The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-01-04
QUALITIES THAT MAKE
THE IAPS GOOD FIGHTERS
Their Which
y History Made in the Rising

have become proverbial in speaking
of Japan-in a word, their liberality
lis due to their innate quickness in
the direction of mental initiative. The
Japanese think quickly. they are
shrewd, they are farsighted, and out
of these qualities they have evolved
into a self reliant, sturdy, independ-
ent nation, asking favors of; no one
and unwilling to submit to any slight
of their national pride. They have
and of their place as a factor in the
destinies of the far east
1t was the Chino-Japanese war of
1S94-95 that first aroused the civil
lied world to lively interest in the
doings of the Land of the Rising Sun.
On sea the story was the same. The
narrative Of the battle of the Yalu
will for centuries to come be told and
retold In the family circles of the
island kingdom. It was the CROWN
ing glory of the we'll built. we'll armed
and well manned battle ships which
bore the mikado's standard in this
sanguinary Chino-Japanese war. To
the mental initiative and tireless zeal
Of Admiral Yuko Ito, coupled with the
alacrity, ready wit and undaunted
! bravery of his officers and their
crews, Japan owed victory that Sep
TENDER day. Turnout the five hours
conflict Ito, war-scarred, bronzed,
eagle-eyed, square-jawed, preserved
the formation of his squadron with
precision that would have marked
had a great fighting machine. and he
knew how to use it. And the net re-
| suit was the destruction of China's
hopes for conquest by sea.
Quick wit. the ability to cope with
every emergency, indomitable pluck,
capped by unceasing energy-such
are the Qualities Of this Ito. When
shell from Chinese ironclad
struck the ammunition on the deck
of his flagship the Matsushima, en-
veloping the vessel in a shett of
flame. Ito calmly pursued a sheet of
using his starhoard battery to rake a
| fame-swept Chinese warship while
the fire on the port side of his own
vessel was being extinguished. And
not until the great conflict was at an
end did the admiral transfer his flag
/ to the Hashidate., sending the dis.
abled and war torn Matsushima home
| to Japan to we'll earned repairs:
| But it remained for the Boxer up
rising of 1900 to demonstrate just
how thoroly the Japanese have not
only assimilated what is best in west
ern military tactics, but also have re-
tanned the martial spirit and physical
prowess that distinguished their an
cestors, qualities which have of late
years been rendered all the more USE
full by reason of discipline and train
ing. The part played by the Japanese
in the march of the allies to the re-
lief of the beleaguered legations in
Picking will ever rebound to their
credit. z
Their gallant conduct at the cap
ture of the Taku forts will never be
forgotten. Japanese, Lieutenant
Shiraishi, was the first of the allies
to enter the forts, and his comrades
fought with the same demoniacal in
trepidity: which he displayed on that
occasion. Those little beggars are
natural born fighters was the ad-
miring comment Of an allied officer
who took part in the engagement,
and his verdict may be accepted as
the unanimous opinion Of American,
British German and Russian officers
alike. who time and again found oc-
casion to express surprise at the pluck
of the Japanese, for whom forced
| marching, hand to hand conflicts,
: sieges and night attacks were, but as
part of the ordinary routine OF; every
: day life. Mocking the military ex-
! perts who declared mindful OF the
lessons taught by the South African
| war, that in these days frontal at
> tack is suicidal, the Japanese held to
. this style of fighting and forged ahead
no matter how fast the bullets flew
or how many of them found their
- billets.
, Their disregard of death during
:, this tortuous advance at times
. amounted to mania.
l Not only are the Japanese soldiers
brave and well-disciplined, but they
y are also blessed with great agility and
2 a physical strength that one would
I not expect in such mites Of humanity
n Their strength, as may be imagined
was time and again tested during thai
S trying march in the summer. of 1900
e Their agility was at all times in .evi.
S dence, but perhaps never more sc
: than during the storming of Tientsin
n AS a war correspondent wrote at the
o. time: Perhaps the most striking fea.
, ture Of the days operations was thu
:, extraordinary +. rapidity with which
Japanese infantry can move. japanese
= infantry do not double; they run, and
what is more, they keep on running
,. We watch the infantry of all ma
!, tons here, and without doubt. thu
r Japanese are the feetest-a fact, !.
h take it, Of some military Importance