The Rise and Fall of the Empire of Japan

  Japan. A small island off the eastern coast of Asia - and one of the most powerful nations in the world in the 20th century. As one-third of the Axis Powers, it helped to launch World War Two, the largest war in the history of the world. The Empire of Japan seemed unstoppable, until a pair of world-shaking bangs brought an end to its reign. 

But how did the Empire of Japan become so powerful? They started out as anything but. In fact, before their rise, they rarely played a role outside their own borders - and virtually no one from outside had ever seen Japan. That was because of the policy of Sakoku, an isolationist foreign policy translating to “closed country”.   

Put in place by the Tokugawa Shogunate starting in 1633, it essentially put the whole country behind   bars. Not only were relations and trade limited and most foreign nationals barred from entering, but all but the highest-ranking Japanese citizens were barred from traveling abroad. How long could a policy like this last? Try over two hundred years - and not by choice. 

While during this period there was some limited trade, especially with China and the Dutch, the country mostly remained closed until 1853. The Black Ships, a military expedition led by American Matthew Perry, was ostensibly a diplomatic mission aimed at opening trade with Japan - but Perry was under orders to not take no for an answer.   

Through dramatic shows of military strength and negotiations with high-ranking officials, he was able to get a promise to open Japan to trade with the United States. It would be a show of force the United States would eventually regret. Not long after Perry’s opening of the borders, a new emperor would ascend the throne. 

The Rise and Fall of the Empire of Japan

Emperor Meiji was only fifteen when he took the throne,but he would soon earn the title Meiji the Great. He would transform Japan from a feudal country with limited industry to a political powerhouse. The era he presided over would be known as the Meiji Restoration - and he would be the most powerful emperor in Japan’s history, centralizing all government under him and reigning for over forty years. 

But it wouldn’t be an easy journey to become a world power. Shortly after the borders opened, resistance to the trade deals rose. The terms were deeply unequal, and many Japanese citizens felt they were being exploited. Two rival clans, Satsuma and Choshu, joined forces to end the current shogunate and restore the Emperor to full authority over the country. The title of Shogun was abolished and many lands were confiscated, leading to a conflict with the previous leader of the Shogunate. 

The new Japan was about to face its first major conflict. The Tokugawa Shogunate had ruled Japan for two hundred years of isolation, and it was not going to give up power easily. Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the powerful leader of the clan, had his lands confiscated by the new Emperor, and quickly launched a coup attempt on the Emperor’s court at Kyoto. 

The Shoguns were older and used to fighting battles, but the Emperor’s forces were wealthy and had more modern weapons. Soon members of the Tokugawa army started defecting, the insurgency was defeated, and the Shoguns went on the run. The Emperor’s forces pursued them, and Yoshinobu eventually surrendered. Japan once again belonged to the Emperor. 

And he would live up to the title “imperial”. Until then, Japan’s interaction with the rest of the world was mostly determined by   who visited them. But Meiji was determined to change that with the Iwakura Mission. In 1871, a two year mission began as Japan sent diplomats and scholars to Europe and America.   

The Rise and Fall of the Empire of Japan

They wanted to gain diplomatic support for the new government, re-negotiate treaties, and learn about the power structures and resources from the rest of the world. While few countries   were willing to re-negotiate terms, Japan was able to negotiate with Russia for a trade of islands. But this period would bring major changes to Japan as well. The Emperor and his advisors were impressed with the industrial progress and culture they saw in western countries, and tried to bring it to Japan. 

They modeled their new government after Prussia’s constitution and judicial system, and sought to suppress traditions from the Shogunate era. This meant a ban on traditional dress and the wearing of weapons like Katana. But not all members of Japan’s society were willing to abide by the new regime. The Samurai were restless - and it was about to boil over. 

Under the old regime, the Samurai had an elite position as the military nobility. Known for their unique armor, they were the highly paid protectors of the wealthy. When   their class was outlawed in 1876 as part of the modernization efforts of Emperor Meiji, it didn’t take long for conflict to erupt. Nine years into his reign, the Satsuma Rebellion began. 

Many unemployed Samurai had gathered in the territory, and their leadership felt they had been betrayed by the emperor after initially supporting him. And their leader, Saigo Takomori, was ready for war. The Satsuma Rebellion was a brutal conflict raging for eight months. Unlike past rebellions, Takomori didn’t make the hopeless decision to attack the well-protected emperor directly. Rather,   he attempted to take territory and establish his own power base. 

His allies attacked naval yards   and tried to seize ships, but the Emperor had time to build his own strength. Takomori found himself outgunned, and was soon forced into retreat. The army cornered them and demanded Saigo’s surrender. He refused, and died in a final battle that brought an end to the age of the Samurai. Japan’s modernization was about to accelerate. 

Writers were pressed by the government to write in favor of the new era, and many faced threats from   traditionalists. Religion soon became another flashpoint, with Missionaries arriving from abroad and trying to convert Japanese citizens to Christianity. While this had previously been outlawed, Japan slowly became a much more religiously diverse place - but the state religion remained Shinto, and the government took action to protect it. 

The Rise and Fall of the Empire of Japan

For the first time, Japan would have a written constitution, and it formalized the Emperor’s powers - as well as introducing two legislatures, the House of Representatives and the House of Peers. But greater involvement in the world meant greater conflict as well. Famous companies would soon be founded in Japan, including household names like   Mitsubishi. Japan became the go-to place in Asia for many factory-produced goods, including textiles. 

Trade became a major part of their economy, and they were able   to set the terms of trade with other Asian countries. They centralized their currency, established banks, and quickly modernized and industrialized their society. They had taken   many lessons from trade with Europe and America, and one of them was aggressive economic expansion. 

And that would soon enter the military sphere. Japan had learned a lot from the great powers of the world, and they were ready to show their new strength. Their first target - Korea, then a tributary state under China. But in 1876, Japan imposed a new treaty on the Korean peninsula and forced them to open trade.   

When Korea later requested aid from China to put down a rebellion, Japan responded with far   greater force and was soon occupying Korea. They imposed a puppet government, and China responded with force of their own. It would be the biggest test of Japan’s growing empire. The first Sino-Japanese war broke out in 1894, and Japan’s well-trained forces quickly routed Chinese armies. 

They took over the strategic Liaodong Peninsula and dealt heavy damage to the Chinese Navy. In the eventual treaty, Japan not only took territory in China, but took over the entire island of Taiwan. While Japan was later forced to withdraw from some of the territory it gained by European powers, it was the first test of Japan’s power - and they had sent a powerful message. 

And they would be back in China before long. When the Boxer rebellion broke out in China, as a group of warriors sought to expel foreign   influence from China, a global force united to push it back and maintain a Chinese policy   favorable to them. And the largest group of forces came from Japan, looking to expand their influence in the region. 

Even the British were forced to ask Japan for help, as they had the most easily accessible troops in the region and Britain was overextended around the world. In exchange, Japan made demands - and they were rewarded after the rebellion was put down, gaining the right to station troops in China in the future. But another world power was making inroads into the same region. 

The Rise and Fall of the Empire of Japan

Russia occupied Manchuria, and played a key role in preventing Japan’s expansion after the Sino-Japanese War. As they expanded into Korea, Japan decided it was time to respond. In 1904, Japan launched a sneak attack on Russian forces, damaging their naval fleet and defeating those who tried to escape. 

Japan’s alliance with Britain bore fruit, as the Russians were denied passage through the British-controlled Suez Canal and arrived late, only to be easily routed. Not only did Japan’s victory lead to more territorial expansion and   mineral rights in Manchuria, but it set the stage for the annexation of Korea in 1910. But no era can last forever. 

Emperor Meiji passed away in 1912, and was replaced by his son, Emperor Taisho. Only two years after his ascent, World War I broke out in Europe, and Japan aligned with Britain and the Allies against Germany’s forces. They took the opportunity to attack many German properties in China and the Pacific, taking them over. 

As their alliance with Britain deepened, Japan also responded to the rise of the communist government in Russia by occupying parts of Siberia, although they were eventually forced to withdraw. But the Taisho era would be the calm before the storm. Taisho would only reign for fourteen years, passing away in 1926 and being replaced by his son Emperor Showa - better known around the world as Hirohito. 

While Japan had trended towards democracy under his father, Hirohito favored the military and the society became increasingly nationalist. By the 1930s, Japan was slipping back into an expansionist, totalitarian mindset. More people began to worship the Emperor as a deity, and a failed coup led to increased crackdowns on dissent. In 1931, the final push of the Japanese empire was about to begin. 

The powerful nation, suffering under the Great Depression that had spread worldwide, needed more resources. They got them by invading Manchuria and conquering   it with little resistance. While they claimed this was liberating the Manchu ethnic group, the result was a brutal occupation. They soon occupied much of Mongolia as well, and by 1937 they had invaded China proper. 

China was involved in its own domestic conflict between communists and nationalists, and Japan took advantage - with horrible consequences. Japanese troops may have massacred as many as 300,000 people in what would come to be known as the Nanking Massacre, and it’s estimated that as many as 20 million Chinese may have died in the coming decade. 

But Hirohito was about to make a historic mistake. Japan’s aggression had not gone unnoticed by the rest of the world. Britain and the Soviet Union were increasingly opposed to their expansion, and conflicts with the Soviet   Union were common. Eventually, the United States placed embargoes on Japan as well, keeping them from obtaining the metal and oil they needed for their war with China. 

So Japan signed a deal with Germany and Italy - the Axis powers - as World War 2 was starting on the European continent. The United States was still staying out of the war, but with the European powers   occupied with Germany and Italy, Japan knew its biggest threat came from across the Pacific. And it decided to strike first. 

The Japanese Government developed a plan to target the heart of the American Naval   fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. While the United States was still neutral, Hirohito was convinced that this was necessary to neutralize a potential enemy - and it was a stunning success. The Japanese sneak attack destroyed many of the US battleships and killed almost   2,500 people. 

Japan knew this would mean war - which was declared the next day - but they hoped that the US had been delayed enough that they could expand into the Pacific and build their empire to the point where no country could touch it. It didn’t work out that way. The American public was enraged, and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt roused them for a war effort. 

The Rise and Fall of the Empire of Japan

The Japanese continued to expand, occupying Hong Kong, the Malay peninsula, and the Philippines in short order and routing the Americans and British in the early going. The Japanese took over a hundred thousand  Allied troops as prisoners and seized much of Indonesia, as well as islands in the Pacific. But the tide would soon turn. 

While Japan’s sneak attack had given them the advantage, America had superior manufacturing   capabilities. A massive rebuilding effort led to a swift counter-attack against the Japanese Empire.. Japan lost four fleet carriers at the Battle of Midway, was routed by Australia, and by 1944 was on the defensive. 

Japan was under heavy bombing, but refused to surrender. World War 2 was quickly becoming an arms race, and it would be determined by who got to the finish line first. And it was the Americans - with not one but two bangs. The city of Hiroshima was the first to be targeted by a nuclear weapon in March 1945, followed by Nagasaki only days later. 

The massive explosions killed over 100,000 people in a matter of minutes, with the full effect of the radiation killing countless more for years. At the same time, the end of the war in Europe freed up countless forces, and the Soviet Union agreed to join the war effort against the Japanese. The Japanese were quickly routed by the Soviets in Manchuria, and the increasing defeats left the Emperor and his military command only one choice. 

Surrender. On August 15th, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced his surrender before a likely ground invasion of  Japan. Japan was occupied by Allied forces led by General Douglas MacArthur, and a new constitution was imposed on the country. This essentially led to the end of the Empire of Japan, as it   was transformed into a pacifist democracy. 

While many of the architects of the war in Japan were taken into custody by the Allies and executed for war crimes, Hirohito was spared - with him being a religious figure among much of the population, his execution was seen as likely to incite a rebellion and cause more death. But he was stripped of much of his power, essentially becoming a figurehead. But he would continue to reign until 1989, the longest-serving Emperor in Japanese history - and one who saw it at the beginning of its empire, and at its end.