Between 1873-1945, Japan built a massive Pacific Empire. Its first colonies, Taiwan and Korea, were internationally recognized, like British control in India and French in Vietnam. Later conquests, such as the puppet regimes in Manchuria and mainland China, were rejected by the US and UK, leading to WWII in the Pacific.

How did the Japanese people understand this empire, its growth, and its collapse? This project aims to explore public attitudes through a neglected source: board games. The Japanese empire was a popular theme for sugoroku, a game similar to “Snakes and Ladders.” Children and adults “played” at empire, rolling the dice, and moving on a board with pictures of Japanese military victories, territorial gains, and international conquests. This project will turn these original paper games into playable online versions.