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Essays on the development of imperialism in japan
Japan and modernization
Essays on the development of imperialism in japan
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Hamed Najafe
Professor Chang
History 252
May 14, 2014
Japan: The Effects of Mimetic Imperialism
The old government of Tokugawa Japan was becoming unsuccessful in trying to stay together. After multiple changes in the way the government ran, Japan found a style that worked well for their country, imperialism. The rise of Japan as a global power in the late 1800s was the result of the use of imperialism, which had many different causes and led to consequences that in turn shaped not only Japan, but also China, Korea, and the islands of the South Pacific. Civil wars, economic disputes, and World War emerged from Japan’s use of imperialism. Japanese imperialism has molded the Pacific region into what it is today.
During the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the shogunate was removed from power and the emperor took control. Japan’s new government started to adopt policies of imperialism. Imperialism is, “the policy of extending the rule of authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies.” (“imperialism” 1). From the 1870s through them 1940s, Japan held colonies in Korea and tried taking over China was well. The idea to adopt the policy came after Japan started to learn from the West and started to industrialize. After gaining more power through reforms and industrializing, Japan started to look outwards towards other countries to influence in order to gain more power. One of these nations was the Korean peninsula, which was not as strong or advanced as Japan.
Meiji Japan’s interest in Korea began with the Sino-Japanese War that occurred in 1894 and lasted through 1895. The textbook states that as a result of the increased prices in rice, “Japanese fishery companies...
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...he Chinese knew that they could not fight the Japanese until they worked together, however Chiang did not stop fighting the communists. According to Ebrey, “In 1936 troops that had been driven out of Manchuria by the Japanese were ordered by Chaing to blockade the Communists in Yan’an. When Chiang came to Xi’an, they kidnapped him and refused to release him until he agreed to form a united front with the communists against Japan.” (Ebrey, 450). Now working together, Chiang started to defend China against Japan. However, the Japanese forces still could not be stopped and on December 1937, Japan, “went on a rampage, massacring somewhere between 40,000 and 300,000 civilians and fugitive soldiers, raping perhaps 20,000 women, and laying the city waste.” (Ebrey, 450) Japan absolutely destroys the city of Nanking and this period becomes known as the Rape of Nanking.
Japan led a ruthless assault in the Pacific for fifteen years. This small island was able to spread imperialism and terror to neighboring countries through means of force and brutality. Japan even attempted to combat and overcome European and Western countries such as Russia and the United States. Even with an extreme militaristic government, Japan was unable to achieve the glory it was promised and hoped for. The Pacific War analyzes Japan’s part in the war and what the country could have done to prevent such a tragedy.
“By 1870, 90% of Japan’s international trade was controlled by Westerners living in Japan.” (Woods, SW. (2004). Japan an Illustrated History (1st Edition). Hippocrene books pg. 111).
The Rape of Nanking started on December 13, 1937. This was the day the Japanese invaded Nanking (now Nanjing), which was then the capital of Nationalist China (Cook). The Japanese Army faced little resistance as the Chinese Nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-shek, evacuated his troops before the invaders advanced. After seven weeks of Japanese atrocities, the killings ended in early 1938 (The Rape of Nanking). Japanese soldiers finally left Nanking in early February when they needed to continue the attack on China.
Japan was a country of contradictions in the early 1900's. Her growth in industry was a major factor for influencing her growth of power; whilst at the same time their structure was a very traditional political one. The Japanese Emperor Hirohito was right in the centre of the Japanese government. The emperor made Japan very militaristic and the military had a very strong influence in Japan. Japan's growth in industry had risen greatly since in the preceding 50 years and still it continued to grow.
European Imperialism of China and Japan Imperialism is the practice by which powerful nations or peoples seek to extend and maintain control or influence over weaker nations or peoples. By the 1800’s, the Western powers had advantages in this process. They led the world in technological advances, giving them dominance when conquering other countries. The European Imperialists made attempts to conquer China and Japan.
Japan, a once prosperous country, was one of the leading countries in technological, economical and social status until the early 1600s, becomes the victim of many forced, unequal trades by western countries, similar to the other, advanced non-western empires such as China and the Ottoman Empire. After man attempted reforms by the shogun’s chief advisor, Mizuno Tadakuni, had failed, led to the downfall of his reign in office. In 1844, western lands, Britain, France and the United States of America, pushed for Japan to establish political and economical trade relations with other countries. This persistence continued until 1854, when a commodore from the United States of America, Mathew Perry, forcefully makes Japan agree to the Kanawaga treaty,...
In July 1937, the second Sino-Japanese War broke out. A small incident was soon made into a full scale war by the Kwantung army which acted rather independently from a more moderate government. The Japanese forces succeeded in occupying almost the whole coast of China and committed severe war atrocities on the Chinese population, especially during the fall of the capital Nanking. However, the Chinese government never surrendered completely, and the war continued on a lower scale until 1945.
The new imperialism describes a time of colonial expansion. The countries that participated in expanding smaller countries include by Japan, European powers, and the United States. This occurred in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These countries sought to gain more power and influence on the world. Imperialism had both a positive and negative effect on the colonizer and the colony.
The Rape of Nanking, also known as the Nanking Massacre was a six week period when mass numbers of Chinese men and woman were killed by the Japanese. Embarrassed by the lack of effort in the war with China in Shanghai, the Japanese looked for revenge and finally were able to win the battle. The Japanese moved toward the city of Nanjing also known as Nanking and invaded it for approximately six months. Even though the people of Nanjing outnumbered the 50,000 Japanese, they were not as masterful in warfare as their opponents. Chinese soldiers were forced to surrender to the Japanese and the massacre began in which around 300,000 people died and 20,000 women were raped. The Japanese leaders had different methods of killing that were instructed to the soldiers. However, the prisoners of this “City of Blood” soon found their liberation and their justice was served.
The Japanese Empire became an empire in the year 1868. They quickly spread their empire out and became rulers over 7,400,000 square kilometers of land. “They quickly became known for war crimes against their ow...
WriteWork contributors. "The impact of World War 1 on Japanese development in the early 20th century" WriteWork.com. WriteWork.com, 05 January, 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Japan had always been an ally of the United States. Japan tried to collect their share of treasure from Versailles. Japan ran into some troubles, Woodrow Wilson. Wilson rejected Japan’s claim to German concessions in Shantung. Duan Qirui, a Chinese warlord and politician had borrowed money from Japan to make China’s army stronger. Japan used that loan and wanted it to be repaid by getting the concessions in Shantung. In 1921, at the Naval Conference the US pressured the Britain’s to end their 20 year alliance with the Japanese. Japan was now isolated, Stalin’s unhappy empire to the north, t...
When 1937 arrived, Japanese soldiers raided China’s capital of Nanking and began to mass murder citizens. A sole leader of the Japanese Imperial Army was non-existent. There were many of people in power such as generals who allowed these behaviors to occur. Baron Koki Hirota, Foreign minister at the time, proceeded to do nothing while being well aware of the Japanese’s persecution of the Chinese. These unsympathetic murders of those who were thought to be Chinese soldiers as well as woman, children and elderly. This massacre lasted between the 1937 and 1938. Within this time 300,000 Chinese citizens were viciously killed. This genocide is called Rape of Nanking because of raping the woman before killing them. Most likely this group was selected because the second world war happened in Asia. This was significant because a country was able to kill half the population of another. I believe the reason of this Genocide was for Japan to take advantage of China while expand Japan. Most likely the Japanese wished to exterminate China’s entire population.
The short story by Eileen Chang fully reflected the turmoil in China during the Japanese occupation in the 1940s. For decades, Japan has been trying to dominate China with incidents like the first Sino-Japanese war in 1894 where the two powers fought each other for the control of Korea. When Japan attacked Shanghai in what was known as the Battle of Shanghai in 28 January 1932, student bodies fought back and that resulted in the second Sino-Japanese war in history. Understandably the people of 1940s had extreme hatred for the Japanese due to the violence that Japanese military exercised on the country and its citizens. Strained political relationships in the city led to countless assassinations of Chinese government officials who worked ...
...high power status, Japan had to have a self-reliant industrial common ground and be able to move all human and material resources (S,195). Through the Shogun Revolution of 1868, the abolition of Feudalism in 1871, the activation of the national army in 1873, and the assembly of parliament in 1889, the political system of Japan became westernized (Q,3). Local Labor and commercial assistance from the United States and Europe allowed Japan’s industry to bloom into a developed, modern, industrial nation (Q,3). As a consequence production surplus, and food shortage followed (Q,3). Because of how much it relied on aid of western powers, Japan’s strategic position became especially weak. In an attempt to break off slightly from the aid of the west Japanese leaders believed that it would be essential for Japan to expand beyond its borders to obtain necessary raw materials.