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Asami
Banned
I haven't forgotten this. I'm going to be putting all my major timelines and stories (both in and out of here) on hiatus until I feel the energy to work on them again. I really wouldn't expect much in the way of updates to any of my timelines until January, probably.
In the mean time, I'll be posting maps and Wikipedia infoboxes every so often because I can still find the motivation to make those!
In the mean time, I'll be posting maps and Wikipedia infoboxes every so often because I can still find the motivation to make those!
In a world where basically everything has gone to shit, somehow Italy comes out on top.
@Sakura_F, I just spotted this excellent TL! I started reading because I'm a sucker for Japan TLs, and then I see it includes:
PS. I love how my limited knowledge of kanji (circa 50 last time I counted, now probably closer to 60) let me read at least pieces of the chapter titles
国 and 帝 go a long way, I guess
- Puyi being restored (hell yeah!)
- China being a clusterf*ck
- no Lenin (thank you!)
- restored Romanovs and dead Rasputin (yaaay!)
- Poland a monarchy post 1918 (AAAAA!)
- Hetmanate of Ukraine (AAAAA!)
PS. I love how my limited knowledge of kanji (circa 50 last time I counted, now probably closer to 60) let me read at least pieces of the chapter titles
国 and 帝 go a long way, I guess
12. The Struggle of the Nation
Asami
Banned
十二. 国家の闘い
12. The Struggle of the Nation
In the summer of 1918, Japan's destiny lay at a crossroads. While the constitutional order had been largely entrenched thanks to the passive regency that the Emperor was under after the October 6th Incident, there was always the bubbling essence of a discontent militaristic spirit haunting the state. Crown Prince Hirohito played an interesting role in that regard. Now almost to the age of adulthood at 17, the Crown Prince was taking on more affairs of state from the Regency as his father's condition deteriorated. While he could not be sesshou [regent] as he was not at age of majority (age 20), he was given more responsibilities in the form of accompanying the Regent and/or Prime Minister on domestic trips.
Hirohito had a strong background of association with the Army, but was almost ambivalent towards their annoyance and their arguments against constitutionalism. Unlike his younger brother, Yasuhito, whom held great sympathy towards the militarists whom were antagonizing against the constitutional government, and the limitation of their ability to expand. Hirohito was in many ways like his grandfather, a very firm believer in the power of the imperial crown in matters of state, and a pragmatist in the way of not allowing military forces to gain an upper-hand in the way the state was ran. The right to govern began and ended with his words. Add in the fact that the young man was largely shaped by the struggles between the militarists, whom often resorted to violence, and the constitutionalists, whom resorted to demonstrations and publications to back themselves up, with only sporadic instances of violence.
The start of a time of struggle came in September 1918, when Hirohito was nearly assassinated by members of the 日本国民解放協会 (Nihonkokumin kaihō kyōkai; Society for the Emancipation of the Japanese Nation), a group of self-professed communists whom sought to emulate the victory of the Austrian Revolution to bring down the Japanese monarchy and establish a 'Pan-Asian communist state' bonded in fraternity. The gunman was tackled to the ground before he could get shots off at the Crown Prince. After the fact, Prime Minister Minobe used the attempt on the Crown Prince's life to further suppress radicalism--extending the policies implemented in the various 'national security' acts in 1915 and 1916, and cracking down even harder on paramilitaries and 'societies' with common ideological causes that involved violence.
Hirohito, at the face-level, remained apolitical. He was not expected to dredge deep into the shit-slinging of Japanese politics, and was advised to stay above it. However, in private, he was an ardent supporter of Prime Minister Minobe, and deeply wanted to avoid an 'imperial cult'--while he did support the principle of the Emperor's divinity, as was expected of the time, he privately stated that the Emperor's own ability to serve the nation and govern the nation was not possible if everything they did was infallible. The sentiments expressed by the Emperor were shared by his brother, Nobuhito. The Crown Prince brought the 13 year old Nobuhito into his own personal affairs, helping teach the younger boy about life as a Prince and possibly an Emperor--the attempted assassination did much to shake up the Crown Prince's fears for the future, particularly where the possibility of his radical militarist brother ascending to power and undoing the efforts to keep Japan stable and at peace with itself.
In that same summer of 1918, the Sakurakai became more than just an alliance of similar parties. The various democratic political factions brought themselves together under a single roof, forming a unified political party. The opposition to them was a political party consisting of militarists and hard-line anti-democratic conservatives, whom often called themselves the Imperial Alliance (帝国同盟, teikoku doumei); the two factions often clashed against each other with the common goal of discrediting the other. Despite a standing alliance with the Social Democratic Party (社会民主党), the Sakurakai outlawed the party, mostly as a small sop to the Imperial Alliance, and to prevent further arguing and fighting.
It was in that summer of 1918 that things went pear-shaped, at least on the short-term. Japan's intervention into Siberia against the Kolchak-Wrangel rebels to secure the Trans-Siberian Railroad had lead to the Japanese government purchasing large amounts of rice to help feed the troops in the frosty north. However, the government's mass purchase of rice caused an odd shortage, and, when combined with inflation causing general upward price movement, rice prices increased significantly going into the autumn of 1918, triggering anger across Japan. Riots erupted as people could not get some of their basic staples. With troubles at home, the Japanese began to withdraw en masse from Siberia, leaving only enough troops to do simple garrison work, and to repel White incursions from the Siberian state. Much of the garrison work was assumed by the provisional Republican Army of the Far Eastern Republic, which Japan had propped up as a client state in the Amur.
In order to satiate the growing discontent, the Korean diet and Formosan diet both approved legislative efforts to increase rice farming in their regions to help satiate the Empire-wide need for rice.
As 1919 arrived and dragged through her first months, on March 1st, 1919, demonstrations erupted in Korea against Japanese rule, as, despite the attempts by the Prime Minister to reform the rule over Korea to that of a fair one, there were still some grievances to air. Demonstrators took the public grounds in Gyeongseong to shout their declarations and anger at Japanese occupation. The Koreans had assembled to declare their freedom from Japan, and made clear their grievances.
This move to empower the Korean nationalists did not endear the Prime Minister to the militarists, whom demonstrated against the treatment of Koreans as citizens, as they weren't. They were colonials. Some academics criticized the militarist response, reminding them that their big American neighbors were once a colony of Britain--while it was unlikely for Korea to do the same, it wasn't impossible.
Prime Minister Minobe was forced to walk a fine line between accepting all the conditions of the Korean demonstrators, and denying them all. He proposed reforms in the Diet called the Korea Act of 1919, which, while not fulfilling all of the Korean nationalists' demands, did set an outline to strengthen the rule of law in Korea and give the Koreans their own breathing space. Forced labor was abolished except as a punishment for a crime (mirroring America's 13th Amendment), more power was placed in the hands of the Governor-General, whom would be answerable to certain rules and regulations as enforced by Tokyo, and taxes were lessened across Korea, with the attempt to help empower a small Korean middle class. Minobe reasoned that if the Koreans could be won over with economic opportunities, then perhaps Korean independence could be suppressed without the need for fighting.
The reforms went through narrowly, thanks to the slight Sakurakai majority in the Diet, and the Korean nationalists were temporarily assuaged. While many wanted a free and independent Korea, the lessening of the Japanese jackboot was a good first step--particularly since it did not necessitate violence and uprisings. Press restrictions and speech restrictions were lessened as the Governor-General implemented the reforms as passed by the Diet. Further land reforms were implemented, and many Koreans became first-time landowners after the Japanese furthered the immense crackdown on absentee landlordism.
In April 1919, Emperor Yoshihito died, finally succumbing to complications from the attack on the Imperial Palace nearly 4 years prior. As Emperor Taishou was moved on to his eternal resting place, Emperor Hirohito took the throne, and prepared to lead Japan on into a new era. While things were civil, the economy strong, and the nation prosperous, it became apparent that the tremors of communism, the malevolence of China, and the uncertainty of global economics would make this a trying time for the young Emperor. Japan would have to remain vigilant and prepared for anything.
Hirohito had a strong background of association with the Army, but was almost ambivalent towards their annoyance and their arguments against constitutionalism. Unlike his younger brother, Yasuhito, whom held great sympathy towards the militarists whom were antagonizing against the constitutional government, and the limitation of their ability to expand. Hirohito was in many ways like his grandfather, a very firm believer in the power of the imperial crown in matters of state, and a pragmatist in the way of not allowing military forces to gain an upper-hand in the way the state was ran. The right to govern began and ended with his words. Add in the fact that the young man was largely shaped by the struggles between the militarists, whom often resorted to violence, and the constitutionalists, whom resorted to demonstrations and publications to back themselves up, with only sporadic instances of violence.
The start of a time of struggle came in September 1918, when Hirohito was nearly assassinated by members of the 日本国民解放協会 (Nihonkokumin kaihō kyōkai; Society for the Emancipation of the Japanese Nation), a group of self-professed communists whom sought to emulate the victory of the Austrian Revolution to bring down the Japanese monarchy and establish a 'Pan-Asian communist state' bonded in fraternity. The gunman was tackled to the ground before he could get shots off at the Crown Prince. After the fact, Prime Minister Minobe used the attempt on the Crown Prince's life to further suppress radicalism--extending the policies implemented in the various 'national security' acts in 1915 and 1916, and cracking down even harder on paramilitaries and 'societies' with common ideological causes that involved violence.
Hirohito, at the face-level, remained apolitical. He was not expected to dredge deep into the shit-slinging of Japanese politics, and was advised to stay above it. However, in private, he was an ardent supporter of Prime Minister Minobe, and deeply wanted to avoid an 'imperial cult'--while he did support the principle of the Emperor's divinity, as was expected of the time, he privately stated that the Emperor's own ability to serve the nation and govern the nation was not possible if everything they did was infallible. The sentiments expressed by the Emperor were shared by his brother, Nobuhito. The Crown Prince brought the 13 year old Nobuhito into his own personal affairs, helping teach the younger boy about life as a Prince and possibly an Emperor--the attempted assassination did much to shake up the Crown Prince's fears for the future, particularly where the possibility of his radical militarist brother ascending to power and undoing the efforts to keep Japan stable and at peace with itself.
In that same summer of 1918, the Sakurakai became more than just an alliance of similar parties. The various democratic political factions brought themselves together under a single roof, forming a unified political party. The opposition to them was a political party consisting of militarists and hard-line anti-democratic conservatives, whom often called themselves the Imperial Alliance (帝国同盟, teikoku doumei); the two factions often clashed against each other with the common goal of discrediting the other. Despite a standing alliance with the Social Democratic Party (社会民主党), the Sakurakai outlawed the party, mostly as a small sop to the Imperial Alliance, and to prevent further arguing and fighting.
It was in that summer of 1918 that things went pear-shaped, at least on the short-term. Japan's intervention into Siberia against the Kolchak-Wrangel rebels to secure the Trans-Siberian Railroad had lead to the Japanese government purchasing large amounts of rice to help feed the troops in the frosty north. However, the government's mass purchase of rice caused an odd shortage, and, when combined with inflation causing general upward price movement, rice prices increased significantly going into the autumn of 1918, triggering anger across Japan. Riots erupted as people could not get some of their basic staples. With troubles at home, the Japanese began to withdraw en masse from Siberia, leaving only enough troops to do simple garrison work, and to repel White incursions from the Siberian state. Much of the garrison work was assumed by the provisional Republican Army of the Far Eastern Republic, which Japan had propped up as a client state in the Amur.
In order to satiate the growing discontent, the Korean diet and Formosan diet both approved legislative efforts to increase rice farming in their regions to help satiate the Empire-wide need for rice.
As 1919 arrived and dragged through her first months, on March 1st, 1919, demonstrations erupted in Korea against Japanese rule, as, despite the attempts by the Prime Minister to reform the rule over Korea to that of a fair one, there were still some grievances to air. Demonstrators took the public grounds in Gyeongseong to shout their declarations and anger at Japanese occupation. The Koreans had assembled to declare their freedom from Japan, and made clear their grievances.
- The belief that the government would discriminate when employing Koreans versus Japanese people; they claimed that no Koreans held important positions in the government.
- The existence of a disparity in education being offered to Korean and Japanese people.
- The Japanese despised and mistreated Koreans in general.
- Political officials, both Korean and Japanese, were arrogant.
- There was no special treatment for the upper class or scholars.
- The administrative processes were too complicated and laws were being made too frequently for the general public to follow.
- There was too much forced labor that was not desired by the public.
- Taxes were too heavy and the Korean people were paying more than before, while getting the same amount of services.
- Land continued to be confiscated by the Japanese people for personal reasons.
- Korean village teachers were being forced out of their jobs because the Japanese people were trying to suppress their heritage and teachings.
- The development of Korea had been for the benefit for the Japanese. They argued that while Koreans were working towards development, they did not reap the benefits of their own work.
This move to empower the Korean nationalists did not endear the Prime Minister to the militarists, whom demonstrated against the treatment of Koreans as citizens, as they weren't. They were colonials. Some academics criticized the militarist response, reminding them that their big American neighbors were once a colony of Britain--while it was unlikely for Korea to do the same, it wasn't impossible.
Prime Minister Minobe was forced to walk a fine line between accepting all the conditions of the Korean demonstrators, and denying them all. He proposed reforms in the Diet called the Korea Act of 1919, which, while not fulfilling all of the Korean nationalists' demands, did set an outline to strengthen the rule of law in Korea and give the Koreans their own breathing space. Forced labor was abolished except as a punishment for a crime (mirroring America's 13th Amendment), more power was placed in the hands of the Governor-General, whom would be answerable to certain rules and regulations as enforced by Tokyo, and taxes were lessened across Korea, with the attempt to help empower a small Korean middle class. Minobe reasoned that if the Koreans could be won over with economic opportunities, then perhaps Korean independence could be suppressed without the need for fighting.
The reforms went through narrowly, thanks to the slight Sakurakai majority in the Diet, and the Korean nationalists were temporarily assuaged. While many wanted a free and independent Korea, the lessening of the Japanese jackboot was a good first step--particularly since it did not necessitate violence and uprisings. Press restrictions and speech restrictions were lessened as the Governor-General implemented the reforms as passed by the Diet. Further land reforms were implemented, and many Koreans became first-time landowners after the Japanese furthered the immense crackdown on absentee landlordism.
In April 1919, Emperor Yoshihito died, finally succumbing to complications from the attack on the Imperial Palace nearly 4 years prior. As Emperor Taishou was moved on to his eternal resting place, Emperor Hirohito took the throne, and prepared to lead Japan on into a new era. While things were civil, the economy strong, and the nation prosperous, it became apparent that the tremors of communism, the malevolence of China, and the uncertainty of global economics would make this a trying time for the young Emperor. Japan would have to remain vigilant and prepared for anything.
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13. Prefecture Reforms
Asami
Banned
Gotō Shinpei, Mayor of Tokyo (1917-1918); architect of the Prefectural Reform of 1918
Gotō would later serve as the First Governor of Tokyo (1918-1924).
十三. 県改革
13. Prefecture Reforms
One of the first standing actions of the new Shōwa era, was the Prefectural Reform of 1918. While Japan's prefectural system had largely been unchanged since the later Meiji era, there were some reforms that many thought necessary to facilitate a stronger Imperial system. This came in the form of manipulation of municipal administrations, and the consolidation of the colonial prefectures into actual administrative provinces that would lead to the ability to include them into the Imperial state.
The reform had a few focuses:
Tokyo City, as it existed, was abolished, and was merged with the Tokyo Prefecture. The newly merged prefecture was replaced by a special prefecture of itself, covering the former municipality of Tokyo, and extending into the nearby countryside as a 'framework' for expanding the capital city; called 'Tokyo Metropolis'. Within the prefecture, there would exist 23 special wards (特別区; tokubetsu-ku), which were the core of the original city, such as Nerima, Akihabara, Minato, Shibuya, et al; and the 'outer wards' which consisted of smaller villages and communities close enough to Tokyo to make up a working population in the city, but far enough away to not warrant their inclusion in the special wards. The establishment of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (東京都庁; Tōkyōto-chō) marked an extension of the powers of the constitutional democracy, as it was a fully democratic government that would run the Tokyo Prefecture.
Osaka, as well, was restructured in a similar way, with the original core city consolidated into tokubetsu-ku, and the outlying villages consolidated into smaller wards and townships, with one central Metropolitan government serving as the head of it. The concept was to ensure the proper governance of the major cities in Japan. This opened the door of interest to extend similar policies to smaller cities in Korea and Taiwan, as well as the Kwantung Leased Territory--all of which were of interest to expand the prefecture power of the democratic state against militarism.
The colonial prefectures, in Korea and Formosa, were overhauled to strengthen the ability to effectively administrate. While the lessening of Japanese authoritarianism in Korea and Formosa had improved relations between their colonies and the master, the prefecture reforms were an attempt to create proper administrative zones so that 'uplifting' and 'civilizing' could be done in a proper manner without the need for archaic bureaucratic measures; prior to the reforms, Korea was governed by the thirteen provinces of the Korean Empire, as it had existed before the annexation of 1910. The new reforms redrew the borders, and, after the fact, there were 20 provinces in Korea, allowing for closer administration of the outremer.
The 1918 reforms are considered as to having a net positive effect in the governance of the Japanese Empire, and helped strengthen the early Shōwa era.
The reform had a few focuses:
Tokyo City, as it existed, was abolished, and was merged with the Tokyo Prefecture. The newly merged prefecture was replaced by a special prefecture of itself, covering the former municipality of Tokyo, and extending into the nearby countryside as a 'framework' for expanding the capital city; called 'Tokyo Metropolis'. Within the prefecture, there would exist 23 special wards (特別区; tokubetsu-ku), which were the core of the original city, such as Nerima, Akihabara, Minato, Shibuya, et al; and the 'outer wards' which consisted of smaller villages and communities close enough to Tokyo to make up a working population in the city, but far enough away to not warrant their inclusion in the special wards. The establishment of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (東京都庁; Tōkyōto-chō) marked an extension of the powers of the constitutional democracy, as it was a fully democratic government that would run the Tokyo Prefecture.
Osaka, as well, was restructured in a similar way, with the original core city consolidated into tokubetsu-ku, and the outlying villages consolidated into smaller wards and townships, with one central Metropolitan government serving as the head of it. The concept was to ensure the proper governance of the major cities in Japan. This opened the door of interest to extend similar policies to smaller cities in Korea and Taiwan, as well as the Kwantung Leased Territory--all of which were of interest to expand the prefecture power of the democratic state against militarism.
The colonial prefectures, in Korea and Formosa, were overhauled to strengthen the ability to effectively administrate. While the lessening of Japanese authoritarianism in Korea and Formosa had improved relations between their colonies and the master, the prefecture reforms were an attempt to create proper administrative zones so that 'uplifting' and 'civilizing' could be done in a proper manner without the need for archaic bureaucratic measures; prior to the reforms, Korea was governed by the thirteen provinces of the Korean Empire, as it had existed before the annexation of 1910. The new reforms redrew the borders, and, after the fact, there were 20 provinces in Korea, allowing for closer administration of the outremer.
The 1918 reforms are considered as to having a net positive effect in the governance of the Japanese Empire, and helped strengthen the early Shōwa era.
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