THE JAPANESE IN MANCHURIA 1906-1931: A STUDY OF THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF MANCHUKUO

Manchuria, in the quarter century from 1906 to 1931, was an arena in which the Chinese and the Japanese competed in modernization efforts. The period is demarcated by Japan's military actions at both ends, but overall, Japan's basic policy toward Manchuria throughout the period was to manage the area, using non-military measures of economic development. The Japanese aimed at gaining Chinese acquiescence to their continued presence by expanding and skillfully employing the modern Western equipment they had taken over from Russia. The Chinese took countermeasures of modernization to defend its territory. A natural result was the concentration of efforts by both sides on industrialization, administrative reorganization and colonization, with little energy directed towards agricultural development. Thus, an urban-rural dichotomy was developed in Manchuria during the period in question.;In the Chinese villages of Manchuria, the traditional mechanism of self-defense and self-government was still maintained. The Chinese landlord was averse to any change in the village and took advantage of the urban-rural dichotomy. With each village quite autonomous under the landlord's leadership, Manchurian society as a whole was segmented. Having tried but failed to penetrate the agricultural sector, the Japanese and the Kwantung Army opted instead to take advantage of the urban-rural dichotomy and the segmentary nature of Manchurian society, leaving the village intact in the grip of the Chinese landlords. Thus, a tacit coalition was formed between the Chinese landlord class and the Japanese. Resorting to this coalition, the Kwantung Army staged the Manchurian Incident and established a puppet state.;This study is an attempt to answer the question, "Why did Japan establish Manchukuo?" By investigating Japanese and Chinese interactions in such areas as administration, population changes, industrialization, agriculture, the village structure, currencies and education, the study shows that the establishment of Manchukuo was an outcome of the preceding twenty-five year history of contacts and conflicts between modern Japanese and Chinese cultures.