1874 Japanese expedition to Taiwan

Punitive expedition conducted by Japan Mudan Incident the earlier incident Mudan incident Taiwan Expedition the Formosa Conflict 300pxCommander-in-chief Saigo (sitting at the center) pictured with leaders of the Seqalu tribe.300px The Assault at Sekimon (石門進撃), May 22, 1874. 6 May – 3 December 1874 Taiwan Prefecture, Fujian Province, Qing ChinaAugust 18, 1874 WASHINGTON.; OFFICIAL DISPATCHES ON THE FORMOSA DIFFICULTY. PARTIAL OCCUPATION OF THE ISLAND BY JAPANESE THE ATTITUDE OF CHINA UNCERTAIN CHARACTER OF THE FORMOSAN BARBARIANS. THE RAILROAD AND THE MAILS. THE VACANT INSPECTOR GENERALSHIP OF STEAMBOATS. THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. THE CURRENCY BANKS AUTHORIZED CIRCULATION WITHDRAWN. POSTMASTERS APPOINTED. APPOINTMENT OF AN INDIAN COMMISSIONER. THE WRECK OF THE SCOTLAND, NEW-YORK HARBOR. NAVAL ORDERS. TOLL ON VESSELS ENGAGED IN FOREIGN COMMERCE. THE TREASURY SECRET SERVICE. TREASURY BALANCES. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20C1FF73A5D1A7493CAA81783D85F408784F9 New York Times Washington *Japanese occupation of southern Taiwan Qing renunciation of suzerainty over the Ryukyu Islands Japanese victory Botan Empire of Japan Unknown Empire of Japan Saigō TsugumichiEmpire of Japan army Sakuma SamataEmpire of Japan naval Douglas CasselEskildsen Robert 2010 An Army as Good and Efficient as Any in the World: James Wasson and Japan's 1874 Expedition to Taiwan https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234717697.pdf Asian Cultural Studies 36 52–56 Empire of Japan naval Noriyoshi Akamatsu Unknown Land:3,600Sea: 6 warships 89 killedMany wounded 12 killed~30 wounded561 died from diseaseアジア歴史資料センター, A03030094100, 正院修史局ヘ征台ノ節出兵総数死傷人員其外問合ニ付回答(国立公文書館)「JACAR (アジア歴史資料センター) Ref.A03030094100、単行書・処蕃書類追録九(国立公文書館)」。 561 Japanese troops and Douglas CasselCunningham p. 7 died of disease during the expedition and occupation. The Japanese expedition to Taiwan, referred to in Japan as the Taiwan Expedition 台湾出兵 Taiwan Shuppei yes and in Taiwan and mainland China as the Mudan Incident (牡丹社事件), was a punitive expedition launched by the Japanese ostensibly in retaliation for the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan indigenous peoples near the southwestern tip of Taiwan in December 1871. In May 1874, the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the indigenous Taiwanese peoples in southern Taiwan and retreated in December after the Qing dynasty agreed to pay an indemnity of 500,000 taels, with Japan conceding that China had sovereignty over Taiwan. Some ambiguous wording in the agreed terms were later argued by Japan to be confirmation of Chinese renunciation of suzerainty over the Ryukyu Islands, paving the way for de facto Japanese incorporation of the Ryukyu in 1879. Background Mudan incident Mudan incident In December 1871, a Ryukyuan vessel shipwrecked on the southeastern tip of Taiwan and 54 sailors were killed by indigenous Taiwanese peoples. Four tribute ships were returning to the Ryukyu Islands when they were blown off course on 12 December. Two ships were pushed towards Taiwan. One of them landed on Taiwan's western coast and made it back home with the help of Qing officials. The other one crashed into the eastern coast of southern Taiwan near Padiyudr Bay (八瑤灣 Bāyáowān). There were 69 passengers and 66 managed to make it to shore. Fifty-four of them were killed by Paiwan while the remaining 12 were rescued by Han Chinese who transferred them to Taiwan Prefecture (modern Tainan). They then made their way to Fujian province in mainland China and from there, the Qing government arranged transport to send them home. They departed in July 1872.Barclay 2018 51-52 This event, known as the Mudan incident, did not immediately cause any concern in Japan. A few officials knew of it by mid-1872 but it was not until April 1874 that it became an international concern. The repatriation procedure in 1872 was by the book and had been a regular affair for several centuries. From the 17th to 19th centuries, the Qing had settled 401 Ryukyuan shipwreck incidents both on the coast of mainland China and Taiwan. The Ryukyu Kingdom did not ask Japanese officials for help regarding the shipwreck. Instead its king, Shō Tai, sent a reward to Chinese officials in Fuzhou for the return of the 12 survivors.Barclay 2018 53-54 Diplomacy On 30 August 1872, Sukenori Kabayama, a general of the Imperial Japanese Army, urged the Japanese government to invade Taiwan's tribal areas. In September, Japan dethroned the king of Ryukyu. On 9 October, Kabayama was ordered to conduct a survey in Taiwan. In 1873, Tanemomi Soejima was sent to communicate to the Qing court that if it did not extend its rule to the entirety of Taiwan, punish murderers, pay victims' families compensation, and agree to talk about the matter, Japan would take care of it. The Foreign Minister Sakimitsu Yanagihara believed that the perpetrators of the Mudan incident were "all Taiwan savages beyond Chinese education and law."Wong 2022 124-126 Japan justified sending an expedition to Taiwan through linguistic interpretation of huawai zhimin (lit. outside the sphere of civilization) to mean not part of China. Chinese diplomat Li Hongzhang rejected the claim that the murder of Ryukyuans had anything to do with Japan once he learned of Japan's aspirations.Wong 2022 127-128 However, after communications between the Qing and Yanagihara, the Japanese took their explanation to mean that the Qing government had not opposed Japan's claims to sovereignty over the Ryukyu Islands, disclaimed any jurisdiction over indigenous Taiwanese peoples, and had indeed consented to Japan's expedition to Taiwan.Leung 1983 270 In the eyes of Japan and the foreign advisor Charles Le Gendre, the indigenous people were "savages" who had no sovereign or international status, and therefore their territory was "terra nullius", free to be seized for Japan.Ye 2019 185-186 The Qing argued that like in many other countries, the administration of the government did not stretch to every part of a country, similar to the Native American territories in the United States or aboriginal territories in Australia and New Zealand, a view Le Gendre also took before his employment by the Japanese.Ye 2019 187 Japan had already sent a student, Kurooka Yunojo, to conduct surveys in Taiwan in April 1873. Kabayama reached Tamsui on 23 August disguised as a merchant and surveyed eastern Taiwan.Wong 2022 127-128 On 9 March 1874, the Taiwan Expedition prepared for its mission. The magistrate of the Taiwan Circuit learned of the impending Japanese invasion from a Hong Kong newspaper quoting a Japanese news item and reported it to Fujian authorities.Wong 2022 129 Qing officials were taken by complete surprise due to the seemingly cordial relations with Japan at the time. On 17 May, Saigō Jūdō led the main force, 3,600 strong, aboard four warships in Nagasaki headed to Tainan.Wong 2022 132 On 6 June, the Japanese emperor issued a certificate condemning the Taiwan "savages" for killing our "nationals", the Ryukyuans killed in southeastern Taiwan.Wong 2022 130 Expedition thumb|left|200px|The Ryūjō was the flagship of the Taiwan expedition. thumb|right|The battle of Stone Gate, against the "Botan" indigenous people, was the most serious encounter of the expedition.James Huffman (historian) Huffman James L. A Yankee in Meiji Japan 2003 Rowman & Littlefield 9780742526211 94 https://books.google.com/books?id=WngYfDz1pAMC&q=%22Battle+of+Stone+gate%22&pg=PA94 thumb|upright|left|Marquis Saigo Tsugumichi commanded Japanese expeditionary forces as a lieutenant-general in the Taiwan Expedition. On 3 May 1874, Kusei Fukushima delivered a note to Fujian-Zhejiang Governor Li Henian announcing that they were heading to savage territory to punish the culprits.Wong 2022 134-137 On 6 May the Japanese landed a small force of 100 men, commanded by American Captain Douglas R. Cassel, to select a campsite fortified by the sea.Cunningham p. 6 On 7 May, a Chinese translator, Zhan Hansheng, was sent ashore to establish peaceful relations with tribes other than the Mudan and Kuskus.Wong 2022 134-137 American foreign officers and Fukushima landed at Checheng and Xinjie. They tried to use Baxian Bay at Qinggangpu as their barracks but heavy rain flooded the site a few days later so the Japanese moved to the southern end of Langqiao Bay on 11 May. They learned that Tanketok (also known as Tok-a-Tok) had died and invited the Shemali tribe for talks. Japanese scouts fanned out and were met by attacks by the indigenous Taiwanese.Wong 2022 134-137 The Qing officially responded for the first time on the same day that the Japanese reached Langqiao Bay, claiming that the Japanese had violated the Sino-Japanese Friendship and Trade Treaty, signed in 1871.Han Cheung Taiwan in Time: Sovereignty in question https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2016/05/08/2003645758 7 January 2026 Taipei Times 8 May 2016 On 15 May, Cassel acted as a negotiator to Chief Issa (伊厝), head of the island's sixteen southern tribes. Chief Issa stated the "Botans" were out of his control, and gave the Japanese his consent to punish them as they wished. On 17 May, a 100-man party went inland to scout for another camp location, and from this party a dozen split off to investigate a village. Despite being within friendly territory, this small group was ambushed by the Botans. In the ensuing skirmish one Japanese soldier was wounded in the neck and a sergeant from Satsuma killed. The small Japanese group retreated back to the main force, and upon returning found the sergeant had been decapitated by the indigenous Taiwanese, his head taken as a trophy.Eskildsen, Robert. An Army as Good and Efficient as Any in the World: James Wasson and Japan's 1874 Expedition to Taiwan (Asian Cultural Studies 36, 2010), p. 55 On 18 May the Japanese ship Nisshin commanded by Akamatsu Noriyoshi anchored in Kwaliang bay and launched a small boat to conduct surveys. Indigenous Taiwanese from the village Koalut fired upon the boat with muskets. Despite receiving no injuries, Akamatsu was enraged at the incident and made immediate plans not only for attack on Koalut, but the nearby village of Lingluan as well. These plans would be postponed and eventually cancelled. On 21 May, a detachment of 12 men was sent out to investigate the area where the Satsuma sergeant had been killed. During this investigation the detachment was ambushed again by a group of 50 natives and in the exchange of fire two Japanese were seriously wounded and one attacker was killed. The Japanese returned hastily to the shore and sounded the alarm, and 250 men accompanied by Wasson marched inland to respond. Wasson was dismayed at the lack of discipline of the Japanese soldiers, particularly in the rear, who quickly broke rank and dashed ahead in a race to get to combat first. The natives retreated after the arrival of the main force.Eskildsen, Robert. An Army as Good and Efficient as Any in the World: James Wasson and Japan's 1874 Expedition to Taiwan (Asian Cultural Studies 36, 2010), pp. 56–57 Saigō arrived with more troops on 22 May. Colonel Sakuma Samata commanding a 150-strong force marched too far inland and was ambushed by 70 Mudan fighters, commencing the Battle of Stone Gate. The indigenous Taiwanese people were already in pre-selected ambush positions behind stone, while the Japanese had to make do with what cover they could find from rocks seated in the waist-deep river and only being able to employ 30 troops at one time due to the terrain. Early in the engagement Sakuma ordered a retreat, but was completely ignored by his troops who continued to fight. The fighting lasted a little over an hour, until Sakuma ordered 20 riflemen to scale a cliff to his left and fire on the natives from above while the men in the river continued to press them. Upon seeing the 20 riflemen atop the cliff, the natives retreated. The Mudan lost 16 men including their chief, Agulu, and his son with many more wounded.House p. 91 The Japanese suffered seven casualties including an officer and 30 wounded.Wong 2022 134-137 The Japanese army split into three forces and headed in different directions, the south, north, and central routes. The south route army was ambushed by the Kuskus tribe and lost three soldiers. A counterattack defeated the Kuskus fighters and the Japanese burned their villages. The central route was attacked by Mudan and two or three soldiers were wounded. The Japanese burned their villages. The north route attacked the Nünai village. On 3 June, they burned all the villages that had been occupied. On 1 July, the new leader of the Mudan tribe and the chief of Kuskus admitted defeat and promised not to harm shipwrecked castaways.Wong 2022 137-138 Surrendered indigenous people were given Japanese flags to fly over their villages. They were viewed as a symbol of peace with Japan and protection from rival tribes by the indigenous people. To the Japanese, it was a symbol of jurisdiction over the indigenous Taiwanese.http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ahr/107.2/ah0202000388.html | of Civilization and Savages: The Mimetic Imperialism of Japan's 1874 Expedition to Taiwan | the American Historical Review, 107.2 | the History Cooperative 2010-08-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20101212014547/http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ahr/107.2/ah0202000388.html 2010-12-12 Chinese forces arrived on 17 June and a report by Fujian Administration Commissioner reported that all 56 representatives of the tribes except for Mudan, Zhongshe and Linai, who were not present due to fleeing from the Japanese, complained about Japanese bullying.Wong 2022 138 A Chinese representative, Pan Wei, met with Saigō four times between 22 and 26 June but nothing came of it. The Japanese settled in and established large camps with no intention of withdrawing, but in July, there was an outbreak of malaria. Both American foreign advisors contracted it, and while Wasson survived, Cassel died from the malaria he contracted on the expedition in spring the next year, 1875. In August and September 600 soldiers fell ill. They started dying 15 a day. The death toll rose to 561. Toshimichi Okubo arrived in Beijing on 10 September and seven negotiating sessions occurred over a month long period. The Western Powers pressured China not to cause bloodshed with Japan as it would negatively impact the coastal trade. The resulting Peking Agreement was signed on 30 October. Japan gained the recognition of Ryukyu as its vassal and an indemnity payment of 500,000 taels. Japanese troops withdrew from Taiwan on 3 December.Wong 2022 141-143 thumb|upright=0.6|Sir Harry Parkes Legacy Although launched ostensibly to punish the local tribesmen for their murder of 54 Ryukyuan merchants, the 1874 punitive expedition to Taiwan served a number of purposes for Japan's new Meiji government. Japan had for some time begun claiming suzerainty, and later sovereignty, over the Ryūkyū Kingdom, whose traditional suzerain had been China, though it had also been a feudatory of the by then defunct Satsuma Domain since the 17th century. The expedition demonstrated that China was not in effective control of Taiwan, let alone the Ryukyu Islands. Japan was emboldened to more forcefully assert its claim to speak for the Ryukyuan islanders. While Japan won an indemnity from China, it also conceded China's sovereignty over Taiwan.Mayo, Marlene J. "The Korean crisis of 1873 and early Meiji foreign policy." Journal of Asian Studies 31.4 (1972): 793–819 (p. 819). online The settlement in 1874, brokered by the British, included a reference to Chinese recognition that the Japanese expedition was "in protection of civilians", a reference that Japan later pointed towards as Chinese renunciation of its rights over Ryukyu. In 1879 Japan referred the dispute to British arbitration, and the British confirmed Japanese sovereignty over the Ryukyus, a result which was not recognised by China.Kerr 2000 359–360 The expedition also served as a useful rehearsal for future Japanese imperial ambitions. Taiwan was already being viewed as a potential Japanese colony in some circles in Japan. Eskildsen Robert 2002 Of Civilization and Savages: The Mimetic Imperialism of Japan's 1874 Expedition to Taiwan The American Historical Review 107 2 388–418 10.1086/532291 More generally, the Japanese incursion into Taiwan in 1874 and the feeble Chinese response was a blatant revelation of Chinese weakness and an invitation to further foreign encroachment in Taiwan. In particular, the success of the Japanese incursion was among the factors influencing the French decision to invade Taiwan in October 1884, during the Sino-French War. The Qing court belatedly attempted to strengthen its hold on Taiwan. Chinese imperial commissioner Shen Baozhen built the Batongguan Trail in 1875 across the island's rugged interior to encourage Han settlement in the mountains and better subjugate the indigenous population.八通關古道 https://nchdb.boch.gov.tw/assets/overview/monument/19870417000001 National Cultural Heritage Database Management System Bureau of Cultural Heritage February 20, 2021 zh-tw楊南邵 玉山國家公園八通關古道東段調查研究報告 1989 37–38 Academia Sinica https://www.ysnp.gov.tw/AchievementReport/C004610?SearchCategoryID=8dfc14d0-243f-44a8-895b-4214dca7a55c&ID=1663cc53-8a85-401c-998f-903299d0abdf&PageIndex=1&PageType=1 February 23, 2021 zh-tw See also General Sherman Incident Battles for Shimonoseki J. R. Wasson Rover incident and the consequent Formosa Expedition Tani Tateki References Citations 30em Bibliography Barclay Paul D. 2018 Outcasts of Empire: Japan's Rule on Taiwan's "Savage Border", 1874–1945 University of California Press Chiu Hungdah 1979 China and the Taiwan Issue Praeger London 0-03-048911-3 registration https://archive.org/details/chinataiwanissue0000unse Davidson James W. James W. Davidson The Island of Formosa, Past and Present: history, people, resources, and commercial prospects: tea, camphor, sugar, gold, coal, sulphur, economical plants, and other productions 1903 Macmillan https://archive.org/details/islandofformosap00davi London and New York 6931635M 1887893 Edward Howard House House Edward H. May 2018 The Japanese Expedition to Formosa Forgotten Books 9780282270940 Kerr George George H. Kerr Okinawa: The History of an Island People revised Tokyo Tuttle Publishing 2000 Afterword by Mitsugu Sakihara 9780804820875 1958 Leung Edwin Pak-Wah 1983 The Quasi-War in East Asia: Japan's Expedition to Taiwan and the Ryūkyū Controversy Modern Asian Studies 17 2 257–281 . 10.1017/s0026749x00015638 144573801 Paine S.C.M 2002 The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy Cambridge University Press London 0-521-81714-5 Ravina Mark 2003 The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori Wiley 0-471-08970-2 Cunningham Roger D. 2004 A Conspicuous Ornament: The Short, Eventful Life of Lt. Cdr. Douglas R. Cassel, U.S.N. Journal of America's Military Past Smits Gregory 1999 Visions of Ryūkyū: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics Honolulu University of Hawai'i Press Wong Tin 2022 Approaching Sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands Springer Ye Ruiping 2019 The Colonisation and Settlement of Taiwan Routledge Further reading House Edward H. Edward Howard House 1875 The Japanese Expedition to Formosa Tokio 602178265 http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001606567 6954039M Eskildsen Robert 2002 Of Civilization and Savages: The Mimetic Imperialism of Japan's 1874 Expedition to Taiwan The American Historical Review 107 2 388–418 10.1086/532291 Kodet, Roman. 2025. "The Japanese Invasion of Formosa, 1874, in the Context of the International Relations in the Far East". The International History Review. External links Taiwan Expedition of 1874 Category:1874 conflicts Category:1874 in Taiwan Taiwan 1874 Japan 1874 Category:Meiji era Category:Military history of Taiwan Taiwan 1874 Category:Foreign relations of the Ryukyu Kingdom Category:Ryukyu Islands Category:Invasions of China Taiwan 1874 Category:Violence against Taiwanese indigenous peoples Category:May 1874