Exam Format

• Essay Expectations:

  • Title essays appropriately.

  • Short answer and essays will constitute various components of the exam.

Breakdown of Exam Components

1. IDs (Identification Questions)

   • 6 terms, brief definitions (1-2 sentences each).

   • Each worth 5 points.

2. Short Essay on Historical Event

   • Choose one historical event from Bakumatsu-Meiji Restoration to present.

   • Word count: 300-400 words.

   • Worth 20 points.

3. Short Essay on Japanese Monster

   • Select one Japanese monster, drawing on lectures and sources.

   • Word count: 300-400 words.

   • Worth 20 points.

4. Short Essay on Primary Document

   • Analyze one primary document read in class.

   • Word count: 400-600 words.

   • Worth 30 points.

Key Terms (IDs)

• Bakumatsu

  • Refers to the final years of the Edo period (1853–1867) in Japan, marked by the end of the Tokugawa shogunate amidst internal and external turmoil, including Commodore Perry's pressure for trade.

• Commodore Matthew C. Perry

  • A U.S. naval officer instrumental in opening Japan to the West (1853-1854), leading to the Tokugawa's weakening grip on power.

• Sonnō-jōi

  • “Revere the emperor, expel the barbarians,” served as a rallying cry against the Tokugawa, leading to the Boshin War and greater foreign influence.

• Ansei Treaties

  • A series of unequal treaties (1858) that granted trade to Western powers at the expense of Japanese sovereignty, leading to domestic unrest.

• Aizawa Seishisai

  • Wrote Shinron (New Theses) in 1825, arguing for Japan’s military modernization and loyalty to the emperor, predicting threats from Western powers.

 Kokutai

• Term popularized in Aizawa Seishisai’s New Theses

• Can be translated as “national body” and “national essence”.

• Loyalty to the emperor with the people of Japan acting together

7. Meiji Tennō

• The emperor of Japan from 1867 to 1912 

• Meiji came to be emperor as the Tokugawa shogunate was ending and power was being restored to the emperor. He wanted to transition from feudalism to a modern state and adopt more western ideas.

• In 1868 Meiji took the “Charter Oath of Five Principles,” which launched Japan on the course of westernization.

8. Boshin War

• A civil war (1868–1869) fought between forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to restore the Emperor to political power. The victory of imperial forces marked the beginning of the Meiji era.

9. Ishin

• Short for Meiji Ishin (Meiji Restoration), referring to the period of rapid modernization and political change that ended feudal Japan and established a constitutional monarchy under the Emperor.

10. Yūrei

• Ghosts, often depicted as spirits of the dead who cannot move on to the afterlife due to unresolved matters or strong emotions

11.Ueda Akinari

• Writer of the Ugetsu Monogatari (Tales of Moonlight and Rain) read by the well educated in Edo Period. One of the tales

12. Tsuruya Nanboku

• He was a playwright known for his ghost plays.

13. Intertextuality

• A literary concept where a text references or is shaped by other texts, either explicitly or implicitly

14.Bunmei kaika

• A slogan during the Meiji period that can be translated as “civilization and enlightenment”

15. Iwakura Mission

• A diplomatic journey (1871–1873) during the Meiji period, led by Iwakura Tomomi and other statesmen. 

• They observed conditions in the United States and Europe and tried to renegotiate unequal treaties.

16.Charter Oath

• This was a five-point declaration issued in 1868 by Emperor Meiji, outlining the goals of the Meiji government. Served as a guiding framework for Japan’s modernization and democratization during the Meiji Restoration

  • Establishment of deliberative assemblies.

  • Encouragement of unity among all classes.

  • Abandonment of outdated customs.

  • Adoption of international knowledge for national benefit.

  • Promotion of fair governance.

17. Privy Council

• an advisory council to the Emperor of Japan. Advised the emperor on constitutional matters

18. Zaibatsu

• Industrial and financial business conglomerates whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji periods until the end of the Pacific War

19. Kokumin

• Translates to "citizen" and refers to the concept of a unified national identity that emerged as Japan rapidly modernized and adopted Western ideas, essentially creating a sense of belonging to the nation as a whole

20. Yanagita Kunio

• He collected and analyzed Japanese oral traditions, myths, and customs and advocated for the study of common people’s culture (minzoku)

21. Sasaki Kizen

•  He compiled folktales and became known as the Japanese Grimm

22. Kappa

• a water-dwelling creature that is said to live in the ponds, rivers, and lakes of Japan

23. Treaty of Shimonoseki

• A treaty signed in 1895 between Japan and Qing China, ending the First Sino-Japanese War. China recognized Korea’s independence (Japanese hegemony in Korea). Japan got territory and money.

24. Treaty of Portsmouth

• A treaty signed in 1905 that ended the Russo-Japanese War

• Japan gained control of the South Manchuria Railway and the Liaodong Peninsula. Japan was recognized as the dominant power in Korea

25. Taishō Tennō

• Japanese emperor after Emperor Meiji

26.Versailles Peace Conference

• An international conference held in 1919 to negotiate the terms of peace following World War I.

• Secured German territories in China (Shandong) and Pacific islands under a League of Nations mandate

27. South Manchuria Railway Company

• Japan established the South Manchurian Railway Company (SMRC) in 1906, following its victory in the Russo-Japanese War . Served as a vehicle for Japanese imperial ambitions in China

28. Kwantung Army

• Branch of the Imperial Japanese Army stationed in Manchuria. Played a major role in Japan’s expansion into Manchuria, including the orchestration of the Mukden Incident (1931), which led to the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo

29. Gotō Shinpei

• Head of the South Manchuria Railway Company

30. Tōjō Hideki

• He served as Prime Minister during World War II. Tried and executed as a war criminal

31. General Election Law

• A law enacted in Japan in 1925, which extended suffrage to all male citizens aged 25 or older. It marked a significant step toward democratization during the Taishō era.

32. Peace Preservation Law

• A series of laws enacted in Japan in 1925 aimed at suppressing political dissent, particularly targeting communists and dissolution of unions. 

33. Shōwa Tennō (Hirohito)

• The emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989

34.Unheimlich

• A German term meaning "uncanny" used by Sigmund Freud to describe something both strange and familiar

35. Takahashi Korekiyo

• low-rank bureaucrat and member of Seiyūkai (political party in the Lower House of the Diet of Japan). He implemented fiscal policies during the Great Depression that helped stabilize Japan's economy, but his opposition to military spending led to his assassination in 1936

36. Imperial Way Faction

• A faction within the Japanese military during the 1930s advocating for expansionist policies, loyalty to the emperor, and a militarized, authoritarian government

• characterized by extreme nationalism, militarism, and aggressive expansionist policies, advocating for a dominant Japanese role in Asia, often pushing for a military government with strong belief in the divine right of the Emperor

37.Manchukuo

• A puppet state established by Japan in Manchuria after its invasion. 

38.Control Faction

• Rival faction to the Imperial Way Faction within the Japanese military. They had control over the Japanese military.  

39. Konoe Fumimaro

• Member of the court nobility and politician who served as Prime Minister leading up to World War 2. He proposed a "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" under Japanese leadership.

40. Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

• A concept promoted by Japan during World War 2 to justify imperial expansion in Asia. It started from Fumimaro’s New Order in East Asia which had very vague ideas of Asia for Asians, world peace, asian self-suffiency, anti-communism, and asian stability and was later renamed Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

• regional hegemony under Japanese leadership.

41. Executive Order 9066

• An order signed by U.S. President FDR in 1942 that authorized the internment of Japanese Americans and other groups during World War II

42. General Douglas MacArthur

• An American general who led Allied forces in the Pacific during World War II and oversaw the occupation and reconstruction of Japan as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) 

43. Kamikaze

• Means "divine wind"

• Refers to Japanese suicide pilots during World War II who crashed their planes into enemy ships as a tactic to inflict damage on Allied forces

44. Hibakusha

• A term meaning "bomb-affected people," used to describe survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945

45. SCAP

• The title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the U.S.-led Allied occupation of Japan after World War II, overseeing Japan’s reconstruction

46.Reverse Course

• A shift in U.S. policy during the occupation of Japan (1947–1952) that prioritized economic recovery and anti-communism over initial goals of demilitarization and democratization with the heating up of the Cold War.

47. International Military Tribunal for the Far East

• A war crimes tribunal held in Tokyo from 1946 to 1948 to prosecute Japanese leaders for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity during World War II.

48. Ikeda Hayato

• Politican who served as Finance Minister and Prime Minister of Japan. Known for his Income Doubling Plan which boosted Japan’s post-war economic growth

49.MITI

• The Ministry of International Trade and Industry was a Japanese government agency that played a central role in guiding Japan's post-war economic recovery and industrial policy

50.Japan Self-Defense Forces

• Japan's military organization, established in 1954, for defensive purposes only, as dictated by Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution

51. Liberal Democratic Party

• Japan’s largest political party, established in 1955, which has been in power for most of the years since its founding. Known for its conservating policies.

52.Bikini Incident

• A 1954 nuclear test conducted by the U.S. at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands resulted in radioactive fallout affecting a Japanese fishing boat leading many of its crew to get radiation sickness.

53. Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

• A 1960 treaty that formalized the U.S.-Japan alliance, granting the U.S. the right to maintain military bases in Japan

• Caused significant public backlash in Japan, primarily due to the perception that it allowed for a large American military presence on Japanese soil, leading to massive protests known as the "Anpo Protests"

54. High Growth

• Refers to Japan’s period of rapid economic expansion from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, characterized by industrialization, technological advancement, and a significant rise in living standards.

55. Income Doubling Plan

• A policy initiated by Prime Minister Ikeda Hayato in 1960 aimed at doubling Japan’s GDP within a decade by promoting investment, infrastructure development, and education

56. Nakasone Yasuhiro

• A Japanese Prime Minister (1982–1987) of the LDP known for his efforts to privatize industries, strengthen U.S.-Japan relations, and enhance Japan’s international presence. Friends with Reagan.

57. Plaza Accord

• A 1985 agreement among five major economies (U.S., Japan, West Germany, France, and the U.K.) to depreciate the U.S. dollar and address trade imbalances, which led to the value of the Japanese yen rising and US markets gaining a lot of japanese commodities.

58. Heisei Tennō

• The emperor of Japan from 1989 to 2019, during the Heisei era. He focused on achieving world peace.

59. Great Hanshin Earthquake

• A devastating earthquake that struck Kobe and the surrounding area. It hit a densely packed area and revealed the ineffectiveness of political infrasture. Local state failed to provide support to victims. Local mafia provided food and heathcare to victims of earthquake.

60. Sarin Terrorist Attack

• Domestic terroristic attack by a Japanese relgiiosu sect that released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway below Diet in Japan to prove it vulnerable.

61.Aum Shinrikyō

• Japanese religious sect responsible for the 1995 Sarin terrorist attack in the tokyo subway.

62. Koizumi Jun’ichirō

• Japanese prime minister and LDP president that believed in Japan uniqueness and right of primacy in Asia. He introduces market fundamentalism to Japan.

63. Yasukuni Shrine

• A Shinto shrine in Tokyo honoring Japan’s war dead, including some convicted war criminals

64. Great Tōhoku Earthquake

• A massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan. Thousands died. The tsunami triggered a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant

65. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Incident

• A nuclear disaster triggered by the 2011 Great Tōhoku Earthquake and tsunami, leading to reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and significant radioactive contamination

66.Abe Shinzō

• Japanese Prime Minister with a cabinet of radical nationalists known for his economic policies called “Abenomics” that focused on reviving the japanese economy and promoting investment. Assassinated in 2022

67.Cool Japan

• A government-sponsored initiative to promote Japanese culture, including anime, fashion, cuisine, and technology, as a form of soft power to enhance Japan’s global influence

68.Reiwa Tennō

• The current emperor of Japan marking the beginning of the Reiwa era which means command harmony (forced harmony).

Historical Events (Bakumatsu-Meiji Restoration to the present)

Walker Chapters:

Meiji Enlightenment, 1868-1912

• Boshin War- between the supporters of the Tokugawa Shogunate and those advocating for the restoration of imperial rule under the Emperor Meiji. 

• Meiji reformers sought to thrust Japa n into the modern age

• The Charter Oath of April 1868 laid out the basic framework for the new regime

  • Although the first four tenets -‘ deliberative assemblies’, universal male suffrage, the abandonment of the ‘evil customs of the past’ , and open access to entrepreneurial opportunities - proved slow to materialize, the new leadership vigorously pursued the fifth tenet, which stated that, ‘ Knowledge shall be sought throughout the world so as to invigorate the foundations of imperial rule. ’ This international engagement transformed Japan at every level, from cultural borrowing to armed conflict.

• Ikakura mission: utilize western culture and institutions to invigorate foundations of imperial rule

• Steam-powered locomotive symbol of Meiji transformation. First railway line opened

• Reformers eliminate domain registers (vestige of feudal power), domains became prefectures under control of central government, daimyo become governors (reliquished control to emperor)

• New centralized police force housed within the Home Ministry. Dramatic change from regional and status-based lawed enforcement practices of Tokugawa years

• “Blood tax”-universal conscription into a military completely loyal to emperor

• New social order-Anolished the outcaste categories (used to work with corpse in Tokugawa years). More people categorized as commoners. Former outcastes more vulnerable to social violence. Blood Tax Rebellion with violence aimed at liberated outcastes

• Led by Fukuzawa and the Meiji Six Society, a collection of thinkers dedicated to bringing Western civilization to Japan, the notion of progress came to dominate the first decades of the Meiji experiment

• 2nd generation of Meiji sought a more Japanese style nationhood, one increasingly rooted in traditional Eastern values and ‘evil customs’ rejected in the Charter Oath

• Popular Rights Movment by ex-samurai and wealthy peasants, influenced by western notions of individual liberty and natural rights, campaigned for popular participation in government

• Meiji Constituion

  • Said to be a gift of  benevolent and charitoable emperor to the people of his country

  • Sovereighty rested solely with emperor

• Education for women expanded. Tokyo Girl’s School established along with universities for women. Women barred from political gatherings (compromised womanly virtues).

• Big industrial development.Linkages betwen industry and state initially. Government gradually released industrial holdings to firms which later evolved into industrial mega-conglomerates known as zaibatsu

• Penal reform, less barbaric punishments

• Transition to coal-> coal workers form militant unions 

• Important for Meiji period: Japan transitioned from a feudal society under the Tokugawa Shogunate to a modern, centralized state. Early years- imported western ideas and institutions. Later years- critisized aspects of western culture as excessive and disillusionment with Great powers

Birth of Japan’s Imperial State 1800-1910

• Faced with Russian encroachment, the Edo bakufu extended control over Ezo (Hokkaido), initially under the pretense of "benevolent rule" to rescue the Ainu from disease and hardship

• After the Meiji Restoration, the government implemented the Hokkaido Former Aborigine Protection Act (1899), which forced Ainu assimilation by restricting traditional practices and promoting Japanese language and agricultural livelihoods. Made them subjects called former aboriginals just as outcastes had been re-designated new commoners

• The Meiji regime banned traditional Ainu practices, sent Ainu to schools in Tokyo, and integrated foreign experts to modernize Hokkaido, transforming it into a colonial model for Japan’s future imperial conquests

• Shifting view of China

  • Early modern thinkers envisioned China as an exalted place that evoked powerful moral and cultural associations

  • Pre-Meiji scholars like Motoori Norinaga reframed China as politically illegitimate, positioning Japan as the superior "central florescence." This intellectual shift fed expansionist ambitions in Korea and China

• After Korea resisted diplomatic overtures to recognize Meiji Japan, Japan used the Un’yō Incident (1875) to impose the Japan-Korea Treaty of Amity (1876), detaching Korea from its tributary status under China and ‘opening’ Korean trading ports

• Fukuzawa Yukichi’s "Datsu-A-ron" (Disassociation from Asia) framed colonization as a necessity for Japan to avoid being colonized itself. This set the tone for Japan’s eventual military engagements in Korea and Manchuria

• Sino-Japanese Wars

  • Conflict over Korea escalated into war with China, culminating in Japan’s victory and territorial gains. However, the Triple Intervention (Germany, Russia, France) limited Japan’s spoils, fostering resentment

• Russo-Jappanese War

  • Russians refused to recognize Japanese interests in Korea

  • Japan sank much of the Russian fleet at the Battle of Tsushima Straits, marked its emergence as a global power.

  • Treaty of Portsmouth-> domestic criticism

  • Japan's imperial ambitions gained momentum

• Industry

  • Japan’s industrial modernization relied heavily on silk and cotton production. By 1913, Japan dominated global silk markets, driven by the labor of "factory girls," who endured grueling conditions

  • The industrial workforce faced high rates of tuberculosis, exacerbated by factory conditions. The Meiji government’s focus on bacteriology led to public health reforms and a national push to combat diseases.

    • Women tried to hide it. People viewede it as hereditary. Shame to family, ruin marriage prospects

• State control of bodies

  • The Meiji state sought to regulate citizens' bodies and sexuality through hygiene policies. Influenced by German medical theories, officials used analogies like the "nation as a body" to justify control and surveillance. Health threats contagious, could spread to whole national body

Empire and Imperial Democracy 1905-1931

• Japan’s special interests in China challenged US and european access to chinese manufactures and markets and placed Japan on a collision course with the Great Powers. Japan’s foreign policy was designed to protect its ecnomic adn military investments in China (most important- South Manchurian Railroad leased to Japan after Russo-Japanese War)

• Drivers of Imperialism

  • Japan sought to secure natural resources, compete with Western powers, and assert dominance in East Asia. The South Manchurian Railway became central to its economic investments. Japan’s largest company, most profitable.

• Economic influence in China

  • Japan's trade with China surged during WWI, reaching 30% of China's market by 1920. The notorious "Twenty-One Demands" in 1915 showcased Japan's colonial ambitions. Sought to expladn Japan’s economic interests and influence in China when US and European powers preoccupied with WW1

• Open door policy

  • US insisted all powers had rights to Chinese ports within respective colonial spheres of influence

• US laws aimed at discriminating against Japanese

  • San Francisco segregates Japanese students from white students

  • California bars aliens ineligible for citizenship from owning land (aimed at Japanese)

  • Laws designed to curtail Japanese immigration and created an hostile environment for those already living and farming

  • Ozawa v US- Japanese can’t be citizens

  • 1924 Immigration bill- prohibits Japanese from immigrating to US

  • Racial discrimination affected international negotiations. LON says no to racial equality. Washington Naval Conference gives Japan the shit end of the stick in 5-5-3 ratio for warship tonnages

• Taisho Democracy

  •  Early 20th-century Japan saw democratic strides with universal male suffrage and the rise of party politics

  • Depression in 1927

• Emergence of middle class

  • Economic growth during the 1920s led to a consumerist middle class, typified by "modern girls" and "salarymen."

  • Modern girl went against Meiji ideal of woman. Short hair, speaking their minds more

• Rise in ultranationalism

• Democracy

  • Economic crises, including the Great Depression, eroded trust in democratic politics.

• Ultranationalist Movements: 

  • Groups like the Cherry Blossom Society criticized corruption and advocated military-led governance under imperial nationalism.

  • Public Security Preservation Law- police rounds up thousands of communist party members

  • Strengthened activity of secret thought police who weeded out political dissent, principally from communists

• Kwantung

  • In 1931 , young officers in the Kwantung Army manufactured the events that precipitated the Pacific War. In their minds, igniting a ‘final war’ with the US would purge self-interested liberal economics from Japan with ascendant imperial fascism. 

The Pacific War, 1931-1945

• 1930s- Japan’s culture of fascism shaped poltiics, culture, and foreign affairs

  • Military adventurism in Manchuria and political assassinations at home led to the fall of party poltics and the rise of military governance

• The Kwantung Army initiated Japan's conquest of Manchuria in 1931, which Tokyo accepted as a fait accompli (no option but to accept it).

• Japan’s withdrawal from the League of Nations signaled its isolationism and commitment to building an autarkic empire

• Japan invades China in so called ‘Greater East Asian War’ eventually attacking Pearl Harbor

• Manchurian Incident

  • Architect of Manchurian Incident, Kwantung Army officer Ishiwara Kanji believed in a destined Japan-US confrontation. ‘Final war’

  • The Kwantung Army staged the Manchurian Railroad explosion as a pretext for occupation, leading to the establishment of Manchukuo in 1932

    • Lytton Report commisioneed by LON- to determine what had actually happened in Manchuria. Didn’t look at who started the incident, but critical of Kwantung Army’s self defense driven actions following 

  • International criticism, including the Lytton Report, pushed Japan further from diplomatic engagement. Autarkic empire largely divorced from international law

• Greater East Asian War

  • Triggered by the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, Japan’s full-scale invasion of China bogged down, confirming fears of prolonged war.

  • Japan declared its goal of a "Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere," envisioning regional hegemony under Japanese leadership

  • Tripartite Pact with germany and italy

  • The US imposed economic sanctions in response, culminating in a complete oil embargo by 1941

  • key defeats for Japan included the Battle of Midway (1942) and the Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944), decimating its naval strength.

  • Kamikaze tactics and desperate measures reflected Japan’s weakening position as US forces advanced on Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945.

• Post-war

  • The seven-year US occupation implemented profound reforms in Japan’s governance, education, and society.

  • Post-war Japan experienced rapid recovery, becoming an economic leader despite significant environmental and social challenges

Japan’s Post War History, 1945-present

• Conservative LDP dominanted Diet for decades

• Occupation

  • MacArthur wanted to democratize and modernize. Model plans after the US

    • Destroy military power, punihs war criminals, build structure of representative government, modernize constitution, hold free elections, enfrachise women, release political prisoners, liberate farmerse, estbalish free and responsible press, liberalize education, decentralize political power, separate church and state…

  • Article 9- renoucned Japan’s right of belligerency in resolving international disputes. Forever renouce the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes

  • US occupation led in large part by New Dealers

• Post-war

  • Japan tries to reverse or modify SCAP reforms

    • Tried to recentralize education

    • Makes National Police Reserve to replace US troops that had left which morphed into Japan’s Self-Defense Forces

  • High speed growth- economic expansion Japan’s main priorty

  • Godzilla emerged as a pop culture protest against nuclear testing and warfare

• Culture

  • Princess Mononoke, 1997), the story of a young girl raised by a pack of godlike wolves, ones reminiscent of Japan’s real-life wolves, once worshipped but hunted to extinction in the Meiji period. The main character is a young Emishi prince named Ashitaka, who finds himself embroiled in a struggle between the industrializing Iron Town and nearby forest animals and the Great Forest Spirit. In some respects, the film explores the death of nature; as human industrialization and exploitation of the natural world intensifies, animals lose their subjective, or godlike existence, and become unintelligent objects for human exploitation. O ver the course of the film, as the natural world is exploited by Iron Town, animals increasingly lose their ability to speak, symbolizing their objectification in the human imagination

Japanese Monsters

Primary Documents

The Legends of Tōno

Spirited Away

The Holy Man of Mount Kōya

Hell Screen

The Fervor

Godzilla

Tomie

Ringu

Ghost in the Shell

Akira