History UsefulNotes / KatanasOfTheRisingSun

* InsaneTrollLogic: The Allies "forced" Japan to attack them by refusing to sell ''their own oil'' which Japan of course absolutely needed to sustain their brutal colonization of China.

Japan, early Meiji era. Commodore Perry has visited Japan to display some GunboatDiplomacy a decade or so ago, and the potential onslaught of Westerners has galvanised Japan into throwing off its old government. Suddenly, the government was much more powerful than before. (It was supposed to be democratic, but in truth was more of an oligarchy mostly made up of middle class ex-samurai.) Noting how China wasn't doing so well against the West, Japan decided that it was behind everyone else and had to renovate itself to compete. This it did [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome spectacularly]], everywhere from the postal service to the school system. By the turn of the century it had a good Army and a [[BadassArmy Badass Navy]]. The army and navy proved themselves during the Russo-Japanese War in which the Japanese soundly trounced the Czarist forces. This created major ripples in the world - a tiny Asian power beating ''Russia''? - leaving many considering for Japan's potential. The Russo-Japanese war was fought over control of Manchuria and Korea - Russia wanted them to build up their empire, while Japan wanted them as a sort of 'buffer zone' to avoid potential attacks on Japan itself. As its power grew, however, Japan's ambitions became more and more imperialist.

Japan joined WorldWarI late on the side of the Allies, and received a nominal share of the {{Plunder}}. However, in 1915 while everyone else was occupied, the Japanese forced the Chinese to sign the Twenty-One Demands, a series of capitulations to Japan in the form of entire provinces of China, as well as tonnes of money. Between the wars the Imperial Japanese Army was co-opted by an Ultra-nationalist GovernmentConspiracy, which in turn eventually co-opted Japan. Anyone objecting to them was assasinated. This, coupled with Japan's aforementioned increasing imperialism, made it a dangerous enemy and a major combatant in World War II.

The army led Japan into an invasion of China, which in turn committed Japan to a dangerous clash of intrests and sentiments with America and Britain. This led to Japan entering WorldWarII with an attack on Pearl Harbor which America understandably took ''very'' [[ItsPersonal personally]]. Following this were a series of invasions of British and American territories such as Burma and The Phillipines. As Japans resources grew less, it was worn down slowly by a combination of MoreDakka and more [[WeHaveReserves reserves]], and it's trade routes were torn to pieces by [[{{Pirates}} submarines]]. Finally Japan was [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill bombed burned and flattened]] by the rather grizly [[GeneralRipper General Curtis LeMay]], culminating in the use of the [[DeathFromAbove atomic bomb]].

* [[BadassArmy Badass Navy]] : The IJN.
** The Imperial Japanese Army almost counts as a BadassArmy because it had such an incredible amount of pluck. But it had almost no sophistication or finesse unlike the Imperial Japanese Navy, and Allied troops (except for Chinese) tended to fairly commonly "give" several times better then what they "recieved" from the IJA.
** EvilArmy: they also commited some of the worst war atrocities ever.
* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Suicidal or near suicidal behavior in [[DespairEventHorizon desperate circumstances]] actually had many examples in WorldWarII among many belligerants; it was rare among Americans only because they so seldom reached that point but there were even some samurai-like examples among them(like Torpedo Squadron Eight). When one thinks about it that way it becomes easier to understand; HonorBeforeReason was after all universal. However in such circumstances, most countries preferred [[SuicideByCop suicide by enemy]] and {{Seppuku}} was unique to Japan. Also Japanese romanticized suicide to a degree that sounds bizarre in other countries and were far more prone to this. Moreover it was not usually felt a disgrace to surrender as long as a good show had been made. Japanese were different in this regard.

* CannonFodder: Kamikazes were composed to a large degree of students who had previously been given exemptions from {{Conscription}} and had so little training that this was the only tactic viable for them. ItMakesSenseInContext once simple surrender is forbidden as an option.

** A common favorite of Japanese soldiers was to force bayonet blades or katanas into the vagina of Chinese women.

* ComplexityAddiction: The Imperial Japanese Navy had a serious problem with creating incredibly complex battle plans which involved a half-dozen groups of ships that couldn't support each other or be easily controlled. Such practices cost them the services of at least six carriers ''in 1942 alone'': ''Shoho'' at Coral Sea, ''Akagi'', ''Kaga'', ''Hiryu'', and ''Soryu'' at Midway, and ''Ryujo'' in the Solomons.
* CoolPlane: The Mitsubishi Zero.

* CoolVersusAwesome: IJN versus USN. The two best Navies of WorldWarII. No one else could have fought either one of them; only they could match each other.
* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Battle of Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese War.

* CulturedWarrior: Well, that was the Samurai stereotype anyway.

* DavidVersusGoliath: In both its major wars, Japan was out of its weight classification. This was modified by the fact that Russia was a VestigialEmpire at the time. But TheBritishEmpire wasn't quite vestigial and America was not vestigial at all.

* FourStarBadass : Admiral Togo Heihachiro, victor of Tsushima, was the FolkHero of the IJN. And with good reason.

* GodEmperor: Hirohito was treated like this, as were earlier [[TheEmperor Emperors]].

* ImprovisedWeapon: Kamikazes. The rocket-fueled suicide planes were designated "Ohka" (Cherry Blossom), but they were so worthless that someone in the Pentagon named them "Baka" (Idiot), and the name stuck.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: The IJN officers had cheap, mass-produced katana swords that were used for tortures and executions rather then fighting.

** Banzai charges generally inflicted about as many casualties on the Americans as the japanese would have achieved committing Seppuku in their tunnels. Every Japanese who jumped out bayonet fixed was an easily killed Japanese the Americans didn't have to dig out of a bunker like a tick.
* KarmicDeath: The architects of the US firebombing campaign considered it a justified response to Japanese atrocities.

* OffWithHisHead: Japanese soldiers used to have contests to see who could decapitate the most Chinese prisoners.

* RussoJapaneseWar: One of the Imperial Army's two main wars. A sweeping victory for Japan.
* {{Seppuku}}: A fatalistic culture, the Japanese were extremely devoted to suicide, preferring a honorable death to captivity.

* ThisMeansWar: Pearl Harbor.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Both America and Japan did this to each other to some degree at the start of WorldWarII. Indeed Japan's whole plan was based on the assumption that a nation of quiet, polite shopkeepers would never have the heart to put HonorBeforeReason and would give up pretty quickly unlike a true ProudWarriorRace.
** Khalkin Gol, where Japan learned you never, under ANY circumstances try to invade Russia.
* {{Unobtanium}}: America and TheBritishEmpire placed an embargo on oil and other resources to Japan before [[WorldWarII the war]] as they really didn't want it to be used by Japan to beat up China, where they had their own interests including the local BalanceOfPower. The Japanese could not carry on military operations without such things and withdrawing would [[HonorBeforeReason lose face]]. Thus they decided that they should attack Pearl Harbor. ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime.

* WarriorPoet : Several Japanese.

** Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was frequently portrayed this way by the Japanese themselves, and often in postwar American media. His actual skills are...somewhat suspect, as anyone who has examined the detailed operational plans behind Midway can testify (though part of the blame can be put on ExecutiveMeddling by the higher-ups).
*** The only thing that can possibly be blamed on the higher-ups is the decision to pursue Operation MO with ''Zuikaku'' and ''Shokaku'', and even that is questionable; Yamamoto could have fought it harder. That even after these ships were rendered unable to go to Midway Yamamoto didn't revise his operational plans at all despite the very real possiblity the United States could have brought an equal or superior number of carriers to the battle, is entirely on Yamamoto's head. As are most of the decisions regarding the utterly ridiculous forces devoted to the Aleutians operation and the placement of various mutually unsupporting forces at Midway.

** InsaneTrollLogic is the reason why the Japanese public grew to hate the military fairly quickly after the Battle of Saipan, when it became obvious even through the propaganda that Japan was in way over its head.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Suicidal behavior in [[DespairEventHorizon desperate circumstances]] actually had many examples in WorldWarII among most belligerants; it was rare among Americans only because they so seldom reached that point but there were even some samurai-like examples among them(like Torpedo Squadron Eight). When one thinks about it that way it becomes easier to understand; HonorBeforeReason was after all universal. However in such circumstances, most countries preferred [[SuicideByCop suicide by enemy]] and {{Seppuku}} was unique to Japan. Also Japanese romanticized suicide to a degree that sounds bizarre in other countries and were far more prone to this. Moreover it was not usually felt a disgrace to surrender as long as a good show had been made. Japanese were different in this regard.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Suicidal behavior [[DespairEventHorizon desperate circumstances]] actually had many examples in WorldWarII among most belligerants; it was rare among Americans only because they so seldom reached that point but there were even some samurai-like examples among them(like Torpedo Squadron Eight). When one thinks about it that way it becomes easier to understand; HonorBeforeReason was after all universal. However in such circumstances, most countries preferred [[SuicideByCop suicide by enemy]] and {{Seppuku}} was unique to Japan. Also Japanese romanticized suicide to a degree that sounds bizarre in other countries and were far more prone to this. Moreover it was not usually felt a disgrace to surrender as long as a good show had been made. Japanese were different in this regard.

** By the way many of them were volunteers; as much as such could be said to be voluntary. It is more understandable when one considers that they got treated like gods for a few weeks, got an easier death then many soldiers would have had and surviving after a comfortable war in a Japan where so many had died miserably would make them fear that they would GoMadFromTheIsolation.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Suicidal behavior [[DespairEventHorizon desperate circumstances]] actually had many examples in WorldWarII among most belligerants; it was rare among Americans only because they so seldom reached that point but there were even some samurai-like examples among them(like Torpedo Squadron Eight). When one thinks about it that way it becomes easier to understand; HonorBeforeReason was after all universal. However in such circumstances, most countries preferred [[SuicideByCop suicide by enemy]] and {{Sepukku}} was unique to Japan. Also Japanese romanticized suicide to a degree that sounds bizarre in other countries and were far more prone to this. Moreover it was not usually felt a disgrace to surrender as long as a good show had been made. Japanese were different in this regard.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled

* CannonFodder: Kamikazes were composed to a large degree of students who had previously been given exemptions from {{Conscription}} and were pressured into volunteering by the thought of what it would be like to admit having lived in safety in a postwar Japan where every family had someone missing. This makes them easier to understand from a Western point of view. HonorBeforeReason was after all present to some degree in all reasonably successful belligerents of the time even if most nations preferred [[SuicideByCop Suicide by enemy]] to BetterToDieThanBeKilled when ''they'' reached the DespairEventHorizon. In any case they became Kamikazes because there was not time to train them and thus this [[ItMakesSenseInContext was the most effective tactic for them]]. In effect they knowingly chose to be CannonFodder.
** To be fair the last Kamikaze mission was flown by the one who had thought up the idea. But then no one ''on either side'' would have forgiven him if ''he'' survived and the alternative was to GoMadFromTheIsolation.

** To be fair the last Kamikaze mission was flown by the one who had thought up the idea. But then no one ''on either side'' would have forgiven him if he survived and the alternative was to GoMadFromTheIsolation.

** To be fair the last Kamikaze mission was flown by the one who had thought up the idea. But then no one ''one either side'' would have forgiven him if he survived and the alternative was to GoMadFromTheIsolation.

* CannonFodder: Kamikazes were composed to a large degree of students who had previously been given exemptions from {{Conscription}} and were [[PeerPressure presured]] into volunteering by the thought of what it would be like to admit having lived in safety in a postwar Japan where every family had someone missing. This makes them easier to understand from a Western point of view. HonorBeforeReason was after all present to some degree in all reasonably successful belligerents of the time even if most nations preferred [[SuicideByCop Suicide by enemy]] to BetterToDieThanBeKilled when ''they'' reached the DespairEventHorizon. In any case they became Kamikazes because there was not time to train them and thus this [[ItMakesSenseInContext was the most effective tactic for them]]. In effect they knowingly chose to be CannonFodder.

* CannonFodder: Kamikazes were composed to a large degree of students who had previously been given exemptions from {{Conscription}} and were [[PeerPressure presured]] into volunteering by the thought of what it would be like to admit having lived in safety in a postwar Japan where every family had someone missing. This makes them easier to understand from a Western point of view. HonorBeforeReason was after all present to some degree in all reasonably successful belligerents of the time even if most nations preferred [[SuicideByCop Suicide by enemy]] to BetterToDieThanBeKilled when ''they'' reached the DespairEventHorizon. In any case they became Kamikazes because there was not time to train them and thus this [[ItMakesSenseInContext was the most effective tactic for them]].

* CannonFodder: Kamikazes were composed to a large degree of students who had previously been given exemptions from {{Conscription}} and were [[PeerPressure presured]] into volunteering by the thought of what it would be like to admit having lived in safety in a postwar Japan where every family had someone missing. This makes them easier to understand from a Western point of view. HonorBeforeReason was after all present to some degree in all reasonably successful belligerents of the time even if most nations preferred [[SuicideByCop Suicide by enemy]] to BetterToDieThenBeKilled when ''they'' reached the DespairEventHorizon. In any case they became Kamikazes because there was not time to train them and thus this [[ItMakesSenseInContext was the most effective tactic for them]].

* [[BadassArmy Badass Navy]] : the IJN.
** The Imperial Japanese Army almost counts as a BadassArmy because it had such an incredible amount of pluck. But it had almost no sophistication or finesse unlike the Imperial Japanese Navy, and Allied troops(except for Chinese) tended to fairly commonly "give" several times better then what they "recieved" from the IJA.

* BigBrotherInstinct: Some Americans felt this toward Chinese. Likewise Japan felt this toward all Asians in foreign [[TheEmpire empires]]. Naturally Japanese excluded their own [[TheEmpire empire]] from this goodwill. And for that matter Chinese would have felt the benevolence rather smothering except for the fact that it got them military assistance including an EagleSquadron, the famous [[AcePilot Flying Tigers]] .
* ColdBloodedTorture: During World War II it was known to tie wounded to a tree, torture them and leave them with a sign that said "It took him a long time to die". Naturally the Allies [[{{Understatement}} resented]] [[ItsPersonal that]]

* CoolPlane: The Zero

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Battle of Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese war
** The rescue of the dying garrison on Guadelcanal could also qualify.
* CulturedWarrior: Some. That is the Samurai stereotype anyway.

* CycleOfRevenge: While in Europe there was sometimes a feeling that it was [[NothingPersonal Just Business]], in the Pacific the mutual racial prejudice that they started with, and the atrocities committed made it [[ItsPersonal different]].

* DavidVersusGoliath: In both it's major wars Japan was out of it's weight classification. This was modified by the fact that Russia was a VestigialEmpire at the time. But TheBritishEmpire wasn't quite vestigial and America was not vestigial at all.

* FinalBattle: There were other battles to come but Leyte Gulf was the final naval battle in history, at least on that scale.
* FourStarBadass : Admiral Tougou Heihachirou, victor of Tsushima, was the FolkHero of the IJN. And with good reason.
** Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was frequently portrayed this way to the Japanese themselves, and often in postwar American media. His actual skills are...somewhat suspect, as anyone who has examined the detailed operational plans behind Midway can testify (though part of the blame can be put on ExecutiveMeddling by the higher-ups).

* FridgeLogic: It has been said that the allies "forced" Japan to attack by refusing to sell ''their own oil'' which Japan of course absolutely needed to attack China.
** FridgeLogic is the reason why the Japanese public grew to hate the military fairly quickly after Saipan, when it became obvious even through the propaganda that Japan was in way over its head.
* GodEmperor: Or at least High-priest emperor. Or something like that. In any case Hirohito was treated like this as were earlier [[TheEmperor Emperors]].
** This had a political purpose as well. It represented an anchor in [[GoodOldWays the past]] during the Meji reformation.
* GovernmentConspiracy: Elements in the Imperial Japanese Army. It is hard, even in retrospect, to be sure who [[TheManBehindTheMan really ruled]] Japan at the time.
** Toujou was officially Prime Minister of course, but he was so unassertive in personality compared to Mussolini and Hitler that one might almost think he was chosen to be a puppet.

** To be precise, Japan was a military-industrial anarchy, more or less. There wasn't even a single cabal of generals that did all the decisions. It was an Emperor with little real power and a military force with an undefined but massive power.

* ImprovisedWeapon: Kamikazes
* KatanasAreJustBetter

* KarmicDeath: The architects of the U.S Firebombing campaign considered it a justified response to Japanese atrocities.

** Even NaziGermany [[EvenEvilHasStandards was horrified by that]]. Admittedly, this was quite a bit before they ''really'' hit their MoralEventHorizon.

** And to any POWs.

* RecycledInSpace: {{StarBlazers}}

* RussoJapaneseWar: One of the Imperial forces two main wars. A sweeping victory for Japan.
* {{Seppuku}} : Japanese were wildly devoted to suicide.

** A Japanese MilitarySchool at the time was so rigorous that you could tell officers because they were the smallest; they had been half-starved during adolescence. The IJN was out at sea in all weathers practicing. And so on.
** This helped in the beginning and produced success and sometimes(notably the destroyers and the aviation of the Imperial navy) produced awesome [[{{Badass}} Badassery]], however this sometimes meant running out of men too quickly, especially as they kept their best pilots on the line until they died rather then follow the American policy of circulating them back to act as [[CoolTeacher teachers]] in flight school. Toward the end the Japanese were woefully undertrained.

* TakingYouWithMe : Subverted. Japan used this as it's ''strategy'' in WorldWarII hoping the allies would not have the nerve to go through with it. The allies not only did "go through" but unfortunately for Japan the Allies had MoreDakka and used it well. Japan simply could not take enough with them to make up for what the Allies "took".

* ThisMeansWar: Pearl Harbor
* UnderestimatingBadassery: both America and Japan did this to each other to some degree at the start of WorldWarII. Indeed Japan's whole plan was based on the assumption that a nation of shopkeepers would never have the heart to put HonorBeforeReason and would give up pretty quickly unlike a true ProudWarriorRace.
** Little something called Khalkin Gol, were Japan learned you never, under ANY circumstances try to invade Russia.
* {{Unobtanium}}: America and TheBritishEmpire placed an embargo on oil and other resources to Japan before [[WorldWarII the war]] as they really didn't want it to be used by Japan to beat up China, where they had their own interests including the local BalanceOfPower. The Japanese could not carry on military operations without such things and withdrawing would [[HonorBeforeReason lose face]]. Thus they decided that they should attack [[ThisMeansWar Pearl Harbor]]. ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime.
* VictoryIsBoring: The entire reason for the novel ''Debt of Honor''. TomClancy seems to have thought the Pacific to have been so [[RuleOfCool cool]] a naval war that any excuse must be contrived to arrange a rematch no matter how implausible.
* WarriorPoet : several Japanese.

** In a gesture of magnanimity, Admiral Nimitz visited Japanese military hospitals after the war.

*** The only thing that can possibly be blamed on the higher-ups is the decision to pursue Operation MO with Zuikaku and Shokaku, and even that is questionable; Yamamoto could have fought it harder. That even after these ships were rendered unable to go to Midway Yamamoto didn't revise his operational plans at all despite the very real possiblity the United States could have brought an equal or superior number of carriers to the battle, is entirely on Yamamoto's head. As are most of the decisions regarding the utterly ridiculous forces devoted to the Aleutians operation and the placement of various mutually unsupporting forces at Midway.

** Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was frequently portrayed this way to the Japanese themselves, and often in postwar American media. His actual skills are...somewhat suspect, as anyone who has examined the detailed operational plans behind Midway can testify.

The army led Japan into an invasion of China, which in turn committed Japan to a dangerous clash of intrests and sentiments with America and Britain. This led to Japan entering WorldWarII with an attack on Pearl Harbor which America understandably took ''very'' [[ItsPersonal personally]]. Following this were a series of invasions of British and American territories such as Burma and The Phillipines. As Japans resources grew less, it was worn down slowly by a combination of MoreDakka and more [[WeHaveReserves reserves]], and it's trade routes were torn to pieces by [[{{Pirates}} submarines]]. Finally Japan was [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill bombed burned and flattened]] by the rather grizly [[GeneralRipper General Curtis LeMay]], culminating in the use of the atomic bomb.

** Jisaburo Ozawa again. Raymond Spruance, probably the best of the American carrier commanders, considered him the only Japanese carrier commander who was any good in the ''entire war''.

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