3: Rise of Militarist Japan – Lecture Review Flashcards

Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868)

• Definition

  • Feudal military government headed by the shōgun; emperor retained symbolic status.

  • Rigid social hierarchy (samurai, farmers, artisans, merchants).

  • Sakoku (isolation): limited foreign trade to Nagasaki; suppressed Christianity.

  • Economic traits

  • Predominantly agrarian, rice-tax economy.

  • Growth of castle towns, merchant wealth, proto-industrial guilds.

  • Political stability

  • Alternate Attendance (Sankin-kōtai) kept daimyō powerless.

  • Bureaucratic control through hereditary status.

• Significance

  • Created long peace ("Pax Tokugawa") but stifled modernization.

  • Isolation delayed technological / military advances, setting stage for external pressure (Commodore Perry 1853–54).

Meiji Restoration (from 1868)

• Definition

  • Overthrow of Tokugawa; restoration of direct imperial rule under Emperor Meiji.

• Key reforms

  • Political

  • Charter Oath (1868) promised deliberative assemblies; by 1889, promulgation of Meiji Constitution (limited constitutional monarchy).

  • Economic

  • State-led industrialization; adoption of Western technology.

  • Land Tax Reform (1873) monetized agriculture, creating national revenue base.

  • Infrastructure: railways, telegraph.

  • Social / cultural

  • Abolition of feudal classes; universal conscription (1873) replaced samurai monopoly on arms.

  • Compulsory education; promotion of Shintō as state ideology.

  • Foreign policy

  • Victories in First Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) confirmed status as regional power, fed nationalism.

• Long-term problems sown

  • Rapid industrialization → urban crowding, labour unrest, income inequality.

  • Power concentrated in oligarchs & emerging Zaibatsu; democratic institutions weak.

  • Militarists credited victories, enhancing army autonomy in politics.

Challenges for Japan, 1912-1932

• Economic

  • Post-WWI deflation; 1923 Kantō Earthquake reconstruction debt.

  • Great Depression after Wall Street Crash (Oct 1929)

  • Export slump; silk prices collapsed.

  • Farmers’ incomes fell by 43\% (evictions, forced sale of daughters).

  • Small-business closures; soaring unemployment.

• Political

  • Taishō Democracy’s fragile party cabinets; factionalism & corruption scandals (e.g., Siemens bribery).

  • Public perception of civilian politicians as beholden to Zaibatsu.

• Social

  • Radicalism (labour unions, tenant-farmer movements) vs. ultranationalism.

• External

  • U.S. protectionism, sterling bloc tariffs deepened trade woes.

Zaibatsu

• Definition: Family-controlled conglomerate = holding company + private bank + dozens of industrial/commercial subsidiaries (e.g., Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Yasuda).

• Economic role

  • Dominated heavy industry, shipping, mining, armaments; controlled capital flows.

• Political influence

  • Extensive campaign donations; cabinet ministers often alumni of zaibatsu banks.

  • Criticised for “money politics,” fuelling military/popular resentment.

• Social impact

  • Wage suppression, anti-union policies; magnified income inequality.

• Connection to militarism

  • Supplied weapons, ships; profited from colonial resources (Korea, Taiwan, later Manchuria).

  • New “military-allied Zaibatsu” (e.g., Nissan, Nakajima Aircraft) arose in 1930s.

Causation in History

• Concept

  • Events arise from interplay of long-term structures (economic systems, ideology) and short-term triggers (crises, individual actions).

  • Multi-causal lens avoids mono-causal fallacies; weighs relative influence.

• Application

  • Rise of Japanese militarism owed to economic depression (LT), civilian weakness (LT), specific incidents like Mukden (ST).

Military Discontent & Ascendancy (late 1920s-1931)

• Sources of resentment

  • Budget cuts during 1920s retrenchment.

  • Perception that London Naval Treaty (1930) accepted inferiority ratios.

  • Belief civilian leaders protected zaibatsu over rural poor and soldiers.

• London Naval Conference (1930)

  • Treaty limited capital ships; signed by PM Hamaguchi.

  • Viewed as humiliation; ultranationalists attempted to assassinate Hamaguchi (Nov 1930), eroding civilian authority.

• Manchuria focus

  • Rich in coal, iron, soybeans; buffer against USSR.

  • Assassination of Chinese warlord Zhang Zuolin (1928) by Kwantung Army signalled rogue militarism.

Mukden Incident & Manchukuo (1931-32)

• 18 Sep 1931: Kwantung Army detonated track near Mukden, blamed Chinese troops.

• Without Tokyo approval, army seized entire Manchuria by Dec 1931.

• March 1932: Puppet state “Manchukuo” proclaimed; Puyi installed as figurehead.

• International fallout

  • Lytton Commission condemned aggression; Japan withdrew from League of Nations (1933).

• Domestic impact

  • Army prestige soared; precedent for acting first, informing government later (“gekokujō” – low overthrowing high).

Ultranationalist Activity & Political Violence

• Groups

  • Cherry Blossom Society, League of Blood, Black Dragon Society.

• Goals: restore “true” imperial rule, purge zaibatsu & party politicians, expand overseas.

• Methods: assassinations (Finance Minister Inoue, PM Inukai — May 1932), coup plots.

• 26 Feb 1936 Incident

  • 1,400 young officers occupied Tokyo ministries; demanded purge of “corrupt” officials.

  • Factional result: radical officers executed; conservative Control Faction gained cabinet dominance, tightening military grip.

Loss of Civilian Control (1932-41)

• Constitutional levers

  • Army & Navy ministers had to be active generals/admirals → services could collapse cabinets by withholding nominees.

• Timeline Highlights

  • 1932: Admiral Saitō cabinet includes military in key posts.

  • 1934: Civilian parties sidelined; army dictates policy.

  • Oct 1941: General Tōjō Hideki becomes PM, symbolising full militarist state.

Economic Reorientation under Military Rule

• Industrial policy

  • Shift from consumer goods to heavy industry (steel, aircraft, chemicals) for autarky.

  • Creation/expansion of new military-aligned zaibatsu: Nissan, Manchurian Industrial Development Co.

• Principal Industries Control Law (1931)

  • Legalised cartels in strategic sectors (steel, shipbuilding, munitions).

  • Facilitated price-fixing & allocation aligned with army needs.

• Labour policy

  • Trade unions suppressed; factory councils replaced by patriotic associations.

  • Military values of discipline & sacrifice promoted in workplaces.

• Campaign for Economic Revitalisation

  • Rural aid: fertiliser distribution, improved seed, agrarian festivals.

  • Propaganda framed army as champion of peasants, shoring up support base.

Social & Cultural Control

• Censorship

  • 1936 Information & Propaganda Committee monitored press, film, radio.

  • Banned criticism of emperor or military setbacks.

• Education

  • Revised curricula: ethics (Shūshin), Emperor-centred narratives, “Imperial Rescript on Education” recited.

  • Emphasis on obedience, martial spirit; hostility to liberal Western ideas.

• Ideological climate

  • State Shintō rites compulsory; reverence for kokutai (national polity).

  • Individualism denounced as “selfish”; collective over personal.

Summary of Impacts of Military Rule

• Political: parliamentary parties emasculated; decision-making run through Imperial General Headquarters & Liaison Conferences.

• Economic: command economy geared to war; GDP share of military expenditure skyrocketed (≈ 70\% of budget by 1941).

• Social: heightened nationalism; curtailed civil liberties; mobilisation of entire populace for “total war.”

Potential Essay Arguments (Guide)

• Economic distress (1920s-30s) as primary vs. contributory cause of militarism; weigh alongside ideology and foreign policy ambitions.

• Civilian government weaknesses (structural & personal) vs. extrinsic shocks in enabling military rise.

• Methods of consolidation: legal (cabinet posts), extra-legal (coups), propaganda, education, zaibatsu alliances.

• Evaluate social changes: rural policies, labour repression, gender roles (mobilisation of women), urban censorship.

• Meiji modernization paradox: Westernisation created powerful army & zaibatsu but left democratic institutions shallow.

Glossary (selected)

• Authoritarian Regime – strong central power, restricted freedoms.

• Censorship – suppression of information contrary to state interests.

• Great Depression – global economic collapse beginning 1929.

• Kwantung Army – Japanese garrison in Manchuria, spearheaded expansion.

• London Naval Conference (1930) – treaty limiting naval tonnage.

• Manchukuo – puppet state in Manchuria (1932-45).

• Militarism – ideology glorifying military strength & expansion.

• Mukden Incident – staged sabotage used to justify Manchurian invasion.

• Tokugawa Shogunate – feudal regime preceding Meiji.

• Tōjō Hideki – army general, PM 1941-44.

• Ultranationalism – extreme, aggressive patriotism.

• Zaibatsu – family-controlled industrial conglomerates.

Practice Review Questions (condensed)

1. List three characteristics of Tokugawa political control.

2. Describe two major economic reforms of the Meiji era and their unintended consequences.

3. How did the Great Depression affect (a) farmers, (b) small urban businesses?

4. Explain why the London Naval Treaty angered Japanese officers.

5. Outline the sequence from Mukden Incident to withdrawal from League of Nations.

6. In what ways did the Principal Industries Control Law enhance military economic power?

7. How were education policies altered to support militarist ideology?