Essay On Japanese Militarism

In the period from the Tokugawa era to the post-WWII era, Japanese society saw a dramatic shift in the prevalence of Japanese militarism and the existence of the traditional Japanese war mentality. Deeply rooted in samurai culture, Japanese militarism served as a foundation for Japanese society throughout the Tokugawa era; the class system gave way to a ‘warrior-elite’ class that dominated the social hierarchy. This pervasive warrior-dominated culture persisted into the Meiji period. Japanese militarism escalated further during the 1930s, leading to what many consider to be the height of the Japanese military state: The Second World War. It was not until after the Japanese capitulation and the American occupation that the Japanese ‘war mentality’ was suppressed, which signaled a stark transition in Japanese culture and the emergence of the Japanese state as both a global power and world peacekeeper. The presence of a military-style government existed in Japan even far before the Tokugawa period, however, it was not …show more content…
With the U.S. occupation, the nationalism that the Allies identified as a key to Japan’s aggression was quelled. The occupational force’s goal was to demilitarize, decentralize and democratize the Japanese state and by doing so, weaken Japan in order to prevent any possibility of future conflict. These goals were achieved through the policies set forth by SCAP in the years directly after the Allied victory. Throughout the second half of the 20th century, Japan worked hard to separate itself from the ultra-nationalistic military state that it had become by 1945, as well as focused on forging new alliances, especially with the U.S. in the wake of the Cold War. This dramatic change in Japan’s ‘war mentality’ ultimately set Japan on the path for economic growth as well to becoming one of the most peaceful countries of the 21st