History Of The Empire Of Japan

An accessible, analytical survey of the rise and fall of Imperial Japan in the context of its grand strategy to transform itself into a great power.

This book looks at the history of the Japanese empire up through the late 19th century. From the preface:"In the following pages the administrative and political events from the founding of the empire will be divided into three great series, or periods.The First Period, commencing with the birth of imperialism, covers the ages during which the Sovereign and the Administration were one. Speaking accurately, however, this period includes not only eras when administrative orders actually emanated from the Emperor, but also eras during which powerful families, like those of Oomi and Omuraji, controlled administrative affairs ; eras when the reins of state were restored to the Sovereign, and eras when they passed into the hands of regents and prime ministers ; eras when the administrative authority was exercised by the Throne, and eras when it was exercised by military nobles. But these minor distinctions are merged in the fact that throughout the period the power of Imperialism was paramount and the mandates of the Sovereign were effective in all parts of the realm.The Second Period is that during which the administrative power was wielded by military nobles ; in other words, the period of military autocracy. This period commences with the time when the Minamoto chieftain, Yoritomo, established a Shogunate at Kamakura, and concludes with the time when, Tokugawa having restored the administration to the Sovereign, the Edo Shogunate came to an end. During this period, the families controlling administrative affairs underwent many vicissitudes and the possession of the Shogunate often changed, but the general character of the national polity was feudal, and the repositories of administrative power were all military nobles. Hence the whole series of events is here included in one period.The Third Period is the modern era of Meiji. It is the period when administrative power has reverted to the Emperor ; when the Constitution has been promulgated ; when the Diet has been opened ; when representative institutions have wholly replaced autocratic ; when the ancient aspect of all things has been metamorphosed. Therefore it is here regarded as the Third Period.In the Occident, it is customary to divide the period of a nation's history into ancient, mediaeval, and modern. This method has of late begun to come into vogue in Japan also. It is doubtless a suitable method in the case of other countries. But in Japan the salient incidents of history do not lend themselves to the adoption of such a system of division. Therefore it is not followed in the compilation of these annals."

The renowned Japanese scholar “brings us as close to the inner life of the Meiji emperor as we are ever likely to get” (The New York Times Book Review). When Emperor Meiji began his rule in 1867, Japan was a splintered empire dominated by the shogun and the daimyos, cut off from the outside world, staunchly antiforeign, and committed to the traditions of the past. Before long, the shogun surrendered to the emperor, a new constitution was adopted, and Japan emerged as a modern, industrialized state. Despite the length of his reign, little has been written about the strangely obscured figure of Meiji himself, the first emperor ever to meet a European. But now, Donald Keene sifts the available evidence to present a rich portrait not only of Meiji but also of rapid and sometimes violent change during this pivotal period in Japan’s history. In this vivid and engrossing biography, we move with the emperor through his early, traditional education; join in the formal processions that acquainted the young emperor with his country and its people; observe his behavior in court, his marriage, and his relationships with various consorts; and follow his maturation into a “Confucian” sovereign dedicated to simplicity, frugality, and hard work. Later, during Japan’s wars with China and Russia, we witness Meiji’s struggle to reconcile his personal commitment to peace and his nation’s increasingly militarized experience of modernization. Emperor of Japan conveys in sparkling prose the complexity of the man and offers an unrivaled portrait of Japan in a period of unique interest. “Utterly brilliant . . . the best history in English of the emergence of modern Japan.”—Los Angeles Times

Nearly a century of Japanese Imperial rule, from the 1868 Meiji Restoration to the end of WWII, is explored in this sweeping history. Under Emperor Meiji’s rule, Imperial Japan established itself as a world power through rapid industrialization and militarization. Aligned with the Entente Powers during the First World War, Japan made a proposal for racial equality at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference—only to be overruled by American President Woodrow Wilson. In the 1920s, the empire began its military conquest of numerous countries and islands throughout Asia and the Pacific regions. Author Stephen Wynn examines Japan’s various military conflicts and colonial efforts, including its invasion of China that coincided with the Second World War. The book culminates with the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which finally brought about Japan’s surrender and the end of the war in Asia and the Pacific.

In 1940, Japan was into its third year of war with China, and relations with the United States were deteriorating, but it was a heady time for the Japanese nonetheless. That year, the Japanese commemorated the 2,600th anniversary of the founding of the Empire of Japan. According to the imperial myth-history, Emperor Jimmu, descended from the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, established the "unbroken imperial line" in 660 BCE. In carefully choreographed ceremonies throughout the empire, through new public monuments, with visual culture, and through heritage tourism, the Japanese celebrated the extension of imperial rule under the 124th emperor, Hirohito. These celebrations, the climactic moment for the ideology that was central to modern Japan's identity until the imperial cult's legitimacy was bruised by defeat in 1945, are little known outside Japan. Imperial Japan at Its Zenith, the first book in English about the 2,600th anniversary, examines the themes of the celebration and what they tell us about Japan at mid-century. Kenneth J. Ruoff emphasizes that wartime Japan did not reject modernity in favor of nativist traditionalism. Instead, like Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, it embraced reactionary modernism. Ruoff also highlights the role played by the Japanese people in endorsing and promoting imperial ideology and expansion, documenting the significant grassroots support for the cult of the emperor and for militarism. Ruoff uses the anniversary celebrations to examine Japan's invention of a national history; the complex relationship between the homeland and the colonies; the significance of Imperial Japan's challenge to Euro-American claims of racial and cultural superiority; the role of heritage tourism in inspiring national pride; Japan's wartime fascist modernity; and, with a chapter about overseas Japanese, the boundaries of the Japanese nation. Packed with intriguing anecdotes, incisive analysis, and revelatory illustrations, Imperial Japan at Its Zenith is a major contribution to our understanding of wartime Japan.

Excerpt from History of the Empire of Japan: Compiled and Translated for the Imperial Japanese Commission of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, U. S. A., 1893 The mountains of the main island are, for the most part, volcanic. Many Of them are still in an active condi tion. The active volcanoes number 170, and the ranges comprising them stretch across the extent of the country. Mines and mineral springs consequently abound. They are to be found in about 388 places, independently Of Hokkaido. The most celebrated thermal springs are at Kusatsu and Ikaho in Kozuke; at Hakone in Sagami; at Atami in Izu; at Arima in Settsu; at Shirosaki in Tajima, and at Dogo in Iyo. Frequency of earthquakes results from this abundance of volcanoes. Minor shocks average from thirty or forty to several hundreds annually, and of severe shocks history shows that there have been some two or three in each century, entailing overthrow of dwellings, destruction of human and animal life, crumbling away of mountains and interchanges Of seas and lands. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Placing Empire examines the spatial politics of Japanese imperialism through a study of Japanese travel and tourism to Korea, Manchuria, and Taiwan between the late nineteenth century and the early 1950s. In a departure from standard histories of Japan, this book shows how debates over the role of colonized lands reshaped the social and spatial imaginary of the modern Japanese nation and how, in turn, this sociospatial imaginary affected the ways in which colonial difference was conceptualized and enacted. The book thus illuminates how ideas of place became central to the production of new forms of colonial hierarchy as empires around the globe transitioned from an era of territorial acquisition to one of territorial maintenance.

This book shows that the Western treatment of World War II, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War misrepresents their connections and causes.