The Closing of Japan

1. The Closing of Japan • Tokugawa “closed” Japan beginning in 1649 • Allowed limited contact with the Dutch, Chinese, Koreans • Trade significantly limited and controlled

2. Japan’s Economy After the Closing • Although isolated, Japan experienced economic success and advances • Regional trade flourished • The Japanese economy grew • Money replaced barter • Agricultural production lagged

3. Decline of the Samurai • Less need for warriors • The samuraislowly lost power, status • The warrior ethic seemed to lose its relevance

4. Growing Weakness in the Tokugawa Shogunate • Not everyone honored the imposed isolation • The feudal system changed and new groups gained power • The shoguns grew weaker • Some came to question the wisdom of Japan’s isolation

5. Commodore Matthew C. PerryPg 722 Video • In 1853, Perry was sent on a mission by U. S. President Millard Fillmore to establish trade with Japan – a country that had practiced isolationism as well. • After initially being turned away, Perry landed for peace and trade talks on March 8, 1854, and began to negotiate with the Japanese to establish a trade agreement. • On March 31, 1854, Perry signed the Treaty of Kanagawa on behalf of the United States, which established "permanent" friendship between the two countries. The treaty guaranteed that the Japanese would save shipwrecked Americans and provide fuel for American ships, but also opened the opportunity for trade between Japan and the United States. • The signing of this treaty signaled the end of Japanese isolation.

6. The Collapse of the Shoguns • The opening of Japan eventually led to the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1868 • Civil war broke out • Japanese feudalism collapsed with the “restoration” of the emperor The Meiji Restoration Program of modernization and industrialization implemented New industrial base expanded rapidly between 1868 and 1912 Military buildup. Meiji Japan was determined to close the gap to the Western powers economically and militarily.

7. Meiji Reforms • The new government aimed to make Japan a democratic state with equality among all its people. • The establishment of human rights, such as religious freedom in 1873. • The education system. Among those reforms was the introduction of mandatory education. • Modernizing the military was a high priority. Universal conscription (everyone had to serve in the military for a period of time) was introduced. • The transportation and communication networks were improved. The government also directly supported businesses and industries. • A revival of conservative and nationalistic feelings: principles of Confucianism and Shintoism, including the worship of the emperor, were increasingly emphasized and taught at educational institutions.

8. 1894: Sino-Japanese War • War fought between China and Japan from 1894 to 1895. • It demonstrated how successful modernization had been in Japan since the Meiji Restoration as compared with that in China. • The Japanese army defeated the Chinese in a series of battles • Though still recognized as an independent nation, Korea effectively became a Japanese protectorate/ colony • The war also encouraged further Japanese invasions on Chinese territory.

9. 1904: Russo-Japanese War • This war was because both Russia and Japan wanted Manchuria and Korea. • Russia underestimated the strength of Japan’s new modern army. • Japan attacked Port Arthur. A series of quick Japanese victories, which surprised the world, ended in the fall of Port Arthur (Jan., 1905). • Japan gained the position of a world power, becoming the first non-European and non-American imperialistic modern nation. • These two wars led to the belief that Japan was more militarily powerful than the other East Asian countries, and sparked an agreement with Hitler to conquer and divide the world.

10. Shogun Japan: Legacy • Industrialization • Militarism • World War II Pearl Harbor Island Hopping Kamikaze Pilots Atomic Bombs Japan Surrenders A Japanese kamikaze bomber during World War II

11. 1950: The Korean War (the Forgotten War) • The Korean War, from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. It was also a Cold War between the United States and its United Nations allies and the communist powers of the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union (also a UN member nation). • The origins of the Korean War have long been a matter of debate. At the time, the American government believed that the communist bloc was unified, and that North Korea acted within this organization as a pawn of the Soviet Union. • In the 1960s and 1970s, the view that the war was just as much caused by western nations and South Korea became popular. With the opening of Soviet archives, the war is most often blamed on Kim Il-Sung who convinced a reluctant Joseph Stalin to support the war.

12. 1960s & early 1970s: The Vietnam War • With a goal of stopping the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, America replaced France in South Vietnam. • With Ho Chi Minh determined to reunite Vietnam, Lyndon Baines Johnson determined to prevent it, and South Vietnam on the verge of collapse, the stage was set for massive escalation of the Vietnam War. • Despite technically being neutral, both of Vietnam's smaller neighbors were drawn into the war, suffered massive bombings, and, in the case of Cambodia, endured a post-war holocaust of nightmarish proportions. • South Vietnamese leaders believed that America would never let them go down to defeat - a belief that died as North Vietnamese tanks smashed into Saigon on April 30, 1975, and the long war ended with South Vietnam's surrender.