Sino*-Japanese War * “Sino” refers to China

Background China had been the dominant force in Asia for many years China and Japan had been political rivals for centuries During the Meiji era, Japan worked towards the idea of a “rich country, string military” and so challenged China’s supremacy in Asia

Korea Korea had a long history of isolating itself from the countries around it; became known as the “hermit” kingdom as a result

Korea paid tribute to China Had been invaded many times in its history by both China and Japan, and therefore a source of rivalry From the beginning of the Meiji era, the government of Japan was urged by ex-samurai to start a military campaign in Korea The purpose(s)? – Stop China’s domination of Korea – Force Korea to recognize the Meiji government – Force Korea to open its borders to other nations – Keeping the ex-samurai happy

Gunboat diplomacy Japan’s borders had been opened by this policy in 1853 Japan sought to be like the Americans, who had force them to open their country using the threat of force 1876 – Japan forced Korea to open its borders using the exact same tactics used against it by the Americans Treaty of Ganghwa – opened 3 ports for trade and had Japan recognize Korea as an independent country from China

Yamagata Aritomo Leader of Japanese army Sought to control parts of Korea Saw conflict in Korea as inevitable because the Chinese attitude was that Korea was theirs; thought the Chinese belief that Korea was theirs was in direct conflict with Japanese interests Inevitability of was seen as a major motivation for the Japanese army to gain new knowledge about modern warfare, equipment, and tactics

Prelude to war rebellion against corrupt government of the King of Korea by a religious group Goal of rebellion – to rid Korea of outside influences, including Japan’s and China’s King of Korea requested assistance from Japan and China; Japan sent more troops than China did Assistance turned out to be unnecessary, but then the troops were already there.

Both Japan and China refused to withdraw their troops, leading to a standoff Ito Hirobumi demanded huge changes to Korea’s government, which China outright rejected July 23, Japanese troops seized the Korean king’s palace and ordered him to declare independence from China; he did so, ordering all Chinese troops to be forced out of Korea Japanese navy sunk a Chinese troopship bringing reinforcements into Japan, resulting in a declaration of war between the two countries

Massacre at Port Arthur Port Arthur’s fortress (in an area of China known as Manchuria) considered very strong that would be very difficult to win November Japanese laid siege to it, and in 3 months took it. Chinese casualties: 60,000; Japanese casualties: 300. Japanese soldiers “lost control,” massacring the Chinese soldiers, mutilating corpses, hacking off hands and feet of wounded soldiers, and burning some Chinese troops alive

As a result, Japan’s international reputation was questioned, especially by Britain Japanese diplomats forced on the defensive Bad publicity worldwide by western newspaper reporters

End of the war Lasted less than a year Japanese won decisively both at sea and on land Surprised the rest of the world; showed them that Japan had become a world power and learned from Western nations

Treaty of Shimonoseki April 17, 1895 China and Japan signed a treaty officially ending the war China had to recognize Korea’s independence Some territories were given to Japan (including modern-day Taiwan) China opened 4 ports for Japanese use in trade Japan had most-favored nation status with China China paid Japan compensation in silver (equivalent to approximately 4.3 billion Canadian dollars today)