A Rapidly Rising Sun

This is my first TL so please have mercy if there are faults :eek:.

Chapter One: The Japanese-Korean War


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Saigō Takamori

In late October 1873, an assassin snuck into the modest apartment of the samurai Saigō Takamori in Pusan, Korea. The assassin attempted to stab the Japanese envoy to death in his sleep, but Saigō awoke before such an operation could take place and cut the imposter down with his katana. Saigō Takamori was one of the leading politicians of Japan’s new Meiji regime and had been sent by the government to Korea, purportedly to establish diplomatic relations with the kingdom. The Japanese proposals for co-operation were turned down, but this was expected, and it was not the true purpose of Saigō’s delegation. In fact, an attempted assassination attempt on Saigō Takamori was supposed to happen. The Japanese could use the incident as a casus belli against the Koreans for the future Japanese-Korean War. Things had worked out perfectly. Not only had Saigō Takamori been targeted by an assassin, but he had also survived the attempt on his life. That outcome had never been assured.


There were three main reasons why the Japanese government, or at least a significant part of it, sought war with Korea. Firstly, there was still an issue of unity in the country. Although the samurai era domains, or han, had officially been abolished and replaced with prefectures 2 years ago, domain rivalries and other forms of regionalism were nevertheless flourishing. A war could encourage patriotism and force the Japanese to unite under the Imperial flag in order to defeat the foreigners. Secondly, the obsolete samurai class, which represented around 5% of the population had nothing to do and were on the verge of open rebellion. Fighting as soldiers of Japan could occupy them and increase their loyalty to the new establishment. Thirdly and finally, a war with Korea could aid the country’s modernization. In the words of Kido Takayoshi, a fervent advocate of the war:

“We shall make advances in developing all sorts of practical skills and technology [through the war with Korea.]”

The Meiji government’s goal of war with Korea was quickly achieved. The Emperor immediately recalled Saigō Takamori from Korea and after some hasty preparations, Japan declared war on Korea on the 20th of November 1873.

The start of the war provoked mixed reactions across the world. The Americans and British found the event rather rude of Japan but dismissed the possibility of a true imperialist rival in the Asian nation and instead saw only the profits that could be made from helping to modernize and advise the Japanese armed forces. The French were generally positive towards the war because of the murder of French missionaries in Korea back in 1866. The Chinese were appalled at the attack on their ally but conflict with the Europeans prevented them from intervening. The Koreans themselves were outraged but hopeful they could withstand the Japanese, knowing of Japan’s instability.

Notes

In our timeline, Saigō Takamori was prematurely recalled from Korea because Iwakura Tomomi, because the absent Meiji leadership with the Iwakura Mission opposed the war. However, in this timeline the Iwakura Mission grudgingly agreed to the war.
 
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girld22

Banned
Hej interesting story, interesting tl keep up the good working looking forward to reading it.

but Please make the fonts bigger to read
 
The Invasion of Korea

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Joseon Korea
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The Imperial Army before the Korean affair was less than 33,000 men strong because of a lack of finances. However, numerous Chōshū, Satsuma, Saga and Tosa samurai were recruited and limited conscription, having been introduced earlier in 1873, boosted the army’s numbers to roughly 80,000. This force was equipped with modern weaponry and trained in modern methods. Before November 20, the official beginning of the war, Imperial troops were amassed on Tsushima Island, the traditional gateway of Japan from Korea. The Imperial Army was led by Saigō Takamori and Yamagata Aritomo, who was known to have his misgivings about the war. He believed that the westerners could utilise Japan’s aggression towards Korea to further infringe on Japan’s freedom. However, he willingly directed the military alongside his more enthusiastic colleague, knowing that the war could not be prevented anymore.

The troops stationed at Tsushima were shipped over to Korea almost immediately after the declaration of war. Transport ships accompanied by gunboats and the Imperial ironclad flagship Ryūjō crossed the narrow strip of sea between Tsushima Island and Korea and captured the port of Pusan. Korean coastal artillery only managed to inflict minor damage on the Japanese gunboat Un’yō before it was neutralized and the few Korean vessels present were outmatched and surrendered. The city and its surroundings were fully pacified by November 22. The Korean defences were simply too outdated to combat the Japanese military.

News of the resounding success in Pusan spread around Japan like wildfire. The public at the time was fiercely anti-Korean because of the country’s refusal to recognize the Empire of Japan and thereby the Emperor. Upon hearing of the victory, they celebrated tremendously. As was envisioned by advocates of the war, regional rivalries were at least temporarily forgotten as patriotism blazed. Legions of previously reluctant unemployed samurai from all across the nation flocked to join the army but the government was forced to restrict the recruitment in order to save resources. However, the war was by no means won.

Over the following weeks, Japanese forces pushed deep into Korea from Pusan. They scored overwhelming victories against the archaic Korean army, equipped with spears and muskets. However, militias and guerrillas such as those of the Donghak movement bolstered the ranks of Japan’s opposition and the war became increasingly bloody. By the end of December, the Japanese were on the icy winter hills overlooking Hanseong (Seoul), but hundreds of Japanese soldiers had died. The number of Korean deaths was far greater, but estimates vary.

The Japanese army advanced on the capital at dawn December 31, entering through the “South Gate” of the city, steamrolling through the streets towards the Gyeongbok Palace. The fiercest battle took place at Gwanghwamun Gate, where the Japanese forces crushed surviving elements of the regular Korean army and the palace guard. Saigō Takamori personally led the troops which captured the royal residence, where the regent Queen Min and her husband King Kojong were imprisoned.

Even though the northern provinces of Korea were still at odds with the Japanese and anti-Japanese guerrillas were causing havoc everywhere, Saigō Takamori forced King Kojong to recognize Japanese rule over Korea. Although some Japanese, notably Yamagata Aritomo, proposed making a treaty, this was not done on the basis that Korea was an “uncivilized” country and therefore did not require such formalities.

Meanwhile, Japanese troops went on “pacification” campaigns across the country, quenching revolts, peasant movements and loyalist Korean military. By February 1 1874, the entire country was under Japanese control and Korea was officially annexed. A governor-general was appointed and ten generals were stationed in the first colony of the Empire of Japan. Japan had done the unthinkable. An “uncivilized”, Asian country had established a colony, and a large one at that. The rapidly rising sun in the East inspired admiration, disbelief and wariness in the West.
 
While an interesting idea (and certainly to be followed with interest) I'm having some doubts about the PoD ... true, Iwakura Tomori most likely wasn't against a war with Korea at any point, but he was very concerned about the timing, since he feared that a war to early would cost to much in either lack of defensive ability, or lacking offensive power ...

I'd might suggest merely stalling the Iwakura mission somewhere till Saigou have pushed his plan (with the support from the oligarchs staying home) before Iwakura gets home and point out his reason for disagreeing.

While "The Last Samurai" is hilariously unhistorical other than the core basis, it did get the truth that the Japanese army wasn't a force to be considered before it got drilled extensively, as for the vast majority it was a conscripted force that hardly knew which end of the gun should point where, and officers that didn't know how to tactically handle such a force
 
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While "The Last Samurai" is hilariously unhistorical other than the core basis, it did get the truth that the Japanese army wasn't a force to be considered before it got drilled extensively, as for the vast majority it was a conscripted force that hardly knew which end of the gun should point where, and officers that didn't know how to tactically handle such a force
True, but at the time of the Satsuma Rebellion a much larger percentage of the army was composed of peasant conscription than here. Conscription was only introduced in 1873, the same year in this TL that Korea was invaded. It was not fully implemented. The army here would have been smaller but also better trained, whether at the barracks or privately at the private schools set up by patriotic scholars.

EDIT: Schools not universities of course.
 
How did Japan keep China from getting involved? Korea was still at least nominally a Chinese vassal at this time; in OTL, Japan didn't force China to give up its claim to Korea until 1895. Is Japan ready to take on Korea and China? It was certainly able to beat China in the 1890s, but its advantages might not be so great in 1873.
 
How did Japan keep China from getting involved? Korea was still at least nominally a Chinese vassal at this time; in OTL, Japan didn't force China to give up its claim to Korea until 1895. Is Japan ready to take on Korea and China? It was certainly able to beat China in the 1890s, but its advantages might not be so great in 1873.
China was, around the same time, subjected to an Anglo-French expedition in revenge for the Tianjin Massacre of 1870. They weren't really in a position to interfere. Especially considering that the Imperial Japanese Army still had French advisors in its ranks and there were British ones in the navy.
 
The Sendai Rebellion

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Date Clan Emblem


The conquest of Korea may have created national confidence and international respect for Japan but it was also a very costly business. In the end, the government resorted to temporarily suspending ex-samurai pensions, something which had consumed a third of the government’s income and could no longer be maintained after the Korean affair. Many unemployed ex-samurai were subsequently hurdled into poverty and unrest sprung up in the obsolete class. The effects of this were especially felt in the former domain of the north, Sendai. The Tōhoku region had been largely ignored when it came to recruitment for the Japanese-Korean War. The southerner-dominated military of the new Japan naturally preferred to hire from areas which had fought with them in the Boshin War while most of the northern domains had fought for the Tokugawa, including Sendai. Sendai now had a large population of poor ex-samurai who had to pay for a war they did not participate in. In September 1874, the simmering discontent spawned a full-blown rebellion. Former samurai drew their old swords and wreaked havoc in the streets of Sendai.

The rebels were led by the young Date Muneatsu, the last Imperial Governor of the Sendai Domain before the prefectural system was introduced. Member of the powerful Date clan which had ruled the Sendai Domain for centuries before it was taken away from them in 1871 by the new government, Date Muneatsu had many reasons to be angry. The withdrawal of ex-samurai pensions was the final straw. Date enthusiastically led over a two thousand samurai to the old Date castle in Sendai city were they established a base and conducted raids against governmental officials and people from the south.

Itō Hirobumi, Lord of Home Affairs, was tasked to crush the rebellion. Because of the occupation of Korea, the army only provided him with around two thousand soldiers, most of whom were inexperienced peasant conscripts. As such, Itō was forced to extract extra manpower from the police forces and patriotic volunteers, creating a rather disorganized military-police-militia mix.

The first confrontation was a major defeat for Itō. Screaming samurai overwhelmed Imperial lines at the Battle of Masuda in 19 September 1874 and around a hundred men were killed. However, over the course of the month the numerical advantage of the Imperial forces begun to show and the Sendai samurai were gradually grinded down physically and psychologically. In September 29, Date Muneatsu was killed, brutally beaten to death by the crazed, overtaxed police forces. This was a major turning point. By early November, the Sendai Rebellion was all but destroyed. The bloody struggle which left over 400 dead deterred any further rebellions concerning ex-samurai pensions.
 
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