FAITH, RACE AND STRATEGY: JAPANESE-MONGOLIAN RELATIONS, 1873-1945 This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Murdoch University 2008 James Boyd (BA (Hons) Adelaide) I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution. …………………………. ABSTRACT Between 1873 and 1945 Japan and Mongolia had a complex and important relationship that has been largely overlooked in post-war studies of Japan’s imperial era. In fact, Japanese-Mongolian relations in the modern period provide a rich field of enquiry into the nature of Japanese imperialism as well as further evidence of the complexity of Japan’s relationships with other Asian countries in the decades before 1945. This thesis examines the relationship from the Japanese perspective, drawing on a diverse range of contemporary materials, both official and unofficial, including military documents, government reports, travel guides and academic works, many of which have been neglected in earlier studies. In previous analyses, the strategic dimension has been seen as overwhelming and Mongolia has often been regarded as merely a minor addendum to Japan’s relationship with Manchuria. In fact, however, Japan’s connection with Mongolia itself was a crucial part of its interaction with the Chinese continent from the 1870s to 1945. Though undeniably coveted for strategic reasons, Mongolia also offered unparalleled opportunities for the elaboration of all the major aspects of the discourses that made up Japan’s evolving claim to solidarity with and leadership of Asia. It also functioned as a showcase for Japan’s supposedly benevolent intentions towards Asia. In some ways, moreover, the relationship with Mongolia was presented as distinctive, particularly because of the common faith in Buddhism and a supposedly shared ancestry in ethnic terms. In turn, the military, political, ideological and cultural opportunities apparently provided by Mongolia account for the wide range of groups and individuals in Japan that developed Mongolian connections and for the often close relations between these groups and individuals on the one hand, and the most powerful institutions of the Japanese state on the other. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Conventions ii Abbreviations iii Timeline iv Maps and Illustrations vi INTRODUCTION 1 Mongolia in Historical Context 3 Japan and Mongolia in the Modern Period 7 The Region of ‘Man-M’ 19 Scholarly Context 34 Thesis Argument, Sources, Approach and Structure 45 CHAPTER ONE 55 Soldiers, Adventurers and Educators: Meiji Encounters with Mongolia, 1873-1912 Fukushima Yasumasa and the Military Dimension of Japanese-Mongolian Relations 58 Kawashima Naniwa: Man of Action 65 Kawahara Misako: A Forgotten ‘Hero’ 70 Other Cultural Connections between Japan and Mongolia 88 Mongolia in Japanese Military, Diplomatic and Political Thinking after 1905 99 Conclusion 102 CHAPTER TWO 104 Carpe Diem?: The Manchurian-Mongolian Independence Movements, 1912-22 The Geopolitical Context of the ‘Independence’ Movements 106 The 1912 ‘Independence’ Movement 112 Ongoing Japanese Ambitions in Mongolia, 1912-16 120 The 1916 ‘Independence’ Movement 129 The 1918-22 Siberian Intervention and the Pan-Mongol Movement 134 The Japanese High Command and Mongolian Operations 143 Mongolian Overtures to Japan 153 Conclusion 157 CHAPTER THREE 159 Mongolia’s Riches: Japanese Explorers, Entrepreneurs and Military Opportunists, 1922-31 The Geopolitical Context 161 Mongolia in Japanese Bureaucratic, Political and Cultural Discourse 166 Japanese Business and Mongolia 175 Japanese Religious Aims in Mongolia: The Mainstream and the Fringe 181 The Japanese Military and the Mongolian Horse 192 Conclusion 204 CHAPTER FOUR 206 Inner Mongolia: Japanese Military Activity and its Cultural Support, 1932-45 The Japanese Military in Inner Mongolia, 1932-6 210 Japanese-Inner Mongolian Political and Diplomatic Relations, 1937-45 222 Japanese Writers and Mongolia, 1932-45 231 Western Writers and Mongolia, 1932-45 253 Conclusion 257 CHAPTER FIVE 260 Cultural Diplomacy in Action: The Zenrin Kykai in Inner Mongolia, 1933-45 Force versus Persuasion 262 Agents of Japanese Cultural Diplomacy 265 The Genesis of the Zenrin Kykai 268 The Zenrin Kykai’s Activities in Inner Mongolia, 1933-7 271 The Zenrin Kykai’s Activities in Japan, 1933-7 276 The Kwantung Army and the Zenrin Kykai 283 The Zenrin Kykai’s Activities after 1937 290 The Zenrin Kykai and the Muslims of Mengchiang 293 Conclusion 307 CONCLUSION 309 Appendix 1: List of Key Figures 315 Appendix 2: List of Mongolian and Chinese Place-Names 320 Bibliography 323 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I acknowledge the support that I received from my supervisor, Associate Professor Sandra Wilson of Murdoch University, who guided my research throughout. Without her incisive feedback, breadth of knowledge, and, most of all, boundless patience, this thesis would never have been completed. I would like to thank the staff of the Japanese Studies Programme at Murdoch University; staff and postgraduates of the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University; and officemate Dr Narrelle Morris. I thank Assistant Professor Nancy Stalker, University of Texas at Austin, for allowing me to read a chapter of her forthcoming book; Professor Philip Billingsley, St Andrew’s University, Osaka, for providing me with a copy of his book; Associate Professor Alexis Dudden, Connecticut College; Mr George Eleftheriou; Professor Selçuk Esenbel, Bogazici University; Professor Laura Hein, Northwestern University; Professor Yoshikuni Igarashi, Vanderbilt University; Mr Philip Jowett; Professor Kitaoka Shin’ichi, Tokyo University; Dr Stephen Large, University of Cambridge; Dr Morris Low, University of Queensland; Dr Narangoa Li, Australian National University; Dr J. Charles Schencking, University of Melbourne; Professor Kerry Smith, Brown University; Dr Beatrice Trefalt, Monash University; Dr Timothy Tsu, then of the Australian National University, now of the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Dr David Wells, Curtin University of Technology; Ms Michelle Hall, Librarian, East Asian Collection at the University of Melbourne; Ms Mayumi Shinozaki, Australian National Library; Ms Sit-Ling Tull, Asian Research Librarian at Murdoch University; staff of the Beich shirykan, Tokyo; staff of the Gaik shirykan, Tokyo; staff of the National Diet Library, Tokyo. This thesis was completed with financial support from Murdoch University in the form of a Murdoch University Research Scholarship, which is also acknowledged with gratitude. Last, and most importantly, I thank Miki for her patience, as I spent far too many hours lost in my research. i CONVENTIONS Chinese and Mongolian personal and place names are given in the main text in the Wade-Giles transliteration that was common in English-language sources produced during the period covered by this thesis. The Pinyin readings, with the appropriate characters, are found in the appendices. Transliteration of Mongol names follows Gaik shirykan, Tokyo, ‘Mko yran’, November 1912, in Foreign Ministry papers, 1·6·1·57-1, ‘Mko jh chsa shoichi’. The appendix of personal names lists Chinese, Japanese and Russian individuals referred to in the thesis. Chinese characters are given for Chinese and Japanese names, and dates of birth and death are included whenever possible. Macrons have been omitted over the long vowels in the text, and in English-language works in the footnotes and bibliography, in the commonly-encountered Japanese place names: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe. Between 1928 and 1949, when the Nationalist Chinese government moved its capital to Nanking, Peking was known as ‘Peiping’. To avoid confusion, however, I have used ‘Peking’ throughout the thesis. ii ABBREVIATIONS IMTFE International Military Tribunal for the Far East JCWE Japan Chronicle Weekly Edition SIA (Kwantung Army) Special Intelligence Agency USMIRC United States Military Intelligence Reports, China YS Yomiuri shinbun ZKS Zenrin kykai shi — Zenrinkai (ed.), Zenrin kykai shi: Uchimko ni okeru bunka katsud, Tky: n. publ., 1981. iii TIMELINE 1868 Meiji Restoration 1873 Buddhist monks from Nishi Honganji visit Inner and Outer Mongolia 1879 Fukushima Yasumasa dispatched covertly to Inner Mongolia by Yamagata Aritomo 1886 Kawashima Naniwa visits China for the first time 1892-3 Fukushima Yasumasa rides solo on horseback from Berlin to Vladivostok 1894-5 First Sino-Japanese War 1900 Boxer Rebellion. Fukushima Yasumasa commands the Japanese relief force. Kawashima Naniwa serves as interpreter for the Japanese military 1902-4 Kawahara Misako teaches at Karachin Banner in Inner Mongolia 1904-5 Russo-Japanese War 1912 Fall of the Ch’ing dynasty; first Manchurian-Mongolian independence movement 1916 Second Manchurian-Mongolian independence movement 1918-22 Siberian Intervention 1924 Deguchi Onisabur’s Mongolian excursion 1928 Japanese-Mongolian party rides on horseback from Manchuli to Tokyo to promote friendly relations between the two peoples Sept. 1931 Manchurian Incident iv Mar. 1932 Establishment of ‘Manchukuo’ Jan. 1933 Kwantung Army occupies Jehol province, Inner Mongolia, and incorporates it into Manchukuo Nov. 1933 Zenrin kykai established in Tokyo Early 1934 Zenrin kykai begins operations in Chahar province, Inner Mongolia Nov. 1936 Suiyuan Incident Dec. 1936 Sian Incident; Chinese Nationalists and Communists reconcile July 1937 Outbreak of Second Sino-Japanese War; Kwantung Army occupies majority