Taking a Look at the Empire of Japan

The Japanese empire was in great power by this time period, and they thought themselves as the king of the East Asian race. Japan, the “old order”, also believed that some day Europe and America would take over their power and become the “new orders”(Doc A). Japan was one

Although Japan changed in many ways from 1853 to 1941, there were also many factors that remained the same throughout the history of Japan. One such continuity was the maintained existence of a figurehead ruler controlled by other political authorities. The feudalistic emperor of Japan was the supposed “highest, most powerful authority” in the land, but was actually controlled by the military leaders- the shogun. Similarly, the militaristic emperor of Japan decades later continued to remain a figurehead ruler controlled by military and government officials. In addition, Japan continued to remain reliant on exports in order to maintain its economy. As a result of Japan’s small geographical size, the island nation had few natural resources and was forced to rely on exports to survive economically. The nation also grew increasingly reliant on other nations to provide materials and supplies that it could not provide for itself. This complete reliance on other nations was seen illustrated when the Japanese military was provoked to attacking another superpower- the United States, in response to the 1940 United States embargo

Loyalty and honor are of the highest value in the eyes of the samurai. This is a statement that many scholars and young educated persons believe to be true on the basis of assumption. Thomas Conlan challenges this preconceived notion of loyalty and honor in his book State of War by piecing together a much more difficult and situationally based definition of loyalty which differed depending on the samurai and by observing how times of war and hardship truly challenged an individual’s sense of honor.

Nationalism has socio-politically, internationally, and economically impacted Japan between 1750 and 1980 to controversial benefits and disadvantages. Nationalism can be defined as the shared patriotism to the nation amongst the people and that the interests and needs of the nation-state surpasses those of other countries. This can serve as a unifying force and, in this case, it had a major socio-political impact and contributed to the development of a new national identity through establishing national icons. The international impact stemmed from the wars raged by Japan against other nation-states to assert superiority and hold off potential invasions and conquests from strong Western powers. The Industrial Revolution, powered by the hard

the practice by which powerful nations or social orders hope to create and keep up control or effect over weaker nations or society. By the 1800 's, the Western powers had central focuses in this technique. They drove the world in creative advances, giving them a quality while vanquishing distinctive countries. The European Imperialists made tries to vanquish China and Japan. In this methodology, they succeeded by affecting Japan immensely. In any case, they were not as productive with China.

In the late 1890s, tensions between China and Japan were growing. China’s power was growing into the early 1900s as it converted to Nationalism. Japan felt the need to expand and conquer because they had been forced into the modern age by the United States, and they believed it was their destiny to exert government over other nations (Chang 23-24). The Japanese felt the need to do something before China became “too powerful to be conquered” (Chang 28-29). This put Japan on the path to war with China (Chang 25).

Kon'nichiwa! I’m Japan! You probably know me for my aesthetic cherry blossoms and splendid anime, but let me tell you, things weren’t always as kawaii as they seemed. For a loooong time, I was isolated from other countries by my own shoguns and daimyos, my militaristic dictators and their warrior landlords respectively. We got along fine at first, but my common people were becoming increasingly unhappy with their little political power and heavy taxes. Then, on a fateful day in July of 1853, I met… the West.

Through the event layout of the book, it is demonstrated that patriotism is fighting for and having the willingness to make sacrifices for the preservation and restoration of a nation. This message is not only applicable to American troops, but also for the Japanese soldiers abiding by a corrupt version of the bushido code because both sides were willing to fight and sacrifice themselves in order to preserve or restore the honor of their

In 1543, three Portuguese travelers aboard a Chinese ship accidentally drifted ashore on Tanegashima, a Japanese Island. Within a few short years, a myriad of Portuguese merchants, missionaries, and settlers began to arrive in the country and ushered in almost a century of Portuguese imperial presence in Japan. This time period was a unique era in the history of European imperialism, and it is important to evaluate it from multiple points of view. This comparison is easily done with records such as, Captain Alexander Hamilton’s A New Account of the East Indies: Descriptions of Japan and Engelbert Kaempfer’s History of Japan. These two works are both first-hand accounts of the European interactions with the Japanese people. Indeed, these two

I find that the juxtaposition of East and West is firmly demonstrated in the written and participative aspects of the military throughout this period. The combination of both ideologies highlights the fractured nature of Japan, connected in part to its Eastern ancestral roots, yet also determined to become a Western empire. However by 1885 this sentiment has changed, evidenced by the work of Fukuzawa Yukichi who argues in favour of adopting Western practices and bluntly saying ‘goodbye’ to

One result of the restoration was that Japan’s military grew and strengthened, leading them to be one of the most powerful navies in the world, along with the united states and right under the United Kingdom. Although these three countries had been allies during World War One , an arms race where these three powers competed to build and develop the finest naval ships and weapons, was soon ensued. From the restoration, Japan used a lot of their wealth for their warfare to build high end battleships and battlecruisers. The United States wanted to put a stop to this buildup before Japan could actually start to put these ships into use, and also wanted to limit Japan’s main goal of expansion. The result was that the in February of 1922, the

Historians tend to portray the Meiji Restoration as one of the most rapid modernizations of the 19th century (1868-1912), leading Japan into becoming one of the top world powers of today. If not for the reforms lead about by the Meiji Restoration, Japan would not have been able to develop itself as a world power in the late 19th and early 20th century. This manuscript will criticize sociality, economics and military within Japan.

Japan is an unique oriental country in many aspects, especially in politics and economy, both western practices and traditional nationalism are coexisted in this country. The period 1890-1940 was just followed the Meiji restoration, and was typical in the history of Japan, at that time, Japan was on the way from a feudal country to a capitalistic country, called modernization. Many western practices were being more and more adopted, however, at the same time, traditional rules still had strong influences in Japan. Under this background, this report will discuss the Japanese cultural factors during 1890-1940 that influenced the disclosure

Japanese imperialism was uniquely derived during the nineteenth century within the structure of the informal empires of the West in East Asia. Due to Japanese political feudally and economically backwards system, it was a victim to powerful Western Empires such as Russia, Britain and the United States. They had imposed similar legal and commercial disabilities previously in China to serve their imperialistic needs. Japan was officially integrated into the treaty port system by 1860, thus establishing it’s first step towards incorporation into the world economics. The international political environment was crucial in structure Japanese imperialism particularly in two ways. Firstly, treaty privileges in China became Japanese definition of success, hence structuring Japanese responses and international aspirations. Secondly, it raised awareness for an unavoidable setting for action. Historically, Japan would appease and seek satisfaction within the structure of western imperialism. Thereafter, Japanese imperialism reformed internally in response to the demanding international environment.

The nation of Japan lies in the North Pacific Ocean, East of the Korean Peninsula and China. Slightly smaller than the U.S. state of California, it has a total area (land and water) of 377,915 square miles and is divided into four primary islands: Hokkaido, Kyushu, Honshu, and Shikoku. Japan is divided into 47 administrative divisions called prefectures. Japan was “founded” in 660 B.C. when Emperor Jimmu declared Japan as a sovereign Imperial nation. Until the Meiji Restoration in 1890, Japan operated under the Shogunate rule, which involved the rule of a hereditary dictator. The Meiji Constitution provided a constitutional monarchy instead of pure Imperial dictatorship. The Modern State of Japan began on May 3, 1947, which marked the formation of a new Japanese Constitution, an amendment to the Meiji Constitution.