OKINAWA-RISE AND FALL OF AN EMPIRE
Howard, Harry Paxton
Okinawa—Rise And Fall Of An Empire Bv HARRY PAXTON HOWARD THE little island of Okinawa has cost us heavily. Our casualties are evidently to be in the neighborhood of 40,000—in addition to a number...
...They had purchased many naval vessels from England and America, including 2 of the (then new) ironclads— of which the Chinese had none...
...That is the meaning of Okinawa...
...Minister De Long, in friendly approaches to the Japanese Government, suggested that "a small force sent to Formosa, without previous notice to the Chinese Government, would be able to seize it, and would be difficult to dislodge...
...Le Gendre, the U. S. Consul at Amoy, had a full set of maps, charts, and photographs of the coast and the people of Formosa...
...Okinawa, however, is almost won...
...Its geographical position, he pointed out, "gives it command over the entrance to the China Sea and the Sea of Japan, which makes its possession an object of great interest to this country [Japan...
...Some shipwrecked Luchu islanders had allegedly been killed by Formosan tribesmen some time previously...
...A curious item in history is that the United States, whose forces have now taken Okinawa at heavy cost, was instrumental in (jetting it into Japanese hands 70 years ago...
...It was not a formal alliance, but its mutual pledge of "good offices" in case of conflict of either signatory with a third party constituted an evident barrier against Western imperialism in the Far East...
...Such "dual suzerainty" was practicable as between 2 friendly states, but afforded opportunities for friction when anyone really wanted it...
...For their annexation constituted the first expansion of the new Japanese Empire...
...The Chinese, of course, were not merely protesting, but were dispatching forces to Formosa...
...The United States Navy also revoked Lieut...
...Le Gendre was arrested by the American authorities when he visited Amoy, and was shipped to Shanghai—where he was released, and returned to Japanese employ...
...The Japanese did not accept Le Gendre as commander, but employed him as "counsellor," his military experience and "knowledge of the harbors and interior passes of Formosa" being of value to the apprentice imperialists...
...At the same time, he urged the Japanese to assert their exclusive jurisdiction over the Luchu islands...
...Since the Lord of Satsuma, in southern Japan, was near him, he followed the course of prudence in politely acknowledging the "supremacy" of Satsuma also—paying nominal tribute, and avoiding disputes between Japanese and Luchuan fishermen...
...If Luchu was "Japanese," then the Japanese could invade Formosa to "punish the tribesmen...
...Formosa was old Chinese territory, but in the mountains to the east of the island there were—then as now— various barbarous tribes which sometimes robbed or maltreated shipwrecked sailors or fishermen...
...Our casualties are evidently to be in the neighborhood of 40,000—in addition to a number of naval vessels and supply ships...
...When Saigo and his invasion forces left for Formosa, 3 Americans were high ranking officers on the expedition...
...It may merely be noted that the factors of distance, supply lines, and small size of bases make it far more difficult and serious than the landings at Salerno or in Normandy...
...It proceeded to Formosa, landed there, and had some skirmishes with the natives in the difficult hill country—and a much more costly war with tropical fever...
...When the Iwakura (Japanese) mission visited the United States in 1872, we asked many questions about the Sino-Japanese pact, and asked that the "good offices" clause be cancelled...
...Our victory was assured by the fact that our landing forces had regular supplies, as well as the support of naval guns and air superiority, while the Japanese defenders were able to obtain neither reinforcements nor fresh supplies...
...He went to Tokyo with them, where De Long recommended him to the Japanese Government—recommended him, indeed, as commander of the proposed expedition against Formosa...
...Cassel's leave of absence—but he was not informed of the "revocation" until after the expedition was virtually over...
...This assertion of exclusive Japanese jurisdiction over Luchu gave the "formal" pretext for the expedition...
...The American officers, counsellors, maps, and charts, however, continued to guide the first "invasion fleet" of the new Empire...
...The Luchu Islanders American correspondents on Okinawa—evidently hampered by the lack of adequate reference books—do not seem clearly to have realized that the native Luchliana were not really Japanese...
...These islands have special significance in the 70-year history of Japanese Empire...
...Japanese losses in men have been much greater—perhaps 60,-000 or more dead, and some tens of thousands wounded or prisoners...
...many hundreds of Japanese planes have been lost...
...Invasion Of Formosa In carrying out this policy, De Long encouraged Lord Saigo of Satsuma, then most powerful in Japan, to invade Formosa—southwest of the Luchu islands...
...It is the main island of the Luchu group—pronounced Ryukyu by the Japanese...
...American officers were employed, one of them (a lieutenant-commander) being loaned by the U. S. Navy...
...The American Government, facing ever stronger protests from Peking, "withdrew" from the expedition...
...Comdr...
...Not only the Chinese, but some of the Japanese hostile to Saigo, protested to Washington...
...A pretence might therefore be found for a Japanese invasion of Formosa...
...This, however, was not done...
...The significance of Luchu was both direct and incidental, as was clear in De Long's happy report to Washington that Tokyo had decided "to assert the unconditional and unqualified jurisdiction of Japan over Loochoo, and to obtain from China satisfactory expressions of regret for the massacre of the Loochoo people at Formosa and satisfactory guarantees against repetition of similar occurrences...
...De Long was recalled from Japan, and an American ship which had been chartered for transport purposes was held up at Nagasaki...
...Speculation on the possibility of a successful invasion of Japan proper, landing on rocky coasts in areas where millions of tough Japanese fighters and their supplies can be moved up as required, will not be made here...
...Multiply the difficulties of Iwo Jima some 50 times over, and we can envision an invasion of Japan proper...
...And their loss, so close to the Japanese homeland, now signalizes the doom of that Empire...
...At that time, Western Powers were disturbed by the existence of the Sino-Japanese Non-Aggression and Mutual Assistance Pact of 1871...
...The British Minister offered to mediate between (Continued on Page 13...
...Gen...
...The Japanese had already started to build a navy...
...The Luchu king, in his castle on Okinawa, for centuries acknowledged the suzerainty of the Son of Heaven—the Emperor—at Peking, and paid nominal tribute to him...
...Some figures are necessarily "guesstimates" at present, but there is no doubt that the losses are terribly heavy...
...De Long, however, had gone too far...
...But the "conquered territories" of the Empire are doomed...
...It was at that time, in response to the evident and increasing cooperation between Japan and China in such matters as ending the profitable Western trade in Chinese slaves, that the American minister to Japan, De Long, reported to Washington his conviction that it was "the true policy of the representatives of the Western Powers to encourage Japan in a course of conduct thoroughly committing its government against [this 'alliance'], and by estranging its Court from those of China and Korea make it an ally of the Western Powers...
...This failure is understandable, however, since the Luchuans have been pretty well Japanised during the last two generations, Japanese has become the general as well as the official language, and the physical differences between Luchuans and Japanese are not sufficient to impress most Americans...
...The Japanese in their home islands, with their 75,000,000 population, can still put up a terrific struggle against invasion and subjection...
Vol. 9 • June 1945 • No. 25
