Throughout my life, I have heard a lot about Japan during World War II and a tiny bit about the aftermath of war and the rebuilding of the country.  I have not, however, read much or heard much about Japan leading up to the war.  After these readings, I have a better appreciation for the events leading up to World War II.  I also better understand the dilemma China was facing regarding following the path of the Meiji Transformation  or taking a more "China First" approach.  

Here are some of the thoughts I gathered while I was reading:  A group of oligarchs overthrew the shogun, abolished social distinctions, and restored power to the emperor.  They incorporated Western thought, upgrading military technology, food production, sciences, and constitutional precepts.  They sought to modernize Japan by building more railroad and telegraph lines and by changing the lunar calendar to match the Western calendar.  Emphasis was put on Shintoism, adding new "national gods" to the "local gods" for people to honor.  Around 1873, the slogan "Rich Country, Strong Army" started to be used.  

Japan felt that Western powers derived some of their strength from having colonies from which to extract labor and natural resources.  This partially explains the decision to make Korea a Japanese Protectorate and to invade Manchuria.  Throughout the 1920s, the virtues of diligence, decorum, and duty were being replaced by materialism, individualism, and decadence.  Early successes of the Japanese army/navy against the Russians and the United States (Philippines) gave the leaders of Japan confidence that they were strong militarily and the foreign powers may be weak.  I look forward to the insights our speaker adds on Monday evening.  

As I was completing the reading about World War II, I was aghast by the descriptions of Japanese brutality against the Chinese and Korean people. I had known about the extreme hostility between Japan and Korea, but I hadn't read about the Rape of Nanking or the use of comfort women in very much detail until this course. 

What was so suprising to me is how the different countries invovled in World War II justified their actions. Just a few paragraphs after the text talks about Japanese violence and dehumanization, the text mentions that, "Japan claimed to be liberating Asia from colonial powers" and that "Japanese soldiers saw themselves as spiritually superior to the materialistic West; they were hard and high-minded, whereas British and Americans were soft." I know that in many wars countries delude themselves into thinking their larger goals justify acts of violence and cruelty along the way, but this reading made it sound like because of the way their attacks were carried out, greed and national pride were the only possible things that could be motivating Japanese expansion into other parts of Asia. 

Could the Japanese really have seen their military victories as signifiers of superiority when they knew exactly how those battles were won? Also, today Japan is thought of as being such a sophisticated, orderly society? How much of this is a relatively new phenomenon, and how much of what we currently think of as Japanese culture was around during World War II and before?

The shift that Japan took in the late 19th century as it shifted from an Agrarian economy to a more industrialized market  is something that was enabled by the heavy taxation on farmers, that eventually led to bankruptcy of more than 300,000 of them. This government policies also led to huge migrations to Hawaii and the Pacific coast of the US. It also seems that westernization allowed women to play a greater role in the economy, and shaped their role in society. I was surprised to learn that all these changes appear so recent in my opinion, as I think of the successful economy that Japan currently has compared to other countries of its size. I honestly think that a lot of countries look up to Japan as a successful country in many aspects, and it is truly a pleasure to learn about its foundation as a modern nation that opened its doors to the world. 

Marcos I agree that these policies led to huge migration. I too was in awe how much women and children were a moving force in the economy. It is unfortunate how much women are viewed as second class citizens (including now) considering how much important work they do behind the scenes. In searching for the current empress, I read about the wife of an emperor not being allowed to attend her husband's enthroning (2017). Further, their daughter will not be able to "rule" because she is female.

In yesterday's seminar, professor Yamashita touched on Japan’s relations with the USA and the frustrations towards negotiations both faced. It’s actually alarming that President FDR characterized Japanese aggression as a “disease”. The web article I read while researching this topic titled “U.S. Relations with Japan” by the U.S. Department of State claims that the U.S.-Japan alliance “is fundamental to [Asia’s] regional stability and prosperity” (para. 1). This ties into what professor Yamashita discussed about Japan’s assets and shipments of oil. The U.S. froze the Japense assets and banned oil, making me think that their relations and connections with one another is a powerful and rather, critical alliance. My question now is, what are the U.S. and Japan’s relations to others? Do they work together or against each other when others (countries) are involved?

Dennis, I definitely agree about now appreciating the "road" that led to the attack on the Allied Forces. What certainly surprised me was discovering that the Meiji Reforms were built out of an actual mission around the world, as Professor Yamashita explained. The fact that the Meiji restoration was a "return to the past" and Confuscian ideals, mixed with renovation and Western ideology, is also fascinating. It certainly makes sense that there was a great deal of resistance to this new government, i.e. the Boshin War & Satsuma Rebellion! If former warriors and landowners feel the new government does not provide for them economically (because of inflation) and is culturally-dismissive (with new "national gods"), it seems that they may have no choice but to rebel. 

The only feature of your response that I tend to find a bit perplexing is the way you describe the country's virtuesbeing  replaced in the 1920s with new ideals of "materialism, individualism, and decadence." Were the traditional values of "diligence, decorum, and decadence" really replaced or just transformed/built upon? It is an interesting question and one I hope to continue to investigate as we move forward in our study of Japan...

This also struck me as well. Having learned and taught about Pearl Harbor from a U.S. perspective it was sobering to see that Japan's agression was in some ways influenced by the actions of the United States. Similar to a child who is bullied on the playground learning that if you can gain strength and power by bullying, you won't be pushed around. While it's a simplified example, I think in some ways it's part of why Japan chose to strike the U.S. They knew that eventually there would be a conflict and chose to strike hard and first.