forces soon
moved to occupy Tsingtao fortress, the German East Asia Squadron base,
Emperor Taishō, the 123rd
German-leased territories in China's Shandong Province as well as the
emperor of Japan
Marianas, Caroline, and Marshall Islands in the Pacific, which were part of
German New Guinea. The swift invasion in the German territory of the
Kiautschou Bay concession and the Siege of Tsingtao proved successful.
The German colonial troops surrendered on November 7, 1914, and Japan gained the German holdings.
With its Western allies, notably the United Kingdom, heavily involved in the war in Europe, Japan
dispatched a Naval fleet to the Mediterranean Sea to aid Allied shipping. Japan sought further to
consolidate its position in China by presenting the Twenty-One Demands to China in January 1915. In the
face of slow negotiations with the Chinese government, widespread anti-Japanese sentiment in China, and
international condemnation, Japan withdrew the final group of demands, and treaties were signed in May
1915. The Anglo-Japanese Alliance was renewed and expanded in scope twice, in 1905 and 1911, before
its demise in 1921. It was officially terminated in 1923.
Siberian Intervention
After the fall of the Tsarist regime and the later provisional regime in 1917, the new Bolshevik government
signed a separate peace treaty with Germany. After this, various factions that succeeded the Russian
Empire fought amongst themselves in a multi-sided civil war.
In July 1918, President Wilson asked the Japanese government to supply 7,000 troops as part of an
international coalition of 25,000 troops planned to support the American Expeditionary Force Siberia.
Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake agreed to send 12,000 troops but under the Japanese command rather
than as part of an international coalition. The Japanese had several hidden
motives for the venture, which included an intense hostility and fear of
communism; a determination to recoup historical losses to Russia; and the
desire to settle the "northern problem" in Japan's security, either through
the creation of a buffer state or through outright territorial acquisition.
By November 1918, more than
70,000 Japanese troops under Chief
of Staff Yui Mitsue had occupied
all ports and major towns in the
Russian Maritime Provinces and
eastern Siberia. Japan received 765
Polish orphans from Siberia.[57][58]
Native Micronesian
In June 1920, around 450 Japanese
constables of Truk Island,
civilians and 350 Japanese soldiers,
Commanding Officers and Chiefs of
circa 1930. Truk became a
along
with
Russian
White
Army
Staff of the Allied Military Mission to
possession of the Empire of
supporters, were massacred by
Siberia, Vladivostok during the Allied
Japan under a mandate from
partisan
forces
associated
with
the
Intervention
the League of Nations
Red Army at Nikolayevsk on the
following Germany's defeat
Amur River; the United States and
in World War I.
its allied coalition partners consequently withdrew from Vladivostok after
the capture and execution of White Army leader Admiral Aleksandr
Kolchak by the Red Army. However, the Japanese decided to stay, primarily due to fears of the spread of
Communism so close to Japan and Japanese-controlled Korea and Manchuria. The Japanese army provided
military support to the Japanese-backed Provisional Priamurye Government based in Vladivostok against
the Moscow-backed Far Eastern Republic.
The continued Japanese presence concerned the United States, which suspected that Japan had territorial
designs on Siberia and the Russian Far East. Subjected to intense diplomatic pressure by the United States
and United Kingdom, and facing increasing domestic opposition due to the economic and human cost, the
administration of Prime Minister Katō Tomosaburō withdrew the Japanese forces in October 1922.
Japanese casualties from the expedition were 5,000 dead from combat or illness, with the expedition
costing over 900 million yen.
"Taishō Democracy"
Groundbreaking ceremony of Ginza
Line, the oldest subway line in Asia,
1925. Front row, right to left: Rudolf
Briske, Noritsugu Hayakawa,
Furuichi Kōi, Ryutaro Nomura.
The two-party political system that had been developing in Japan
since the turn of the century came of age after World War I, giving
rise to the nickname for the period, "Taishō Democracy". The
public grew disillusioned with the growing national debt and the
new election laws, which retained the old minimum tax
qualifications for voters. Calls were raised for universal suffrage
and the dismantling of the old political party network. Students,
university professors, and journalists, bolstered by labor unions and
inspired by a variety of democratic, socialist, communist, anarchist,
and other thoughts, mounted large but orderly public
demonstrations in favor of universal male suffrage in 1919 and
1920.
The election of Katō Komei as Prime
Minister of Japan continued democratic
reforms that had been advocated by
influential individuals on the left. This
culminated in the passage of universal male
suffrage in March 1925. This bill gave all
male subjects over 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
increased
from
3.3
million
to
[59]
12.5 million.
In the political milieu of the day, there was
a proliferation of new parties, including
socialist and communist parties. Fear of a
broader electorate, left-wing power, and the
growing social change led to the passage of
the Peace Preservation Law in 1925, which
forbade any change in the political structure or the abolition of private
property.
Count Katō Komei, the 14th
Prime Minister of Japan
from June 11, 1924, until his
death on January 28, 1926
Count Itagaki Taisuke is
credited as being the first
Japanese party leader and
an important force for
liberalism in Meiji Japan.
In 1932, Park Chun-kum was elected to the House of Representatives in the Japanese general election as
the first person elected from a colonial background.[60] In 1935, democracy was introduced in Taiwan and
in response to Taiwanese public opinion, local assemblies were established.[61] In 1942, 38 colonial people
were elected to local assemblies of the Japanese homeland.[60]
憲政会
Unstable coalitions and divisiveness in the Diet led the Kenseikai (
Constitutional Government
Association) and the Seiyū Hontō (
True Seiyūkai) to merge as the Rikken Minseitō (
Constitutional Democratic Party) in 1927. The Rikken Minseitō platform was committed to the
parliamentary system, democratic politics, and world peace. Thereafter, until 1932, the Seiyūkai and the
Rikken Minseitō alternated in power.
政友本党
立憲民政党
Despite the political realignments and hope for more orderly government, domestic economic crises
plagued whichever party held power. Fiscal austerity programs and appeals for public support of such
conservative government policies as the Peace Preservation Law—including reminders of the moral
obligation to make sacrifices for the emperor and the state—were attempted as solutions.
Early Shōwa (1926–1930)
Rise of militarism and its social organisations
Important institutional links existed between the party in government (Kōdōha) and military and political
organizations, such as the Imperial Young Federation and the "Political Department" of the Kempeitai.
Amongst the himitsu kessha (secret societies), the Kokuryu-kai and Kokka Shakai Shugi Gakumei
(National Socialist League) also had close ties to the government. The Tonarigumi (residents committee)
groups, the Nation Service Society (national government trade union), and Imperial Farmers Association
were all allied as well. Other organizations and groups related with the government in wartime were the
Double Leaf Society, Kokuhonsha, Taisei Yokusankai, Imperial Youth Corps, Keishichō (to 1945),
Shintoist Rites Research Council, Treaty Faction, Fleet Faction, and Volunteer Fighting Corps.
Nationalism and
decline of democracy
Sadao Araki was an
important figurehead and
founder of the Army party
and the most important
militarist thinker in his time.
His first ideological works
date from his leadership of
the Kōdōha
(Imperial
Tokyo Kaikan was requisitioned as
Emperor Shōwa during an Army
Benevolent
Rule
or
Action
the meeting place for members of
inspection on January 8, 1938
Group), opposed by the
the Imperial Rule Assistance
Tōseiha (Control Group)
Association (Taisei Yokusankai) in
led by General Kazushige
the early days.
Ugaki. He linked the ancient
(bushido code) and contemporary
local and European fascist ideals (see Statism in Shōwa Japan), to form the
ideological basis of the movement (Shōwa nationalism).
From September 1931, the Japanese were becoming more locked into the
course that would lead them into the Second World War, with Araki
leading the way. Totalitarianism, militarism, and expansionism were to
become the rule, with fewer voices able to speak against it. In a September
23 news conference, Araki first mentioned the philosophy of "Kōdōha"
(The Imperial Way Faction). The concept of Kodo linked the Emperor, the
people, land, and morality as indivisible. This led to the creation of a "new"
Shinto and increased Emperor worship.
On February 26, 1936, a coup d'état was
Japanese Pan-Asian writer
attempted (the February 26 Incident).
Shūmei Ōkawa
Launched by the ultranationalist Kōdōha
faction with the military, it ultimately failed
due to the intervention of the Emperor. Kōdōha members were purged from
the top military positions and the Tōseiha faction gained dominance.
However, both factions believed in expansionism, a strong military, and a
coming war. Furthermore, Kōdōha members, while removed from the
military, still had political influence within the government.
The state was being transformed to serve the Army and the Emperor.
Symbolic katana swords came back into fashion as the martial embodiment
of these beliefs, and the Nambu pistol became its contemporary equivalent,
with the implicit message that the Army doctrine of close combat would
Rebel troops assembling at
prevail. The final objective, as envisioned by Army thinkers such as Sadao
police headquarters during
the February 26 Incident
Araki and right-wing line followers, was a return to the old Shogunate
system, but in the form of a contemporary Military Shogunate. In such a
government the Emperor would once more be a figurehead (as in the Edo
period). Real power would fall to a leader very similar to a führer or duce, though with the power less
nakedly held. On the other hand, the traditionalist Navy militarists defended the Emperor and a
constitutional monarchy with a significant religious aspect.
A third point of view was supported by Prince Chichibu, a brother of Emperor Shōwa, who repeatedly
counseled him to implement a direct imperial rule, even if that meant suspending the constitution.[62]
With the launching of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association in 1940 by Prime Minister Fumimaro
Konoe, Japan would turn to a form of government that resembled totalitarianism. This unique style of
government, very similar to fascism, was known as Shōwa Statism.
In the early twentieth century, a distinctive style of architecture was developed for the empire. Now referred
to as Imperial Crown Style (
, teikan yōshiki), before the end of World War II, it was originally
referred to as Emperor's Crown Amalgamate Style, and sometimes Emperor's Crown Style (
,
Teikanshiki). The style is identified by Japanese-style roofing on top of Neoclassical styled buildings; and
can have a centrally elevated structure with a pyramidal dome. The prototype for this style was developed
by architect Shimoda Kikutaro in his proposal for the Imperial Diet Building (present National Diet
Building) in 1920 – although his proposal was ultimately rejected. Outside of the Japanese mainland, in
places like Taiwan and Korea, Imperial Crown Style architecture often included regional architectural
elements.[63]
帝冠様式
帝冠式
Overall, during the 1920s, Japan changed its direction toward a democratic system of government.
However, parliamentary government was not rooted deeply enough to withstand the economic and political
pressures of the 1930s, during which military leaders became increasingly influential. These shifts in power
were made possible by the ambiguity and imprecision of the Meiji Constitution, particularly as regarded the
position of the Emperor in relation to the constitution.
Economic factors
During the 1920s, the whole global economy was dubbed as "a decade of
global uncertainty". At the same time, the zaibatsu trading groups
(principally Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, and Yasuda) looked towards
great future expansion. Their main concern was a shortage of raw
materials. Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe combined social concerns with
the needs of capital, and planned for expansion. Their economic growth
was stimulated by certain domestic policies and it can be seen in the steady
and progressive increase of materials such as in the iron, steel and chemical
industry.[64]
The main goals of Japan's expansionism were acquisition and protection of
spheres of influence, maintenance of territorial integrity, acquisition of raw
materials, and access to Asian markets. Western nations, notably the United
A bank run during the
Kingdom, France, and the United States, had for long exhibited great
Shōwa financial crisis,
interest in the commercial opportunities in China and other parts of Asia.
March 1927
These opportunities had attracted Western investment because of the
availability of raw materials for both domestic production and re-export to
Asia. Japan desired these opportunities in planning the development of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity
Sphere.
The Great Depression, just as in many other countries, hindered Japan's economic growth. The Japanese
Empire's main problem lay in that rapid industrial expansion had turned the country into a major
manufacturing and industrial power that required raw materials; however, these had to be obtained from
overseas, as there was a critical lack of natural resources on the home islands.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Japan needed to import raw materials such
as iron, rubber, and oil to maintain strong economic growth. Most
of these resources came from the United States. The Japanese felt
that acquiring resource-rich territories would establish economic
self-sufficiency and independence, and they also hoped to jumpstart the nation's economy in the midst of the depression. As a
result, Japan set its sights on East Asia, specifically Manchuria with
its many resources; Japan needed these resources to continue its
economic development and maintain national integrity.
National Diet Building, 1930
Later Shōwa (1931–1941)
Prewar expansionism
Manchuria
In 1931, Japan invaded and conquered Northeast China
(Manchuria) with little resistance. Japan claimed that this invasion
was a liberation of the local Manchus from the Chinese, although
the majority of the population were Han Chinese as a result of the
large scale settlement of Chinese in Manchuria in the 19th century.
Japan then established a puppet regime called Manchukuo
(Chinese:
), and installed the last Manchu Emperor of
China, Puyi, as the official head of state. Jehol, a Chinese territory
bordering Manchukuo, was later also taken in 1933. This puppet
regime had to carry on a protracted pacification campaign against
the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Armies in Manchuria. In 1936, Japan
created a similar Mongolian puppet state in Inner Mongolia named
Mengjiang (Chinese:
), which was also predominantly
Chinese as a result of recent Han immigration to the area. At that
time, East Asians were banned from immigration to North America
and Australia, but the newly established Manchukuo was open to
immigration of Asians. Japan had an emigration plan to encourage
colonization; the Japanese population in Manchuria subsequently
grew to 850,000.[65] With rich natural resources and labor force in
Manchuria, army-owned corporations turned Manchuria into a
solid material support machine of the Japanese Army.[66]
滿洲國
Political map of the Asia-Pacific
region, 1939
蒙疆
Japanese troops entering Shenyang,
Northeast China during the Mukden
Incident, 1931
Second Sino-Japanese War
Japan invaded China proper in 1937, beginning a war against a united front of Mao Zedong's communists
and Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists. On December 13 of that same year, the Nationalist capital of Nanjing
surrendered to Japanese troops. In the event known as the "Nanjing Massacre", Japanese troops massacred
a large number of the defending garrison. It is estimated that as many as 200,000 to 300,000 including
civilians, may have been killed, although the actual numbers are uncertain and possibly inflated coupled
with the fact that the government of the People's Republic of China has never undertaken a full accounting
of the massacre. In total, an estimated 20 million Chinese, mostly civilians, were killed during World War
II. A puppet state was also set up in China quickly afterwards,
headed by Wang Jingwei. The Second Sino-Japanese War
continued into World War II with the Communists and Nationalists
in a temporary and uneasy nominal alliance against the Japanese.
Clashes with the
Soviet Union
The Japanese occupation of Peiping
In 1938, the Japanese 19th
(Beijing) in China, on August 13,
Division entered territory
1937. Japanese troops are shown
claimed by the Soviet
passing from Peiping into the Tartar
Union, leading to the Battle
City through Zhengyangmen, the
of Lake Khasan. This
main gate leading onward to the
incursion was founded in
palaces in the Forbidden City.
IJN Special Naval Landing Forces
the Japanese belief that the
armed with the Type 11 Light
Soviet
Union
Machine Gun during the Battle of
misinterpreted
the
Shanghai, 1937
demarcation of the boundary, as stipulated in the Treaty of Peking,
between Imperial Russia and Manchu China (and subsequent
supplementary agreements on demarcation), and furthermore, that
the demarcation markers were tampered with.
On May 11, 1939, in the Nomonhan Incident (Battle of Khalkhin Gol), a Mongolian cavalry unit of some
70 to 90 men entered the disputed area in search of grazing for their horses, and encountered Manchukuoan
cavalry, who drove them out. Two days later the Mongolian force returned and the Manchukoans were
unable to evict them.
The IJA 23rd Division and other units of the Kwantung Army then became involved. Joseph Stalin ordered
Stavka, the Red Army's high command, to develop a plan for a counterstrike against the Japanese. In late
August, Georgy Zhukov employed encircling tactics that made skillful use of superior artillery, armor, and
air forces; this offensive nearly annihilated the 23rd Division and decimated the IJA 7th Division. On
September 15 an armistice was arranged. Nearly two years later, on April 13, 1941, the parties signed a
Neutrality Pact, in which the Soviet Union pledged to respect the territorial integrity and inviolability of
Manchukuo, while Japan agreed similarly for the Mongolian People's Republic.
Tripartite Pact
In 1938, Japan prohibited the expulsion of the Jews in Japan,
Manchuria, and China in accordance with the spirit of racial
equality on which Japan had insisted for many years.[67][68]
The Second Sino-Japanese War had seen tensions rise between
Imperial Japan and the United States; events such as the Panay
incident and the Nanjing Massacre turned American public opinion
against Japan. With the occupation of French Indochina in the years
of 1940–41, and with the continuing war in China, the United
States and its allies placed embargoes on Japan of strategic
materials such as scrap metal and oil, which were vitally needed for
the war effort. The Japanese were faced with the option of either
Signing ceremony for the Axis
Powers Tripartite Pact
withdrawing from China and losing face or seizing and securing new sources of raw materials in the
resource-rich, European-controlled colonies of Southeast Asia—specifically British Malaya and the Dutch
East Indies (modern-day Indonesia).
On September 27, 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy. Their objectives were to
"establish and maintain a new order of things" in their respective world regions and spheres of influence,
with Germany and Italy in Europe, and Japan in Asia. The signatories of this alliance became known as the
Axis Powers. The pact also called for mutual protection—if any one of the member powers was attacked
by a country not already at war, excluding the Soviet Union and for technological and economic
cooperation between the signatories.
For the sake of their own people and nation, Prime Minister Konoe formed the Taisei Yokusankai (Imperial
Rule Assistance Association) on October 12, 1940, as a ruling party in Japan.
In 1940 Japan celebrated the 2600th anniversary of Jimmu's ascension and
built a monument to Hakkō ichiu despite the fact that all historians knew
Jimmu was a made up figure. In 1941 the Japanese government charged
the one historian who dared to challenge Jimmu's existence publicly, Tsuda
Sokichi.[70] During the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Second World
War, the firm Iwanami Shoten was repeatedly censored because of its
positions against the war and the Emperor. Shigeo Iwanami was even
sentenced to two months in prison for the publication of the banned works
of Tsuda Sōkichi (a sentence which he did not serve, however). Shortly
before his death in 1946, he founded the newspaper Sekai, which had a
great influence in post-war Japanese intellectual circles.[71] The early 20th
century historian Tsuda Sōkichi, who put forward the then-controversial
theory that the Kojiki's accounts were not based on history (as Edo period
kokugaku and State Shinto ideology believed them to be) but rather
propagandistic myths concocted to explain and legitimize the rule of the
imperial (Yamato) dynasty, also saw Susanoo as a negative figure, arguing
that he was created to serve as the rebellious opposite of the imperial
ancestress Amaterasu.[72] A historian in 20th century, Sokichi Tsuda’s view
of history, which has become mainstream after the World War II, is based
on his idea. Many scholars today also believe that the mythology of
Takamagahara in Kojiki was created by the ruling class to make people
believe that the class was precious because they originated in the heavenly
realm.[73][74]
Founding ceremony of the
hakkō ichiu monument on
April 3, 1940. It had Prince
Chichibu's calligraphy of
hakkō ichiu carved on its
front side.[69]
World War II (1941–1945)
Facing an oil embargo by the United States as well as dwindling domestic
reserves, the Japanese government decided to execute a plan developed by
Isoroku Yamamoto to attack the United States Pacific Fleet in Hawaii.
While the United States was neutral and continued negotiating with Japan
for possible peace in Asia, the Imperial Japanese Navy at the same time
made its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu on December 7, 1941.
As a result, the U.S. battleship fleet was decimated and almost 2,500
people died in the attack that day. The primary objective of the attack was
to incapacitate the United States long enough for Japan to establish its longplanned South East Asian empire and defensible buffer zones. The
American public saw the attack as barbaric and treacherous and rallied
Prewar 10-sen Japanese
stamp, illustrating the hakkō
ichiu and the 2600th
anniversary of the Empire
against the Japanese. Four days later, Adolf Hitler of Germany, and Benito
Mussolini of Italy declared war on the United States, merging the separate
conflicts. The United States entered the European Theatre and Pacific
Theater in full force, thereby bringing the United States to World War II on
the side of the Allies.
Japanese conquests
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese launched offensives
against Allied forces in East and Southeast Asia, with simultaneous attacks
in British Hong Kong, British Malaya and the Philippines. Hong Kong
surrendered to the Japanese on December 25. In Malaya the Japanese
overwhelmed an Allied army composed of British, Indian, Australian and
Malay forces. The Japanese were quickly able to advance down the
Malayan Peninsula, forcing the Allied forces to retreat towards Singapore.
The Allies lacked aircover and tanks; the Japanese had complete air
superiority. The sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse on
December 10, 1941, led to the east coast of Malaya being exposed to
Japanese landings and the elimination of British naval power in the area.
By the end of January 1942, the last Allied forces crossed the strait of
Johore and into Singapore.
In the Philippines, the Japanese pushed the combined American-Filipino
force towards the Bataan Peninsula and later the island of Corregidor. By
January 1942, General Douglas MacArthur and President Manuel L.
Quezon were forced to flee in the face of Japanese advance. This marked
one of the worst defeats suffered by the Americans, leaving over 70,000
American and Filipino prisoners of war in the custody of the Japanese. On
February 15, 1942, Singapore, due to the overwhelming superiority of
Japanese forces and encirclement tactics, fell to the Japanese, causing the
largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history. An estimated
80,000 Australian, British and Indian troops were taken as prisoners of
war, joining 50,000 taken in the Japanese invasion of Malaya (modern day
Malaysia). The Japanese then seized the key oil production zones of
Borneo, Central Java, Malang, Cebu, Sumatra, and Dutch New Guinea of
the late Dutch East Indies, defeating the Dutch forces.[75] However, Allied
sabotage had made it difficult for the Japanese to restore oil production to
its pre-war peak.[76] The Japanese then consolidated their lines of supply
through capturing key islands of the Pacific, including Guadalcanal.
Emperor Shōwa and
Empress Kōjun presiding
the celebration of the 2600th
anniversary of mythical
foundation of the Empire in
November 1940
Japanese pilots who
gathered under the flag of
hakkō ichiu during the
Pacific War
Tide turns
Japanese military strategists were keenly aware of the unfavorable discrepancy between the industrial
potential of Japan and the United States. Because of this they reasoned that Japanese success hinged on
their ability to extend the strategic advantage gained at Pearl Harbor with additional rapid strategic victories.
The Japanese Command reasoned that only decisive destruction of the United States' Pacific Fleet and
conquest of its remote outposts would ensure that the Japanese Empire would not be overwhelmed by
America's industrial might.
In April 1942, Japan was bombed for the first time in the Doolittle
Raid. During the same month, after the Japanese victory in the
Battle of Bataan, the Bataan Death March was conducted, where
5,650 to 18,000 Filipinos died under the rule of the imperial
army.[77] In May 1942, failure to decisively defeat the Allies at the
Battle of the Coral Sea, in spite of Japanese numerical superiority,
equated to a strategic defeat for the Japanese. This setback was
followed in June 1942 by the catastrophic loss of four fleet carriers
at the Battle of Midway, the first decisive defeat for the Imperial
Japanese Navy. It proved to be the turning point of the war as the
Navy lost its offensive strategic capability and never managed to
reconstruct the "'critical mass' of both large numbers of carriers and
well-trained air groups".[78] Australian land forces defeated
Japanese Marines in New Guinea at the Battle of Milne Bay in
September 1942, which was the first land defeat suffered by the
Japanese in the Pacific. Further victories by the Allies at
Guadalcanal in September 1942 and New Guinea in 1943 put the
Empire of Japan on the defensive for the remainder of the war, with
Guadalcanal in particular sapping their already-limited oil
supplies.[76] During 1943 and 1944, Allied forces, backed by the
industrial might and vast raw material resources of the United
States, advanced steadily towards Japan. The Sixth United States
Army, led by General MacArthur, landed on Leyte on October 20,
1944. The Palawan massacre was committed by the imperial army
against Filipinos in December 1944.[79] In the subsequent months,
during the Philippines campaign (1944–45), the Allies, including
the combined United States forces together with the native guerrilla
units,
recaptured
the
Philippines.
A map of the Japanese advance
from 1937 to 1942
Victorious Japanese troops march
through the city center of Singapore
following the city's capture in
February 1942 (Photo from the
Imperial War Museum)
Surrender
By 1944, the Allies had
seized or bypassed and
neutralized many of Japan's
strategic bases through
Imperial Japanese Army
A model representing the attack by
paratroopers are landing during the
amphibious landings and
dive bombers from USS Yorktown
Battle of Palembang, February 13,
bombardment.
This,
and USS Enterprise on the Japanese
1942.
coupled with the losses
aircraft carriers Sōryū, Akagi and
inflicted
by
Allied
Kaga in the morning of June 4, 1942,
submarines on Japanese
during the Battle of Midway
shipping routes, began to strangle Japan's economy and undermine
its ability to supply its army. By early 1945, the US Marines had
wrested control of the Ogasawara Islands in several hard-fought battles such as the Battle of Iwo Jima,
marking the beginning of the fall of the islands of Japan. After securing airfields in Saipan and Guam in the
summer of 1944, the United States Army Air Forces conducted an intense strategic bombing campaign by
having B-29 Superfortress bombers in nighttime low altitude incendiary raids, burning Japanese cities in an
effort to pulverize Japan's war industry and shatter its morale. The Operation Meetinghouse raid on Tokyo
on the night of March 9–10, 1945, led to the deaths of approximately 120,000 civilians. Approximately
350,000–500,000 civilians died in 67 Japanese cities as a result of the incendiary bombing campaign on
Japan. Concurrent with these attacks, Japan's vital coastal shipping operations were severely hampered with
extensive aerial mining by
the
US's
Operation
Starvation.
Regardless,
these efforts did not
succeed in persuading the
Japanese
military
to
surrender. In mid-August
1945, the United States
Group of Type 2 Ka-Mi tanks on
dropped nuclear weapons
board of 2nd class transporter of the
on the Japanese cities of
The rebuilt battlecruiser Haruna sank
Imperial Japanese Navy, 1944–1945
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
at her moorings in the naval base of
These bombings were the
Kure on July 24 during a series of
first and only combat use of
bombings.
nuclear weaponry. These two bombs killed approximately 120,000
people in a matter of seconds, and as many as a result of nuclear
radiation in the following weeks, months and years. The bombs killed as many as 140,000 people in
Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki by the end of 1945.
At the Yalta agreement, the US, the UK, and the USSR had agreed that the USSR would enter the war on
Japan within three months of the defeat of Germany in Europe. This Soviet–Japanese War led to the fall of
Japan's Manchurian occupation, Soviet occupation of South Sakhalin island, and a real, imminent threat of
Soviet invasion of the home islands of Japan. This was a significant factor for some internal parties in the
Japanese decision to surrender to the US[80] and gain some protection, rather than face simultaneous Soviet
invasion as well as defeat by the US and its allies. Likewise, the superior numbers of the armies of the
Soviet Union in Europe was a factor in the US decision to demonstrate the use of atomic weapons to the
USSR, just as the Allied victory in Europe was evolving into the division of Germany and Berlin, the
division of Europe with the Iron Curtain and the subsequent Cold War.
Having ignored (mokusatsu) the Potsdam Declaration, the Empire
of Japan surrendered and ended World War II after the atomic
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the declaration of war by
the Soviet Union and subsequent invasion of Manchuria and other
territories. In a national radio address on August 15, Emperor
Hirohito announced the surrender to the Japanese people by
Gyokuon-hōsō.
The Japanese archipelago and the
Korean Peninsula in 1945 (National
Geographic)
End of the Empire of Japan
Occupation of Japan
A period known as occupied Japan followed after the war, largely spearheaded by US Army General
Douglas MacArthur to revise the Japanese constitution and de-militarize the nation. The Allied occupation,
including concurrent economic and political assistance, continued until 1952. Allied forces ordered Japan to
abolish the Meiji Constitution and enforce the 1947 Constitution of Japan. This new constitution was
imposed by the United States under the supervision of MacArthur. MacArthur included Article 9 which
changed Japan into a pacifist country.[81]
Upon adoption of the 1947 constitution, the Empire of Japan dissolved and became simply the state of
Japan, and all overseas territories were lost. Japan was reduced to the territories that were traditionally
within the Japanese cultural sphere pre-1895: the four main islands (Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and
Shikoku), the Ryukyu Islands, and the Nanpō Islands. The Kuril Islands also historically belonged to
Japan[82] and were first inhabited by the Ainu people before
coming under the control of the Matsumae clan during the Edo
Period.[83] However, the Kuril Islands were not included due to a
dispute with the Soviet Union.[8]
Japan adopted a parliamentary-based political system, and the role
of the Emperor became symbolic. The US occupation forces were
fully responsible for protecting Japan from external threats. Japan
only had a minor police force for domestic security. Japan was
under the sole control of the United States. This was the only time
in Japanese history that it was occupied by a foreign power.[84]
General MacArthur later commended the new Japanese
government that he helped establish and the new Japanese period
when he was about to send the American forces to the Korean War:
A drawing depicting a speech in the
Imperial Japanese Diet on November
1, 1945, the end of the Second World
War. In the foreground there are
several Allied soldiers watching the
proceedings from the back of the
balcony.
The Japanese people, since the war, have undergone
the greatest reformation recorded in modern history.
With a commendable will, eagerness to learn, and
marked capacity to understand, they have, from the
ashes left in war's wake, erected in Japan an edifice
dedicated to the supremacy of individual liberty and
personal dignity; and in the ensuing process there has
been created a truly representative government
committed to the advance of political morality,
freedom of economic enterprise, and social justice.
Politically, economically, and socially Japan is now
abreast of many free nations of the earth and will not
again fail the universal trust. ... I sent all four of our
occupation divisions to the Korean battlefront without
the slightest qualms as to the effect of the resulting
power vacuum upon Japan. The results fully justified
my faith. I know of no nation more serene, orderly,
and industrious, nor in which higher hopes can be
entertained for future constructive service in the
advance of the human race.
For historian John W. Dower:
In retrospect, apart from the military officer corps, the purge of alleged militarists and
ultranationalists that was conducted under the Occupation had relatively small impact on the
long-term composition of men of influence in the public and private sectors. The purge initially
brought new blood into the political parties, but this was offset by the return of huge numbers
of formerly purged conservative politicians to national as well as local politics in the early
1950s. In the bureaucracy, the purge was negligible from the outset. ... In the economic sector,
the purge similarly was only mildly disruptive, affecting less than sixteen hundred individuals
spread among some four hundred companies. Everywhere one looks, the corridors of power in
postwar Japan are crowded with men whose talents had already been recognized during the
war years, and who found the same talents highly prized in the 'new' Japan.[85]
Influential personnel
Political
In the administration of Japan dominated by the military political movement during World War II, the civil
central government was under the management of military men and their right-wing civilian allies, along
with members of the nobility and Imperial Family. The Emperor was in the center of this power structure as
supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Armed Forces and head of state.
Early period:
HIH Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa
HIH Prince Kitashirakawa Naruhisa
HIH Prince Komatsu Akihito
HIH Marquess Michitsune Koga
Prince Yamagata Aritomo
Prince Itō Hirobumi
Prince Katsura Tarō
World War II:
Prince Fumimaro Konoe
Kōki Hirota
Hideki Tojo
Prince Itō Hirobumi
His
Imperial
Highness
Prince
Kitashirakawa
Naruhisa, the 3rd
head of a collateral
branch
of
the
Japanese Imperial
Family
His
Imperial
Highness Marquess
Michitsune Koga, a
member
of
the
Imperial
Family,
descending
from
Emperor Murakami.
He is the former
Governor of Tokyo
Prefecture
His
Imperial
Highness
Count
Nagayoshi
Ogasawara,
a
member
of
the
Imperial Family
Diplomats
Early period
Marquess Komura Jutarō: Boxer Protocol & the Treaty of Portsmouth
Count Mutsu Munemitsu: Treaty of Shimonoseki
Count Hayashi Tadasu: Anglo-Japanese Alliance
Count Kaneko Kentarō: envoy to the United States
Viscount Aoki Shūzō: Foreign Minister of Japan, Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and
Navigation
Viscount Torii Tadafumi: Vice Consul to the Kingdom of Hawaii
Viscount Ishii Kikujiro: Lansing–Ishii Agreement
World War II
Baron Hiroshi Ōshima: Japanese ambassador to Nazi Germany
Military
The Empire of Japan's military was divided into two main
branches: the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese
Navy. To coordinate operations, the Imperial General
Headquarters, headed by the Emperor, was established in 1893.
Prominent generals and leaders:
Imperial Japanese Army
Early period
Field Marshal Prince Yamagata Aritomo: Chief of staff of
From left to right: Marshal Admiral
the Army, Prime Minister of Japan, Founder of the IJA
Heihachirō Tōgō (1848–1934), Field
Field Marshal Prince Ōyama Iwao: Chief of staff of the
Marshal Oku Yasukata (1847–1930),
Army
Marshal Admiral Yoshika Inoue
(1845–1929), Field Marshal Kageaki
Field Marshal Prince Komatsu Akihito: Chief of staff of
Kawamura (1850–1926), at the
the Army
unveiling ceremony of bronze statue
Field Marshal Marquis Nozu Michitsura:
of Field Marshal Iwao Ōyama
General Count Nogi Maresuke: Governor of Taiwan
General Count Akiyama Yoshifuru: Chief of staff of the
Army
General Count Kuroki Tamemoto
General Count Nagaoka Gaishi
Lieutenant General Baron Ōshima Ken'ichi: Chief of staff of the Army, Minister of War during
World War I
General Viscount Kodama Gentarō: Chief of staff of the Army, Governor of Taiwan
World War II
Field Marshal Prince Kotohito Kan'in: Chief of staff of the Army
Field Marshal Hajime Sugiyama: Chief of staff of the Army
General Senjūrō Hayashi: Chief of staff of the Army, Prime Minister of Japan
General Hideki Tōjō: Prime Minister of Japan
General Yoshijirō Umezu: Chief of staff of the Army
Imperial Japanese Navy
Early period
Marshal Admiral Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito (1867–1922)
Marshal Admiral Marquess Tōgō Heihachirō (1847–1934), Battle of Tsushima
Marshal Admiral Count Itō Sukeyuki (1843–1914)
Admiral Count Kawamura Sumiyoshi (1836–1904)
Marshal Admiral Viscount Inoue Yoshika (1845–1929)
Marshal Admiral Baron Ijuin Gorō (1852–1921)
Marshal Admiral Baron Katō Tomosaburō (1861–1923)
Admiral Baron Akamatsu Noriyoshi (1841–1920)
Vice Admiral Akiyama Saneyuki (1868–1918), Battle of Tsushima
World War II
Marshal Admiral Mineichi Koga (1885–1944)
Marshal Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884–1943), attack on Pearl Harbor, Battle of Midway
Marshal Admiral Osami Nagano (1880–1947)
Admiral Chūichi Nagumo (1887–1944), attack on Pearl Harbor, Battle of Midway[86]
Rear Admiral Viscount Morio Matsudaira (1878–1944)
Demographics
Economy
Education
Notable scholars/scientists
19th century
Population density map of the
Empire of Japan (1920).
Population density map of the
Empire of Japan (1940).
Hirase
Sakugorō
(1856–1925) was a
botanist, who won
the Imperial Prize in
1912.
Ōtsuki
Fumihiko
(1847–1928), editor
of two well-known
Japanese-language
dictionaries, Genkai
(
, "sea of
words", 1891) and
its
successor
Daigenkai (
,
"great sea of words",
1932–1937)
言海
大言海
Baron Keisuke Ito
(1803–1901) was a
biologist
and
a
professor at the
Imperial University
in Tokyo (University
of Tokyo).
Kiyoo
Wadati
(1902–1995) was a
seismologist, who
won the Imperial
Prize in 1932.
Teiji Takagi (1875–
1960)
was
a
mathematician who
made
seminal
contributions
to
class field theory,
and a member of the
selection committee
for the first Fields
Medal.
Anthropologists, ethnologists, archaeologists, and historians
Ōtsuki Fumihiko (1847–1928)
Yusuke Hashiba (1851–1921)
Koganei Yoshikiyo (1859–1944)
Naitō Torajirō (1866–1934)
Inō Kanori (1867–1925)
Torii Ryūzō (1870–1953)
Fujioka Katsuji (1872–1935)
Masaharu Anesaki (1873–1949)
Kunio Yanagita (1875–1962)
Ushinosuke Mori (1877–1926)
Ryūsaku Tsunoda (1877–1964)
Kōsaku Hamada (1881–1938)
Kyōsuke Kindaichi (1882–1971)
Tetsuji Morohashi (1883–1982)
Tsuruko Haraguchi (1886–1915)
Shinobu Orikuchi (1887–1953)
Zenchū Nakahara (1890–1964)
Medical scientists, biologists, evolutionary theorists, and geneticists
Keisuke Ito (1803–1901)
Kusumoto Ine (1827–1903)
Nagayo Sensai (1838–1902)
Tanaka Yoshio (1838–1916)
Nagai Nagayoshi (1844–1929)
Miyake Hiizu (1848–1938)
Takaki Kanehiro (1849–1920)
Kitasato Shibasaburō (1853–1931)
Hirase Sakugorō (1856–1925)
Jinzō Matsumura (1856–1928)
Juntaro takahashi (1856–1920)
Aoyama Tanemichi (1859–1917)
Yoichirō Hirase (1859–1925)
Ishikawa Chiyomatsu (1861–1935)
Tomitaro Makino (1862–1957)
Yamagiwa Katsusaburō (1863–1930)
Yu Fujikawa (1865–1940)
Fujiro Katsurada (1867–1946)
Kamakichi Kishinouye (1867–1929)
Yasuyoshi Shirasawa (1868–1947)
Takuji Iwasaki (1869–1937)
Kiyoshi Shiga (1871–1957)
Heijiro Nakayama (1871–1956)
Sunao Tawara (1873–1952)
Bunzō Hayata (1874–1934)
Ryukichi Inada (1874–1950)
Kensuke Mitsuda (1876–1964)
Hideyo Noguchi (1876–1928)
Fukushi Masaichi (1878–1956)
Takaoki Sasaki (1878–1966)
Gennosuke Fuse (1880–1946)
Kono Yasui (1880–1971)
Hakaru Hashimoto (1881–1934)
Ichiro Miyake (1881–1964)
Kunihiko Hashida (1882–1945)
Takenoshin Nakai (1882–1952)
Kyusaku Ogino (1882–1975)
Gen-ichi Koidzumi (1883–1953)
Makoto Nishimura (1883–1956)
Shintarō Hirase (1884–1939)
Tamezo Mori (1884–1962)
Kanesuke Hara (1885–1962)
Chōzaburō Tanaka (1885–1976)
Michiyo Tsujimura (1888–1969)
Yaichirō Okada (1892–1976)
Ikuro Takahashi (1892–1981)
Hitoshi Kihara (1893–1986)
Satyu Yamaguti (1894–1976)
Kinichiro Sakaguchi (1897–1994)
Minoru Shirota (1899–1982)
Genkei Masamune (1899–1993)
Inventors, industrialists, engineers
Tanaka Hisashige (1799–1881)
Ōshima Takatō (1826–1901)
Yamao Yōzō (1837–1917)
Murata Tsuneyoshi (1838–1921)
Masuda Takashi (1848–1938)
Sasō Sachū (1852–1905)
Arisaka Nariakira (1852–1915)
Furuichi Kōi (1854–1934)
Hirai Seijirō (1856–1926)
Dan Takuma (1858–1932)
Mikimoto Kōkichi (1858–1954)
Shimose Masachika (1860–1911)
Kotaro Shimomura (1861–1937)
Chūhachi Ninomiya (1866–1936)
Sakichi Toyoda (1867–1930)
Kijirō Nambu (1869–1949)
Namihei Odaira (1874–1951)
Jujiro Matsuda (1875–1952)
Masuda Tarokaja (1875–1953)
Ryōichi Yazu (1878–1908)
Yoshisuke Aikawa (1880–1967)
Noritsugu Hayakawa (1881–1942)
Miekichi Suzuki (1882–1936)
Chikuhei Nakajima (1884–1949)
Hidetsugu Yagi (1886–1976)
Michio Suzuki (1887–1982)
Yasujiro Niwa (1893–1975)
Tokuji Hayakawa (1893–1980)
Kōnosuke Matsushita (1894–1989)
Kinjiro Okabe (1896–1984)
Toshiwo Doko (1896–1988)
Kenjiro Takayanagi (1899–1990)
Philosophers, educators, mathematicians, and polymaths
Inoue Enryō (1799–1881)
Nishimura Shigeki (1828–1902)
Nishi Amane (1829–1897)
Kikuchi Dairoku (1855–1917)
Hōjō Tokiyuki (1858–1929)
Rikitaro Fujisawa (1861–1933)
Mitsutaro Shirai (1863–1932)
Nitobe Inazō (1862–1933)
Paul Tsuchihashi (1866–1965)
Kintarô Okamura (1867–1935)
Totsudō Katō (1870–1949)
Tsuruichi Hayashi (1873–1935)
Yoshio Mikami (1875–1950)
Teiji Takagi (1875–1960)
Matsusaburo Fujiwara (1881–1946)
Yoshishige Abe (1883–1966)
Sōichi Kakeya (1886–1947)
Chemists, physicists, and geologists
Jōkichi Takamine (1854–1922)
Yamakawa Kenjirō (1854–1931)
Sekiya Seikei (1855–1896)
Tanakadate Aikitsu (1856–1952)
Kikunae Ikeda (1864–1936)
Masataka Ogawa (1865–1930)
Hantaro Nagaoka (1865–1950)
Fusakichi Omori (1868–1923)
Shin Hirayama (1868–1945)
Hisashi Kimura (1870–1943)
Akitsune Imamura (1870–1948)
Kotaro Honda (1870–1954)
Harutaro Murakami (1872–1947)
Shinzo Shinjo (1873–1938)
Umetaro Suzuki (1874–1943)
Kiyotsugu Hirayama (1874–1943)
Suekichi Kinoshita (1877–1935)
Torahiko Terada (1878–1935)
Masatoshi Ōkōchi (1878–1952)
Keiichi Aichi (1880–1923)
Jun Ishiwara (1881–1947)
Yasuhiko Asahina (1881–1975)
Satoyasu Iimori (1885–1982)
Akira Ogata (1887–1978)
Yoshio Nishina (1890–1951)
Tokushichi Mishima (1893–1975)
Masuzo Shikata (1895–1964)
Hakaru Masumoto (1895–1987)
Okuro Oikawa (1896–1970)
Ozawa Yoshiaki (1899–1929)
20th century
Mako
Yoji Ito
Satosi Watanabe
Seiji Naruse
Takeo Doi
Tatsuo Hasegawa
Kiro Honjo
Jiro Horikoshi
Hideo Itokawa
Soichiro Honda
Yanosuke Hirai
Katsuji Miyazaki
Shinroku Momose
Ryoichi Nakagawa
Jiro Tanaka
Noriaki Fukuyama
Eizaburo Nishibori
Shin'ichirō Tomonaga
Kiyoo Wadati
Shokichi Iyanaga
Hideki Yukawa
Takeo Hatanaka
Kazuo Kubokawa
Tomizo Yoshida
Kiyosi Itô
Shoichi Sakata
Yutaka Taniyama
Kôdi Husimi
Seishi Kikuchi
Taketani Mitsuo
Takahiko Yamanouchi
Shigeyoshi Matsumae
Shigeo Shingo
Nobuchika Sugimura
Jisaburo Ohwi
Yo Takenaka
Sanshi Imai
Kikutaro Baba
Katsuzo Kuronuma
Yasunori Miyoshi
Katsuma Dan
Hiroshi Nakamura
Ukichiro Nakaya
Yusuke Hagihara
Isao Imai
Shintaro Uda
Kinjiro Okabe
Ozawa Yoshiaki
Issaku Koga
Yuzuru Hiraga
Jiro Horikoshi
Yoshiro Okabe
Motonori Matuyama
Masauji Hachisuka
Tokubei Kuroda
Hikosaka Tadayoshi
Bunsaku Arakatsu
Shinji Maejima
Takahito, Prince Mikasa
Toshihiko Izutsu
Kawachi Yoshihiro
Katsutada Sezawa
Katsura Kotaro
Timeline
1926: Emperor Taishō dies (December 25).
1927: Tanaka Giichi becomes prime minister (April 20).
1928: Emperor Shōwa is formally installed as emperor (November 10).
1929: Osachi Hamaguchi becomes prime minister (July 2).
1930: Hamaguchi is wounded in an assassination attempt (November 14).
1931: Hamaguchi dies and Wakatsuki Reijirō becomes prime minister (April 14). Japan
occupies Manchuria after the Mukden Incident (September 18). Inukai Tsuyoshi becomes
prime minister (December 13) and increases funding for the military in China.
1932: After an attack on Japanese monks in Shanghai (January 18), Japanese forces shell
the city (January 29). Manchukuo is established with Henry Pu Yi as emperor (February 29).
Inukai is assassinated during a coup attempt and Saitō Makoto becomes prime minister
(May 15). Japan is censured by the League of Nations (December 7).
1933: Japan leaves the League of Nations (March 27).
1934: Keisuke Okada becomes prime minister (July 8). Japan withdraws from the
Washington Naval Treaty (December 29).
1936: Coup attempt (February 26 Incident). Kōki Hirota becomes prime minister (March 9).
Japan signs its first pact with Germany (November 25) and reoccupies Tsingtao (December
3). Mengjiang established in Inner Mongolia.
1937: Senjūrō Hayashi becomes prime minister (February 2). Prince Fumimaro Konoe
becomes prime minister (June 4). Battle of Lugou Bridge (July 7). Japan captures Beijing
(July 31). Japanese troops occupy Nanjing (December 13), beginning the Nanjing
Massacre.
1938: Battle of Taierzhuang (March 24). Canton falls to Japanese forces (October 21).
1939: Hiranuma Kiichirō becomes prime minister (January 5). Abe Nobuyuki becomes prime
minister (August 30).
1940: Mitsumasa Yonai becomes prime minister (January 16). Konoe becomes prime
minister for a second term (July 22). Hundred Regiments Offensive (August–September).
Japan occupies French Indochina in the wake of the fall of Paris, and signs the Tripartite
Pact (September 27).
1941: General Hideki Tojo becomes prime minister (October 18). Japanese naval forces
attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (December 7), prompting the United States to declare war on
Japan (December 8). Japan conquers Hong Kong (December 25).
1942: Battle of Ambon (January 30 – February 3). Battle of Palembang (February 13–15).
Singapore surrenders to Japan (February 15). Japan bombs Australia (February 19). Indian
Ocean raid (March 31 – April 10). Doolittle Raid on Tokyo (April 18). Battle of the Coral Sea
(May 4–8). U.S. and Filipino forces in the Battle of the Philippines (1942) surrender (May 8).
Allied victory at the Battle of Midway (June 6). Allied victory in the Battle of Milne Bay
(September 5). Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands (October 25–27).
1943: Allied victory in the Battle of Guadalcanal (February 9). Allied victory at the Battle of
Tarawa (November 23).
1944: Tojo resigns and Kuniaki Koiso becomes prime minister (July 22). Battle of Leyte Gulf
(October 23–26).
1945: Allied bombers begin firebombing of major Japanese cities. Allied victory at the Battle
of Iwo Jima (March 26). Admiral Kantarō Suzuki becomes prime minister (April 7). Allied
victory at the Battle of Okinawa (June 21). The US drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima
(August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9), the Soviet Union and Mongolia invade Japanese
colonies of Manchukuo, Mengjiang (Inner Mongolia), northern Korea, South Sakhalin and
the Kuril Islands (August 9 – September 2). Japan surrenders (September 2): Allied
occupation begins.
1947: The Constitution of Japan comes into force.[8]
Emperors
Posthumous name1
Given name2
Childhood name3
Period of reign
Era name4
Meiji Tennō
(
)
明治天皇
Mutsuhito
(
)
睦仁
Sachi-no-miya
(
)
祐宮
1868–1912
(1890–1912)5
Meiji
Taishō Tennō
(
)
大正天皇
Yoshihito
(
)
嘉仁
Haru-no-miya
(
)
明宮
1912–26
Taishō
Shōwa Tennō
(
)
Hirohito
(
)
Michi-no-miya
(
)
1926–896
Shōwa
昭和天皇
裕仁
迪宮
1 Each posthumous name was given after the respective era names as Ming and Qing Dynasties of China.
2 The Japanese imperial family name has no surname or dynastic name.
3 The Meiji Emperor was known only by the appellation Sachi-no-miya from his birth until November 11, 1860, when he was proclaimed
heir apparent to Emperor Kōmei and received the personal name Mutsuhito.
4 No multiple era names were given for each reign after Emperor Meiji.
5 Constitutionally
6 Constitutionally. The reign of the Shōwa Emperor in fact continued until 1989 since he did not abdicate after World War II. However, he
lost his status as a living god and influence on politics after the 1947 constitution was adopted.
Emblems
Flag of the Empire of War flag of the Naval ensign of the Flag
of
the
Japan from 1870 to Imperial Japanese Empire of Japan
Japanese Emperor
1999
Army
See also
Agriculture in the Empire of Japan
Demography of the Empire of Japan
Economy of the Empire of Japan
Education in the Empire of Japan
Foreign commerce and shipping of the Empire of Japan
Germany–Japan industrial co-operation before World War II
Industrial production in Shōwa Japan
Japanese mining and energy resources (World War II)
Japanese nuclear weapon program
List of territories occupied by Imperial Japan
Political parties of the Empire of Japan
Notes
a. Modified version used in 1880–1945.
b. Although the Empire of Japan officially had no state religion,[4][5] Shinto played an important
part for the Japanese state. Marius Jansen states: "The Meiji government had from the first
incorporated, and in a sense created, Shinto, and utilized its tales of the divine origin of the
ruling house as the core of its ritual addressed to ancestors 'of ages past'. As the Japanese
empire grew the affirmation of a divine mission for the Japanese race was emphasized more
strongly. Shinto was imposed on colonial lands in Taiwan and Korea, and public funds were
utilized to build and maintain new shrines there. Shinto priests were attached to army units
as chaplains, and the cult of war dead, enshrined at the Yasukuni Jinja in Tokyo, took on
ever greater proportions as their number grew."[6]
c. Japanese:
, Hepburn: Dai Nippon Teikoku[13]
d. "During the second half of the nineteenth century, Japan's nation-builders forged the Meiji
nation-state out of an older, heterogeneous Tokugawa realm, integrating semi-autonomous
domain states into a unified political community."[14] "Rather than restore an ancient (and
probably imaginary) center-periphery order, the Meiji Restoration hastened the creation of a
new and unambiguously centralized and modern nation-state. Within a few decades of the
official beginning of the nation-building project, Tokyo had become the political and
economic capital of a state that replaced semi-autonomous domains with newly created
prefectures subordinate to central laws and centrally appointed administrators."[15]
e.
, "Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Armed Forces"
f.
, "Promote Industry"
g. During a recess, Saigō, who had his troops outside, "remarked that it would take only one
short sword to settle the discussion".[25] The word used for "dagger" was tantō.
大日本帝国
富国強兵
殖産興業
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短刀一本あればかたづくことだ
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44090600 (http://www.worldcat.org/title/making-of-modern-japan/oclc/44090600&referer=bri
ef_results)
Jansen, Marius B. (1995). The Emergence of Meiji Japan. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-5214-8405-7.
Hunter, Janet (1984). Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. University of
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Keene, Donald (2002). Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912 (https://archive.o
rg/details/emperorofjapanme00keen). New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-23112341-8. OCLC 46731178 (http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/46731178)
Meyer, Carlton (2019). Teaching Japan Imperialism (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_z
gYqi6GRo). G2mil – via YouTube.
Nish, Ian Hill (2002). Japanese Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period (https://books.google.c
om/books?id=QJCybygKzJIC). Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-94791-0.
図説 西郷隆盛と大久保利通
Porter, Robert P. (1918). Japan: The Rise of a Modern Power. Oxford. ISBN 0-665-98994-6.
Satow, Ernest Mason (1921). A Diplomat in Japan. London. ISBN 4-925080-28-8.
Takemae, Eiji (2003). The Allied Occupation of Japan. Continuum Press. ISBN 0-82641521-0.
Tsutsui, William M. (2009). A Companion to Japanese History. John Wiley & Sons.
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External links
Media related to Empire of Japan at Wikimedia Commons
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