Questions tagged [japan]
An island country in the western Pacific, located east of the Asian mainland.
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How did Japan do private era name and regnal name prior to Taika?
How did Japanese private era names (shinengo, 私年号/私年號) and regnal names (non era name systems) work before the nengo system? I know starting with Taika they had public era names (公年号/公年號) created by ...
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Were U.S. ships attacked in Tokyo Bay?
I remember my father, who was there, telling me that around the time of the Japanese surrender at the close of WW2 there were night-time attacks by anti-surrender imperialists on several U.S. ships in ...
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What percentage of Himeji castle keep remains original...?
Recently I've visited the castle in Matsue, acknowledged as one of twelve remaining Japanese castles with their original keep preserved. There I've learnt that during the Shōwa period it went through ...
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Why was the US so pro-China and so anti-Japan before WW2?
There is little doubt that the US embargoes on Japan pushed an already aggressive Japan towards Pearl Harbor. Japanese Navy doctrine had already been contemplating a conflict with the US and this ...
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How did Japan do era names prior to the reign of Meiji?
How did Japanese era names work before the Issei ichigen system? I know starting with Meiji they had Eras defined by the ruler (Meiji, Taisho, Showa, Heisei, Reiwa), but before that it was more ...
CommunityBot
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Which event happened first: Meiji Restoration or Boshin War?
I don't know if first, power was returned to the Emperor and a series of reforms were made to modernize Japan, both things referred to as the Meiji Restoration, and that led to the Boshin War, or if ...
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Was there a Japanese Exchange, à la Columbian Exchange?
After the European (re-)discovery of the Americas, there was a widespread transfer of animals, plants, culture, human populations, communicable diseases, technology and ideas between the Americas and ...
MCW♦
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How would one refer to/address a Shogun?
In the Bakumatsu era, how would one refer to a shogun (when talking about him with someone else) or address him directly if talking to him? Is it just name + -sama suffix?
I am interest in the answer ...
MCW♦
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In the siege of Osaka, how long did Osaka Castle burn?
I've heard that Osaka castle was burned, and I was curious: How long would it take for a structure like this to burn down? I haven't been able to find any records that say how long Osaka Castle ...
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What is the exact reign years for Japanese Emperor Keiko, Emperor Seimu, Emperor Chuai, Empress Jingu and Emperor Nintoku?
According to Wikipedia, although starting with Emperor Sujin, they are with a direct possibility of existence, they still presumed legendary until Empress Jingu. However, Kofun Culture (http://www.t-...
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Did a Japanese medieval castle withstand US battleship fire during the Pacific War?
I have overheard the story from an US soldier that during the Pacific War the Japanese mounted a defense in an old medieval castle. The Americans asked for support from a battleship. The battleship ...
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Rape perpetrated by American soldiers during WWII?
A while back I had a disturbing encounter with someone related to a Jewish survivor from the Auschwitz death camp. This survivor apparently claims that not only Red Army soldiers, but also G.I.'s ...
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Could the Japanese garrison at Rabaul have fed itself if it had been spread out over New Britain Island instead of being concentrated at Rabaul?
Early in 1942, Japan seized the fine port at Rabaul on New Britain Island. They later concentrated around 100,000 men at Rabaul, many of whom starved after the Allies encircled and blockaded the base ...
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Were kamikaze pilots an effective strategy for Japan?
history.howstuffworks.com claims kamikaze pilots were not overly effective. Wikipedia states that there was no noticeable increase in number of ships lost even as kamikaze pilots became more common, ...
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Why wasn’t Japan colonized by the European empires?
Why wasn’t Japan colonized by the European empires?
That is a question that I have some doubts, European countries like Portugal had already been there, but they never colonized that land.
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Were there concrete plans, 40-41, for Japan to attack Singapore/Indonesia, while avoiding a fight with the US?
(I am writing this from memory, so please forgive inaccuracies in my citations.)
In Shattered Sword I found this mention-in-passing that roughly said:
"While not thinking that a war with the US ...
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Why does Japan celebrate the Gregorian New Year but China still celebrates Chinese New Year?
Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan used the Chinese calendar and celebrated Chinese New Year just as China did.
Nowadays, both Japan and China have adopted the Western calendar. However, Japan ...
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Where can I find Japanese oil production figures through WWII?
I am searching for scientific or statistical sources for data on petroleum production in Japan from 1920 till 1945. I had found some statistics in League of Nations Statistical Bulletins, but there is ...
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Is the sword stance in Like a Dragon: Ishin where swordsmen place their palm flat against the hilt a style of Tennen Rishin-ryū? [closed]
In the video game Like A Dragon: Ishin, a major plot point is finding information about the Tennen Rishin style practiced by members of the Shinsengumi during the Bakumatsu period (1853-1867) in Japan....
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Where did the so-called "Japanese Skulls" end up?
I have read that there was a disturbingly common practice of American soldiers in the Pacific theater of WWII to take the skulls of dead Japanese soldiers as trophies to take home, give to girlfriends,...
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Were the alleged CIA attempts to set up an economic spy ring in Japan in the 1980s disclosed in the Japanese press at the time?
According Brad Williams' book Japanese Foreign Intelligence, which also has a chapter (#2) on CIA's activities in spying on Japan, the CIA tried their hand at economic & tech spying on Japan in ...
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Why didn't Japan excise Chinese characters from the Japanese language, when Japan hated China so much?
Can anyone source the history book, written in English that claimed that Japan tried to excise Chinese characters (kanji) from Japanese? Particularly in WW2, at Japan's worst of anti-Chinese hatred ...
CommunityBot
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How did Heian Era Japanese Clans work? (esp. Taira vs. Minamoto)
Wikipedia tells me that certain children of emperors were demoted (removed from the royal lineage) and assigned to Taira as well as Minamoto "clans" during the Heian period.
How did this work?
Was ...
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Had anyone envisioned a "wipeout" scenario for Japan in the Pacific for World War II? [closed]
By "anyone," I mean experts such as military or political leaders contemporaneously, or professional historians in retrospect.
By "wipeout," I mean a scenario in which Japan sinks ...
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How possible was it for Japan to convert her naval aircraft to land uses?
Some years ago, I created a World War II computer game in which I obtained interesting results by having Japan use her naval aviation (the planes that fought at Coral Sea, Midway, and elsewhere in the ...
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Is the Tokai Maru the ship that rescued many refugees from the 'Smyrna catastrophe' in 1922 or is it named Tokei Maru instead?
I found this article claiming that a Japanese Ship named "Tokei Maru" has rescued many Greek and Armenian refugees from Turkish onslaught at Smyrna in 1922.
Therefore, I wanted to know more ...
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What is the source of "the three most useless things in the world are the Great Wall, Pyramids, and the Yamato"?
I watched 'Naval Legends: Yamato' yesterday, and it included a phrase that was attributed to the crew of the ship:
"The world's three most useless things are the Chinese Great Wall, Egyptian ...
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Did a sumo referee ever actually commit ritual suicide over a reversed decision?
The sport of Sumo wrestling has picked up quite a few traditions during its long history. One of these traditions is that the tate-gyoji, the two most senior referees, wear a knife. This knife ...
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How were Japanese elite divisions defeated? [closed]
During the early months of the involvement of Japan in World War 2, Japanese land armies performed well against British, American and other Allied (Filipino, Dutch) troops. From my research, on books ...
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What led Chiang Kai-shek to do a U-turn against the Japanese?
The Japanese feel that Western countries are unfair in imposing the status quo on Japan and calling it “peace.” Their whole conception
of diplomatic machinery and collective security is that it is ...
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Could the "Taffy" Groups have been reinforced by air during the battle of Leyte Gulf?
During the Battle for Leyte Gulf, most elements of the American fleet fought two "side" groups of the Japanese fleet to the south and north of the main action, which would take place off ...
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Is there anything to back up Mearsheimer's claims that Roosevelt pushed the Japanese to attack the United States and tried to get the US into WW2?
In this video at 1:20:05 (and a little bit of the part preceding it), Mearsheimer claims that Roosevelt "was deeply committed" to get the United States into the second world war and "...
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How to explain the Khalkhin Gol outcome in view of Soviet weakness and Japanese strength at that time?
Conventional wisdom says that the USSR was very weak in 1939/40/41, in large part due to the purges of the 1930s, ideological interference in the armed forces, and lack of equipment, preparation and ...
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Why is there less public attention on the firebombing of Japan compared to its atomic bombing? [closed]
Virtually everybody has heard of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, the firebombing of Japan is nowhere near as well known, or talked about, at least by non-Japanese.
Why is there ...
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What did Japan do during the Siberian expedition to insure the creation of a buffer state or acquire territory?
Japan's motives in the Siberian Intervention were complex and poorly
articulated. Overtly, Japan (as with the United States and the other
international coalition forces) was in Siberia to safeguard ...
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Which part of Japanese air forces fought in Burma and how much was destroyed?
My current understanding of WW2 involving Japan is that US forces destroyed the brunt of Japanese air and naval forces in the Pacific.
I know however that land battles occurred on large scale in Burma ...
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Could Japan buy natural resources from European colonies before WW2?
Internationally, this was a time when "free trade" was in disrepute.
The great powers not only jealously protected their special economic
rights within their colonies and spheres of ...
MCW♦
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Were the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary? [closed]
The United States bombed Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Before the Japanese could surrender, they bombed Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The two bombs killed over 200,000 people, most of them civilians.
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Why did the US drop nuclear bombs on a weakened Japan? [closed]
Why did the United States drop two nuclear bombs on the Japanese mainland? It appeared that Japan was ready to surrender.
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Why did Japan never "apologize" enough for World War 2?
Although Japan kept "apologizing" for atrocities committed during World War 2 for more than 70 years, the apologies were deemed "not sincere enough" by the victims.
This stands in huge contrast with ...
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What kind of wood was the standard decking for aircraft carriers in World War 2?
I know that both Japan and the United States used wooden decks on their WWII Aircraft Carriers. Was there a specific, "ideal" standard type of wood that was utilized by either country? If so, what ...
MCW♦
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Why was the Red Army successful against the Japanese in 1939 but perform poorly against Finland 1939-40 and early part of WW2?
The Soviet Union's Red Army had great difficulty overcoming the vastly outnumbered Finns in the 1939-40 Winter War, and suffered disastrous defeats in the early stages of the German invasion in World ...
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Why is the Jewel Voice Broadcast called that?
I can't seem to find out the reason behind the naming of the audio Jewel Voice Broadcast.
I learned that this broadcast was the first instance of the Emperor directly communicating to masses. I can ...
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Could Japan have won WW2 without interservice rivalry? [closed]
Interservice Rivalry discusses the rivalry between the Japanese army and navy and I have listened to a video which says that a naval plane landing at a army air base would not be serviced, for example....
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Does city-specific economic data for the pre-WW2 decades exist for Japan and Germany? How do I find out?
I'd like to the an analysis using historical economic data of Japan and Germany.
For that I'm trying to figure out, if data exists from before 1945 of economic production in different japanese and ...
MCW♦
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Did Japanese officers refuse to engage in kamikaze attacks?
The Kamikaze is a military tactic that appeared officially in Japan's forces in 1944. This was used first by some officers, and then became more and more widespread.
My understanding of the Japanese ...
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What is the origin and significance of karahafu (唐破風)?
The karahafu (唐破風) is perhaps the most instantly recognisable Japanese architectural feature, yet it's origins are not well established in Western literature. Folk etymology suggests that the style ...
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Why were some German and Japanese cities bombed more than others during WW2? Is there a scientific consensus?
I'm trying to study the long-run effects the strategic bombing of German and Japanese cities had on urban and economic development.
Reading some articles about it I get contradictory information about ...
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What made the Russian Navy suspect Japanese torpedo boats were in North Sea in 1904?
I'm finding several references that during the Russia - Japanese war of 1904/1905 that the Russians had intelligence that suggested the Japanese either had torpedo boats present in the North Sea or ...
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Initial Japanese success in WWII? [closed]
We all know about Pearl Harbor. But I’m curious how Imperial Japan managed to take Guam, Wake, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and China. The only reason I can think of to explain these conquests were ...
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