One Hundred Years Ago, Japan Went to War

On the 23 August 1914, Japan declared war on Germany, entering the First World War on the same side as Britain, France, Belgium, and Russia. This was one hundred years ago yesterday. (I wrote about Paula's birthday yesterday, more important to our family as it was.) This is important in Shiba history, because at the time, every Shiba in the world lived in Japan. Thus, in Shiba history, this was the date when the First World War started for real. It was not just something happening far away in Europe anymore, and the humans of Shibas got involved in the war. I guess some Shibas lost beloved humans, too.

Daniel use to say that the outbreak of the First World War is the greatest single tragedy of  human history. In part, this is because the war really did not have had to happen, there were just a long range of unfortunate circumstances, warmongering politicians, and wrong decisions that led to the war. The other part is that there were so many people who died, the evolution towards democracy throughout Europe gave way to dictatorships, and the outcome of the war sowed the seeds of the Second World War, the Holocaust, and even more communistic dictatorships. You may also add that the Second World War almost was a war which could have meant the end of the Shiba breed. We were almost extinct as a breed, when Japanese humans took it upon themselves to help save us after this war.

If Japan would not have entered the First World War one hundred years ago, perhaps Japan would not have taken part in the Second World War either, and the Shiba breed might have been different. Of course, I might not have been. In the great scheme of things, however, the world might still have been a better place.