Episode 36 – The Great War

We’re back for the start of 2014, and to kick the year off right we’re looking at this year’s most significant anniversary: 1914. We’ll be talking about the effects of World War I in Japan, and the ways in which it marked a turning point for Japanese policies in Asia.

Listen to the episode here.

Sources

Drea, Edward. Japan’s Imperial Army: Its Rise and Fall, 1853-1945.

Humphreys, Leonard. The Way of the Heavenly Sword: The Imperial Japanese Army in the 1920s.

Jansen, Marius. The Making of Modern Japan.

Pyle, Kenneth. The Making of Modern Japan.

Images (Courtesy of the Wikimedia Foundation)

Japanese marines coming ashore during their assault on Tsingtao, a German-held territory in China.
Japanese marines coming ashore during their assault on Tsingtao, a German-held territory in China.
A lithograph depicting the occupation of Blagoveshchensk by the Imperial Army during the Siberian Intervention.
A lithograph depicting the occupation of Blagoveshchensk by the Imperial Army during the Siberian Intervention.
A Japanese propaganda poster from the Siberian intervention. The caption reads: "Our air, naval, and land forces close in, mopping up the enemies of the White Army."
A Japanese propaganda poster from the Siberian intervention. The caption reads: “Our air, naval, and land forces close in, mopping up the enemies of the White Army.”
A soldier from the White Army.
A soldier from the White Army.
The May 4th protesters in Beijing, marching through Tiananmen Square. Incidentally, 70 years later another group of Chinese students would choose May 4th, 1989 as a date to begin protests against their own government in the name of democracy.
The May 4th protesters in Beijing, marching through Tiananmen Square. Incidentally, 70 years later another group of Chinese students would choose May 4th, 1989 as a date to begin protests against their own government in the name of democracy.
Chinese students from Tsinghua burn Japanese goods during the May 4th Movement.
Chinese students from Tsinghua burn Japanese goods during the May 4th Movement.
Hara Kei (sometimes referred to as Hara Takashi), protege of Ito Hirobumi and one of the members of the second generation of Japanese leadership.
Hara Kei (sometimes referred to as Hara Takashi), protege of Ito Hirobumi and one of the members of the second generation of Japanese leadership.
Katsura Taro, protege of Yamagata Aritomo and another member of the second generation of Japanese leaders.
Katsura Taro, protege of Yamagata Aritomo and another member of the second generation of Japanese leaders.
Terauchi Masatake, the Prime Minister who ordered Japanese intervention in Siberia.
Terauchi Masatake, the Prime Minister who ordered Japanese intervention in Siberia.