levo

Y217: Japan 1853–1937

The growth of nationalism in Japan 1920–1937: the Depression, Manchuria and the rise of the army

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 2

Overview

Recall questions on the Depression in Japan and the countryside, pan-Asianism, the Manchuria incident and its effects, the assassination of 1932, the coup attempt of 1936, military control of policy and war with China in 1937.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Evaluation

What was the significance of the assassination of the prime minister in May 1932?

Process

Paradoxically, how did the failed 1936 coup increase the army's power?

Who and when

How did the Great Depression reach Japan?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How did the Great Depression reach Japan?

    Model answer

    American demand collapsed and tariffs rose, so raw silk prices fell catastrophically, exports slumped, factories cut wages and workers were laid off.

  2. 2

    Why did the Depression hit rural Japan especially hard?

    Model answer

    Farm families depended on silkworms for cash income alongside rice, so when both prices collapsed the north-east faced destitution, debt and the sale of daughters, and many soldiers came from these villages.

  3. 3

    How did the Depression strengthen the militarists' case?

    Model answer

    It appeared to prove that trade and cooperation with the West had failed and that only an empire supplying Japan's own raw materials and markets could give security, and it discredited party politicians and businessmen as corrupt and incompetent.

  4. 4

    What is meant by pan-Asianism as the militarists used it?

    Model answer

    The claim that Japan should lead Asia in freeing itself from Western imperialism, which supplied a moral cover for Japanese domination of its neighbours.

  5. 5

    What happened in the Manchuria incident of September 1931?

    Model answer

    Officers of the Kwantung Army blew up part of the South Manchurian Railway near Mukden, blamed Chinese troops and used the pretext to overrun Manchuria without waiting for orders from Tokyo.

  6. 6

    State three effects of the Manchuria incident on Japan itself.

    Model answer

    It gave Japan a resource-rich puppet state, it showed that the army could make national policy by presenting the cabinet with an accomplished fact, and it led Japan to leave the League of Nations rather than accept criticism.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Y101: Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016
Y102: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107
Y103: England 1199–1272
Y104: England 1377–1455

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Franz Ferdinand was shot at in June.
SarajevoBelgradeVienna

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AA republic replaced the sultanate.
BThe caliphate was abolished in 1924.
CThe Latin alphabet was adopted.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Simony means the buying and selling of Church office.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Y217: Japan 1853–1937, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.