1. Japan By: Adam Cooper, Sara Beth Cimowsky, and Roxie Stricker- 1A

2. Map of the Region

3. Description of Situation-1850:  Japan was in a period of unprecedented peace under the rule of the Tokugawa.  During World War I Japan was the dominant power in the far east controlling, Korea and Formosa, the Ryukyu’s, the Bonins, and was able to exercise its power anywhere its fleet would go.  There was a break in the peace during WWII because Japan was trying to conquer the south Pacific and the rest of Asia.

4. Change 1: Japan goes from a small isolated country to a dominant world power.  The conquest of Okinawa after forcing the king to abdicate.  December 7, 1941- Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, a US naval base in Hawaii.  1942- The Japanese nation conquered Southeast Asia and the Dutch East Indies. The military took raw materials and food from locals as well as forcing them into hard labor.

5. Change 2: Fragmented states change into a nationalistic idea.  The destruction of the Shogunate in the early 1860s was a strong lead in for the Meiji restoration. The down fall began when they were threatened from outside counties (Britain and Russia).  Reinstatement of the Imperial seat.  The Meiji Restoration from 1868-1894 was a result of the civil war and installed new rulers, as well as centralizing and industrializing the country.

6. Continuity 1: Imperial System of Japan  Japanese leaders took information from around the world to develop things such as postal and telegraph services, railroads, harbors, banking systems, clocks, and calendars.  National pride based off of mythical past with useless emperor.  The government used education to strengthen the country and the literacy rate during this period was the highest it had been in Asia.

7. Continuity 2: Continuous sea expansion and economic growth.  Due to their peace treaties, Japan was not allowed to participate in the Korean War. That gave them an economic advantage to rebuild industry and expand trade.  Japan fought against China in the Boxer uprising and then fought Russia for the Chinese colony of Manchuria in the Russo-Japanese war.  Electricity, steel production, and ship building were all major key industries that helped Japan emerge as an economic superpower.

8. Description of Situation- 1975:  They wrote a peace treaty in 1946 under American supervision that limited their ability for self defense and forbid them from deploying troops abroad.  They began to focus more on developing economically rather than being a military occupier.  Nationalism began to strongly emerge after WWII and countries began to have a strong urge to govern themselves instead of being governed by others.

9. Sources:  Samurai, Daimyo, Matthew Perry, and Nationalism: Crash Course World History #34. Prod. John Green, Stan Muller, and Danica Johnson. By Raoul Meyer. Perf. John Green. N.p., n.d. Web.  Bulliet, Richard W., Pamela Kyle Crossley, Daniel R. Headrick, Steven W. Hirsch, Lyman L. Johnson, and David Northrup. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.  "Manchuria | Historical Region, China." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.