Military history of Japan
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The military history of Japan is characterized by a long period of feudal wars, followed by domestic stability, and then foreign conquest. It culminates with Japan's defeat by the Allies in World War II. Since then, Japan's constitution has prohibited the use of military force to wage war against other countries.
Unless one counts the American Occupation following World War II, Japan has never been successfully invaded.
Pre History
Recent archaeological research has uncovered traces of wars as far back as the Jomon period between the various tribes existing on the Japanese Archipelago. Some theorists believe that during the Yayoi period horse riders from the Korean Peninsula invaded southern Kyushu, then spread to all the way to northern Honshu. This is when horse-riding and iron tools were first introduced to the islands.
Jomon Period
Near the end of the Jomon period, villages and towns became surrounded by moats and wooden fences. Some remains were found with head and arrow injuries. Battles were fought with weapons like the sword, sling, spear, and bow and arrow.
Yayoi Period
Bronze goods and bronze-making techniques from the Asian mainland reached what is now Japan as early as the 3rd century BC. It is believed that horse riders from the Korean Peninsula also brought the first horses and iron weapons. The transition from the Jomon to Yayoi period may have been characterized by violent struggle as the natives were soon displaced by the invaders and their vastly superior military technology.
Around this time, the Wei Chih (or "Chinese Chronicles") from the Han Dynasty refer to the nation of Wo (or "Wa" in Japanese). According to this work, Wa was "divided into more than 100 tribes" and for some 70 or 80 years there were many disturbances and warfare. About 30 of the communities had been united by a sorceress-queen named Pimiko (or "Himiko" in Japanese). She sent an emissary named Nashonmi with a tribute of slaves and cloth to Daifang in China, establishing diplomatic relations with Cao Wei (the Chinese kingdom of Wei).
Ancient and Classical Japan
By the end of the 4th century, the Yamato clan was well settled on the Nara plain with considerable control over the surrounding areas. It exchanged diplomatic envoys with the Three Kingdoms of Korea and Chinese rulers. Yamato was even strong enough to have sent an army against the powerful state of Goguryeo, which then dominated the Korean Peninsula at the time. It was most closely associated with the southwestern Korean kingdom of Baekje (百斉, or "Kudara" in Japanese), whence came the Seven-Branched Sword (or "shichishito" in Japanese).
Near the end of the Heian period, the samurai became a powerful political force, thus starting the feudal period.
Yamato Period
Wa Japan had close ties with the Gaya Confederacy in Korea. Gaya exported abundant quantities of iron armor and weapons to Wa and there may have even been a Japanese military post there. Although the Nihonshoki claims that Gaya ("Mimana" in Japanese) was a colony or tributary of Wa, most scholars have rejected this on the basis that there is no mention of it in either the older Kojiki or in any Korean records. In addition, no archaeological evidence indicating Japanese presence has been found from this period.
In 552, the ruler of Baekje appealed to Yamato for help against its enemies, neighboring Silla and its ally Tang Dynasty China. Along with his emissaries to the Yamato court, the Korean king sent bronze images of Buddha, some Buddhist scriptures, and a letter praising Buddhism. These gifts triggered powerful burst of Japanese interest in Buddhism.
The Battle of Baekgang (白村江) took place in 663. Nihonshoki records that Yamato sent 32,000 troops and 1,000 ships to support Baekje against Silla-Tang force. However, Baekje collapsed and Japan withdrew from Korea.
Nara Period
In nearly all of the ways that matter, the Nara period was the beginning of Japanese culture becoming what we today think of as Japanese. It was in this period that Japan first gained Buddhism, the Chinese writing system, and tea ceremony. The country was united and centrally governed for the first time, and much of the basics of the feudal system were set down.
While much of the discipline, weapons, armor, and technique of the samurai was probably not developed yet, the skeleton of the Japanese feudal warrior began here. Mounted archers, swordsmen, and spearmen fought with weapons not too different from those of any other culture, across the world, who had the same level of technology.
Succession disputes were prevalent here, just as in most of the later periods, and the Nara period also saw the first Shogun, Otomo no Yakamochi.
Heian Period
The Heian Period, militarily, consisted mainly of conflicts and battles between samurai clans over political power and influence, especially fought over control over the line of succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne. The Imperial family fights against the control of the Fujiwara clan, which almost exclusively monopolized the post of regent. The feudal conflicts over land, political power, and influence eventually culminated in the Genpei War, between the Taira and Minamoto clans, and a large number of smaller clans that allied with one side or the other. The end of the Genpei War brought the beginning of the Kamakura period, and the end of the Heian.
During this period, samurai were still, largely, archers first and foremost, before swordsmen. Nearly all duels and battles began with an exchange of arrowfire, before single combat was entered, with sword and dagger.
Feudal Japan
This period is marked by the departure from tournament-like battles, and a move to massive clashes of clans for the control of Japan. In the Kamakura period, Japan successfully repulsed Mongol invasions and this started a change to conscripted armies with a core of samurai as an elite force and as commanders. The Muromachi period was a brief period of peace but traditional aristocrats completely lost power as the samurai continued to grow in importance.
Kamakura Period
The Mongols, who controlled China at the time under the Yuan Dynasty, attempted to invade Japan twice in the 1200s. In early October 1274, the Battle of Bun'ei began with a combined force of Mongols and Koreans invading Tsushima. On 19 October, they lost many battle ships due to typhoon and the remaining troops retreated. A second attempt was made during the Battle of Kouan and the Mongol-led forces retreated after losing many ships due to a typhoon once again.
Muromachi Period
Forces of Korea's Joseon Dynasty under the direction of general Yi Jong Mu invaded Tsushima on 19 June 1419, but were repulsed at Nii. The victory is known to locals as the Battle of Nukadake (糠岳の戦い). The Korean troops retreated on 3 July. (For more information, see Oei Invasion.)
Azuchi-Momoyama Period
This period, named for the castle-cities which became increasingly important, is marked with the introduction of firearms, after contact with the Portuguese, and a complete disappearance of personal braveries as the factor in a battle. In the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, about 3,000 arquebusiers led by Oda Nobunaga cut down charging ranks of samurai. After a series of fierce battles, Buddhist monks were stripped of their domains and turned into a purely religious authority.
Regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi organized a 160,000-man army and navy for the conquest of China's Ming Dynasty in 1592 (Battle of Bunroku, 文禄の役). Although the Japanese forces scored initial victories on land, the Japanese navy was completely devastated by the much smaller Korean navy. In addition, China sent military aid to Korea helping seal victory against Japan. After Hideyoshi's death, the Council of Five Regents ordered the remaining Japanese forces in Korea to retreat.
Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the regents, took control of most of the former leader's forces. In 1600 he won the battle of Sekigahara and solidified his rule. In 1603, he received the title of shogun, making him the nominal ruler of the entire country.
Edo Period
This period was one of relative peace under the authority of the Bakufu (shogunate). It would remain so until the Meiji Revolution and the subsequent rise of Japanese imperialism in Asia.
Two major military events did occur, however, during the decades following the Battle of Sekigahara:
- The Siege of Osaka, 1614–1615 in which the Tokugawa shogunate defeated the forces of Toyotomi Hideyori
- The Shimabara Rebellion, 1637–1638, in which the Tokugawa shogunate defeated peasants in Hizen and Higo Provinces.
The Boshin War (戊辰戦争 Boshin Sensō, literally "War of the Year of the Dragon") was fought in 1868-1869 between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the pro-Imperial forces in Japan. The defeat of the shogunate led directly to the Meiji Restoration.
Modern Period
After a long peace, Japan rearmed by importing, then manufacturing Western weapons, and finally manufacturing weapons of their own design. During the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), Japan became the first Asian nation to win a war against a European nation. It also became the first Asian nation to sign a mutual defence pact with a European nation, Britain.
Japan was also the last major power to enter the race to colonize the world. Severely hampered by its still-developing industries, Japan started a war against the United States during World War II with less than one-tenth of the industrial capabilities of the U.S.
Japan has never participated in a major war as a combatant after losing World War II. Even though Japan remains a military power, it is prevented by political and ideological issues that prevent it from exporting military hardware. In addition, Japan is the only nation with a space exploration program, but no nuclear weapons.
Meiji Period
Modern Army Established
In 1873, the Imperial government enacted the conscription law and established the Imperial Japanese Army. Samurai lost their status as the only class with military obligations. A sensationalized depiction of this can be seen in The Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise.
Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)
The Sino-Japanese War was fought against the forces of the Qing Dynasty of China in the Korean peninsula and the coast of China. Japan conquered Seoul on 23 July and won the Battle of Houtou on 25 July. The Ryohtoh peninsula in China was conquered in November.
The Treaty of Shimonoseki (Japanese: 下関条約) was signed between Japan and China at the end of war. Through this treaty, Japan forced China to open ports for international entry and trade and ceded the southern portion of China's Fengtien province as well as the island of Taiwan to Japan. China also had to pay a war indemnity of 200 million Kuping taels. The end of this war also saw Korea's "independence" from China and falling into Japan's sphere of influence. Japan became a world power with its victory in this war, proving to the West that it had the strength and the ingenuity to defeat China, the strongest non-Western power in the world.
Russo-Japanese War
The Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 was only the second time in modern history in which a non-Western power defeated a Western one (the first being Ethiopia's defeat of Italy in the Italo-Abysssinian war of 1895-96). Japan proved that it could apply Western technology, discipline, strategy, and tactics in an effective war. Japan's victory resulted in the occupation of Korea by the Japanese.
Taisho Period - World War I
1914: Japan was a member of the Allies during World War I and was rewarded with control of German colonies in the Pacific. 70,000-strong Japanese force also invaded Russia during the Russian Civil War, but failed to achieve their objective and was forced to withdraw. A small group of Japanese cruisers and destroyers also participated in various missions in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
Showa Period - World War II
Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931, following the Manchuria Incident, in which they claimed to have had territory attacked by the Chinese (a few meters of the South Manchuria Railway was destroyed in a bombing sabotage). By 1937, Japan had annexed territory north of Beijing and, following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, a full-scale invasion of China (Republic of China) began. Japanese military superiority over a weak and demoralized Chinese army allowed for swift advances down the eastern coast of China, causing the fall of Shanghai and Nanjing (Nanking) (then capital of China) the same year. The Chinese suffered greatly in both military and civilian casualties. An estimated 300,000 civilians were killed during the first weeks of Japanese occupation of Nanjing, dubbed the Nanking Massacre).
In September of 1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan became allied under the Tripartite Pact. Germany, which had previously trained and supplied the Chinese army, halted all Sino-German cooperation, and recalled its military advisory (Alexander von Falkenhausen). In July of 1940, the U.S. banned the shipment of aviation gasoline to Japan, and by 1941, shipments of scrap iron, steel, gasoline, and other materials had virtually ceased. Meanwhile, American economic support to China began to increase.
In April of 1941, Japan and Russia signed a neutrality pact and Japan increased pressure on the French and Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia to cooperate in economic matters. On 1941-07-22, Japanese forces invaded French Indochina and occupied its naval and air bases.
With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 1941-12-07, the Pacific War began and the U.S. entered World War II. Hard-fought battles at Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and others resulted in horrific casualties on both sides, but eventually produced a Japanese retreat. On August 6 and 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs, on Hiroshima and on Nagasaki. More than 200,000 people died as a direct result of these two bombings. After the bombings, the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan.
Japan surrendered on August 15 1945 and a formal Instrument of Surrender was signed on 1945-09-02, on the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The surrender was accepted by General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Allied Commander, with representatives of each Allied nation, from a Japanese delegation led by Mamoru Shigemitsu. A separate surrender ceremony between Japan and China was held in Nanking on 1945-09-09.
Following this period, MacArthur established bases in Japan to oversee the postwar development of the country. This period in Japanese history is known as the occupation. U.S. President Harry Truman officially proclaimed an end of hostilities on 1946-12-31.
Over the course of the war, Japan displayed many significant advances in military technology, strategy and tactics. Among them were the Yamato class battleship, the Sensuikan Toku submarine bomber carriers, the Mitsubishi Zero fighters, and Kamikaze bombers.
The Atlantis Documents
It is sometimes argued that the Japanese decision to attack the Allies was, in large part, influenced by the capture of British documents with regards to British forces, the defenses of Singapore, codes, and information on Australia and New Zealand, as well as an appraisal of Japanese intentions. These documents were captured by the German Hilfskreuzer (cruiser) Atlantis, on 1940-11-11. Other elements show that Japanese military command chose to invade allied territory as a result of a failure to defend itself against Soviet forces in 1938-1939 during the Nomonhan Incident.
Post-World War II
After a period of U.S. American Occupation, Japan regained its independence. Japan was also forbidden to have a standing army or wage war by Article nine of its Constitution.
Although the Japanese constitution says "land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained," the Jieitai (自衛隊), or Japan Self-Defense Forces were created shortly after the end of U.S. occupation. The Jieitai is one of the most technologically advanced armed forces in the world and Japanese military expenditures are the seventh highest in the world. For the most part, as per the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security signed in 1960, Japan relies on the United States for defense and hosts a number of American military bases, particularly in Okinawa.
The Diet of Japan is currently deliberating an amendment to the Constitution which would repeal Article Nine, and allow Japan to once again have projective military capacity.
For the time being, Japan has deployed the Jieitai to aid in a number of non-combat missions, especially those involving humanitarian aid, such as aiding the victims of the 1995 Kobe earthquake, providing administrative support to the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) Norwegian Battalion (NORBATT) in the 1990s, and helping rebuild Iraq.
Some Japanese state a desire to have their own military due to fear of the growing power of China and the hostility of North Korea. They claim that the U.S. has failed to properly address these issues, and therefore Japan must grant itself "the power to defend itself".
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan recently announced a plan to expand the number of permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council, and Japan seeks to gain one of those seats. Despite Japan's economic power and political influence, however, it is debatable whether or not a country with no standing military can be considered a "world power" such that it would be granted a permanent seat on the Council. Recent disputes with neighboring countries like China, South Korea, and Russia over territories such as the Senkaku Islands, Dokdo, and the Kuril Islands, as well as accusations of Japanese whitewashing of history in various textbook controversy have also complicated this process.
References
- Gordon, David M. "The China-Japan War, 1931-1945" Journal of Military History (Jan 2006) v 70#1, pp 137-82. Historiographical overview of major books