Japanese View on China and Korea
The First Sino-Japanese War (1 August 1894 – 17 April 1895) was the first big incident Japan was engaged in after the fall of the last samurai regime and the establishment of modern government in 1860s.
At the time the Meiji Government of Japan was tackling treaty revision with the UK. And when this effort of Japan was fulfilled, not only the Japanese elites but also the general public of Japan felt that their country became an equal partner with Western powers.
Then when they looked around, China, namely the Qing dynasty, and Korea, namely Yi-Dynasty Korea, were behind the times. China behaved as the sole suzerain in East Asia as it had been for centuries. As Japan had not been fully subject to Chinese dynasties at least since the sixth century, this situation in Korea did look so irrational for Japan. As Japan wanted to promote and strengthen economic, diplomatic, and military ties with Korea, the Chinese influence on the Korean royal court was so troublesome. But, Korean politicians still lived on the old paradigm that the universe worked with China at its center and Korea was the best follower of the Great Chinese Civilization.
Accordingly, the Meiji Government of Japan started to drive out Chinese influences from the Korean Peninsula. As Korea was split into a pro-Chinese faction and a pro-Japanese group, the Korean royal government could not manage the situation. They could not even modernize its society and westernize its industry to have strong military. Finally, Japan and the Qing dynasty embarked in a war in and around the Korean Peninsula.
Most of the Japanese people at the time, namely in the Meiji era, supported the Government starting the war as one of Westernized and modern countries in the world against the old-fashioned Asian empire Qing that was against progress of Asia toward full Westernization.
Put simply, the First Sino-Japanese War meant the right and just war for the Japanese people who believed and supported the progress in new civilization; it was a war between a civilized country (Japan) waking up to a new era and an old-guard empire (China) trying to sleep in an old dream.
But, one notable Japanese politician at the time named Katsu Kaisyu (1823-1899) was against this war. Ex-elite samurai directly subject to shogun (the king of samurais) Katsu did not despise Koreans and Chinese unlike most of his contemporaries.
Katsu who also occupied key positions in the Meiji Government, such the Navy Minister, said that Japan should not behave like one of Western countries that were busy cruelly colonizing Africa and Asia.
And, even today the psychology of the Japanese people nurtured in the era of the First Sino-Japanese War still lingers in the Japanese society. But the spirit of Katsu Kaisyu has been also alive in both the leftist camp and the nationalistic group in the Japanese society, though it does not necessarily mean an increase of Japanese who become so pro-Chinese or pro-Korean.
Anyway, in the samurai era, Japanese people did not especially despise Chinese and Koreans. They rather respected many cultural and religious figures in China and Korea as culture came to Japan through the Korean Peninsula from the Asian Continent.
*** *** *** ***
Luk 10:1 After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
Accordingly, the Meiji Government of Japan started to drive out Chinese influences from the Korean Peninsula. As Korea was split into a pro-Chinese faction and a pro-Japanese group, the Korean royal government could not manage the situation. They could not even modernize its society and westernize its industry to have strong military. Finally, Japan and the Qing dynasty embarked in a war in and around the Korean Peninsula.
Most of the Japanese people at the time, namely in the Meiji era, supported the Government starting the war as one of Westernized and modern countries in the world against the old-fashioned Asian empire Qing that was against progress of Asia toward full Westernization.
Put simply, the First Sino-Japanese War meant the right and just war for the Japanese people who believed and supported the progress in new civilization; it was a war between a civilized country (Japan) waking up to a new era and an old-guard empire (China) trying to sleep in an old dream.
But, one notable Japanese politician at the time named Katsu Kaisyu (1823-1899) was against this war. Ex-elite samurai directly subject to shogun (the king of samurais) Katsu did not despise Koreans and Chinese unlike most of his contemporaries.
Katsu who also occupied key positions in the Meiji Government, such the Navy Minister, said that Japan should not behave like one of Western countries that were busy cruelly colonizing Africa and Asia.
And, even today the psychology of the Japanese people nurtured in the era of the First Sino-Japanese War still lingers in the Japanese society. But the spirit of Katsu Kaisyu has been also alive in both the leftist camp and the nationalistic group in the Japanese society, though it does not necessarily mean an increase of Japanese who become so pro-Chinese or pro-Korean.
Anyway, in the samurai era, Japanese people did not especially despise Chinese and Koreans. They rather respected many cultural and religious figures in China and Korea as culture came to Japan through the Korean Peninsula from the Asian Continent.
*** *** *** ***
Luk 10:1 After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.