Armies of The World~Japan

From the time of the samurai, Japan was once known as a formidable fighting force as it came out from isolation and defeated 2 huge empires. In this page, we will go over some of the wars Japan has participated in.

## Yoritomo's time

By 1180, a Japanese warlord named Yoritomo Minamoto with his group of hired soldiers (the Samurai) came a challenged another strong Japanese clan; the Taira. Minamoto's army would be locked in a conflict against the Taira for around 4 years, in the end the Minamoto clan would win, and by 1190, Minamoto would become Japan's first Shogun and he would also raise the status of the Samurai from being mercenaries, to Japan's ruling class.

## Mongol Invasion of Japan

The 13th century was the first time Japan would face against a foreign power, by 1274 the Mongols (who already conquered most of Asia by this point) had their eyes set on Japan. They would get as far as some of the small islands on the way to Japan (like the island of Tsushima), but the Mongols' efforts would be in vain as their ships would be destroyed by a Typhoon, and the Mongols would have to retreat but would try again in 1281, but again their ships would be destroyed in a Typhoon, and the invasion force was put off indefinitely. Japan was spared from the wrath of the Mongols.

## Onin War

After some other small wars, Japan would be at peace. But by 1467 with the declining Ashikaga Shogunate under threat of 2 samurai clans; the Hosokawa and the Yamana vying for control. This would boil over into a long nationwide conflict called the Onin War, this war would last for 10 years, but this would also ignite a long smoldering fuse that will se Japan divided and vying for the title of Shogun.

## Sengoku Jidai

By the late 15th century, Japan was in a state of war which would be called the Sengoku Jidai (Japan's warring period), this state of war would defy an age in Japan where the Samurai (and the Ninja) would see their Apex rise. In the end, it would be a warlord (Daimyo) named Ieyasu Tokugawa that would end the period of war and establish his own Shogunate, but the period wouldn't officially end until the Siege of Osaka Castle in 1615 where the Shogunate army would defeat what remains of the Toyotomi army.

## Shimabara Rebellion

Even after the Sengoku Jidai had ended, there would be more challenges to the Tokugawa Shogunate, namely the Japanese Christians that lived in the western part of the nation, with drought strickening the region and rice farmers not keeping up on paying rice, the Christian farmers decide to rebel against the Shogun's rule in 1637. The Shogun army sent whoever they had to the Shimabara peninsula on the island of Kyushu and have been at war with the rebels for about several months until the rebels' food supply ran out, then the Shogun army sieged the local castle and killed everybody inside. This would begin Japan's period of isolationism.

## Boshin War

After nearly 2 centuries of isolationism, foreign ships would eventually land in Japan by 1853, this would end Japan's period of isolationism and open the country for trade with the United States, Great Britain, France, and Russia. But several Samurai clans like the Choshu and the Satsuma weren't happy with foreigners being in their land and the nation modernizing, they set off to try to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate. In 1868, they invade Japanese cities such as Kyoto and Edo (modern day Tokyo), in just a month of fighting in Edo, the last Tokugawa Shogun (Yoshinobu) abdicated the throne, and with no successor the Tokugawa Shogunate ends, by the summer of 1869 the Emperor Meiji defeated the Shogunate who retreated to Hokkaido.

## Satsuma Rebellion

Around a decade after the Boshin War, a Satsuma Samurai named Takamori Saigo staged a coup against the newly created Japanese Empire. The new Imperial Army were sent to Kyushu to quell this new rebellion. The fighting would go on for several months, but the Imperial Army would defeat the rebelling Satsuma, but this conflict would cause immense casualties on both sides.

## First Sino-Japanese War

By the 1890s, issues that Japan had with the Qing Dynasty (modern day China) like controlling Korea and other issues have begun to mount, and in 1894 it escalated into war. The conflict would go on for at least 8 months. The Japanese would win and not just gain the Korean Peninsula (putting it under Japanese military occupation) they would also get the island of Taiwan and Penghu. It would be 10 months before Japan fights in another war.

## Russo-Japanese War

As Japan controls the Korean Peninsula, this threw a Monkey Wrench into Russia's plans to build a railroad in the region. This would develop tensions between the 2 nations, but Russia didn't really see Japan as a threat because Russia has the largest army in the world despite that Russia bolstering their defenses around their railroad. In 1904 the Japanese would invade the Russian town of Port Arthur and the Russians would rush in and defend the port. The war would go on for around a year and a half, and despite Russia having the larger army, the Japanese would win once again and fully annex Korea.

## World War 1

As World War 1 began, Japan didn't immediately declare war on Germany until they wanted some things that belonged to Germany, like Tsingtao and the islands of Micronesia. They messaged Britain to let them know that they were going to take them, Britain agrees but in exchange for this Japan also must bring troops to the Western Front in Europe to help break the stalemate. Japan invaded Tsingtao and then the Micronesia islands, once the war was over, Japan was allowed to keep whatever they invaded.

## Second Sino-Japanese War

By 1931, an incident involving a Japanese train in the Chinese province Manchuria was an excuse Japan needed to once again to go to war with China, they invade Manchuria and turn it into another Japanese province. Around 6 years later, an incident at the Marco Polo bridge was another excuse the Japanese needed to invade the rest of China. The Japanese army kidnaps the leader of the Chinese Nationalist army Chiang Kai-Shek thus putting the Chinese Civil War on hold. The 2 Chinese factions agreed to join forces to stop the Japanese. The war would go on for 4 years until the Japanese decide to attack the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. Thus the Second Sino-Japanese War would be absorbed into another more bigger conflict.

## World War 2

As the United States declares war on the Axis Powers (which Japan is a part of) it's response to Pearl Harbor was slow and coming, eventually the United States would order bombing raids on Tokyo which didn't do much damage. Once Japan reached a small island called Midway (which had an American military base) they decide to bomb it into submission and bring them closer to the US, but the US was ready and heading for Midway and once they got there the battle for the island began. Over the course of 3 days, the Japanese would lose a great deal of their navy as well as their fighter planes called Zero. For the duration of the war, Japan would be fighting a losing battle against the United States as the US was getting closer to Japanese territory as well as the islands they occupy, and when the US began their island hopping campaign, the Japanese would use more suicide tactics to try to deter the American army, though it would create mass casualties, but it was all for naught as the US was inching closer to Japan, then the bombing raids came as Japanese cities (including Tokyo) was fire bombed. But by 1945, the Americans would deliver the knock out punch; an Atomic Bomb, after they were dropped as well as a surprise Soviet invasion of Manchuria, the Japanese had no other choice but to surrender, ending the war.

Contrary to popular belief, the United States did \*NOT\* dismantle the Japanese military. In fact, the US wanted to rebuild Japan's military from the ground up after the war so the US can have another ally in the upcoming Cold War and to help deter the communists in the Soviet Union and eventually China. Japan was humiliated so much from their defeat in World War 2, it decided to dismantle its military. It wouldn't be until around 1953 when American occupation ended where Japan would rebuild it's military, but so not to be a military aggressor, Japan's Self Defense Force was formed and aided the US military during the Korean War. Though Japan hasn't been a part of any war since then, it is still seen as a western ally eventhough Japan is not a part of NATO. Though some people are now beginning to question on how important the JSDF is, only time will tell if Japan is in need again.

That'll do it for this page, don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis too. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.