History of Japan: A Captivating Guide to Japanese History, Including Events Such as the Genpei War, Mongol Invasions, Battle of Tsushima, and Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Captivating History

Author:Captivating History [History, Captivating]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7 – Foreign Relations

Ganghwa Incident

Japan wanted to open up relations with Korea, so they sent a letter to the king in 1868; however, they used the incorrect Chinese characters to talk about the Japanese emperor. At the time, only the Chinese emperor was allowed to use those symbols, and Japan using them made it seem like they were claiming their emperor was equal to China’s. The Chinese suggested the Koreans accept the letter regardless, knowing the power Japan now held, but the old school Koreans refused to do so, and tensions grew.

In September 1875, the Meiji administration sent over the Un’yo, a gunboat, to Korea. The crew stopped on Ganghwa Island, asking for water and provisions. Suddenly, the Korean gun batteries opened fire on them, and Japan responded with volleys of loud gunfire on their fort. The Japanese soldiers landed, and a skirmish broke out. Because the Korean weaponry was outdated, the Japanese were able to kill 35 of them. Once the causes behind the incident were straightened out, the Joseon dynasty in Korea quickly drew up a proposed treaty, as they could see the superiority of the Japanese equipment and its forces. The Treaty of Ganghwa was signed in late February 1876, and it contained an apology, just as the Japanese had requested. The treaty opened up Korea to Japanese trade.

The Satsuma Rebellion

The most traumatic result of the abolition of the feudal system was the automatic loss of jobs for the samurai. Suddenly, they were robbed of a lifestyle they had had for the majority of their lives, and the short-sighted new government did a poor job of creating new employment opportunities for them.

In 1876, an activist named Saigo Takamori, a former samurai, concocted a scheme to trigger a war with Korea, thus creating a need for Japan to keep its samurai. Saigo was so committed to this cause that he decided to scapegoat himself by getting the Koreans to kill him. He did this by resurrecting an argument over a protocol faux-pas that occurred during the Ganghwa Incident. However, the imperial government discovered the conspiracy and prevented it from happening.

After that, Saigo built paramilitary academies full of highly motivated students. The Meiji government was concerned about Saigo’s popularity and his following, so they had weapons removed from a local arsenal to prevent a raid. The students retaliated by removing weapons from a different arsenal, and sporadic skirmishes resulted. Saigo was astonished by the fervor of his following, and encouraged by this fact, he led a rebellion against the central government.

In 1877, his forces set siege upon Kumamoto Castle in Japan. When no significant headway was made by the rebels, more ex-samurai joined the ranks, and the Saigo supporters grew to be around 25,000 men. Under the leadership of Lieutenant General Tani Tateki, the imperial army, which numbered close to 100,000 (a vast difference between Saigo’s forces, but Saigo had much more experienced men in his ranks), held off Saigo’s warriors. When more imperial forces arrived, Saigo’s supporters were forced to retreat.

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