In the period between 1450 and 1750, Japan underwent many changes in its political and social structure. After a period of chaos, a powerful family rose up and took control of the nation, establishing a new Shogunate and bringing a period of peace and stability to Japan.…
Between the years 1600 and 1900, the island of Japan underwent profound change in an effort to catch up…
World War II is mostly known as “the battle against Hitler” but few people know that there is literally another side to it, across the globe, in the Pacific. The Pacific War, or sometimes known as the Asia-Pacific War, was fought in the Pacific and East Asia. This devastating war pitted the Allies, some of them being France, Poland and Great Britain against the Empire of Japan. It started on December 8th, 1941, when the Japanese invaded Thailand and other British possessions including Malaya and Singapore. That same day, in Hawaii, where it was still December 7th, Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbour, which “severely damaged the American fleet and prevented, at least for the short term, serious American interference with Japanese military operations. In response, the United States declared war on Japan.”…
Heian: is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185.[1] The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the real power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful aristocratic family who had intermarried with the imperial…
Imperialism is a policy. Based on this policy, a country uses diplomacy and military forces to expand its power and influence across the world. This will eventually result in becoming a superpower. When it comes to imperialism, America has a lot to say because it sure was a great imperialist between 1867-1917. Many American believed U.S. had to “expand or explode” because of its fast growing population. When the population grows, industrial production demand for more resources. People start to realize and worry that some of the existing natural resources of the country will eventually dry up. Therefore, economists saw oversea markets a possible safety valve for U.S. internal pressures. As a result, foreign trade was…
Tokugawa Japan’s history began in the 17th century when Tokugawa Ieyasu forged documents in order to validate his claim on the title shogun and ended those who opposed his position. It is during the Tokugawa regime that foreign influences changed and evolved the political, social, and, to an extent, economic lives of the people. From the westerners, Christianity entered and the religion shaped the policies and social issues, also foreign trade affected the natural resources of Japan. On the other hand, China and Korea exerted a lot amount on Tokugawa Japan as well with Neo-Confucianism and the concept of mu’en would change the intelligentsia and aesthetics sphere. In contrast to the foreign influences that developed in the 17th century, there were also movements that came in response to challenge Neo-Confucianism such as Ancient Learning and the revival of Shintoism. With all the foreign influences in the 17th century, it brings to question of Japanese authenticity during Tokugawa Japan. With many foreign influences that helped develop Tokugawa Japan, it is crucially imperative to…
During WWII, Japanese-Americans were discriminated against solely because of their Japanese ancestry. Although mistreated, despised, and even imprisoned, the Japanese-Americans overcame tremendous hardships and approximately 33,000 Japanese-Americans, both men and women, served valiantly in our Armed Forces, and nearly 800 of those having made the ultimate sacrifice. While there are numerous anecdotes, I will focus this paper on those Japanese-Americans who were part of the University of Hawaii (UH) Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Program, those who formed the Varsity Victory Volunteers (VVV), and those who formed Hawaii 's very own 100th Infantry Battalion and the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT).…
We all know what happened after Pearl Harbor. The US got involved in World War 2, battles were won, long story short, we came out victorious. We're proud of our win, and we gloat about it. But how does Japan view the war? In their culture, a loss of a battle is the ultimate disgrace. What do they teach students about this war? Did their government hide the true outcome of the war from them? What about the Kamikazes? So many questions are asked, and we hope we can answer some.…
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Tokugawa bakufu, and the Edo bakufu was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city of Edo, now Tokyo. The Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo Castle from 1603 until 1868, when it was abolished during the Meiji Restoration.…
Introduction An important key event for the Dutch East Indies during this time, were the spice Islands/trade. Merchants from the Middle East and China had decided to come to the Dutch East Indies, trading many items such as silk, perfume, opium and incense. Spices were extremely valuable during that time, like gold is today; spices were as precious as that.…
The Tokugawa period (1603-1868), also called the Edo period, was the final phase of traditional Japan. It was a time of internal peace, political stability, and economic growth under the shogunate founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu. As shogun, Ieyasu achieved dominance over the entire country by balancing the power of “potentially hostile domains with strategically placed allies and collateral houses” (McClain 1944 pg. 31). It was an era of oppressive rule where the hierarchical division between samurai, peasant, artisan, and merchant were strictly maintained. As a further strategy of control, Ieyasu’s successor required the daimyo to maintain households in the Tokugawa administrative capital of Edo and reside there for several months every other year. This resulting system of…
Japan before the Tokugawa Era was a nation of warring states. The Tokugawa shoguns changed social class structures, agriculture, and manufacturing in the country by consolidating trends which had been in the making for some time (East Asia, p. 279) and brought Japan into a unified and productive state which lasted from about 1603 until 1800. Urbanization, economic growth, and social changes were natural and predictable outcomes of the shogunate philosophy.…
“The Tokugawa period, also called the Edo period, (1603–1867), was the final period of traditional Japan and a time of internal peace, political stability, and economic growth under the shogunate founded by Tokugawa leyasu (Saldasis, 2011,p.214-215). Feudal Japan was a hierarchy with the Emperors and Shoguns settled at the top and the rest of the classes below, such as the Daimyo, Samurai, Peasants, Artisans and Merchants. During the Edo Era, Shoguns held and gained the most power over other social classes through their military, political and social power. In particular, they had power of over the army; they were able to make restrictions upon the Daimyo and also had the power to maintain a rigid social class, preventing people from moving castes.…
The author of this book presents the important facts of modern Japanese history. Very well described about nature of Japanese society including studies of Shinto, Confucianism, Buddhism, the Emperor system and feudalism. I found interesting a part where government of Tokugawa period, hardly tries to isolate the country from the rest of the world. But by the time realizing that they are so behind from developed western countries, economically and military they tried to catch on with contemporary mightiest power on earth.…
On June 19, 2016, 60,000 Okinawans marched to demand Japan's government to kick out U.S. military bases after the killing of a local woman by a man who was stationed at a U.S. base. Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, a 32-year-old military contractor and former Marine, was stationed at the U.S. Kadena Air Base. He was arrested last month on the suspicion of killing a 20-year-old native and leaving her body. This wasn't the only incident on the island, In March 2016 a U.S. Navy sailor, Justin Castellanos, was arrested over the rape and killing of a Japanese woman in Kyushu prefecture. Okinawa has already been on the radar for some time due to planning for relocating the Marine Corps air station to a less-populated part of the island. The plan was developed in 1995 when another native girl was raped by three American servicemen.…