The turn of the century for Japan came as a smooth transition from the enclosed cultural setup to the widespread adoption of the external influence of the other world. Up to the time of century turn, Japan had concentrated on having a clear control on the infiltration of the masses by new ideas and acts of handing over revenue and wealth creation to the control and eyes of the government. Sanshiro is the literature that points us to the exact scenario that existed in Japan at that time. The author introduces us to the prevalent conditions that incubated the gradual alteration of the traditional setup upheld for long by the Japanese. It is therefore to note that the existence of a varied strata of the population led to the initial revolution among the Japanese people.
Sanshiro represents the less modernized parts of the Japanese nation at the turn of the century. The author of Sanshiro also introduces us to a host of characters who represent various levels of people in the strata of society. This existence of layers led to the quick adoption and implementation of the communist manifesto. As it is the case with Sanshiro, so it with the Communist manifesto. In the manifesto Marx introduces us to two different vital groups of people he refers to as Bourgeois and the Proletarians. According to Marx these two groups exist so as to ensure a balance in life. He goes further to indicate the conflict existed at the time of the turn of the century. Marx identifies that the ploterians are a working class kind of people that have all the dependence on the people responsible for creating these jobs.
The turn of the century led to the widespread adoption of permanent structures as opposed to makeshift accommodation facilities. In Sanshiro we a...
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...ads an ambitious, competitive and worldly life, Hirota thinks it vital to live life without losing what he calls self identity. The middle class of people also keeps fighting the bourgeoisie to block any chances of being swept out of existence. The manufacturing field moves towards large scale operations that the small shopkeeper and the other peasants cannot support. This advances to a level of extinction for these proletarian groups.
These factors lead to a great pace setting for the widespread adoption of the precepts of communism given by Marx. At the turn of the century, Japan translates from a state of an all equal people nation to an increasingly diverse people with different levels of dominance and power.
References
Natsume Soseki (2009).Sanshiro. Penguin books.
Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels (2009) The Communism Manifesto. The Floating Press
Japanese revolts ensue with the opening of Japan to the Western World. The middle and lower classes wanted Japan to be open while the conservative daimyo did not. Both of these groups looked to the emperor for a decision. The shogunate, reliant on the isolation, collapsed under pressures caused by outsid...
Reischauer, Edwin O., and Albert M. Craig. Japan, Tradition & Transformation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978. Print.
Beginning in the early seventeenth century, Japan went from being one of the driving forces of technological and military power in the modern world to becoming outdated, old due to a lack of technological innovation. From this Japan was able to outlast the hard times, becoming once again becoming technological powerhouse. This was because, as stated in the book, “The Lexus and the Olive Tree” by author Thomas L. Friedman, they were able to find a happy median between the Lexus and the olive tree, in other words, new ideas and technology, while still maintaining traditional values of culture and race, both politically and socially. Japan was able to rebound, and regain political, social and economic stability and prosper in each after decades of internal conflict and turmoil because they, unlike similar contemporary non-western civilizations, focused on balancing new reforms with older, more historical governmental traditions.
In 1900 Britain was in many respects the world’s leading nation, enjoying a large share of world trade, a dominant position in the international money market, and possessing a far flung empire supported by the world’s most powerful navy. Japan was a complete contrast, sharing with Britain only the fact that it too was a nation of Islands lying off the shore of a major continent. Until the 1860s it had possessed a social and economic structure more akin to that of feudal, rather than twentieth century, Europe. By the 1990s, the positions were almost reversed. This paper sets out to examine the contrasting democratic political systems of the two nations and to explore the social and democratic consequences of the changes that have occurred.
Jansen, Marius B.. "Japan Between the Wars." The making of modern Japan. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002. 495. Print.
...ty for one that better suited its capitalistic tendency. That opportunity came in1868 when the Meiji imperial rule was able to overthrow the Tokugawa regime, setting off a political, economic, social and cultural change that transformed Japan. As Japan embraced modernity with full force, some began to realize the negative impact of modernization on the rural life, social structure and most importantly on its culture, blaming it on the western influence on its modernization. Thus as Japan neared World War II, it embraced a new sense of modernization, one that was separate from westernization, creating a nationalistic and fascist government policy. Japanese society is characteristic of plurality and opposing value systems coexisting. As new ideals and institutions arise, Japan sees itself transforming and changing at the hands of internal and external forces.
In conclusion, I tried to explain what experienced in Japan during the first years of rapid economic growth in terms of its social consequences. According to my argument, I tried to show imbalances which occurred with economic development in post- war Japan. In other words, economic development cannot appear as linear social development. Post- war Japan has witnessed positive and negative social consequences after implementing economic recovery. Therefore, we can say that society cannot always embrace economic development positively. Economic transformation brings its own waves and thus society fluctuates regarding its embracement. Japanese society received its share with this economic recovery during post- war period.
The early modernization and industrialization of Japan through the Meiji period in the 1860s allowed rapid development of a prosperous Japanese society. The samurai tradition was widely respected and a natural development was the growth in power of the military. By 1894 Japan’s fear of Western influences and its desire to be recognized as a world power led to the Sino-Japanese War in which Japan invaded China. Victories there gave Japan new confidence and in 1904 and 1905, the government engaged in the Russo-Japanese War giving Japan new strength in mainland Asian positions. The twentieth century was a century of tremendous worldwide social, economic, and political change. The development of media technology impacted nations, reducing the differences between cultures. Japan, by then, one of the leading industrial states of the 21st century, was highly influential in Eastern Asia and throughout the world. The infamous bombing of Pearl Harbour in December, 1941 revealed a Japan feeling empowered enough to attack the United States of America.
...high power status, Japan had to have a self-reliant industrial common ground and be able to move all human and material resources (S,195). Through the Shogun Revolution of 1868, the abolition of Feudalism in 1871, the activation of the national army in 1873, and the assembly of parliament in 1889, the political system of Japan became westernized (Q,3). Local Labor and commercial assistance from the United States and Europe allowed Japan’s industry to bloom into a developed, modern, industrial nation (Q,3). As a consequence production surplus, and food shortage followed (Q,3). Because of how much it relied on aid of western powers, Japan’s strategic position became especially weak. In an attempt to break off slightly from the aid of the west Japanese leaders believed that it would be essential for Japan to expand beyond its borders to obtain necessary raw materials.
...t diversity as a necessary evil of the new world economy, but still hold onto the xenophobic and conformity views it has had throughout its’ history. Only time will tell whether the Japanese society is ready to accept diversity. The movement has been started by the younger generation and the successful technology based companies they have founded. Japan’s history dictates that conflict follows fast cultural changes. The transformation from the Nara Era into the Tokogawa Era, and later from the Tokogawa Era into the Meiji Era were all marked by quick and rapid changes in Japanese cultural doctrine. Each transition had violent confrontations between those fighting to take power and those trying to keep it. During each of these cultural revolutions influences from the old system remained. Japan today has put down their swords, but as past history shows, the old conservatives will not hand over their system to the younger liberals easily. This suggests that the change toward diversity in Japan will not happen over night, but slowly over time. It may take generations for the Japanese society to completely forget the conformist and xenophobic cultural influences of the past 1500 years.
...is part is the most prominent part of my paper and I will try to demonstrate how post-war economic development affects Japanese society with some examples in some cases. In order to have an idea about social impacts, I tried to explain and analyze economic development process after WW2 in Japan in the second part. Afterwards I will deal with its social consequences in this part. As I tried to mention in the introduction, social transformation is not linear. It has ups and downs or positive and negative impacts over society. If Japan has economically been developed Japanese society has not benefitted from development right rate. While some Japans have been living in prosperity, the others were suffering on the other way. Especially in 1960s, people were enjoyed with this economic development, but upcoming years the system created its own victims in Japanese society.
Our preliminary class gave a brief, yet detailed outline of major events affecting the East Asian region. Within that class, prompted by our limited geographical knowledge of Asia, we were given a fundamental explanation of the geographical locations of the various events taking place in the region. In subsequent classes, we were introduced to the major wars, political shifts, and economic interests which shaped Japan, China and Korea to what they are today. We examined the paradigm of pre-modern Japanese governance, the Shogunate, and the trained warriors which defended lord and land, Samurai. In addition, we examined the socio-economic classes of Medieval Japan, which included the Samurai, peasants, craftsmen, and the merchants. We also examined pre-1945 Japan’s policies toward foreign entities, notably the Sakoku Policy, which sought to expunge all foreign presence and commerce in an effort to protect its borders and culture. 1945, however, saw ...
Western people influenced Japanese people to follow the American culture. The western culture had a huge impact in the Japanese people because American’s were in Japan’s territory so they decided to follow the western culture. ‘’After Japan surrendered in 1945, ending World War II, Allied forces led by the United States occupied the nation, bringing drastic changes. Japan was disarmed, its empire dissolved, its form of government changed to a democracy, and its
The small island country of Japan is rich in a culture that has developed over thousands of years. It is very difficult to analyze another culture without some knowledge of that culture first. During my two year residency in Japan, my eyes were opened to the culture of Japan and its people and I grew to love it as much as my own. (The ideas expressed in this essay mainly consist of my own knowledge and observations of Japan). The Japanese are a very traditional people. But this should not be confused with a primitive people, because the Japanese are not primitive by most dictionaries' definitions of the word. Japan has been changing in recent years in its view of its own economy, in its social interactions, in its thoughts about religion, and in its overall view of its place in the world and among other nations.
Fifty years after the end of the second World War, it is easy to look back on the American occupation of Japan and see it as a mild nudge to the left rather than a new beginning for the country. We still see an emperor, even if only as a symbol. Industry, when it was rebuilt, was under much of the same leadership as before the war. Many elements of the traditional lifestyle remained–with less government support and in competition with new variants. The Japanese people remained connected to a culture which was half western and half Japanese. Nevertheless, it is irrefutable that the surrender in 1945 had a major impact on the lives of the Japanese. Political parties, elected by the populous, became a great deal more influential in the government. This changed the dynamics of Japanese industry, even if the zaibatsu were sill the foundation of the economy. Financial success took on a new character; the production of high tech goods for sale to the world’s most developed countries was now a better source of income. The affluence of the upper class was more evenly distributed. On a broader scale, for the first time, America had more influence than European powers. The prevention of the formation of a military put the focus of the government on trade, the United Nations, and the cold war rather than an empire in Asia. Simultaneously, social attitudes and lifestyle were more independent of the government and consumer led.