Japan: Difference between revisions

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Japan has been inhabited since the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of the archipelago appears in a Chinese chronicle finished in the 2nd century. Between the 4th and 9th centuries, the kingdoms and tribes of Japan became unified under the Yamato emperor, with the Court based in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heian-ky%C5%8D Kyoto]. Beginning in the 12th century, political power was held by a series of military dictators (''shōgun'') and feudal lords (''daimyō''), and enforced by a class of warrior nobility (''samurai'').

 

 

In the aftermath of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_period Warring States era], the Tokugawa family unified the islands of Japan. The Shogun's government deemed this necessary to prevent Western influence which might undermine the authority of the shogunate and disrupt Japan's social order. This paranoia, along with the Spanish conquest of the Philippines and Dutch entry into East Asia, led to the formal institution of the Sakoku doctrine [鎖国, lit. ''locked nation''].

 

The prosperity of this small trade venture gained the attention of the Czar of Russia, who granted an exclusive imperial charter to expand Russian influence in Japan in 1740, forming the [[Russo-Japanese Trading Company]] [Русско-японская торговая компания, abbrv. ''RYT'']. Over the next decade, the RYT expanded its operations in Japan, putting pressure on the Shogun to loosen commercial restrictions and bribing regional Japanese lords in order to enter political and economic alliances with them. The Russians formed an especially strong bond with the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsumae_clan Matsumae clan]. Wary of Russian competition, the Dutch moved to expand their influence among the lords of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyushu Kyushu], using their bases at Dejima and Poesjan to manipulate maritime trade and fishing zones.

 

During the 1754 Tokugawa succession crisis [徳川継承の危機], the heir apparent of the Tokugawa government was found to be an illegitimate child. The RYT took this opportunity to put forth a pro-Russian candidate, which was rejected. When the anti-Western Tokugawa Naritami [徳川斉民] was selected as Shogun, the Russians hired a mercenary to assassinate him merely a fortnight later. This led to widespread rage in the Japanese government and the dramatic increase in anti-Russian sentiment.

 

During the reign of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_K%C5%8Dkaku Emperor Kokaku], Japan experienced immense social and economic change. Japanese mercenaries and laborers ventured outside of Japan with the guidance of European merchants, taking up residence in colonies like [[Tauland]] and the [[Philippines]]. The modern Japanese economy formed, though with unwelcome intervention from the Russians and the Dutch.

 

 

==== Reunification of Japan ====

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In 1795, France invaded the Republic of the Netherlands and installed a puppet government. Consequentially, the pro-Dutch lords of southern Japan lost their main benefactor and began to waver. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakai_clan Sakai clan] of northern Japan's influence was expanded dramatically after successfully crushing much of the anti-Western forces north of the Watarase River.

 

In March of 1896, the last Sakai shogun died without a heir apparent. This naturally led to the nonviolent Sakura Revolution not long after and the abolishment of the shogunate. The Federalist Party gained control of the nation, establishing the Empire of Japan. The traditional samurai class lost their remaining influence to the rising Japanese merchant class.