1.
Japanese name
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Japanese names in modern times usually consist of a family name, followed by a given name. More than one name is not generally used. Japanese names are written in kanji, which are characters usually Chinese in origin. The kanji for a name may have a variety of possible Japanese pronunciations, Names written in hiragana or katakana are phonetic renderings, and so lack the visual meaning of names expressed in the logographic kanji. Japanese family names are extremely varied, according to estimates, there are over 100,000 different surnames in use today in Japan, the three most common family names in Japan are Satō, Suzuki, and Takahashi. Many Japanese family names derive from features of the landscape, for example, Ishikawa means stone river, Yamamoto means the base of the mountain. While family names follow relatively consistent rules, given names are more diverse in pronunciation. Unusual pronunciations have especially become common, with this trend having increased significantly since the 1990s, male names often end in -rō or -ta, or contain ichi, kazu, ji, or dai while female names often end in -ko or -mi. Other popular endings for female names include -ka and -na, the majority of Japanese people have one surname and one given name with no other names, except for the Japanese imperial family, whose members bear no surname. The family name – myōji, uji or sei – precedes the given name, the given name may be referred to as the lower name because, in vertically written Japanese, the given name appears under the family name. People with mixed Japanese and foreign parentage may have middle names, historically, myōji, uji and sei had different meanings. Sei was originally the patrilineal surname which is why up till now it has granted only by the emperor as a title of male rank. The lower form of the name sei being tei which is a name in Japanese men. Although there was an ancestor in ancient Japan from whom the name Sei originally came. There were relatively few sei, and most of the noble clans trace their lineage either directly to these sei or to the courtiers of these sei. Uji was another name used to designate patrilineal descent, but later merged with myōji around the same time, myōji was, simply, what a family chooses to call itself, as opposed to the sei granted by the emperor. While it was passed on patrilineally in male ancestors including in male ancestors called haku, multiple Japanese characters have the same pronunciations, so several Japanese names have multiple meanings. A particular kanji itself can have multiple meanings and pronunciations, in some names, Japanese characters phonetically spell a name and have no intended meaning behind them
2.
Prince
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A prince is a male ruler, monarch, or member of a monarchs or former monarchs family. Prince is also a title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess, the English word derives, via the French word prince, from the Latin noun princeps, from primus + capio, meaning the chief, most distinguished, ruler, prince. The Latin word prīnceps, became the title of the informal leader of the Roman senate some centuries before the transition to empire. Emperor Augustus established the position of monarch on the basis of principate. The term may be used of persons in various cultures. These titles were borne by courtesy and preserved by tradition, not law, in medieval and Early Modern Europe, there were as many as two hundred such territories, especially in Italy, Germany, and Gaelic Ireland. In this sense, prince is used of any and all rulers and this is the Renaissance use of the term found in Niccolò Machiavellis famous work, Il Principe. Most small territories designated as principalities during feudal eras were allodial and this is attested in some surviving styles for e. g. British earls, marquesses, and dukes are still addressed by the Crown on ceremonial occasions as high, in parts of the Holy Roman Empire in which primogeniture did not prevail, all legitimate agnates had an equal right to the familys hereditary titles. Gradual substitution of the title of Prinz for the title of Fürst occurred. Both Prinz and Fürst are translated into English as prince, but they not only different. This distinction had evolved before the 18th century for dynasties headed by a Fürst in Germany, note that the princely title was used as a prefix to his Christian name, which also became customary. Cadets of Frances other princes étrangers affected similar usage under the Bourbon kings, the post-medieval rank of gefürsteter Graf embraced but elevated the German equivalent of the intermediate French, English and Spanish nobles. By the 19th century, cadets of a Fürst would become known as Prinzen, the husband of a queen regnant is usually titled prince consort or simply prince, whereas the wives of male monarchs take the female equivalent of their husbands title. In Brazil, Portugal and Spain, however, the husband of a monarch was accorded the masculine equivalent of her title. To complicate matters, the style His/Her Highness, a prefix often accompanying the title of a dynastic prince, although the arrangement set out above is the one that is most commonly understood, there are also different systems. Depending on country, epoch, and translation, other usages of prince are possible, foreign-language titles such as Italian principe, French prince, German Fürst and Prinz, Russian knyaz, etc. are usually translated as prince in English
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Privy Council of Japan
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The Privy Council of Japan was an advisory council to the Emperor of Japan that operated from 1888 to 1947. Generally on the advice of the cabinet, the Privy Council had both judicial functions and certain executive functions. However, the council had no power to initiate legislation, the Privy Council of Japan was established by an imperial ordinance of Emperor Meiji dated 28 April 1888, under the presidency of Ito Hirobumi, to deliberate on the draft constitution. The Privy Council consisted of a chairman, a chairman, twelve councilors, a chief secretary. All privy councilors including the president and the president were appointed by the emperor for life, on the advice of the prime minister. In addition to the twenty-four voting privy counselors, the prime minister, the princes of the imperial household over the age of majority were permitted to attend meetings of the Privy Council and could participate in its proceedings. The president had extraordinary power, as it was he who called and controlled the meetings of the Council, the Council always met in secret at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, with the emperor in attendance on important occasions. The Council was empowered to deliberate on any matters upon which the emperor desired an opinion, the Privy Council was thenceforth largely ignored, and it was not even consulted when Japan decided to declare war on the United States in 1941. The Privy Council was abolished with the enforcement of the current postwar Constitution of Japan on 3 May 1947, lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan Beasley, William G. A Modern History of Japan, From Tokugawa Times to the Present, ISBN9780674003347, OCLC44090600 Takenobu, Yoshitaro. The Japan Yearbook, Complete Cyclopaedia of General Information and Statistics on Japan, Tokyo, The Japan Year Book Office
4.
Emperor Meiji
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Emperor Meiji, or Meiji the Great, was the 122nd Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from February 3,1867 until his death on July 30,1912. By the time of his death in 1912, Japan had undergone a political, social, and industrial revolution at home and emerged as one of the great powers on the world stage. The New York Times summed up this transformation at his funeral in 1912, with the words, before it went old Japan, after it came new Japan. Having ruled during the Meiji period, the Emperor is thus known as the Meiji Emperor or simply Emperor Meiji. His personal name, which is not used in any formal or official context, the Tokugawa shogunate had established itself in the early 17th century. Under its rule, the shogun governed Japan, about 180 lords, known as daimyō, ruled autonomous realms under the shogun, who occasionally called upon the daimyō for gifts, but did not tax them. The shogun controlled the daimyō in other ways, only the shogun could approve their marriages, and the shogun could divest a daimyō of his lands. In 1615, the first Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had retired from his position, and his son Tokugawa Hidetada. Under it, the Emperor was required to devote his time to scholarship, the Emperors under the shogunate appear to have closely adhered to this code, studying Confucian classics and devoting time to poetry and calligraphy. They were only taught the rudiments of Japanese and Chinese history, the shogun did not seek the consent or advice of the Emperor for his actions. Emperors almost never left their compound, or Gosho in Kyoto. Few Emperors lived long enough to retire, of the Meiji Emperors five predecessors, only his grandfather lived into his forties, dying aged forty-six. The Imperial Family suffered very high rates of infant mortality, all five of the Emperors brothers and sisters died as infants, soon after taking control in the early seventeenth century, shogunate officials ended much Western trade with Japan, and barred missionaries from the islands. In addition to the substantial Chinese trade, only the Dutch continued trade with Japan, however, by the early 19th century, European and American vessels appeared in the waters around Japan with increasing frequency. Prince Mutsuhito was born on November 3,1852 in a house on his maternal grandfathers property at the north end of the Gosho. At the time, a birth was believed to be polluting, so imperial princes were not born in the Palace, the boys mother, Nakayama Yoshiko, was a concubine to his father Emperor Kōmei, and was the daughter of the acting major counselor, Nakayama Tadayasu. The young prince was given the name Sachinomiya, or Prince Sachi, the young prince was born at a time of change for Japan. This change was symbolized dramatically when Commodore Matthew Perry and his squadron of what the Japanese dubbed the Black Ships, Perry sought to open Japan to trade, and warned the Japanese of military consequences if they did not agree
5.
Saionji Kinmochi
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Prince Saionji Kinmochi was a Japanese politician, statesman and twice Prime Minister of Japan. His title does not signify the son of an emperor, but the highest rank of Japanese hereditary nobility, as the last surviving genrō, he was Japans most honored statesman of the 1920s and 1930s. Kinmochi was born in Kyoto as the son of Udaijin Tokudaiji Kinito and he was adopted by another kuge family, the Saionji, in 1851. However, he grew up near his parents, since both the Tokudaiji and Saionji lived very near the Kyoto Imperial Palace. The young Saionji Kinmochi was frequently ordered to visit the palace as a playmate of the prince who later became Emperor Meiji. Over time they became close friends, kinmochis biological brother Tokudaiji Sanetsune later became the Grand Chamberlain of Japan. Another younger brother was adopted into the very wealthy Sumitomo family, Sumitomo money largely financed Saionjis political career. His close relationship to the Imperial Court opened all doors to him, in his later political life, he was an influence on both the Taishō and Shōwa emperors. As the heir of a family, Saionji participated in politics from an early age and was known for his brilliant talent. Some noblemen at the Imperial Court considered the war to be a dispute of the samurai of Satsuma. Saionji held the opinion that the nobles of the Imperial Court should seize the initiative. He participated in battles as an imperial representative. One of his first encounters involved taking Kameoka Castle without a fight, the next encounter was at Sasayama Castle. Several hundred Samurai from both sides met on the nearby, but the defenders immediately surrendered. Then Fukuchiyama surrendered without a fight, by this time he had acquired an Imperial banner made by Iwakura Tomomi, featuring a sun and moon on a red field. Other Samurai did not want to attack the army with the imperial banner, after two weeks Saionji reached Kitsuki, and following another bloodless encounter, Saionji returned to by ship to Osaka. Matters did eventually come to an end at Nagaoka Castle, however, Saionji was relieved from command in the actual battle and appointed governor of Echigo. After the Meiji Restoration, Saionji resigned, with the support of Ōmura Masujirō he studied French in Tokyo
6.
Yamagata Aritomo
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Field Marshal Prince Yamagata Aritomo, also known as Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army and twice Prime Minister of Japan. He is considered one of the architects of the military and political foundations of early modern Japan, Yamagata Aritomo can be seen as the father of Japanese militarism. Yamagata was born in a samurai family from Hagi, the capital of the feudal domain of Chōshū. He went to Shokasonjuku, a school run by Yoshida Shōin. He was a commander in the Kiheitai, an organization created on semi-western lines by the Chōshū domain. During the Boshin War, the revolution of 1867 and 1868 often called the Meiji Restoration, after the defeat of the Tokugawa, Yamagata together with Saigō Tsugumichi was selected by the leaders of the new government to go to Europe in 1869 to research European military systems. Yamagata like many Japanese was strongly influenced by the recent striking success of Prussia in transforming itself from a state to a leading modern industrial. He accepted Prussian political ideas, which favored military expansion abroad, on returning he was asked to organize a national army for Japan, and he became War Minister in 1873. Yamagata energetically modernized the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army, and modeled it after the Prussian Army and he began a system of military conscription in 1873. He was Chief of the Army General Staff in 1878–1882, 1884–85, Yamagata in 1877 led the newly modernized Imperial Army against the Satsuma Rebellion led by his former comrade in revolution, Saigō Takamori of Satsuma. At the end of the war, when Saigos severed head was brought to Yamagata, he ordered it washed and he also prompted Emperor Meiji to write the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors, in 1882. This document was considered the core of the Japanese Army. Yamagata was awarded the rank of marshal in 1898. He is considered political and military ideological ancestor of the Hokushin-ron as he traced the first lines of a defensive strategy against Russia after Russo-Japanese War. Yamagata was one of the group of seven leaders, later called the genrō. The word can be translated principal elders or senior statesmen, the genrō were a subset of the revolutionary leaders who shared common objectives and who by about 1880 had forced out or isolated the other original leaders. These seven men led Japan for many years, through its transformation from an agricultural country into a modern military. All the genrō served at times as cabinet ministers
7.
Prime Minister of Japan
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The Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government of Japan. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the National Diet and he or she is the head of the Cabinet and appoints and dismisses the other Ministers of State. The literal translation of the Japanese name for the office is Minister for the Comprehensive Administration of the Cabinet, prior to the adoption of the Meiji Constitution, Japan had in practice no written constitution. Originally, a Chinese-inspired legal system known as ritsuryō was enacted in the late Asuka period, theoretically, the last ritsuryō code, the Yōrō Code enacted in 752, was still in force at the time of the Meiji Restoration. It took its current form with the adoption of the Constitution of Japan in 1947, to date,62 people have served this position. The current Prime Minister is Shinzō Abe, who re-took office on December 26,2012 and he is the first former Prime Minister to return to office since 1948, and the 6th longest serving member to date. The Prime Minister is designated by both houses of the Diet, before the conduct of any other business, for that purpose, each conducts a ballot under the run-off system. If the two houses choose different individuals, then a joint committee of both houses is appointed to agree on a common candidate. Ultimately, however, if the two houses do not agree within ten days, the decision of the House of Representatives is deemed to be that of the Diet, therefore, the House of Representatives can theoretically ensure the appointment of any Prime Minister it wants. The candidate is presented with their commission, and formally appointed to office by the Emperor. Must be a member of house of the Diet. Note that former officers from the World War II-era may be appointed prime minister despite the civilian requirement. Exercises control and supervision over the executive branch. Presents bills to the Diet on behalf of the Cabinet, appoints all Cabinet ministers, and can dismiss them at any time. May permit legal action to be taken against Cabinet ministers, must make reports on domestic and foreign relations to the Diet. Must report to the Diet upon demand to provide answers or explanations, may advise the Emperor to dissolve the Diets House of Representatives. Presides over meetings of the Cabinet, commander in chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. May override a court injunction against an act upon showing of cause
8.
Matsukata Masayoshi
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Prince Matsukata Masayoshi was a Japanese politician and the 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Japan. Matsukata was born into a family in Kagoshima, Satsuma Province. At the age of 13, he entered the Zoshikan, the Satsuma domains Confucian academy, where he studied the teachings of Wang Yangming and he started his career as a bureaucrat of the Satsuma Domain. In 1866, he was sent to Nagasaki to study science, mathematics. Matsukata was highly regarded by Ōkubo Toshimichi and Saigō Takamori, who used him as their liaison between Kyoto and the government in Kagoshima. Knowing that war was coming between Satsuma and the Tokugawa, Matsukata purchased a ship available in Nagasaki for use in the coming conflict and this ship was then given the name Kasuga. The leaders of Satsuma felt the ship was best used as cargo vessel, just a few months later the Kasuga did become a warship and it fought in the Boshin War against the Tokugawa ships. At the time of the Meiji Restoration, he helped maintain order in Nagasaki after the collapse of the Tokugawa bakufu, in 1868, Matsukata was appointed governor of Hita Prefecture by his friend Okubo who was the powerful minister of the interior for the new Meiji government. As governor Matsukata instituted a number of reforms including road building, starting the port of Beppu and his ability as an administrator was noted in Tokyo and after two years he was summoned to the capital. Matsukata moved to Tokyo in 1871 and began work on drafting laws for the Land Tax Reform of 1873–1881. The new tax system was different from the traditional tax gathering system, which required taxes to be paid with rice varied according to location. The new system took years to be accepted by the Japanese people. Matsukata became Lord Home Minister in 1880, in the following year, when Ōkuma Shigenobu was expelled in a political upheaval, he became Lord Finance Minister. The Japanese economy was in a crisis due to rampant inflation. Matsukata introduced a policy of restraint that resulted in what has come to be called the Matsukata Deflation. The economy was stabilized, but the resulting crash in commodity prices caused many smaller landholders to lose their fields to money-lending neighbors. Matsukata also established the Bank of Japan in 1882, when Itō Hirobumi was appointed the first modern-day Prime Minister of Japan in 1885, he named Matsukata to be the first Finance Minister in his cabinet. Matsukata also sought to protect Japanese industry from foreign competition, but was restricted by the unequal treaties, the unavailability of protectionist devices probably benefited Japan in the long run, as it enabled Japan to develop its export industries
9.
Kuroda Kiyotaka
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Count Kuroda Kiyotaka, also known as Kuroda Ryōsuke, was a Japanese politician of the Meiji era. He was the second Prime Minister of Japan from April 30,1888, Kuroda was born to a samurai-class family serving the Shimazu daimyō of Kagoshima, Satsuma Domain, in Kyūshū. In 1862, Kuroda was involved in the Namamugi incident, in which Satsuma retainers killed a British national who refused to bow down to the daimyos procession and this led to the Anglo-Satsuma War in 1863, in which Kuroda played an active role. Immediately after the war, he went to Edo where he studied gunnery, returning to Satsuma, Kuroda became an active member of the Satsuma-Chōshū joint effort to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. Later, as a leader in the Boshin War, he became famous for sparing the life of Enomoto Takeaki. Under the new Meiji government, Kuroda became a pioneer-diplomat to Karafuto, terrified of Russias push eastward, Kuroda returned to Tokyo and advocated quick development and settlement of Japans northern frontier. In 1871 he traveled to Europe and the United States for five months and he was also promoted to lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army. Kuroda invited agricultural experts from countries with a similar climate to visit Hokkaidō. Kuroda was dispatched as an envoy to Korea in 1875, in 1877, he was sent as part of the force to suppress the Satsuma Rebellion. In 1878, he became de facto leader of Satsuma Domain following the assassination of Ōkubo Toshimichi, shortly before he left office in Hokkaidō, Kuroda became the central figure in the Hokkaidō Colonization Office Scandal of 1881. When the terms of the sale were leaked to the press, also in 1881, Kurodas wife died of a lung disease, but on rumors that Kuroda had killed her in a drunken rage, the body was exhumed and examined. Kuroda was cleared of charges, but rumors of his problems with alcohol abuse persisted, in 1887, Kuroda was appointed to the cabinet post of Minister of Agriculture and Commerce. Kuroda Kiyotaka became the 2nd Prime Minister of Japan, after Itō Hirobumi in 1888, during his term, he oversaw the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution. However, the issue of Japans inability to secure revision of the unequal treaties created considerable controversy. After drafts of proposed revisions drawn up his foreign minister Ōkuma Shigenobu became public in 1889, Kuroda served as Minister of Communications in 1892 under the 2nd Ito Cabinet. In 1895 he became a genrō, and chairman of the Privy Council, Kuroda died of a brain hemorrhage in 1900 and Enomoto Takeaki presided over his funeral ceremonies. His grave is at the Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo, negotiating with Imperialism, The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy. ISBN 978-0-674-01521-0, OCLC56493769 Jansen, Marius B, ISBN9780674003347, OCLC44090600 Keene, Donald
10.
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)
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The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan is the Cabinet member responsible for Japanese foreign policy and the chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since the end of the American occupation of Japan, the position has been one of the most powerful in the Cabinet, the recent efforts of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to establish a more interventionist foreign policy have also heightened the importance of the position. The position is held by Fumio Kishida. Italics indicates subject served as Acting Foreign Minister, bold indicates subject served concurrently as Prime Minister for a period of time
11.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
12.
Inoue Kaoru
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Marquis Inoue Kaoru, GCMG was a member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period Empire of Japan. As one of the statesman in Japan during that period, he had a tremendous influence on the selection of the nations leaders. Born Yakichi to a samurai family in Yuda, Chōshū Domain. He was a boyhood friend of Itō Hirobumi who later became Japans first prime minister. In 1858, he studied rangaku, artillery and swordsmanship in Edo, in the Bakumatsu period, Inoue emerged as a leader of the antiforeigner movement in his native Chōshū. Desiring to rid Japan of foreigners, he and Takasugi Shinsaku set fire to the British legation in Edo in January 1863. Recognizing Japans need to learn from the powers, Inoue joined the Chōshū Five and was smuggled out of Japan to study at University College. When he returned with Itō Hirobumi, he tried to prevent war between the Chōshū and the western naval powers over the closing of the Straits of Shimonoseki to foreign shipping. Later, he fought against the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate in the 1864 First Chōshū expedition and he later played a key role in the formation of the Satchō Alliance against the Tokugawa shogunate. After the Meiji restoration, Inoue served in important positions in the new Meiji government. Inoue took part in the Osaka Conference of 1875 to support the creation of a national assembly. In 1876, Inoue was asked to assist in the field of foreign affairs and he returned to government as Minister of Public Works in 1878 and Lord of Foreign Affairs in 1879 under the early Meiji Dajō-kan Cabinet. In 1884, he was elevated to the rank of count under the new peerage system. In December 1885, Inoue officially became Japan’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs bearing that title in the first Itō Hirobumi cabinet. Later he served as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce in the Kuroda administration, as Home Minister in the second Itō administration, from 1901 onwards, Inoue served as most senior of the genrō, and considered himself the governments foremost advisor on financial affairs. He was advanced to the title of marquis in 1907, and died in 1915 at his home at Okitsu-juku. Michael and St. George Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour of France List of Ambassadors from Japan to South Korea Akamatsu, Meiji 1868, Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Japan. The Rise of Modern Japan, Political, Economic and Social Change Since 1850, craig, Albert M. Chōshū in the Meiji Restoration
13.
Sone Arasuke
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Viscount Sone Arasuke was a Japanese politician, diplomat, cabinet minister, and second Japanese Resident-General of Korea. Sone was born in Nagato Province in Chōshū Domain (present-day Yamaguchi prefecture and he fought on the imperial side in the Boshin War. After the Meiji Restoration, Sone was sent to France for studies, Sone was elected to the House of Representatives in the 1892 Japanese general election, and served as Vice-Speaker of the House in the same year. In 1893, he became Japanese ambassador to France and negotiated the revision of the treaties between France and Japan. During the Russo-Japanese War with the help of Takahashi Korekiyo and others, in 1900, Emperor Meiji nominated him to the House of Peers. In 1902, he was made a baron under the kazoku peerage system and he became a Privy Councillor in 1906, and elevated in status to viscount the following year. Sone was appointed as Vice Resident-General of the Japanese administration in Korea in 1907, one of his major actions in Korea was to install a peninsula-wide telephone network, linking government offices, police stations and military installations throughout Korea. Sone was opposed to the Japanese annexation of Korea, but was forced to resign from his post in May 1910 due to illness, the Abacus and the Sword, The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895-1910 (Twentieth-Century Japan - the Emergence of a World Power. Emperor Of Japan, Meiji And His World, 1852-1912, historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War. French Policy Towards the Bakufu and Meiji Japan 1854-1894, ISBN 1-873410-61-1 National Diet Library Bio and Photo
14.
Hikari, Yamaguchi
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Hikari is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded three times, April 1,1943, July 1,1955, and October 4,2004, as of October 1,2016, the city has an estimated population of 51,040, and a population density 560 of persons per km². The total area is 91.94 km², the name Hikari itself means brilliance or light in Japanese. It is connected by railroad with a station and route 188. Hikari is bounded with Yanai, Kudamatsu, Shunan, Iwakuni, on October 4,2004, the town of Yamato was merged into Hikari. October 1,1940, The town of Shunan was renamed to Hikari, April 1,1943, The town merged with the town of Murozumi to form the city of Hikari. July 1,1955, The city merged with the village of Suō to form the new city of Hikari, April 10,1957, The city lost parts of Tateno area to the village of Yamato. October 4,2004, The city absorbed the town of Yamato to create the new, the Hikari Naval Arsenal included a fire-control factory, built in 1942, that employed about 600 people. It was one of the establishments for producing the Standard H. A. System at the rate of ~15 per month, along with bomb components, torpedo afterbodies, the Imperial Japanese Navy formed the Second Special Attack Force on March 1,1945, at Hikari for conducting kaiten attacks. Rear Admiral Nagai Mitsuru was the Commanding Officer, on that same day, a kaiten crew training unit is also formed at Hirao, SE of Hikari. This was one of four such kaiten training bases, with hints of cessation of hostilities, bombing raids by U. S. forces were canceled. However, resumption of bombing was ordered on August 13,1945, the Hikari Naval Arsenal was consequently bombed the next day on August 14,1945, taking 738 lives. The attacking U. S. aircraft were 156 B-29 bombers of the 40th Bomb Group stationed in Saipan, the 40th Bomb Group dropped 3,540 bombs on the Hikari Naval Arsenal, resulting in severe destruction. Including this bombing, Hikari lost more than 1,200 citizens in World War II, after surrender, Allied forces found 52 kaiten at Hikari and destroyed them. The former Hikari Naval Arsenal is now the sites for Nippon Steel Corporation, Takeda discovered the hull of a Type 4 Kaiten under one of the buildings in August 1989, an attestation to the history of the site. The Kaiten Monument, erected in 1996, honors Hikari Naval Arsenal kaiten pilots, Steel frames that once constituted the structure of the destroyed Hikari Naval Arsenal were used to build the Tsukumo Bridge
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Yamaguchi Prefecture
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Yamaguchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region of the main island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture, the largest city, however, is Shimonoseki. Yamaguchi Prefecture was created by the merger of the provinces of Suō, during the rise of the samurai class during the Heian and Kamakura Periods, the Ouchi family of Suō Province and the Koto family of Nagato Province gained influence as powerful warrior clans. In the Muromachi Period, Ouchi Hiroyo, the 24th ruler of the Ouchi family conquered both areas of Yamaguchi Prefecture, the Ouchi clan imitated the city planning of Kyoto. They gained great wealth through cultural imports from the continent and trade with Korea, as a result, Yamaguchi came to be known as the Kyoto of the West, and Ouchi culture flourished. Sue Harutaka defeated the 31st ruler of the Ouchi clan, the Sue clan was then defeated by Mōri Motonari, and the Mōri family gained control of the Chugoku region. Yamaguchi was ruled as part of the Mōri clan domain during the Sengoku period, Mōri Terumoto was then defeated by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. He was forced to give up all his land except for the Suō and Nagato areas, Mōri sought to strengthen the economic base of the region and increase local production with his Three Whites campaign. After Commodore Matthew Perrys opening of Japan, clans from Nagato played a key role in the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, four years after the Edo Shogunate was overthrown and the Meiji government formed in 1868, the present Yamaguchi Prefecture was established. The Meiji government brought in new systems and modern policies. In the Taisho period, from 1912 to 1926, shipbuilding, chemical, machinery, during the post-World War II Shōwa Period, Yamaguchi developed into one of the most industrialized prefectures in the country due to the establishment of petrochemical complexes. Thirteen cities are located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, These are the towns in each district, For the purposes of development analysis, although Yamaguchi is not part of the island of Kyushu, it has become a functional satellite of the Kanmon Straits metropolitan area. The most popular place for tourism is Shimonoseki, for example Karato Fish Market, there is a large fireworks festival in summer. Another attraction is the Kintai Bridge in the town of Iwakuni and this five-arched wooden structure is considered a symbol of Western Honshū. Hagi City is in the north of Yamaguchi and it is a very traditional city. The usual color of Japanese post boxes is red, but in Hagi they are painted green or brown, the Hagi Museum is modeled after a traditional samurai residence. The exhibits are detailed and realistic, and are changed every year, the permanent collection is data about Hagis history and collections about Takasugi Shinsaku. Hagi also contains a reverberatory furnace which has designated a World Heritage Site
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Harbin
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Harbin is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang province in the northeastern region of the Peoples Republic of China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Harbin has direct jurisdiction over nine metropolitan districts, Harbin is the eighth most populous Chinese city and the most populous city in Northeast China. According to the 2010 census, the area made of seven out of nine urban districts had 5,282,093 inhabitants. Harbin serves as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural, Harbin, which was originally a Manchu word meaning a place for drying fishing nets, grew from a small rural settlement on the Songhua River to become one of the largest cities in Northeast China. Founded in 1898 with the coming of the Chinese Eastern Railway, having the most bitterly cold winters among major Chinese cities, Harbin is heralded as the Ice City for its well-known winter tourism and recreations. Harbin is notable for its ice sculpture festival in the winter. Besides being well known for its historical Russian legacy, the city serves as an important gateway in Sino-Russian trade today, in the 1920s, the city was considered Chinas fashion capital since new designs from Paris and Moscow reached here first before arriving in Shanghai. The city has been voted China Top Tourist City by China National Tourism Administration in 2004, on 22 June 2010, Harbin was appointed a City of Music by the UN. Human settlement in the Harbin area dates from at least 2200 BC during the late Stone Age, Wanyan Aguda, the founder and first emperor of the Jin dynasty, was born in the Jurchen Wanyan tribes who resided near the Ashi River in this region. In AD1115 Aguda established Jins capital Shangjing Huining Prefecture in todays Acheng District of Harbin, after Agudas death, the new emperor Wanyan Sheng ordered the construction of a new city on a uniform plan. The planning and construction emulated major Chinese cities, in particular Bianjing, Huining Prefecture served as the first superior capital of the Jin empire until Wanyan Liang moved the capital to Yanjing in 1153. Liang even went so far as to destroy all palaces in his capital in 1157. Wanyan Liangs successor Wanyan Yong restored the city and established it as a capital in 1173. Ruins of the Shangjing Huining Prefecture were discovered and excavated about 2 km from present-day Achengs central urban area, the site of the old Jin capital ruins is a national historic reserve, and includes the Jin Dynasty History Museum. The museum, open to the public, was renovated in late 2005, mounted statues of Aguda and of his chief commander Wanyan Zonghan stand in the grounds of the museum. Many of the artifacts there are on display in nearby Harbin. After the Mongol conquest of the Jin Empire, Huining Prefecture was abandoned, in the 17th century, the Manchus used building materials from Huining Prefecture to construct their new stronghold in Alchuka. The region of Harbin remained largely rural until the 1800s, with ten villages
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Heilongjiang
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Heilongjiang is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Heilongjiang literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur, the Manchu name of the region is Sahaliyan ula, from which the name of Sakhalin is derived, and the Mongolian name with the same meaning is Qaramörin. Heilongjiang borders Jilin in the south and Inner Mongolia to the west, it also borders Russia to the north, the Amur River marks the border between the Peoples Republic of China and Russia to the north. Heilongjiang contains Chinas northernmost point and easternmost point, ancient Chinese records and other sources state that Heilongjiang was inhabited by people such as the Buyeo, the Mohe, Balhae and the Khitan. Mongolic Donghu people lived in Inner Mongolia and the part of Heilongjiang. Some names are Manchu or Mongolian, the eastern portion of Heilongjiang was ruled by the kingdom of Balhae between the 7th century and 10th century. The Jurchen Jin dynasty that ruled much of north China arose within the borders of modern Heilongjiang. Heilongjiang as an entity was created in 1683, during the Kangxi era of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The eastern part of whats today Heilongjiang remained under the supervision of the General of Jilin and these areas deep in Manchuria were closed off to Han Chinese migration. The original seat of the Military Governor of Heilongjiang, as established in 1683, was in Heilongjang City, however, already in 1690 the seat of the governor was transferred to Nenjiang on the Nen River, and, in 1699, further south to Qiqihar. An additional advantage of Qiqihar may have been its location at the junction of a northbound road, little Qing Military presence existed north of Aigun. At the same time, Manchuria was opened to Han Chinese migration by the Qing government, by the early twentieth century, due to the Chuang Guandong, the Han Chinese had become the dominant ethnic group in the region. In 1931, Japanese forces invaded Heilongjiang, in 1932, the Japanese completed their conquest of the province, which became part of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. In 1945, Japanese forces in Manchuria were defeated by the Soviet Army, during the Chinese Civil War, Soviet forces aided the Chinese communists. Heilongjiang became the first province to be controlled by the communists. At the beginning of communist rule, Heilongjiang included only the portion of the present-day province. The remaining area was the province of Songjiang, its capital was Harbin, in 1954, these two provinces were merged into present-day Heilongjiang. During the Cultural Revolution, Heilongjiang was also expanded to include Hulunbuir League and some areas previously in Inner Mongolia
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Qing dynasty
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It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the base for the modern Chinese state. The dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in Manchuria, in the late sixteenth century, Nurhaci, originally a Ming vassal, began organizing Banners, military-social units that included Jurchen, Han Chinese, and Mongol elements. Nurhaci formed the Jurchen clans into an entity, which he renamed as the Manchus. By 1636, his son Hong Taiji began driving Ming forces out of Liaodong and declared a new dynasty, in 1644, peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng conquered the Ming capital, Beijing. The Ten Great Campaigns of the Qianlong Emperor from the 1750s to the 1790s extended Qing control into Central Asia, the early rulers maintained their Manchu ways, and while their title was Emperor, they used khan to the Mongols and they were patrons of Tibetan Buddhism. They governed using Confucian styles and institutions of government and retained the imperial examinations to recruit Han Chinese to work under or in parallel with Manchus. They also adapted the ideals of the system in dealing with neighboring territories. The Qianlong reign saw the apogee and initial decline in prosperity. The population rose to some 400 million, but taxes and government revenues were fixed at a low rate, corruption set in, rebels tested government legitimacy, and ruling elites did not change their mindsets in the face of changes in the world system. Following the Opium War, European powers imposed unequal treaties, free trade, the Taiping Rebellion and the Dungan Revolt in Central Asia led to the deaths of some 20 million people, most of them due to famines caused by war. In spite of disasters, in the Tongzhi Restoration of the 1860s, Han Chinese elites rallied to the defense of the Confucian order. The initial gains in the Self-Strengthening Movement were destroyed in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1895, in which the Qing lost its influence over Korea, New Armies were organized, but the ambitious Hundred Days Reform of 1898 was turned back by Empress Dowager Cixi, a conservative leader. Sun Yat-sen and other revolutionaries competed with reformist monarchists such as Kang Youwei, after the deaths of Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor in 1908, the hardline Manchu court alienated reformers and local elites alike. The Wuchang Uprising on October 11,1911, led to the Xinhai Revolution, General Yuan Shikai negotiated the abdication of Puyi, the last emperor, on February 12,1912. Nurhaci declared himself the Bright Khan of the Later Jin state in both of the 12–13th century Jurchen Jin dynasty and of his Aisin Gioro clan. His son Hong Taiji renamed the dynasty Great Qing in 1636, there are competing explanations on the meaning of Qīng. The character Qīng is composed of water and azure, both associated with the water element and this association would justify the Qing conquest as defeat of fire by water
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Tokyo
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Tokyo, officially Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan and one of its 47 prefectures. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government, Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Formerly known as Edo, it has been the de facto seat of government since 1603 when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters. It officially became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from the old capital of Kyoto in 1868, Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. The Tokyo metropolitan government administers the 23 Special Wards of Tokyo, the metropolitan government also administers 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the wards is over 9 million people. The prefecture is part of the worlds most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 37.8 million people, the city hosts 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest number of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked third in the International Financial Centres Development IndexEdit, the city is also home to various television networks such as Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon Television, NHK and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Tokyo ranked first in the Global Economic Power Index and fourth in the Global Cities Index. The city is considered a world city – as listed by the GaWCs 2008 inventory – and in 2014. In 2015, Tokyo was named the Most Liveable City in the world by the magazine Monocle, the Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked first in the world in the Safe Cities Index, the 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Tokyo as the 3rd-best city in the world to be a university student. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1979 G-7 summit, the 1986 G-7 summit, and the 1993 G-7 summit, and will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo was originally known as Edo, which means estuary. During the early Meiji period, the city was also called Tōkei, some surviving official English documents use the spelling Tokei. However, this pronunciation is now obsolete, the name Tokyo was first suggested in 1813 in the book Kondō Hisaku, written by Satō Nobuhiro. When Ōkubo Toshimichi proposed the renaming to the government during the Meiji Restoration, according to Oda Kanshi, Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo, in what was formerly part of the old Musashi Province. Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan, in the twelfth century
20.
Alma mater
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Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma mater was a title in Latin for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. The source of its current use is the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the oldest university in continuous operation in the Western world and it is related to the term alumnus, denoting a university graduate, which literally means a nursling or one who is nourished. The phrase can also denote a song or hymn associated with a school, although alma was a common epithet for Ceres, Cybele, Venus, and other mother goddesses, it was not frequently used in conjunction with mater in classical Latin. Alma Redemptoris Mater is a well-known 11th century antiphon devoted to Mary, the earliest documented English use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when University of Cambridge printer John Legate began using an emblem for the universitys press. In English etymological reference works, the first university-related usage is often cited in 1710, many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The University of Bologna Latin name, Alma Mater Studiorum, refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. At least one, the Alma Mater Europaea in Salzburg, Austria, the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been called the Alma Mater of the Nation because of its ties to the founding of the United States. At Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ancient Roman world had many statues of the Alma Mater, some still extant. Modern sculptures are found in prominent locations on several American university campuses, outside the United States, there is an Alma Mater sculpture on the steps of the monumental entrance to the Universidad de La Habana, in Havana, Cuba. Media related to Alma mater at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of alma mater at Wiktionary Alma Mater Europaea website
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University College London
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University College London is a public research university in London, England, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It is the largest postgraduate institution in the UK by enrollment and is regarded as one of the worlds leading research universities. UCL also makes the claims of being the third-oldest university in England. In 1836 UCL became one of the two founding colleges of the University of London, which was granted a charter in the same year. UCL has its campus in the Bloomsbury area of central London, with a number of institutes and teaching hospitals elsewhere in central London. UCL is organised into 11 constituent faculties, within there are over 100 departments, institutes. In 2015/16, UCL had around 38,300 students and 12,000 staff and had an income of £1.36 billion. UCL ranks highly in national and international league tables and its graduates rank among the most employable in the world, UCL academics discovered five of the naturally occurring noble gases, co-discovered hormones, invented the vacuum tube, and made several foundational advances in modern statistics. There are at least 29 Nobel Prize winners and 3 Fields medalists amongst UCLs alumni and current, UCL was founded on 11 February 1826 under the name London University, as an alternative to the Anglican universities of Oxford and Cambridge. London Universitys first Warden was Leonard Horner, who was the first scientist to head a British university and this suggests that while his ideas may have been influential, he himself was less so. In 1827, the Chair of Political Economy at London University was created, with John Ramsay McCulloch as the first incumbent, in 1828 the university became the first in England to offer English as a subject and the teaching of Classics and medicine began. In 1830, London University founded the London University School, which would later become University College School, in 1833, the university appointed Alexander Maconochie, Secretary to the Royal Geographical Society, as the first professor of geography in the UK. In 1834, University College Hospital opened as a hospital for the universitys medical school. In 1836, London University was incorporated by charter under the name University College. The Slade School of Fine Art was founded as part of University College in 1871, in 1878, the University of London gained a supplemental charter making it the first British university to be allowed to award degrees to women. The same year, UCL admitted women to the faculties of Arts and Law and of Science, although women remained barred from the faculties of Engineering and of Medicine. Armstrong College, an institution of Newcastle University, also allowed women to enter from its foundation in 1871. Women were finally admitted to medical studies during the First World War in 1917, in 1898, Sir William Ramsay discovered the elements krypton, neon and xenon whilst professor of chemistry at UCL
22.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
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Samurai
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Samurai were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan. In Japanese, they are referred to as bushi or buke. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean those who serve in close attendance to the nobility, the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai. According to Wilson, a reference to the word samurai appears in the Kokin Wakashū. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, the samurai were usually associated with a clan and their lord, and were trained as officers in military tactics and grand strategy. While the samurai numbered less than 10% of then Japans population, following the Battle of Hakusukinoe against Tang China and Silla in 663 AD, which led to a retreat from Korean affairs, Japan underwent widespread reform. One of the most important was that of the Taika Reform and this edict allowed the Japanese aristocracy to adopt the Tang dynasty political structure, bureaucracy, culture, religion, and philosophy. As part of the Taihō Code of 702 AD, and the later Yōrō Code, the population was required to regularly for census. With an understanding of how the population was distributed, Emperor Monmu introduced a law whereby 1 in 3–4 adult males were drafted into the national military and these soldiers were required to supply their own weapons, and in-return were exempted from duties and taxes. This was one of the first attempts by the Imperial government to form an organized army modeled after the Chinese system and it was called Gundan-Sei by later historians and is believed to have been short-lived. The Taihō Code classified most of the Imperial bureaucrats into 12 ranks and those of 6th rank and below were referred to as samurai and dealt with day-to-day affairs. Although these samurai were civilian public servants, the word is believed to have derived from this term. Military men, however, would not be referred to as samurai for many more centuries, Emperor Kanmu introduced the title of seii-taishōgun, or Shogun, and began to rely on the powerful regional clans to conquer the Emishi. Skilled in mounted combat and archery, these clan warriors became the Emperors preferred tool for putting down rebellions, though this is the first known use of the Shogun title, it was a temporary title, and was not imbued with political power until the 13th century. At this time, the Imperial Court officials considered them to be merely a military section under the control of the Imperial Court, ultimately, Emperor Kanmu disbanded his army. From this time, the Emperors power gradually declined, while the Emperor was still the ruler, powerful clans around Kyoto assumed positions as ministers, and their relatives bought positions as magistrates. To amass wealth and repay their debts, magistrates often imposed heavy taxes, through protective agreements and political marriages, they accumulated, or gathered, political power, eventually surpassing the traditional aristocracy. Some clans were formed by farmers who had taken up arms to protect themselves from the Imperial magistrates sent to govern their lands
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Meiji Restoration
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The Meiji Restoration, also known as the Meiji Ishin, Renovation, Revolution, Reform, or Renewal, was an event of change that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were Emperors before the Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical abilities, Meiji government also made education compulsory for both boys and girls at minimal fees. The goals of the government were expressed by the new emperor in the Charter Oath. The Restoration led to changes in Japans political and social structure. In Japan however, unlike China, foreign ideas were not associated with opium addiction. Figures like Shimazu Nariakira concluded that if we take the initiative, we can dominate, if we do not, we will be dominated, leading Japan to throw open its doors to foreign technology. Observing Japans response to the powers, Li Hongzhang considered Japan Chinas principal security threat as early as 1863. The word Meiji means enlightened rule and the goal was to modern advances with traditional eastern values. The main leaders of this were Itō Hirobumi, Matsukata Masayoshi, Kido Takayoshi, Itagaki Taisuke, Yamagata Aritomo, Mori Arinori, Ōkubo Toshimichi, and Yamaguchi Naoyoshi. The foundation of the Meiji restoration was the 1866 Satsuma-Chōshū Alliance between Saigō Takamori and Kido Takayoshi, leaders of the reformist elements in the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain. These two leaders supported the Emperor Kōmei and were brought together by Sakamoto Ryōma for the purpose of challenging the ruling Tokugawa shogunate, after Emperor Kōmeis death on January 30,1867, Emperor Meiji ascended the throne on February 3. This period also saw Japan change from being a society to having a market economy. The Tokugawa Shogunate came to its end on November 9,1867, when Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Shortly thereafter in January 1868, the Boshin War started with the Battle of Toba–Fushimi in which Chōshū and this forced the Emperor to strip Yoshinobu of all power, setting the stage for official restoration. We shall henceforward exercise supreme authority in all the internal and external affairs of the country, consequently the title of Emperor must be substituted for that of Taikun, in which the treaties have been made. Officers are being appointed by us to the conduct of foreign affairs and it is desirable that the representatives of the treaty powers recognize this announcement. All Tokugawa lands were seized and placed under control, thus placing them under the prerogative of the new Meiji government. With Fuhanken sanchisei, the areas were split into three types, urban prefectures, rural prefectures and the already existing domains
25.
Meiji Constitution
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Enacted after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, it provided for a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy, based jointly on the Prussian and British models. Under the Meiji Constitution, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet were not necessarily chosen from the members of the Diet. Through the regular procedure for amendment of the Meiji Constitution, it was revised to become the Postwar Constitution on November 3,1946. The Diet primarily dictated domestic policy matters, the immediate consequence of the Constitution was the opening of the first Parliamentary government in Asia. The Meiji Constitution established clear limits on the power of the executive branch and it also created an independent judiciary. Civil rights and civil liberties were guaranteed, though in many cases they were subject to limitation by law, however, it was ambiguous in wording, and in many places self-contradictory. It was the struggle between these tendencies that dominated the government of the Empire of Japan, the Meiji Constitution was used as a model for the 1931 Ethiopian Constitution by the Ethiopian intellectual Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam. This was one of the reasons why the progressive Ethiopian intelligentsia associated with Tekle Hawariat were known as Japanizers, by the surrender in the World War II on 2 September 1945, the Empire of Japan was deprived of sovereignty by the Allies, and the Meiji Constitution was suspended. During the Occupation of Japan, the Meiji Constitution was replaced by a new document and this document—officially an amendment to the Meiji Constitution—replaced imperial rule with a form of Western-style liberal democracy. Prior to the adoption of the Meiji Constitution, Japan had in practice no written constitution, in theory the last ritsuryō code, the Yōrō Code enacted in 752, was still in force at the time of the Meiji Restoration. The high positions in the system remained as sinecures, and the emperor was de-powered and set aside as a symbolic figure who reigned. The idea of a constitution had been a subject of heated debate within. The conservative Meiji oligarchy viewed anything resembling democracy or republicanism with suspicion and trepidation, the Freedom and Peoples Rights Movement demanded the immediate establishment of an elected national assembly, and the promulgation of a constitution. The United States Constitution was rejected as too liberal, the French and Spanish models were rejected as tending toward despotism. The Reichstag and legal structures of the German Empire, particularly that of Prussia, influence was also drawn from the British Westminster system, although it was considered as being unwieldy and granting too much power to Parliament. He also rejected some notions as unfit for Japan, as they stemmed from European constitutional practice, the Council of State was replaced in 1885 with a cabinet headed by Itō as Prime Minister. The positions of Chancellor, Minister of the Left, and Minister of the Right, in their place, the Privy Council was established in 1888 to evaluate the forthcoming constitution, and to advise Emperor Meiji. After numerous drafts from 1886–1888, the version was submitted to Emperor Meiji in April 1888
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Western world
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The Western world or the West is a term usually referring to different nations, depending on the context, most often including at least part of Europe. There are many accepted definitions about what they all have in common, the Western world is also known as the Occident. The concept of the Western part of the earth has its roots in Greco-Roman civilization in Europe, before the Cold War era, the traditional Western viewpoint identified Western Civilization with the Western Christian countries and culture. Its political usage was changed by the antagonism during the Cold War in the mid-to-late 20th Century. The term originally had a literal geographic meaning, Western culture was influenced by many older great civilizations of the ancient Near East, such as Phoenicia, Minoan Crete, Sumer, Babylonia, and also Ancient Egypt. It originated in the Mediterranean basin and its vicinity, Greece, over time, their associated empires grew first to the east and west to include the rest of Mediterranean and Black Sea coastal areas, conquering and absorbing. Later, they expanded to the north of the Mediterranean Sea to include Western, Central, numerous times, this expansion was accompanied by Christian missionaries, who attempted to proselytize Christianity. There is debate among some as to whether Latin America is in a category of its own, specifically, Western culture may imply, a Biblical Christian cultural influence in spiritual thinking, customs and either ethic or moral traditions, around the Post-Classical Era and after. European cultural influences concerning artistic, musical, folkloric, ethic and oral traditions, the concept of Western culture is generally linked to the classical definition of the Western world. In this definition, Western culture is the set of literary, scientific, political, artistic, much of this set of traditions and knowledge is collected in the Western canon. The term has come to apply to countries whose history is marked by European immigration or settlement, such as the Americas, and Oceania. The geopolitical divisions in Europe that created a concept of East and West originated in the Roman Empire, Roman Catholic Western and Central Europe, as such, maintained a distinct identity particularly as it began to redevelop during the Renaissance. Even following the Protestant Reformation, Protestant Europe continued to see itself as more tied to Roman Catholic Europe than other parts of the civilized world. Use of the term West as a cultural and geopolitical term developed over the course of the Age of Exploration as Europe spread its culture to other parts of the world. Additionally, closer contacts between the West and Asia and other parts of the world in recent times have continued to cloud the use, herodotus considered the Persian Wars of the early 5th century BC a conflict of Europa versus Asia. The terms West and East were not used by any Greek author to describe that conflict, the Great Schism and the Fourth Crusade confirmed this deviation. The Renaissance in the West emerged partly from currents within the Roman Empire, Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a city-state founded on the Italian Peninsula about the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. In its 12-century existence, Roman civilization shifted from a monarchy, to a republic, nonetheless, despite its great legacy, a number of factors led to the eventual decline of the Roman Empire
27.
United States Constitution
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The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government, Articles Four, Five and Six entrench concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. Article Seven establishes the procedure used by the thirteen States to ratify it. In general, the first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty, the majority of the seventeen later amendments expand individual civil rights protections. Others address issues related to federal authority or modify government processes and procedures, Amendments to the United States Constitution, unlike ones made to many constitutions worldwide, are appended to the document. All four pages of the original U. S, according to the United States Senate, The Constitutions first three words—We the People—affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens. From September 5,1774 to March 1,1781, the Continental Congress functioned as the government of the United States. The process of selecting the delegates for the First and Second Continental Congresses underscores the revolutionary role of the people of the colonies in establishing a governing body. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first constitution of the United States and it was drafted by the Second Continental Congress from mid-1776 through late-1777, and ratification by all 13 states was completed by early 1781. Under the Articles of Confederation, the governments power was quite limited. The Confederation Congress could make decisions, but lacked enforcement powers, implementation of most decisions, including modifications to the Articles, required unanimous approval of all thirteen state legislatures. The Continental Congress could print money but the currency was worthless, Congress could borrow money, but couldnt pay it back. No state paid all their U. S. taxes, some paid nothing, some few paid an amount equal to interest on the national debt owed to their citizens, but no more. No interest was paid on debt owed foreign governments, by 1786, the United States would default on outstanding debts as their dates came due. Internationally, the Articles of Confederation did little to enhance the United States ability to defend its sovereignty, most of the troops in the 625-man United States Army were deployed facing – but not threatening – British forts on American soil. They had not been paid, some were deserting and others threatening mutiny, spain closed New Orleans to American commerce, U. S. officials protested, but to no effect. Barbary pirates began seizing American ships of commerce, the Treasury had no funds to pay their ransom, if any military crisis required action, the Congress had no credit or taxing power to finance a response. Domestically, the Articles of Confederation was failing to bring unity to the sentiments and interests of the various states
28.
Restoration (Spain)
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After almost a whole century of political instability and many civil wars, the aim of the Restoration was to create a new political system, which ensured stability by the practice of turnismo. This was the rotation of the Liberal and Conservative parties in the government, so no sector of the bourgeoisie felt isolated. This was achieved by electoral fraud, opposition to the system came from republicans, socialists, anarchists, Basque and Catalan nationalists, and Carlists. The pronunciamiento by Martinez Campos established Alfonso XII as king, marking the end of the First Spanish Republic, after this, the Constitution of 1876 was written and enforced during the whole restoration. This constitution established Spain as a monarchy with a bicameral legislature, consisting of an upper house. This constitution gave the King the power to name Senators and to revoke laws if he wanted to and these years were marked by economic prosperity. Spains economy had fallen behind those of the other European countries, on most fronts production was increased, supported by extreme protectionist measures. The two parties alternated in the government in a process known as el turno pacífico, the Liberal Party was led by Sagasta. In 1898, Spain lost its last major overseas colonies in the Spanish–American War and this was the start of the systems decline, giving energy to all manner of conflicting opposition movements at a local and national level. The government declared a state of war and sent the army to crush the revolt, causing over a hundred deaths, the problems in Morocco worsened as an army of natives attacked the Spanish army. They achieved surprise and, due to the skill of the Moroccan chieftain, Abd-Al-Krim, virtually annihilated the Spanish army, advancing almost as far as Melilla in the Battle of Annual. The military discontent, the fear of anarchist terrorism or a revolution, and the rise of nationalist movements ultimately caused great agitation amongst the civilians. On 13 September 1923, Miguel Primo de Rivera, Captain General of Catalonia, orchestrated a coup détat, Alfonso XIII backed the General and named him Prime Minister. Primo de Rivera proceeded to suspend the Constitution and assume absolute powers as a dictator and he created the Unión Patriótica Española, which was meant to be the sole legal party, abolishing all other parties. During this time, he increased government spending on business and public services. He lost the support of the military and faced serious health problems, opposition to his regime was so great that Alfonso XIII stopped supporting him and forced him to resign in January 1930. Alfonso XIII, in an attempt to gradually to the previous system and restore his prestige. This failed utterly, as the King was considered a supporter of the dictatorship, Berenguer resigned and the King gave the government to Admiral Juan Bautista Aznar
29.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
30.
German Empire
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The German Empire was the historical German nation state that existed from the unification of Germany in 1871 to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918, when Germany became a federal republic. The German Empire consisted of 26 constituent territories, with most being ruled by royal families and this included four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory. Although Prussia became one of kingdoms in the new realm, it contained most of its population and territory. Its influence also helped define modern German culture, after 1850, the states of Germany had rapidly become industrialized, with particular strengths in coal, iron, chemicals, and railways. In 1871, it had a population of 41 million people, and by 1913, a heavily rural collection of states in 1815, now united Germany became predominantly urban. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire operated as an industrial, technological, Germany became a great power, boasting a rapidly growing rail network, the worlds strongest army, and a fast-growing industrial base. In less than a decade, its navy became second only to Britains Royal Navy, after the removal of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck by Wilhelm II, the Empire embarked on a bellicose new course that ultimately led to World War I. When the great crisis of 1914 arrived, the German Empire had two allies, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, however, left the once the First World War started in August 1914. In the First World War, German plans to capture Paris quickly in autumn 1914 failed, the Allied naval blockade caused severe shortages of food. Germany was repeatedly forced to send troops to bolster Austria and Turkey on other fronts, however, Germany had great success on the Eastern Front, it occupied large Eastern territories following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. German declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917 was designed to strangle the British, it failed, but the declaration—along with the Zimmermann Telegram—did bring the United States into the war. Meanwhile, German civilians and soldiers had become war-weary and radicalised by the Russian Revolution and this failed, and by October the armies were in retreat, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire had collapsed, Bulgaria had surrendered and the German people had lost faith in their political system. The Empire collapsed in the November 1918 Revolution as the Emperor and all the ruling monarchs abdicated, and a republic took over. The German Confederation had been created by an act of the Congress of Vienna on 8 June 1815 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848, called Pan-Germanism, to Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarcks pragmatic Realpolitik. He envisioned a conservative, Prussian-dominated Germany, the war resulted in the Confederation being partially replaced by a North German Confederation in 1867, comprising the 22 states north of the Main. The new constitution and the title Emperor came into effect on 1 January 1871, during the Siege of Paris on 18 January 1871, William accepted to be proclaimed Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. The second German Constitution was adopted by the Reichstag on 14 April 1871 and proclaimed by the Emperor on 16 April, the political system remained the same. The empire had a parliament called the Reichstag, which was elected by universal male suffrage, however, the original constituencies drawn in 1871 were never redrawn to reflect the growth of urban areas
31.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
32.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
33.
Anglo-Japanese Alliance
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The first Anglo-Japanese Alliance was signed in London at what is now the Lansdowne Club, on 30 January 1902, by Lord Lansdowne and Hayashi Tadasu. A diplomatic milestone that saw an end to Britains splendid isolation and it was officially terminated in 1923. The 1894 Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation had also paved the way for equal relations, in the end, the common interest truly fuelling the alliance was opposition to Russian expansion. Negotiations began when Russia began to move into China, nevertheless, both countries had their reservations. The UK was cautious of abandoning its policy of isolation, wary of antagonizing Russia. It was thought that friendship within Asia would be amenable to the USA. Furthermore, the UK was unwilling to protect Japanese interests in Korea, Hayashi and Lord Lansdowne began their discussions in July 1901, and disputes over Korea and India delayed them until November. At this point, Hirobumi Itō requested a delay in negotiations in order to attempt a reconciliation with Russia and he was mostly unsuccessful, and Britain expressed concerns over duplicity on Japans part, so Hayashi hurriedly re-entered negotiations in 1902. Article 2 Declaration of neutrality if either signatory becomes involved in war through Article 1, Article 3 Promise of support if either signatory becomes involved in war with more than one Power. Article 4 Signatories promise not to enter into agreements with other Powers to the prejudice of this alliance. Article 5 The signatories promise to communicate frankly and fully with each other when any of the affected by this treaty are in jeopardy. Article 6 Treaty to remain in force for five years and then at one years notice, articles 2 and 3 were most crucial concerning war and mutual defence. The treaty laid out an acknowledgement of Japanese interests in Korea without obligating the UK to help should a Russo-Japanese conflict arise on this account, Japan was not obligated to defend British interests in India. Although written using careful and clear language, the two sides understood the Treaty slightly differently, the UK saw it as a gentle warning to Russia, while Japan was emboldened by it. From that point on, even those of a moderate stance refused to accept a compromise over the issue of Korea, extremists saw it as an open invitation for imperial expansion. The alliance was renewed and extended in scope twice, in 1905 and 1911 and this was partly prompted by British suspicions about Japanese intentions in South Asia. Japan appeared to support Indian nationalism, tolerating visits by such as Rash Behari Bose. The July 1905 renegotiations allowed for Japanese support of British interests in India, by November of that year Korea was a Japanese protectorate, and in February 1906 Itō Hirobumi was posted as the Resident General to Seoul
34.
First Sino-Japanese War
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The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Qing Empire of China and the Empire of Japan, primarily over influence of Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the Chinese port of Weihaiwei, the Qing government sued for peace in February 1895. The war demonstrated the failure of the Qing Empires attempts to modernize its military and fend off threats to its sovereignty, especially when compared with Japans successful Meiji Restoration. For the first time, regional dominance in East Asia shifted from China to Japan, the humiliating loss of Korea as a tributary state sparked an unprecedented public outcry. Within China, the defeat was a catalyst for a series of political upheavals led by Sun Yat-sen and Kang Youwei, the war is commonly known in China as the War of Jiawu, referring to the year as named under the traditional sexagenary system of years. In Japan, it is called the Japan–Qing War, in Korea, where much of the war took place, it is called the Qing–Japan War. After two centuries, the Japanese policy of seclusion under the shoguns of the Edo period came to an end when the country was forced open to trade by British and American intervention in 1854. The years following the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and the fall of the Shogunate had seen Japan transform itself from a society into a modern industrial state. The Japanese had sent delegations and students around the world to learn and assimilate Western arts and sciences, Korea continued to try to exclude foreigners, refusing embassies from foreign countries and firing on ships near its shores. At the start of the war, Japan had the benefit of three decades of reform, leaving Korea outdated and vulnerable, as a newly risen power, Japan turned its attention toward its neighbor, Korea. Japan wanted to block any other power from annexing or dominating Korea, as Prussian advisor Major Klemens Meckel put it to the Japanese, Korea was a dagger pointed at the heart of Japan. On February 27,1876, after confrontations between Korean isolationists and Japanese, Japan imposed the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876, forcing Korea open to Japanese trade. Similar treaties were signed between Korea and other nations, Korea had traditionally been a tributary state of Chinas Qing Empire, which exerted large influence over the conservative Korean officials who gathered around the royal family of the Joseon kingdom. Opinion in Korea itself was split, conservatives wanted to retain the traditional relationship under China, while reformists wanted to approach Japan and Western nations. After fighting two Opium Wars against the British in 1839 and 1856, and another war against the French in 1885, Japan saw the opportunity to take Chinas place in the strategically vital Korea. In 1882, the Korean peninsula experienced a drought which led to food shortages, causing much hardship. Korea was on the verge of bankruptcy, even falling months behind on military pay, on July 23, a military mutiny and riot broke out in Seoul in which troops, assisted by the population, sacked the rice granaries. The next morning, the crowd attacked the palace and barracks
35.
Treaty of Shimonoseki
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The Treaty of Shimonoseki was a treaty signed at the Shunpanrō hall, Shimonoseki, Japan on April 17,1895, between the Empire of Japan and the Qing Empire, ending the First Sino-Japanese War. The peace conference took place from March 20 to April 17,1895 and this treaty followed and superseded the Sino-Japanese Friendship and Trade Treaty of 1871. Article 4, China agrees to pay to Japan as a war indemnity the sum of 200,000,000 Kuping taels, Article 5, China opens Shashih, Chungking, Soochow and Hangchow to Japan. Moreover, China is to grant Japan most favoured nation status for foreign trade, the treaty ended the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895 as a clear victory for Japan. In this treaty, China recognized the independence of Korea and renounced any claims to that country and it also ceded the Liaodong Peninsula, and the islands of Formosa and Penghu to Japan. This commercial treaty confirmed the opening of ports and rivers to Japanese trade. As a result of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, China recognized the full and complete independence, in the next year Yeongeunmun was demolished leaving its two stone pillars. Qing Chinas indemnity to Japan of 200 million silver kuping taels, after the Triple intervention, they paid another 30 million taels for a total of over 276,000,000 troy ounces silver, worth about $5 billion US Dollars in 2015. Moreover, Mutsu had already noticed its importance in order to expand Japanese military power towards South China and it was also time of imperialism so that Japan wished to follow what the West was doing. Therefore, even though the Qing had lost wars against Britain and France in the 19th century, the Qing Emperor was serious to keep Taiwan under its rule, on 20 March 1895, at Shunpanrō in Shimonoseki in Japan, 1-month-long peace conference had started. At the first half of the conference, Ito and Li talked mainly about an agreement, and during the second half of the conference. Li Hongzhang refused on the grounds that Taiwan had never been a battlefield during the first Sino-Japanese War between 1894 and 1895, as Taiwan had been a province since 1885, Li stated, Taiwan is already a province, and therefore not to be given away. However, Imperial Japan was too strong for the Qing Dynasty to cope with, on 17 April 1895, the peace treaty between Imperial Japan and the Qing Dynasty had been signed and was followed by the successful Japanese invasion of Taiwan. This had a impact on Taiwan, the turning over of the island to Imperial Japan marking the end of 200 years of Qing rule despite an attempt by Qing loyalists to prevent the annexation. The treaty was drafted with John W. Foster, former American Secretary of State and it was signed by Count Itō Hirobumi and Viscount Mutsu Munemitsu for the Emperor of Japan and Li Hongzhang and Li Jingfang on behalf of the Emperor of China. Before the treaty was signed, Li Hongzhang was attacked by a right-wing Japanese extremist on March 24, he was fired at, the public outcry aroused by the assassination attempt caused the Japanese to temper their demands and agree to a temporary armistice. The conference was adjourned and resumed on April 10. They demanded that Japan withdraw its claim on the Liaodong peninsula, concerned that Lüshun, then called Port Arthur by Westerners, would fall under Japanese control
36.
Taiwan
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Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a state in East Asia. Neighbours include China to the west, Japan to the northeast, Taiwan is the most populous state that is not a member of the United Nations, and the one with the largest economy. The island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, was inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before the 17th century. After a brief rule by the Kingdom of Tungning, the island was annexed by the Qing dynasty, the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895 after the Sino-Japanese War. While Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the Republic of China was established on the mainland in 1912 after the fall of the Qing dynasty, following the Japanese surrender to the Allies in 1945, the ROC took control of Taiwan. However, the resumption of the Chinese Civil War led to the ROCs loss of the mainland to the Communists, and the flight of the ROC government to Taiwan in 1949. As a founding member of the United Nations, the ROC continued to represent China at the United Nations until 1971, in the early 1960s, Taiwan entered a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization, creating a stable industrial economy. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it changed from a one-party military dictatorship dominated by the Kuomintang to a multi-party democracy with universal suffrage, Taiwan is the 22nd-largest economy in the world, and its high-tech industry plays a key role in the global economy. It is ranked highly in terms of freedom of the press, health care, public education, economic freedom, the PRC has consistently claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and asserted the ROC is no longer in legitimate existence. Under its One-China Policy the PRC refused diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes the ROC, the PRC has threatened the use of military force in response to any formal declaration of independence by Taiwan or if PRC leaders decide that peaceful unification is no longer possible. There are various names for the island of Taiwan in use today, the former name Formosa dates from 1542, when Portuguese sailors sighted the main island of Taiwan and named it Ilha Formosa, which means beautiful island. The name Formosa eventually replaced all others in European literature and was in use in English in the early 20th century. This name was adopted into the Chinese vernacular as the name of the sandbar. The modern word Taiwan is derived from this usage, which is seen in forms in Chinese historical records. Use of the current Chinese name was formalized as early as 1684 with the establishment of Taiwan Prefecture, through its rapid development, the entire Formosan mainland eventually became known as Taiwan. The official name of the state is the Republic of China and it was a member of the United Nations representing China until 1971, when it lost its seat to the Peoples Republic of China. Over subsequent decades, the Republic of China has become known as Taiwan. In some contexts, especially ones from the ROC government
37.
Joseon
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The Kingdom of Joseon was a Korean kingdom founded by Yi Seonggye that lasted for approximately five centuries, from July 1392 to October 1897. It was officially renamed the Korean Empire in October 1897 and it was founded following the aftermath of the overthrow of Goryeo in what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul, the kingdoms northernmost borders were expanded to the natural boundaries at the Yalu and Tumen Rivers through the subjugation of the Jurchens. Joseon was the last dynasty of Korea and its longest-ruling Confucian dynasty, during its reign, Joseon encouraged the entrenchment of Chinese Confucian ideals and doctrines in Korean society. Neo-Confucianism was installed as the new state ideology. Buddhism was accordingly discouraged and occasionally faced persecutions by the dynasty, Joseon consolidated its effective rule over the territory of current Korea and saw the height of classical Korean culture, trade, science, literature, and technology. After the end of invasions from Manchuria, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace, by the late 14th century, the nearly 500-year-old Goryeo established in 918 was tottering, its foundations collapsing from years of war and de facto occupation from the disintegrating Mongol Empire. Following the emergence of the Ming dynasty, the court in Goryeo split into two conflicting factions, the group led by General Yi and the camp led by General Choe. Goryeo claimed to be the successor of the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo, as such, Yi was chosen to lead the attack, however, he revolted and swept back to Gaegyeong and initiated a coup détat, overthrowing King U in favor of his son, Chang of Goryeo. He later killed King U and his son after a failed restoration, in 1392, Yi eliminated Jeong Mong-ju, highly respected leader of a group loyal to Goryeo dynasty, and dethroned King Gongyang, exiling him to Wonju, and before he ascended the throne. The Goryeo Dynasty had come to an end after almost 500 years of rule. After much deliberation, the Taejo Emperor declared the name of the new dynasty to be Joseon, after the ancient Korean state of Gojoseon and he also moved the capital to Hanyang from Kaesong. When the new dynasty was promulgated and officially brought into existence, with Taejos support, Jeong Dojeon kept limiting the royal familys power by prohibiting political involvement of princes and attempting to abolish their private armies. Both sides were aware of each others great animosity and were getting ready to strike first. This incident became known as the First Strife of Princes, one of King Jeongjongs first acts as monarch was to revert the capital to Kaesong, where he is believed to have been considerably more comfortable, away from the toxic power strife. Yet Yi Bangwon retained real power and was soon in conflict with his older brother. Yi Banggan, who yearned for power. In 1400, the tensions between Yi Bangwons faction and Yi Banggans camp escalated into a conflict that came to be known as the Second Strife of Princes
38.
Russo-Japanese War
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The Russo-Japanese War was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and Korea. The major theatres of operations were the Liaodong Peninsula and Mukden in Southern Manchuria and the seas around Korea, Japan, Russia sought a warm-water port on the Pacific Ocean for their navy and for maritime trade. Vladivostok was operational only during the summer, whereas Port Arthur, since the end of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Japan feared Russian encroachment on its sphere of influence. Russia had demonstrated an expansionist policy in the Siberian Far East from the reign of Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, through threat of Russian expansion, Japan offered to recognize Russian dominance in Manchuria in exchange for recognition of Korea as being within the Japanese sphere of influence. Russia refused and demanded Korea north of the 39th parallel to be a buffer zone between Russia and Japan. The Japanese government perceived a Russian threat to its strategic interests, after negotiations broke down in 1904, the Japanese Navy opened hostilities by attacking the Russian Eastern Fleet at Port Arthur, China, in a surprise attack. The war concluded with the Treaty of Portsmouth, mediated by US President Theodore Roosevelt, the complete victory of the Japanese military surprised world observers. The consequences transformed the balance of power in East Asia, resulting in a reassessment of Japans recent entry onto the world stage and it was the first major military victory in the modern era of an Asian power over a European one. Scholars continue to debate the historical significance of the war, after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the Meiji government endeavored to assimilate Western ideas, technological advances and ways of warfare. By the late 19th century, Japan had transformed itself into an industrial state. The Japanese wanted to be recognized as equal with the Western powers, the Meiji restoration had always been intended to make Japan a modernized state, not a Westernized one, and Japan was always an imperialist power, looking towards overseas expansionism. By the 1890s it had extended its realm across Central Asia to Afghanistan, the Russian Empire stretched from Poland in the west to the Kamchatka Peninsula in the east. With its construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway to the port of Vladivostok, in the Tsushima incident of 1861 Russia had directly assaulted Japanese territory. Between the Meiji Restoration and its participation in World War I, the first war Japan fought was the First Sino-Japanese War, fought in 1894 and 1895. The war revolved around the issue of control and influence over Korea under the rule of the Joseon dynasty, from the 1880s onward, there had been vigorous competition for influence in Korea between China and Japan. The Korean court was prone to factionalism, and was divided by a reformist faction that was pro-Japanese. In 1884, a coup attempt was put down by Chinese troops. A peasant rebellion led by the Tonghak religious movement led to a request by the Korean government for the Qing dynasty to send in troops to stabilize the country
39.
Manchuria
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Manchuria is a modern name, first created by the Japanese, given to a large geographic region in Northeast Asia. Depending on the context, Manchuria can either refer to a region that falls entirely within the Peoples Republic of China, the definition of Manchuria can be any one of several regions of various size. These are, from smallest to largest, Northeast China, consisting of Heilongjiang, Jilin and this is the area referred to as Manchuria in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions. Inner Manchuria, the above, plus parts of modern Inner Mongolia, The above, plus Outer Manchuria, the area from the Amur and Ussuri rivers to the Stanovoy Mountains, in Russian administrative terms, Ussuri krai, southern Harbin oblast, Primorskiy kray. The above, plus Sakhalin Island, which is included on Qing dynasty maps as part of Outer Manchuria even though it is not explicitly mentioned in the Treaty of Nerchinsk. The island was included in Manchuria on maps made by the Japanese Shogunate. Despite of lines on maps and empiress political claims, the island was inhabited by Ainu people until the Soviet Union enforced a policy after 1945. Three centuries and a half must now pass away before entering upon the act of the Manchu drama. During the ensuing two hundred years the Nü-chêns were scarcely heard of, the House of Ming being busily occupied in other directions and it may be noted here that Manchuria is unknown to the Chinese or to the Manchus themselves as a geographical expression. The present extensive home of the Manchus is usually spoken of as the Three Eastern Provinces, namely, Shêngking, or Liao-tung, or Kuan-tung, Kirin, and Heilungchiang or Tsitsihar. — Herbert A. Giles, China and the Manchus,1912 Manchuria is a translation of the Japanese word Manshū, the Manchu and Chinese languages had no such word as Manchuria and the word has imperialist connotations. According to Bill Sewell, it was Europeans who first started using the name Manchuria to refer to the location, the historian Gavan McCormack agreed with Robert H. G. The Japanese had their own motive for deliberately spreading the usage of the term Manchuria, the historian Norman Smith wrote that The term Manchuria is controversial. Professor Mariko Asano Tamanoi said that she should use the term in quotation marks when referring to Manchuria, in his 2012 dissertation on the Jurchen people to obtain a Doctor of Philosophy degree in History from the University of Washington, Professor Chad D. In the 18th-century Europe, the later known as Manchuria was most commonly referred to as Tartary. However, the term Manchuria started appearing by the end of the century, in current Chinese parlance, an inhabitant of the Northeast, or Northeast China, is a Northeasterner. In China, the term Manchuria is rarely used today, and this usage is seen in the expression Chuǎng Guāndōng referring to the mass migration of Han Chinese to Manchuria in the 19th and 20th centuries. The name Guandong later came to be used more narrowly for the area of the Kwantung Leased Territory on the Liaodong Peninsula and it is not to be confused with the southern province of Guangdong
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (November 2, 1877)
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (February 11, 1889)
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum (August 5, 1895)
GC of the Order of Vasa of Sweden (May 25, 1885)
GC of the Order of the Iron Crown of Austria-Hungary (September 27, 1885)
GC of the Order of the Red Eagle of Prussia (December 22, 1886) (he later received the Grand Cross in brilliants during his visit to Berlin in December 1901[23])
GC of the Order of Charles III of Spain (October 26, 1896)
GC of the Order of Leopold of Belgium (October 4, 1897)
GC of the Legion d'Honneur of France (April 29, 1898)
GC of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky of Russia (November 28, 1901)[24]
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB), United Kingdom (January 14, 1902; after a visit to London)[25]
Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation of Italy (January 16, 1902; during his visit to Rome)[26]
"Ito, Hirobumi, Prince". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
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