Sino-Japanese War
The Sino-Japanese War was the first full-out international war fought by the Meiji state. Like the Russo-Japanese War of ten years later, it was fought chiefly in Korea, and over which countries would be the chief power with political & economic influence in Korea.
The Japanese victory over China in this war is often cited as indicating, or representing, Japan's success in modernizing its military, and conversely, the failure of Qing Dynasty China to modernize sufficiently. Japan's acquisition of Taiwan as a colony as part of the treaty agreement ending the war is similarly often cited as marking the beginning of Japan's imperialist/colonialist Empire.
Background
War
The nationalist feelings stirred up by the war created a more widespread sense of unity and patriotism, and support for the Meiji government, than the government had ever enjoyed up until then. In other words, the war played an important part in securing a greater stability for the regime, which up until then faced considerable political opposition in elections and political parties & movements.[1]
Aftermath
The war was officially ended with the Treaty of Shimonoseki in May 1895.
References
- Conrad Schirokauer, David Lurie, and Suzanne Gay, A Brief History of Japanese Civilization, Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 193-195.
- ↑ Schirokauer, et al., 180.
