The Pursuit of Power in Modern Japan 1825-1995

by Tsuzuki, Chushichi

• ISBN13: 9780198205890
• ISBN10: 0198205899
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This new history of modern Japan covers its remarkable transformation from a small country on the fringe of international politics to the major world power it is today. Professor Tsuzuki traces Japan's pursuit of power, first by military and then by economic means, from her attempts to replaceChina at the centre of the Confucian Middle Kingdom; through the Meiji nationalist response to the inroads of nineteenth century western imperialism; and on to the post-war USJapanese alliance powering the economic miracle of the last half of the twentieth century. He examines Japan's political,intellectual, and industrial development throughout the last two centuries, with special attention to the wars that were fought, and argues that the history of Japan's modernization was closely linked to the growth of Japan's own imperialism. Tsuzuki goes on to reveal how some of the factors whichcontributed to remaking Japan as an economic giant have also been responsible for her recent economic and political difficulties.

Author Biography

Chushichi Tsuzuki is Professor Emeritus, Hitotsubashi University.

Table of Contents

List of Maps	xi
Introduction: Land, People, and their Shaping by History	1	(18)
PART I. FROM SECLUSION TO EXPANSION, 1825--1900
Japan in 1825: A Crisis in Seclusion	19	(19)
The Opening of the Country	38	(16)
The Meiji `Restoration'	54	(22)
The Decade of Democratic Ferment: Liberty and People's Right	76	(24)
The Meiji Constitution	100	(21)
The Sino-Japanese War and its Aftermath	121	(18)
Meiji Industrialization and its Critics	139	(24)
PART II. THE ROAD TO CATASTROPHE, 1900--1945
The Russo-Japanese War and the Annexation of Korea	163	(19)
Taisho Democracy and the First World War	182	(17)
Taisho Politics and Society: From the Rice Riot to the Public Order Preservation Act	199	(24)
Economic Crises and Overseas Colonies	223	(19)
Fascism, Militarism, and Thought Control	242	(26)
The Undeclared War Against China	268	(24)
From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima	292	(35)
PART III. RECONSTRUCTION AND REORGANIZATION, 1945--1995
The American Occupation: The New Constitution and the Tokyo War Crimes Trial	327	(20)
Occupation Reform: Education, Women, Land, and Labour	347	(17)
Post-war Reconstruction	364	(18)
From Political Conflict to Economic Growth, 1950--1965	382	(19)
`Japan Incorporated' and Radical Challenges, 1965--1973	401	(14)
The Heyday of the LDP: From Tanaka to Nakasone	415	(29)
The End of Showa and the End of the Bubble Economy	444	(18)
Epilogue	462	(5)
Appendix I. Unit 731 and the Human Logs	467	(3)
Appendix II. Bibliographical Essay	470	(13)
Maps	483	(5)
Chronology	488	(40)
Glossary	528	(9)
Index	537