Sweetening the Empire: The Modernization of Western-Style Confectionery in Modern Japan

Recently, historians are increasingly recognizing that Japan’s “successful” industrialization and modernization were closely tied to its imperial expansion. Following this trend, I explore how Japan’s path to becoming an empire was intertwined with the development of its capitalist economy by adopting a commodity history perspective. This approach is well-established in the tradition of world history, with sugar being a popular commodity to examine the power dynamics of slavery, capitalism, and empire. In the context of modern Japan, I focus on the most significant by-product of sugar – confectionery goods such as caramel and chocolate – to demonstrate how the pursuit of sweetness reflects the complex relationships between business activities and the empire’s ideology and practices.

This paper explores the interconnection between the growth of Western-style confectionery and the emergence of the Japanese Empire through three cases related to the building of the empire’s ideology, economic independence, and colonialism. Firstly, scientific claims about the positive effects of sugar on the human body were appropriated to fit the state’s efforts to “Enrich the country, Strengthen the armed forces” (fukoku kyōhei). Secondly, the introduction of the “Confectionery Tax” (kashi zei) in 1885 reflected Japan’s concerns over economic independence and caused backlash from confectionery businesses, which argued that their products were essential rather than luxuries. Finally, the acquisition of Taiwan as the first colony enabled Japan to develop its own sugar industry. Through a series of technological reforms, Taiwan successfully became the largest sugar producer within the empire, strengthening sugar’s ties with the imperial power and its by-products, including Western-style confectionery. Drawing on government documents, scientific journals, and colonial records, this paper highlights how the commercialization of sweetness was entangled with the rise of the Japanese Empire.