Word: shimonoseki
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Japan's Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi is a descendant of the swaggering but practical men of Choshu. Less than a century ago his clansmen enthusiastically followed the Emperor's orders by opening fire on all foreign ships passing through Shimonoseki Strait, the narrow western entrance to the lovely Inland Sea. Retaliation came from a combined British, French, Dutch and U.S. fleet, which blew the Choshu batteries skyhigh, put ashore a landing party to seize the forts, and collected an indemnity of $3,000,000.-Impressed, the Choshu leaders fraternized with the Western officers, begged technical advice and sought...
...pleasant city above the Inland Sea, on Nov. 23, 1896. From childhood he had drummed into him the glories of the Sato family, the Choshu clan and the warrior class. Aristocratic Moyo Sato constantly reminded her son that their ancestors had been charged by the Emperor with guarding Shimonoseki Strait, the gateway to the Inland Sea. Her uncle was a major general who founded the Japanese cavalry; her brothers and sisters married into top families, including the Matsuokas and Yo-shidas. "Never forget you are a samurai," she said. "Never take second place...
Kishi was right about the quick victories (Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines), wrong about being able to get a quick peace. As the fortunes of war worsened, he reacted just as had his Choshu clansmen in the affair of Shimonoseki Strait. At a Cabinet meeting in April 1944 he told Tojo: "Saipan is Japan's lifeline. If Saipan falls, surrender. It is the silliest thing on earth to keep fighting after that." Tojo shouted angrily: "Don't poke your nose into the affairs of the supreme command!" Thirteen days after the bloody U.S. conquest of Saipan, Tojo...