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Russo‑Japanese War

‘World War Zero’ Russia was already a significant world power in the early 20th century, with vast territories in Eastern Europe and central Asia under its control, and Japan was widely viewed as the dominant force in Asia at the time. Therefore, the war garnered significant global attention and its ramifications were felt long after […]

Meiji Restoration

Rise of Tokugawa Shogunate During the 1500s, power was decentralized in Japan, which was torn apart by warfare between competing feudal lords (daimyo) for nearly a century. Following his victory in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, however, Tokugawa Ieyasu swiftly consolidated power from his heavily fortified castle at Edo (now Tokyo). The prestigious but […]

Nanjing Massacre

Preparing for Invasion During the early years of World War II, and following a bloody victory in Shanghai during the Second Sino‑Japanese War, the Japanese turned their attention towards the capital city of Nanjing. Fearful of losing his military forces in battle, China’s Nationalist leader Chiang Kai‑Shek ordered the removal of nearly all official Chinese […]

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Born to a minor warlord in Okazaki, Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543‑1616) began his military training with the Imagawa family. He later allied himself with the powerful forces of Oda Nobunaga and then Toyotomi Hideyoshi, expanding his land holdings via a successful attack on the Hojo family to the east. After Hideyoshi’s death resulted in a […]

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Coroner’s Report: Seppuku

Seppuku was a ritual form of suicide used by samurai warriors to avoid surrender or atone for a shameful act. What were their painful final moments really like?