Japan By: Adam Cooper, Sara Beth Cimowsky, and Roxie Stricker- 1A
Map of the Region
Description of Situation-1850: Japan was in a period of unprecedented peace under the rule of the Tokugawa. During World War I Japan was the dominant power in the far east controlling, Korea and Formosa, the Ryukyu’s, the Bonins, and was able to exercise its power anywhere its fleet would go. There was a break in the peace during WWII because Japan was trying to conquer the south Pacific and the rest of Asia.
Change 1: Japan goes from a small isolated country to a dominant world power. The conquest of Okinawa after forcing the king to abdicate. December 7, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, a US naval base in Hawaii. The Japanese nation conquered Southeast Asia and the Dutch East Indies. The military took raw materials and food from locals as well as forcing them into hard labor.
Change 2: Fragmented states change into a nationalistic idea. The destruction of the Shogunate in the early 1860s was a strong lead in for the Meiji restoration. The down fall began when they were threatened from outside counties (Britain and Russia). Reinstatement of the Imperial seat. The Meiji Restoration from was a result of the civil war and installed new rulers, as well as centralizing and industrializing the country.
Continuity 1: Imperial System of Japan Japanese leaders took information from around the world to develop things such as postal and telegraph services, railroads, harbors, banking systems, clocks, and calendars. National pride based off of mythical past with useless emperor. The government used education to strengthen the country and the literacy rate during this period was the highest it had been in Asia.
Continuity 2: Continuous sea expansion and economic growth. Due to their peace treaties, Japan was not allowed to participate in the Korean War. That gave them an economic advantage to rebuild industry and expand trade. Japan fought against China in the Boxer uprising and then fought Russia for the Chinese colony of Manchuria in the Russo-Japanese war. Electricity, steel production, and ship building were all major key industries that helped Japan emerge as an economic superpower.
Description of Situation- 1975: They wrote a peace treaty in 1946 under American supervision that limited their ability for self defense and forbid them from deploying troops abroad. They began to focus more on developing economically rather than being a military occupier. Nationalism began to strongly emerge after WWII and countries began to have a strong urge to govern themselves instead of being governed by others.
Sources: Samurai, Daimyo, Matthew Perry, and Nationalism: Crash Course World History #34. Prod. John Green, Stan Muller, and Danica Johnson. By Raoul Meyer. Perf. John Green. N.p., n.d. Web. Bulliet, Richard W., Pamela Kyle Crossley, Daniel R. Headrick, Steven W. Hirsch, Lyman L. Johnson, and David Northrup. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. "Manchuria | Historical Region, China." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 22 Mar