Expressions of Imperialism

 Expressions of Imperialism

By the turn of the twentieth century, Japan began to develop its own imperial ambitions. With its growing population and need for natural resources, it began to pursue its expansionist ambitions more aggressively. It established a military draft in 1872, forcing all able-bodied males between the ages of 17 or 18 and 35, regardless of class, to serve a mandatory term of three years in the reserves and subjecting them to the military draft at age 20. Many Japanese, including peasants and samurai, opposed mandatory military service. For the samurai it signaled the end of their social standing, as they were now sharing military service with what they called “dirt farmers.” For the peasants, the expectation of military service was viewed as a “blood tax” since the idea of dying for Japan, the nation that gave them so little, was not welcomed.

Nevertheless, the militarization of Japan escalated. Japanese historian Marius Jansen explains, “After decades of weakness, it was good to be a Japanese and to humble the mighty neighbor that had dominated the horizon for so long.” 

 In less than four decades Japan went from being a feudal society to a modern state, with sophisticated weaponry, a developed military bureaucracy, advancements in governing structures, and educational institutions.

The Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), Japan’s “first foreign war,” was fought between the Japanese Imperial Army and the Qing Empire (China). China conceded defeat roughly one year after the war’s outbreak, signaling for the first time a significant shift in regional dominance in East Asia from China to Japan.

Japanese poet Takamura Kotaro’s poem captures the spirit of this moment.

Funds For Building Warships 

The Sino-Japanese War was over

but war consciousness rose still higher. 

To be prepared for the next war

Funds for building warships had to be scraped together.

First, His Majesty gave a large sum

and government officials were to have part of their salaries deducted

for some years to come.

Father told mother and me about it in detail

at night in the dining room.

The return of the Liaotung Peninsula the Emperor was terribly worried,

father feared from the bottom of his heart.

“So from now on, Mitsu, don’t be wasteful.

Understand?”

Following its defeat, China was forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which had devastating consequences for the nation both in land and in morale. To finance the war, China had been forced to take out large loans, mostly from Britain. To pay the debt, Russia, France, and Germany loaned money in exchange for the ability to lease strategic ports. These leases enabled the three imperial powers to have exclusive rights over much of China’s railroads, mines, and harbors. Known as the “scramble for concessions” or pejoratively as the “slicing of the Chinese melon,” this national humiliation encouraged Chinese reformers to accelerate modernization in order to defend them- selves against any future foreign occupation. 

After the Western powers intervened in China, Japan was forced to retreat from Liaodong. While they received a large payment from Russia, the Japanese lost what they perceived to be as their spoils of war. Japanese nationalists rioted and Japan's leaders realized that they need powerful allies and an even stronger military to avoid ever getting bullied again. In 1902, Japan signed an alliance with Great Britain, which also wanted to stop Russia from expanding further into Asia. With the world's mightiest empire on its side, Japan was ready for a major expansion of military spending and growing power on the world stage. Many Japanese started pushing their government to take what they perceived as their territory in China back from the Russians, setting up the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05.