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Meiji restoration and modernisation of Japan
Meiji restoration and modernisation of Japan
Meiji restoration and modernisation of Japan
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Within this historical context the Meiji leaders realized that they needed to harness the concept of the Imperial Will in order to govern effectively.
During the Age of Imperialism, members of the Satsuma and Choshu, two of the very powerful clans in Japan, were parts of the opposition to foreign imperialism. This opposition believed that the only way that Japan could survive the encroachment of the foreigners was to rally around the Emperor.
The supporters of the imperial government, known as imperialists, claimed that the Tokugawa Shogunate had lost its imperial mandate to carry out the
Imperial Will because it had capitulated to Western powers by allowing them to open up Japan to trade. During this time the ideas of the imperialists gained increasing support among Japanese citizens and intellectuals who taught at newly established schools and wrote revisionist history books that claimed that historically the Emperor had been the ruler of Japan.
The fact that the Tokugawa's policy of opening up Japan to the western world ran counter to beliefs of the Emperor and was unpopular with the public made the Tokugawa vulnerable to attack from the imperialists. The imperialists pressed their attack both militarily and from within the Court of Kyoto. The Japanese public and the Shogun's supporters soon felt that they had lost the Imperial Will.
The end of the Tokugawa regime shows the power of the symbolism and myths surrounding the imperial institution. The head of the Tokugawa clan died in
1867 and was replaced by the son of a lord who was a champion of Japanese historical studies and who agreed with the imperialists' claims about restoring the Emperor. In 1867, the new shogun handed over all his power to Emperor Komeo in Kyoto. Shortly after handing over power to Emperor
Komeo, the Emperor died and was replaced by his son who became the Meiji
Emperor, which officially started the Meiji period (1868-1911). The
Meiji Emperor was only 15, and so all the power of the new restored Emperor fell not in the Emperor's hands but in the hands of his close advisors.
Once in control of the government, the Meiji leaders and advisors to the
Emperor reversed their policy of hostility to Foreigners. The reason for doing this was because after Emperor Komeo, who strongly opposed contact with the west, died in 1867 the Meiji Emperor's advisors were no longer bound by his Imperial...
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...Ibid. p.105.
20 Ibid. p.105.
21 Ibid. p.106.
22 Ibid. p.106.
23 Ibid. p.106.
24 Ibid. p.106.
25 Duus. The Rise of Modern Japan. p.117.
26 Borton, Hugh. (1955). Japan's Modern Century. New York: Ronald
Press. p.524.
27 Duus. The Rise of Modern Japan. p.118.
28 McLaren. A Political History of Japan During the Meiji Era 1867-1912.
p.69.
29 Nagata. A Simplified Treatise on The Imperial House of Japan. p.60.
30 Large. The Japanese Constitutional of 1889. p.9.
31 McLaren. A Political History of Japan During the Meiji Era 1867-1912.
p.193.
32 Ibid. p.192.
33 Large. The Japanese Constitutional of 1889. p.27.
34 Nagata. A Simplified Treatise on The Imperial House of Japan. p.89.
35 McLaren. A Political History of Japan During the Meiji Era 1867-1912.
p.77.
36 Ibid. p.78.
37 Ibid. p.77.
38 Ibid. p.83.
39 Ibid. p.82.
40 Reischauer. Japan Past and Present. p.66.
41 Duus. The Rise of Modern Japan. p.117.
42 Allen. Japan the Years of Triumph. p.41.
43 Duus. The Rise of Modern Japan. p.84.
44 Ibid. p.119.
45 Ibid. p.88.
46 Ibid. p.94-95.
47 Reischauer. Japan Past and Present. p.166.
48 Ibid. p.167.
49 Ibid. p.13.
50 Large. The Japanese Constitutional of 1889. p.20.
“By 1870, 90% of Japan’s international trade was controlled by Westerners living in Japan.” (Woods, SW. (2004). Japan an Illustrated History (1st Edition). Hippocrene books pg. 111).
...tute of Navy and studied military technology. In 1868, a new government was established and made the first constitution refereed by Germany. Unfortunately, after this era, the Japanese started dominating other Asian countries just as the West did before. It was an ironical aspect of Perry’s opening pu of Japan to the world.
The goals of the Meiji Restoration included dismantling of the old feudal regime and the creation of a nation-state capable of standing equal among Western powers, including the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the Unites States. The leaders of the Meiji Restoration were mostly young samurai motivated by increasing domestic problems and threats of foreign intrusion. Saigō Takamori was also an influential leader in the Meiji Restoration. He was responsible for leading several rebellions against the government in companionship with samurai warriors and peasants who distrusted the new regime. The citizens of Japan were also, arguably, influential leaders of the Meiji restoration. Under their pressure to insist on the creation of a constitutional government, the government formed a Cabinet system in 1885 and in 1886 began developing the Constitution, which would be presented as a gift from the emperor to the people in 1889 and established a bicameral parliament. Revolutionary tactics from the Meiji Restoration included the development of transportation and communication. Railroads were built, telegraphs connecting major cities, and the institution of a European-style banking system developed. We can clearly recognize differences between the revolutionary tactics of the Meiji Restoration to those in the Mexican Revolution and those in the
This became the era of the shogun empire and was the beginning of a new duel government in
From most of the historical references about ancient Japan, people tend to draw the impression that males were dominant rulers. However, women were actually very important figures in pre-historic time, as they fulfilled their role as independent leaders, especially in times of succession crises. This is why the study of female sovereignty is vital to understand the formation of the Japanese state, based on gender complimentary rulers. The political significance of the existence of these female emperors in ancient Japan is that they provided a place of legitimacy for women leaders, and they played a substantial part in identifying and creating the Japanese society.
The Tokugawa period, also known as Edo period (1603-1867), was the final period of traditional Japan that lasted for more than 250 years (britannica.com,2013). The period was a time of internal peace, political stability, and economic growth under the Shogunate founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Tokugawa Shoguns maintained strict control over the structure of society by keeping a firm control over what they were allowed to do and what they were not allowed to do.
Bill Gordon 2000, Explanations of Japan’s Imperialistic Expansion, 1894-1910, Bill Gordon, viewed 13th March 2014,
Japan became an imperial power after defeating China in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Following this Pan-Asianism gained more supporters among members of the Japanese ruling elite and nationalists as they were encouraged by the success of the strong Japanese imperi...
Learn all you can from the Europeans and Americans"2 was what Emperor Meiji was speaking to the Japanese in 1867. During this period, Japan agreed. to change its hereditary authority and class barriers between its people. Japan also opened their ports during this period 4 and sold fuel to other countries such as the US.5 The Japanese language took a major turn, too. with the addition of borrowed words from all over the world.6 Japan borrowed the American education system of elementary, middle school and universities during this time.7 A new western style army and universal military conscription program was soon set up by General Yamagata Autamo.
Though it seems that it was the Western influence that set off this revolutionary change, a more scrutinizing look into Japanese society at the time reveals that Japan was in fact on the brink of supplanting the fixed, hierarchical Tokugawa order for one that was better suited for its fast evolving, capitalistic society. As historian David Lu states, “Our people began to discover [modern civilization’s] utility and gradually and yet actively moved towards its acceptance. However, there was an old fashioned and bloated government that stood in the way of progress.” (Lu, 351). Therefore in a way we can view the intrusion of Western powers in Japan on that infamous July day in 1853 as an event that occurred during a time when Japan was ready for a world renewal, and not a direct and complete cause of modernization of Japan; in fact it was Japan’s revaluation of modernization and what it meant to be Japanese amidst strong western influences that eventually ...
The Meiji Restoration was a political revolution during the Meiji Period (1868-1912) that resulted in the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate and restored the control of Japan to the rule of Emperor Meiji, which means enlightened rule (cite). The end of the Tokugawa Shogunate terminated Japan’s isolationist foreign policy known as sakoku (cite) and resulted in a new era of reformist political, economic, ideological and technological development along with westernization
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Chinese and Japanese faced much internal conflict, but while China faced a combination of economic setbacks and political weakness, the Japanese were riddled with wars along their countryside. First, the Chinese emperor was too weak in comparison to his bureaucracy, which ended up making most of the decisions for the last Ming dynasty emperor. This was due to the emperor’s realization that having a title as Son of Heaven did not mean he had all the power of the empire. Instead he lived a laid back life where the bureaucrats vied for power and wealth amongst themselves and he merely managed them. Like the Chinese, the Japanese also saw elites battling it out for power, but this time on the battlefield with armies of samurai. These battles put Japan in a period much like the Warring States period in early Chinese history, where families fought and fought for power almost endlessly. The political weakness in China contributed to its economic failure as well. With no force to manage to seas, pirates were free to raid trade ships and villages along the coast line, weakening the Chinese economy that relied on a transport system to supply the country. These two major forces led to China’s fragmentation and eventual takeover by the Manchu. In contrast, the battles happening in Japan were not harmful to the economy as much as they were in China. This is due to the fact that the Japanese daimyos were independent...
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.
Miyamoto Musashi was born in 1584, in a Japan struggling to recover from more than four centuries of internal strife. The traditional rule of the emperors had been overthrown in the twelfth century, and although each successive emperor remained the figurehead of Japan, his powers were very much reduced. Since that time, Japan had seen almost continuous civil war between the provincial lords, warrior monks and brigands, all fighting each other for land and power. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the lords, called daimyo, built huge stone castles to protect themselves and their lords and castle towns outside the walls began to grow up. These wars naturally restricted the growth of trade and impoverished the whole country.