JAPANESE HISTORY

JAPAN
Japan transformed from a militaristic spirit bent on invading other lands and terrorizing people, into a peaceful and industrious nation of great prosperity

JAPAN
Japan is the only nation bombed with nuclear weapons, at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945

JAPAN
Today, it is the factory of world for cars, ships, electronics, cameras, gadgets, toys, games and robots

JAPAN
The Japanese call their nation Nippon or Niho, Land of the Rising Sun.

JAPAN
Japan is an archipelago of 4,233 islands in East Asia The four main islands are Honshu (the largest), Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu Japan has an area of 373,313 sq. km. it is larger than the Philippines

Japan has a population of 127 million people, with the highest life expectancy in the world (81.25 years of age)

JAPAN

JAPAN
Only 17% of the land is arable. Most of the islands are mountainous and volcanic including Mount Fuji, its highest peak Japan lies within the ring of fire of the Pacific, and is shaken by 2,000 earthquakes a year. Japan has about 60 active volcanoes

JAPAN
Nearly all Japanese are mixed Shinto-ZenBuddhist Nippongo is the national language

Tokyo, the capital has a population of 30 million and is the largest city in the world
Kyoto, the old capital, is the center of classic Japanese culture

Japanese Culture
Japan adopted and did not invent its culture From China, it got its religion, alphabet, architecture, art, dress diet and music

Chinese influences entered Japan through Korea

Japanese Culture
In 656-650 AD Prince Shotoku, the Father of Japanese civilization, laid the foundations of political and social life

He wrote the first laws in Japan which was based on Confucian and Buddhist teachings

Japanese Culture
Differences against the Chinese Culture: The emperor could not be ousted because he was a living god

Buddhism was integrated with Shintoism

Japanese ideograms have different structures and style from Chinese writings

HISTORY
Classical Japanese history is composed of the following: Nara Period (8th century AD)

Heian era (795-1185 BC)

Feudal Era Ashikaga Shogunate Tokugawa Shogunate

Nara period (8 AD)

Nara was the capital Fujiwara family dominated the emperors during the Nara period

The Japanese enjoyed friendly relations with the Tang dynasty and their lifestyle followed Chinese culture

Heian Era (795-1185)

Flourishing of Japans classical civilization In the 11th century, Lady Murasaki wrote the Tales of Genji, which is believed to be the worlds oldest novel The first classical Japanese poetry was also written

Feudal Era
After a period of civil wars, emerged a military clique, the samurai class, under the political rule of the shogun

Feudal Era
The Shogun (great general) was the most powerful warlord, and the samurai was subject to him The emperor was only a ceremonial figure, dayto-day matters were controlled by the shogun The foundation of the militaristic spirit of Japan was laid during the feudal era

Feudal Era
In 1192, the shogun Yorimoto established feudalism in Japan. When Yorimoto defeated the Taira clan he was appointed by the emperor as a shogun Yorimoto divided Japan into districts and gave them to his retainers called daimyos (local lord)

Each daimyo had a fighting force of warriors called samurai (knights), whose duty was to fight and, if necessary, die for his lord

Feudal Era
The code of ethics of the samurai is called Bushido (Way of the Warrior) which contained the rules of Japanes chivalry To the samurai, death in the battlefield for his lord was glorious If the samurai failed in his duty to fight or disobeyed his daimyo, he could only redeem his honor by committing harakiri

Ashikaga Shogunate (1336-1573)

Was a period of feudal wars. Bandits roamed the countryside, and social and economic life suffered.

During this period, the first Europeans that came to Japan the Portuguese introduced the first firearms

Tokugawa Shogunate
After the Ashikaga Shogunate, three great feudal warlords of Japan appeared Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Iyeyasu One after the other, these shoguns restored order to a chaotic Japan Reunification was a rice cake; Oda made it, Toyotomi shaped it; and Iyeyasu ate it.

Tokugawa Shogunate
Oda Nobunaga overthrew the warring factions of the Ashikaga Shogunate in 1575 Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan and ruled form 1582 to 1598 In 1603, Tokugawa Iyeyasu succeeded and founded the Tokugawa Shogunate which ruled Japan until 1867

Classical Japan Contributions to Civilization

Bushido, a code of chivalry Shinto religion Kana alphabet Literary forms such as the kabuki (classical play); noh (lyrical play)

Dignified social customs, such as the tea ceremony and the ikebana (flower arrangement)

Classical Japan Contributions to Civilization

Manly sports such as judo, kendo (fencing), and sumo (wretling)

Opening of Japan (1853)

On July 8, 1853 an American squadron of four ships under the command of Commodore Matthew C. Perry entered Tokyo Bay The Americans displayed the power of his ships cannons and compelled the shogun to open Japan to world trade Unlike China, which was weakened by the Western powers, Japan was strengthened when it opened to the west

Meiji Restoration
Shogun power was abolished, the samurai absorbed into modern military, and the emperor was restored back to power Numerous Western institutions were adopted, including a written constitution, a Western legal system and a quasi-parliamentary government

Meiji Restoration
In 1868 Mutsuhito (1852-1912) ascended to the throne of emperor He chose the name Meiji (Enlightened) as his imperial name Emperor Mutsuhito and his advisers welcomed Western learning and technology

Meiji Restoration
The Gregorian calendar and the decimal system were adopted Western system of education was introduced. Foreign teachers were imported to teach Western science and foreign languages to the Japanese

Militaristic Japan
The shogunate has ended, but the military spirit lived on in the Japanese armed forces Using modern weapons and Western military tactics, went to war against China and Russia consecutively In the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), Japan won the territories of Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria from China

Militaristic Japan
In the Russo-Japanese War of 1905-05, the fleet of Admiral Togo destroyed the entire Russian fleet in the Battle of Japan Sea The war with China left Japan as the new, and only, Asian power on the block, and the war with Russia proved that an Asian power could knock out a Western foe

Militaristic Japan
During World War I, Japans status of a new power was confirmed when it gained Pacific islands against Germany

World War II
After World War II broke out in Europe in 1939, Japan sided with Germany and Italy in a common cause against the Allied Powers On September, 20, 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite pact with Germany and Italy, thus, becoming part of the Axis Powers

World War II
On December 7, 1941, Japan made a surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor and destroyed much of the US Pacific Fleet The following day, the US and Allied powers declared war on Japan

World War II
With a war plan of amazing speed, Japanese forces captured vital outposts in Asia as Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, and the Dutch East Indieas in a matter of weeks

It was only in the Philippines where they slowed than down due to the gallant resistance of the Fil-American troops at Bataan and Corregidor For 6 months, Fil-Am resistance upset the Japanese timetable and war plan

World War II
But the Filipinos paid a heavy price, at the cost of nearly 100,000 Fil-Am troops killed, wounded or taken prisoner The survivors were forced into a gruelling Bataan death march from which only half survived

World War II
The Japanese stripped its occupied territories of valuable resources, massacred many, forced natives into labor camps, turned women into comfort slaves, and abused or killed prisoners of war The Japanese, however, blamed this events on ignorance, the emergencies of war and Korean army recruits

Japans Surrender
By the middle of 1945, US air attacks and naval bombardment took the war to Japan itself Thousands of Japanese were killed or wounded in these attacks but still the military cliques refused to surrender They wanted to fight to the bitter end, even if it meant total destruction of their nation

Japans Surrender
The US decided to use its secret atomic bomb weapons to force the Japanese to surrender and end the war The first atomic bomb was used on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and then on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 The total destruction of both cities and the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives shocked the Japanese nation

Japans Surrender
On August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito overruled military leaders and, in an unprecedented move, spoke directly to his people and to the world by radio to announce the unconditional surrender of Japan

Allied Occupation of Japan

General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers in Japan, applied the policy of benevolent assimilation to Japan that had proven successful in the Philippines

However, the allied powers which helped Japan to recover and rehabilitate from the war, exited graciously

Allied Occupation of Japan

1. Democratization A new democratic constitution was written in 1947 by the occupation powers, in cooperation with Japanese leaders It provided for an elected parliament (Diet), with a prime minister and a constitutionally limited monarchy The emperor lost his god status and consented to being a mortal

Allied Occupation of Japan

2. Demilitarization Article 9 of the new constitution pledged the Japanese people to renounce war as a national policy forever 3. Freedom Values Equal opportunities, the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness replaced the old aristocracy, feudalism, and rigid society

Allied Occupation of Japan

4. Economic Improvement The collusion between officials and economic elites were ended which had monopolized wealth and the economy Land reform was instituted, and peasants now owned their land

Allied Occupation of Japan

5. Punishment of War Criminals Tokyo trial trial of Japanese military and civilian officials who were responsible for Japans aggressive policy in the 1930s and 1940s Of the 28 defendants, 6 were executed including the Premier, Hideki Tojo In minor war crime trials in the Philippines, Generals Tomoyuki Yamashita and Masaharu Homma were tried and convicted of war crimes