S E p d ec it i io al n
W E E K LY N E W S L E T T E R
JAPAN TIMES 1889-1905
This Inside
Issue
Fuse Leads To The Sino-Japanese War ..................... pg 2 China troops scouting the skies
for the Japanese Army
F u se Leads To The Sino - Jap a n e s e Wa r
urious peasants demand the Korean government abandon western culture, including Japanese culture, and espoused equality of all people. They have been living in the poverty for generations and cannot stand the corruption of the government of the King of Korea. However, the rebels’ request for a social reform and wish for preserving ‘Eastern Leaning’ met with a negative government response. The demonstrations staged by the Tong Hak followers resulted in a peasantry-united rebellion which then has succeeded in defeating the government troops in southern Korea.
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The Korean court is not capable of stopping the rebellion and has called on China for help. Without being asked, Japan has taken the chance to send its troops to Korea with an excuse to assist Korean court.
by Patrick Tung
By the time the Japanese and Chinese troops have arrived in Korea, the loyal Korean forces had already won the decisive victory in putting down the rebellion. The King of Korea is being manipulated by the Japanese and is being forced to sign an order expelling the Chinese. On July 25, 1894, a Chinese troopship, the Kowshing, has been attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy. And this has lit the fuse for the SinoJapanese war, which lasts about a year over the control of Korea. The Japanese army has defeated the Chinese in a series of battles around Seoul and P’yongyang, forcing the Chinese troops to retreat north.
The Manchurian fortress Turn to Page 2
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The Next War After The Victory Over China Russo-Japanese War ..................... pg 3 ______________________ Editorial - Generations of Japanese benefit from Meiji’s Education Reform ................ pg 4 ______________________ Interview ............. pg 4 ______________________ Lifestyle Section - Top Trends of the Year ..................... pg 5 ______________________
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of Port Arthur is considered one of the strongest in Asia. By November 21 the Japanese has taken Port Arthur. The Japanese siege of Port Arthur was a bloody massacre. A Japanese soldier, Okabe Makio describes he saw at Port Arthur.
The Next War After The Victory Over China -- Russo-Japanese War by Akiyama Lokusan
“Anyone we saw in the town was killed. The streets were filled with the corpses, so many they blocked our way. We killed people in their homes... We shot some, hacked others.... Firing and slashing, it was unbounded joy.”
China’s troops is then destroyed at the Yalu River losing 8 out of 12 warships. China then retreated under the fortification of the Weihaiwei naval base, and was then caught by a surprise Japanese attack across the Liaotung Peninsula which shattered the ships in harbor with shelling from the landward side. Weihaiwei slowly falls on February 2 and during the harsh winter, Japanese troops slowly pressed and advanced into Manchuria. The Chinese were forced to sue for peace and sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki in April 1895.
France: Keep it up, Russia. You’re Winning! Russia: Well, if this is winning, what will he do to me when I lose?
Map of Russia
Japan is now very full of itself because of its victory over China. It is quickly expanding throughout China and the Western Countries are starting to fear Japan’s control of power, so to prevent anything from happening, France, Russia, and Germany formed the Three Interventions on April 23, 1895, and it forced the Japanese to give up Liaotung Peninsula. Japan was very reluctant to accept but they had no choice, it they didn’t, there would be three strong countries being against them. Russia then decided to make Manchuria some use, so they forced China to give them a twenty five year lease over Liaotung Peninsula. By doing that, they also connected the China Eastern Railway, which went from Manchuria to the Russian port of Vladivostok. They named the new development South Manchurian Railway. By 1900, Russian had pretty much all the control of
Manchuria by the railway concessions. During that time, China was preparing to modernize and was getting ready to start the “Hundred Days of Reform” but was then stopped and abandoned by the Empress Dowager, Tzu Hsi. Now that Tzu Hsi ruled, she wanted everything to remain the same and keeps its own culture. Her actions made a small group of people that were anti-Christian and anti-foreign. The group was called the Boxers or Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists. For more than two months in 1900, the Boxers were beating people away in Peking, but when they were ordered to attack Manchuria, Russia sent troops to Siberia to crush the Chinese. By October, the Russia had gotten Manchuria. The Boxer Rebellion was crushed by an international army that also included a Japanese force.
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The Next War After The Victory Over China -- Russo-Japanese War
Both Britain and Japan decided to renew negotiations towards a formal alliance. They were afraid of the Russian movement to the East and its own diplomatic isolation in the West, so they took thought of taking advantage of the defensive alliance with Japan.
pushed into Manchuria, crossing the Yalu River and taking over Port Arthur. Then they took over Mukden. The final battle of the land war was fought at Mukden in late February and early March 1905, between Russian forces totaling 330,000 men and Japanese totaling 270,000.
On January 30, 1902, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was formed. The main features of the alliance were that both countries agreed to recognize the special interests of Britain in China and Japan in Korea, each nation could take necessary measures to protect its special interests if they were threatened by the aggressive action of another power, or by disturbances within China and Korea, both countries promised to remain neutral if either became involved in a war to protect those interests, both agreed to aid the other if a third power entered into any such war on the enemy side, and the agreement was to remain in force for five years.
Admiral Togo and he routed the Russian fleet in the Straits of Tsushima. On May 27th, the Russian approached and he attacked them.The Japanese ships were superior in speed and armament, and, in the course of the two-day battle, two-thirds of the Russian Fleet was sunk, six ships were captured, four reached Vladivostok, and six took refuge in neutral ports.
With Britain as an ally, Japan now is much more closer to stop the expansion of Russia than they ever were. Many of the Japanese generals wanted Russia to recognize their position in Korea. At the Imperial Conference in 1903, Japan offered to recognize Russia’s rights in Manchuria if Russia would recognize their interest in Korea. Russia did not agree with what Japan had offered and Japan knew exactly what to do. On February 8, 1904, Japan, without any declaration of war, attacked Port Arthur and destroyed the Russian fleet. Two days after that, war was declared.
The Japanese army slowly
Interview Today After the rise of Emperor Meiji and the new Imperial army, what once was the power and symbol of our nation, the samurai, now called shikoku, have become little more than the average citizen on the streets. Many have wondered how the samurai felt about the rapid change. Okuniwa Aydo, an ex‐samurai who has witnessed many incidents under the rule of Meiji was willing to share his feelings.
Q: The new law has forbidden those like you to wear swords in public, and there are rumors of The naval battle was led by further restrictions. How will those like you deal with the new laws?
The war between Russia and Japan finally ended by the peace treaty that Theodore Roosevelt offered. The Treaty of Portsmouth was signed on 5 September with the mains provisions saying that Russia would recognize Japan’s interest in Korea, the lease of the Liaotung Peninsula was transferred to Japan, Russia surrendered its control of the South Manchurian Railway to the Japanese, Japan acquired the southern half of the island of Sakhalin, and both nations agreed not to interfere with any decision China might make in the future to develop Manchuria.
A: I do not want to hear about the new law. My ancestors have protected the people and the daimyo for centuries, and now the emperor has betrayed us with hideous cruelty. He no longer requires our assistance, and now he is forcing to strip our very identities. The katana of a samurai is more sacred than his own life. A samurai without a sword is no different than a bird without wings, or a tree without roots. It is infuriating how we have been abandoned like leaves in the wind. Q: You were there to witness the ships of Commodore Perry dock at our shores. How is it to witness the event that changed the course of our history? A: I was patrolling the streets when I Jirst saw the smoke coming from the ships. The ships moved closer and closer to our shores. At that moment, I knew a storm was coming. When the ships docked and Perry set foot on Japanese soil, I wanted to pull out my sword and drive them back, but I couldn’t. Each one of the sailors were fully armed, and those on board manned the iron cannons. I had thought that we would be left alone Q: Do you think that Japan’s efforts to modernize are beneJiting the nation? A: As much as the changes and efforts anger me, I must come to understand and accept the path our emperor has chose to take. The word ‘samurai’ means to serve, and that is what I must do. Perhaps times have changed, and one day, maybe all this will make Japan so powerful it will rival the nations of the world. Q: With the passing of the new laws, what have you decided to conJine your activities to? A: I have always had great passion in painting. At troubled times I would take up the brush and spill my feelings over the paper. Maybe the new changes aren’t as horrid as we thought. It may be an opportunity to rediscover our identities and Jind meaning in life again.
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Editorial - Generations of Japanese benefit from Emperor Meiji’s by Aya Yakamoto
education reform “Meiji” in English means the “enlightened rule”. Japan turned from the world of the past into the world of the present because of the influence from the West, which dramatically affected the lives of the Japanese living in towns and cities, especially in education. The education reform under Emperor Meiji had far reaching influence in Japanese political system and economic development, and it benefitted many generations of Japanese people. Before Emperor Meiji, ordinary people were taught reading, writing, and calculating in terakoya, small makeshift classrooms in people’s houses. The Meiji government, influenced by the Western ideas, realized that a modernized society needs an organized system of education. A program of social reform was put into motion. Education was made compulsory and, by the end of the Meiji period, attendance in schools stood at ninety-eight per cent. Emperor Meiji’s contribution to the education was
more than in the primary and secondary school education, and his government started higher education in 1877, when Tokyo University was founded. Higher education trained the talents for future government leaders. More over, in 1890, Emperor Meiji introduced his famous, “Rescript on Education” which stressed the importance of harmony and loyalty to the throne and which formed the basis of the Japanese philosophy on education. Education reform led by Emperor Meiji would definitely benefit many generations of Japanese people.
School during the Meiji Restoration
“My ancestors have ruled Japan for 2,000 years. And for all that time we have slept. During my sleep I have dreamed. I dreamed of a unified Japan. Of a country strong and independent and modern... And now we are awake. We have railroads and cannon, Western clothing. But we cannot forget who we are. Or where we come from. “ - Emperor Meiji
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Lifestyle Section - Top Trends of the Year
What Japanese People Are Like Everyday Now
kimono. With the advent of western hairstyles, both men and women began to wear hats.
The Hairstyle mperor Meiji cut off his topknot in 1872, and following his example, many Japanese men began to do likewise, and Western haircuts, mustaches and beards soon became the norm. Women followed the rapidly changing hairstyles of the Victorian period. Soon western-style haircuts became a major symbol largely replaced the traditional samurai topknot.
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Rokumeiken
The Rokumeiken opened in 1883 in order to entertain people in the Meiji Period. It is an elaborate, two story social hall in Tokyo which held ballroom dancing every Saturday night for wealthy business people, politicians and foreign diplomats as a particular popular pastime. The Rokumeikan also served elaborate banquets. Its menus were written in French. In the ballroom, Japanese gentlemen in evening dress imported from London danced the waltz, polka, quadrille, and mazurka with Japanese ladies dressed in the latest Parisian fashions to the latest European songs played by an Army or Navy band.
The Clothing The Meiji government decided that Western dress should be worn for all court and official ceremonies. Women wore with either Western dress or Japanese
by Ukunaya Sako
Ladies during the Meiji Period
The New Generations of Children’s Toys
Since Japan had been fighting in many wars a lot for a period of time, the minds of kids has also been manipulated. The kids that use to want to become samurai’s are now playing fake toy guns and fake battleships.
they played around holding iron guns in their hands. Many people have complained about it, but the companies of the toy guns would
by Natoya Emiko
not budge so nothing could be done. Many people fear that their kids will be in danger when they grow up because all they would want is to be in a war.
Many kids do not know about real war but play with violent equipment. It was heard that some kids cannot tell between a real gun and a fake toy gun so they often get mixed up and end up accidentally killing themselves or some other person. Toys have now become way more dangerous than they were. During their leisure time,
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