FSM HistoryLesson pack 4 of 10
Japanese rule 1914–1941
Summary
Japan’s navy took the islands from Germany in 1914, and a civilian government, the Nan’yō-chō, later ran them from Koror in Palau. In 1918 six Chuuk village chiefs declared that they wanted to stay under Japan rather than return to Germany, and between 1917 and 1927 the Sokehs exiles came home from Palau. Japanese and Okinawan settlers arrived in large numbers, mostly on Pohnpei and Chuuk, and by Hezel’s account the colony paid its own way before the war.
Main topics: The Navy seized the islands, then a mandate followed; Settlers came in numbers, mostly to Pohnpei and Chuuk; The colony paid for itself; Schools taught obedience; churches were welcomed; Withdrawal from the League led to fortification.
Mini-timeline
| 1914 | (Jan) Fr. Gebhard opens a mission station at Fouchuen, western Fefan. [MicSem, Catholic Church: Chuuk] |
|---|---|
| 1914 | (October) Japan occupies the German Marshalls, Carolines and Marianas. [JACAR chronology] |
| 1914 | (late 1914) The German-era school system is disbanded; Yap had 473 pupils at the end of German rule. [Hezel, Schools in Micronesia Prior to American Administration (MicSem)] |
| 1919 | The last German Catholic missionaries are expelled from the Carolines and Marshalls. [Hezel, MicSem] |
| 1921 | (July) Civil administration headquarters moves from Truk to Koror, Palau. [Habele, Establishment of the Japanese Mandate] |
| 1922 | (1 Apr) Branch offices set at Ponape (Kolonia, covering Kusaie), Truk (Natsushima) and Yap by South Seas Government Order No. 4. [JACAR, Ponape branch] |
| 1925 | (1 Jan) Fukushima Taira is on record as head of the Ponape branch office. [JACAR, Ponape branch] |
| 1932 | (c. 1932) Mission-school enrollment reaches 1,180, up from about 400 in 1922. [Hezel, MicSem] |
| 1935 | Government public-school attendance becomes compulsory for Kosraean children. [Habele, Kosrae] |
| 1937 | (21 Aug) Branch offices are reorganized into general-affairs, finance and police sections. [JACAR, Truk branch] |
| 1939 | (April) Berganza Pinedo becomes acting apostolic administrator, running the mission from Tokyo. [Aoyama Gakuin SIPEC paper] |
| 1941 | (11 Aug) The Navy’s 4th Base Force arrives at Truk and is reorganized there. [JACAR, 4th Base Force] |
Discussion questions
How did Japanese settlement change the population of Pohnpei and Chuuk?
The colony paid for itself before the war. Who benefited from that economy?
What did three years of school prepare islanders for?
Why did Japan’s leaving the League of Nations matter for the islands?
Why might some islanders remember the prewar Japanese years more warmly than other periods?
Quiz
Circle one letter for each multiple-choice question. Write short answers on the lines. For ordering questions, fill the boxes in order, earliest first.
In 1918, who declared that they wanted to stay under Japanese rule rather than return to Germany?
- A Six Chuuk village chiefs
- B The Nahnmwarki of Kitti
- C German missionaries
- D Okinawan settlers
Where did the civilian Nan’yō-chō government have its headquarters, and where were its branch offices in today’s FSM?
Put these in order, earliest first:
- A Pohnpei’s tuna cannery opens
- B Japan gives notice that it will leave the League of Nations
- C Sokehs exiles begin returning from Palau
- D Japan occupies the islands
Earliest Latest
Why did the Japanese Navy begin fortifying the islands, for example the Palikir and Sekere hills on Pohnpei, from the mid-1930s?
Source question A tourism website says 14,000 Japanese lived on Pohnpei at the end of the war. Japan’s official archive (JACAR) gives about 5,600. Which is more trustworthy, and what might explain the bigger number?