ABSTRACT

This chapter begins with the major development of the principal civilizations and political institutions of East Asia from the ancient time to the pre-modern period about 1500. It examines relations between East Asia and Europe from about 1600 to 1800. The chapter situates Japan's experiences with industrialization in the indigenous context of the late nineteenth century while taking into account its progress, challenges, and problems. It reveals that the classic civilizations set a framework not only for the development and evolution of common pre-modern institutions but also for the modern development of East Asia. The chapter explains why Japan's economic success had soon turned the country into a militarist, aggressive East Asian power, and how Tokyo colonized Korea and Manchuria in the early twentieth century. Japan had colonized Korea since August 22, 1910, when Korea was officially annexed to Japan as the "Province of Choson", and became part of the Empire of the Rising Sun.