Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire Part One

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you Yokohama 1898 the first moving images ever filmed in Japan Thomas Edison and other pioneers of the moving image had brought their amazing new technology to Japan a year earlier previously timeless mysterious and isolated Japan is beginning to transform itself Takeshi endo a retired school teacher I remember the time before shogun tokugawa yoshinobu and the absolute rule of the samurai everything is changing so quickly now for my liking far too quickly and too much since the end of the tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of the power of the Emperor Meiji in 1868 Japan has become a place of commercial and cultural fascination for the West but it has also been flexing its own muscles on mainland Asia Japan had waged war against China in 1894 in dispute over the control of Korea Japan's Imperial forces overwhelm those of the Chinese emperor who sued for peace in the Treaty of Shimonoseki signed in April 1895 China had recognized the total independence of Korea and ceded Taiwan to Japan in perpetuity it was Japan's first step on the road to imperial glory a path that would be fleetingly triumphant but would in just 50 years lead to catastrophe and humiliation Japan's holy war say sin Port Arthur Siberia December 1904 troops from Japan's Third Army under general Mariska Nagi are preparing for the final assault on the Russian Imperial garrison the Russians have held out for five months losses on both sides have been huge Japan sends 16,000 reinforcements and heavy artillery Japanese sappers start to dig into the hillsides to plant huge explosives the hills around Port Arthur for one-by-one leading the Japanese to celebrate an historic breakthrough the Russian Pacific Fleet in Harbor is now vulnerable to artillery attack nogi deploys is 11 inch Krupp howitzers capable of hurling 500-pound shells over 15 miles the Russian commander general snow so surrenders giving Japan a remarkable victory Stossel is escorted into captivity on his white horse along with 25,000 of his men the Russian prisoners are treated with kindness and dignity my Nagi and his man nogi then marches his army to Mach then where they inflict another crushing defeat on the Russians later in the same year the Czar's Baltic Fleet arrives in the Straits of Tsushima it has sailed 18,000 nautical miles to reach the Far East where it confronts the might of the Japanese Navy under Admiral Togo Japanese Imperial Navy inflicts a crushing defeat on the Czar's fleet sinking 21 of the Russians 28 ships and seven with eight battleships togo returns to Tokyo as the conquering hero he is greeted by Emperor Meiji at the Imperial Palace then the two heroes of the war against russia are united Admiral of the fleet Hachiro Togo and general of the army Marus Kannagi journalist Saburo Katsura describes the scenes in Tokyo the whole city turned out to celebrate a major Western Power has been brought to its knees we were proud to be Japanese now we can move on to take our place as a fast cross nation in the eyes of the world the Ussuri River Siberia 1918 the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and subsequent Civil War has led the United States in the European powers to support a Japanese and Allied expeditionary force to secure eastern Siberia against the communist threat the mission is to protect the trans-siberian railway at Khabarovsk and seize huge stockpiles of supplies and munitions the incursion will provide a major Asian bridgehead for Japan for several years to come they also relieve cossack troops and the czech legion who have been fighting the Bolsheviks Red Army from the Ukraine to the Pacific japanese leftenant general leading Japan's 12th division host Colonel Henry steyr commander of the u.s. 27th Infantry the Wolfhounds part of the American Expeditionary Force much admired by the Japanese and their Bolshevik enemies general I enjoys a cigar with his staff offices us Colonels Moreau and Robinson relax in the wintry Sun while the Allies exercise and fraternize together following their route of the Red Army in just 25 years the roles will be reversed the United States and the Soviet Union will join forces to defeat the rise of fascism and Japan and the United States will engage in a ferocious fight to the death across the Pacific so Korea 1924 invigorated by its success against Russia in the Russian ease war of 1905 Japan had turned his attention to control of the Korean Peninsula the isolationist Hermit Kingdom effectively under Japanese control for several years career had been formally annexed as part of the Japanese Empire in 1910 it immediately began to suppress the Korean language and culture and exploit its people and resources a state of affairs that would last for 35 years by the end of World War two there will be over 850,000 Japanese living in Korea Tokyo spring 1925 it is cherry blossom time the time for renewal and optimism Japan is now a strange mix of the modern and traditional in this Spring Festival there is traditional dress but most of the men wear Western stro boaters or cloth caps these innovations do not meet with the approval of many Japanese the diary of yataro Innoko a civil servant while do we attack these American fashions we have our own culture we should respect it Japan's towns and cities are becoming more and more affluent especially through the growing influence of American goods and lifestyle the influence of foreigners especially Americans is resented by traditionalists retired engineer Mitsuru yama the rich are getting richer and acting like a Yankees they bring disgrace to our people in the countryside the vast majority of Japanese live like they have for centuries in a state of humble self-sufficiency often bordering on abject poverty rice tea and silk are vital to survival the work is back-breaking fertilizer brought from the towns in the form of human waste feeds the crops life is ageless and simple and appears to be untroubled and tranquil but beyond the rustic scene the dark clouds on the horizon the US Congress had passed legislation a year earlier prohibiting Japanese and other oriental immigration into the United States the move is deeply resented in Japan Kotaro Anaka the Americans come to Asia and act like they are superior to us but they have no owner no respect they treat us like second-class human beings and refuse us entry to their country closer to home Japan's interest in China are being threatened by the rise of the Kuomintang under general Chiang kai-shek Dalian Manchuria 1931 the Ural Maru arrives from Osaka carrying comfort parcels for Japanese troops in Manchuria one of several foreign Garrison's in China parcels are provided by newspaper giant Asahi and are part of a propaganda campaign engineered by right-wing elements in the Japanese military in order to generate a wave of nationalist fervor at home the parcels are delivered in person by Asahi's director Harada and a posse of journalists photographers and newsreel cameraman some are not convinced by the propaganda journalists can yo Socky what is going on is dangerous the fanatics in these secret societies like the black dragons are dragging us into war but nobody is brave enough to stand up to them Japan has been expanding its interests in China and Manchuria for years the South Manchuria railway vital to Japan's interests is used to transport the parcels to Mukden the headquarters of Japan's presence in Manchuria leftenant a whale Okubo stationed in Mukden we must take control ourselves if we wait for Tokyo nothing will happen it is our duty to act decisively in the interests of our homeland it is our destiny an audacious plan is being hatched by nationalist elements within the army acting beyond the control of high command in Tokyo and without the sanction of the Emperor Kotaro Anaka we must defend our interests in China Japan cannot feed itself or get the raw materials for its industry without the strong presence on the Asian mainland and throughout Southeast Asia September 1931 Mukden China two army Colonels seishiro Etta Jackie and kanji Ishwara have devised a plan to ignite war in Manchuria on the morning of September 19th two artillery pieces install in secret at the Mukden officer's club open fire on the Chinese garrison nearby the Japanese army is moved into position in large numbers and reinforcements arrive from the Japanese garrison in career at first Chinese leader Chiang kai-shek orders his army to fall back and Japan occupies Chang Chun and an Tong with ease only November do the Chinese attack leading to intense fighting for several weeks a whale Okubo the generals were not brave enough to make this move but we showed them how to fight in the true Japanese tradition with a spirit swiftly and decisively a Chinese Army's ill-prepared for battle and the country is beset by internal political wrangling and the effects of severe flooding in the valley of the Yangtze River Japan's army makes rapid progress sweeping across Manchuria zwei dopin spaces a whale bakudo it was exciting nothing could stop us our supply lines became longer and longer but HQ kept us going with excellent backup we despised the Chinese for not fighting with more courage within five months of the Mukden incident the Imperial Japanese Army overruns all major towns and cities in the provinces of Lyon in Jilin and he longs yang United States Secretary of State Henry Stimson declares that the United States will not recognize any government that is established as a result of Japanese actions in Manchuria a League of Nations commission headed by British diplomat Earl Litton rejects the Japanese claim that the Manchurian invasion and occupation was an act of self-defense the League of Nations later refuses to acknowledge Japan's claims and in 1933 it resigns from the league journalist Akira Yamaoka it is typical of the apocrypha of the Western powers they have had a colonial presence here in Asia for centuries they call it benign partnership was some other euphemism but when we Japanese do the same they call it naked aggression and condemn us the port of Mukden is secured for Japanese shipping and for Japan's commercial interest to begin to exploit the new territory koke Ishida a businessman from Yokohama at last we have open spaces to expand into we have natural resources land for agriculture and labor to put to work now we can flex our muscles kyoko you master a schoolteacher travels to Manchuria with her husband in 1932 at first I was carried along with the excitement of our victory but the more time I spent with the Manchu people the more I realized how much they resented our presence we weren't liberating them from Western oppression we were just replacing one sort of colonial rule for another Japan begins to create a puppet state controlled from Tokyo the last emperor of China who Yee is invited to come with his followers and act as the head of state for Manchuria On February 18th 1932 the Manchu state of Manchu Co is proclaimed the city of Chang Jung becomes the capital of the new entity two years later Buies declared emperor of manchu KO but is nothing more than a figurehead and real authority rests in the hands of the Japanese military officials Japan formally detaches Manticore from China in the course of the 1930s and with Japanese investment in its rich natural resources the area eventually becomes an industrial powerhouse throughout the 1930s vast numbers of Japanese settlers migrated to find a new life propaganda films depict Manchu go as a paradise of peace and harmony koke Ishida this is our Australia like the British we need room for our people nobody complains about the British settling in Australia so what's wrong with us moving here besides look at the progress we are making it is a new country the Chinese should be thankful instead of complaining man Chico is portrayed as a New Japan you you you you economic turmoil and the impact of the global depression following the Wall Street Crash of 1929 plunges Japan into turmoil and introspection many lose faith in parliamentary democracy and ultra nationalist groups begin to form among the junior officer ranks of the army in surah a the Zaibatsu like Mitsubishi who control our industry needs to be taught a lesson they have grown too fat the politicians are corrupt and bringing disgrace to the diet only the emperor deserves our respect we should restore his supreme power so that we have discipline and pride at home and the new empire overseas conditions worsen when American demand for silk collapses because of the depression there is great hardship in rural Japan especially in the north the main recruiting ground for the army it's oral Aoyama it is unbearable in my district families are so poor they are selling their daughters to the tea houses they dressed him like geishas but they are just prostituting Brussels what has become of our people it has to stop Japanese attitudes hardened in spring 1932 on April 29th June bong Gil a Korean nationalist protesting at the Japanese control of his country carries out a bomb attack at a Japanese Army celebration of Emperor Hirohito's birthday in Hongkou Park Shanghai the bomb kills Yoshinori shirokawa a general of the imperial japanese army and sir dodgy kalibata the government chancellor of japanese residents in shanghai it also seriously injured several others Yoon is arrested at the scene and convicted by a Japanese military court and later executed the Emperor Hirohito who had ascended the chrysanthemum throne in 1926 is concerned about growing army interference the army is meddling in domestic and foreign politics and a general will firmness is a state of affairs it for the good of the nation we must view with apprehension the Empress anxieties are well-founded 19:32 Shanghai China instigated by local Japanese military fighting breaks out between the Chinese army and the Japanese Navy stationed in the city the world is shocked by one of the earliest examples of the aerial bombing of cities as Japanese planes attack the chepe district of Shanghai it also witnesses how Japan's troops treat their captives the honor and respect shown their enemies in 1905 have gone in the ensuing battle the Chinese hold their ground unable to retrieve the situation despite reinforcements from the fleet the Japanese Navy has to call on the Army for help the high command in Tokyo organizes a fully-fledged Shanghai expeditionary force under general shirokawa and reinforces it with two full divisions intense fighting ensues the Chinese finally fall back Japan is able to announce a face-saving ceasefire followed by an armistice although the Japanese are surprised by the resolve of the Chinese the ferocious reputation of the Japanese soldier begins to spread captured by the Chinese in February 1932 captain cougar nabooru is returned to Japan in a prisoner exchange he commits suicide to atone for his capture lauded for his martial spirit by army Minister Araki Kouga is later enshrined at the soldier's tomb in Yasukuni from this time on officers who survive battle are openly pressured to commit suicide January 1933 the Chu men copass gateway to the Chinese province of jhol close to the Great Wall of China operation Necker Japan is attempting to add J hall to its new entity man chuckle once again the Japanese military creates a minor incident and users press propaganda to justify its actions Japanese newspaper the Miyako Shimbun Japan's action to prevent the Chinese from entering jihad and violating the security of man choco is unnecessary measure of self-defense Emperor Hirohito approves the campaign that insists that the Imperial Army goes no further than the great wall the civilian population flees in terror in the face of the advancing Japanese army Chinese general ho Chico's celebrated 9th brigade forms part of the Chinese line but they are armed only with light artillery pieces and small arms nevertheless they fight for over three months to keep the Japanese at bay aritaum or Yoshida an officer in the Imperial Army my respect for the Chinese grill and grill they had few weapons and no tanks or heavy artillery but they held us for long period you unique terrain of jhol makes the fighting an unusual mix of old and new military techniques the fighting takes place in the depths of winter in atrocious conditions era Tomo Yoshida I have never been so cold we had two enemies the Chinese and winter winter was the most difficult to fight we only had to face the Chinese from time to time we had to face winter every day on March 4th chandi the provincial capital Falls and in May truce is declared tangu and in Japan a vast new province to add to his empire Japan's Empire now stretches to the great plains of Central Asia and the peoples of Mongol descent famed for their horsemanship and martial prowess over a hundred thousand men took part in the campaign with heavy casualties on both sides it is estimated that China's losses were over ten thousand there were over 5,000 Japanese dead and injured Minami Hayato a nurse at a military hospital in Yokohama some of the boys pay the cable price apart from the usual of who owns many suffered from frostbite they lost the fingers and toes however they were their only chance heed that their families will look after them throughout the 1930s Japan quickly recovers from worldwide economic depression and begins to grow rapidly here Toshi Toyotomi a businessman we are doing well people work hard but we need more resources if we are to match the Americans and the Europeans we need coal oil and minerals not only that our farmers can't keep pace with our growing population we need cheap food supplies and everyone knows where they are it's economy grows by 5% per annum and between 1929 and 1937 its gross domestic product increases by 50% steel production rises from six million tons to nearly nine million tonnes by 1941 Japan's aircraft industry is able to produce 10,000 aircraft per year much of this economic expansion benefits the old zaibatsu large industrial conglomerates like Mitsui and mitsubishi which grow closer and closer to the Japanese military and the new zaibatsu like Nissan and Toyota which are booming from vehicle manufacture and producing military hardware Japan's people have a strong sense of personal and national discipline you a rigid education system teaches the cardinal principles of the nation it defines Japan and the duties of its people in very precise terms the unbroken line of emperors ran a tannery over the Japanese Empire this is our eternal and immutable national entity thus founded on this great principle all the people United as one great family obeying the Imperial will enhance the beautiful virtue of loyalty and piety this is the glory of our nation the emperor is a deity incarnate a living God and serving him is seen as the duty of every citizen individuals must sacrifice their identity for the sake of the Emperor and the nation Japanese diplomat tatsuko I writing about the Japanese philosophy of musubi the history of the Japanese people is a record of a facing nature the harmonization of our people with the forces of nature preserve nature and rediscover oneself so teaches the philosophy of musubi following the dictates of musubi Japan will restore a degenerate China and the rest of Asia armed with ideas like musubi 1930s Japan Steel's itself with a mission Raziel to liberate Asia from its amoral slumber and oppression by the West and just in case anyone should resist these potent ideas Japan's secret police the Kempeitai maintains a reign of terror against dissidents Kotaro Nagata a doctor I have heard what is happening in the cities with the Kempeitai although I don't support open descent people should be allowed to think for themselves the old samurai would never have tolerated these young hotels who seems to be running the army now what has happened to owner 'we know Park Tokyo April 1937 cherry blossom time a long-standing tradition in Japan this is the earliest example of color film shot in Japan the footage is on 16 millimeter Kodachrome a newly released film stock developed for home movie enthusiasts it is shot by American military attache at the US Embassy in Tokyo William Carey Crane who will later become a brigadier general in the US Army the images depict endearing scenes of a tranquil country in harmony you but they are deceptive they hired internal turmoil and disguise a nation hell-bent on a relentless course that will lead to catastrophic global conflict and to its own terrifying demise the brief life of the blossom Sakura symbolizes the transient nature of human life and is used to inspire Japan's warriors the Sakura Kai is the name chosen by young Japanese officers for their secret society devoted to creating a military state Japan soldiers are expected like myriad cherry blossoms to scatter in the wind and die kyoko endo a Tokyo housewife writes to her husband an officer in the 35th regiment stationed in China I went to see the beautiful blossom today with our daughter it is the first time we have done that without to you obviously this fighting in China would end so that you can come home Tokyo seems so peaceful and everyone looks happy but many are hiding their feelings if you ask why are we going on these adventures in foreign countries people turn away they don't want to talk those people who disagree with what's going on are arrested it's not right ten days after sending her letter Kyoko is arrested by the Kempeitai she is interrogated for three days and has to give them the details of all her friends and family and those of her husband leftenant endo Kyoko's husband never replies to her letter he is killed in China Japan is firmly in the grip of those who want war there seems to be nothing to stop them they believe it will bring Japan glory and power and its rightful place in the world but within a decade they will be tragically disillusioned

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Channel: Guy Fawkes

Views: 717,485

Rating: 4.6935887 out of 5

Keywords: World War II (Event), History, Documentary, Empire Of Japan (Country), Culture, China (Country), Manchuria (Taxonomy Subject), Nanking Massacre (Event), Shanghai (City/Town/Village), Militarism, Japanese atrocities, Rape (Crime Type), Beheadings

Id: BJFe2nLcmjo

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Length: 43min 40sec (2620 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 22 2013

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