AFTER VIOLENCE: 3R, RECONSTRUCTION, RECONCILIATION ...

soldiers were the limbs and "we" (the Emperor) the head, making
the division of labor very clear. The officer sword was a source
of pride; like for the Spanish conquistadores the sharpness to be
tested on human bodies, beheading them with one stroke. The blind
obedience in the structure, not only of the Imperial army but
Imperial Japan has been pointed to as a culprit. This focus
extends responsibility to those lower down who obeyed orders.
In consultation with the Japanese peace researcher Kinhide
Mushakoji a historical/cultural approach has been developed. One
point of origin is the attempt by Emperor Hideyoshi (end of 16th
century) to establish an East Asian empire through the conquest of
Korea and China, with capital in Beijing. Hideyoshi was clearly
aware of Western colonial ambitions at the time, and thought they
could best be countered from China by bringing the Japanese
Emperor there. Hideyoshi failed after having committed atrocities
(the mound of Korean skulls in Kyoto is one example). And Emperor
Ieyasu abandoned the project and took Japan into the Tokugawa
isolation from 1600 to the 1868 Meiji Restoration.
After the reentry of Japan in the world Hideyoshi's project
may have been the model of foreign policy and was continued, but
this time with Tokyo as capital. Japan was certainly catching up
on the capitalist world project. Late Ching China was weak,
unlike late Minh China, as proven by the Sino-Japanese war 1894-
95. So was late Yi Korea, as proven by the Korean war 1910-11.
Having conquered Taiwan and Korea, the logical next step was to
invade China proper (1937), possibly via Manchuria (1931), with
the dai-to-a/44/ as the ultimate East Asian Empire.
But why the massacre in Nanking, why not just conquer China
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