...relatively peaceful coup on January 3, 1868, dubbed the Meiji Restoration, ushered in the Meiji Era, a time at which Japan underwent dramatic modernization that pushed it into the world stage. The stable, rigid Tokugawa shogunate, which had ruled Japan for 250 years in an era known as the “pax Tokugawa,” had given way to the emperor and his followers. By 1912, the end of the Meiji period, Japan had become a major world power. Xenophobic samurai watched as their country westernized itself, abandoning the policy of isolation that had characterized Tokugawa rule. They “still clung to their old ideal of sonno-joi [Imperial Reverence and Expel the Barbarians] and resented each step the government took to make Japan into a modern nation.” Many of these samurai had opposed the shogunate during the Bakumatsu period for the very purpose of expelling foreigners, having called themselves shi-shi (“men of spirit”). They championed the rule of able men and desired a greater role in politics. It was because “[t]he Restoration [had been] … like a tapestry, woven from the strands of multiple causes and conflicting motives” that daimyo members of the Hitotsubashi party had called for kobu-gattai, the unification of Court and Bakufu, and had challenged the Bakufu only when resistance appeared the only course of...
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...1868 in Japan as a 'restoration', but to those of the years following 1911 in China as 'revolutions'? Introduction The Meiji Restoration of 1868 in Japan and the Chinese Revolution of 1911 were responsible for producing an enormous amount of upheaval in both countries. Both nations were immersed in social, political and economic backwardness. In this context, both political episodes should be construed as an attempt to reverse decline and set the course for modernization. The main thesis of this essay is based on the notion that whilst there are some similarities between both political events, the main difference resides in the fact that the Meiji Restoration began the centralization of the mechanisms of governance and induced the social and economic modernization of the country. At the same time, the Chinese Revolution of 1911 did not succeed in engendering a sound system of government capable of reversing the country’s decline. The first part of the essay will deal with the main characteristics of the Meiji restoration of 1868. The second section of the essay will outline the main features pertaining to the Chinese Revolution of 1911. The third part of the essay will examine the similarities and differences between these two events, with the ultimate purpose of determining the qualitative differentiation to be made between the concepts of “restoration” and “revolutions”. The main characteristics of the Meiji restoration of 1868 The Meiji Restoration of 1868 can be interpreted...
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...However, even though introducing many new concepts, Meiji government still managed to remind itself and its government that traditional values of Japanese would never be lost. In the Imperial Rescript, the emperor greatly emphasized that traditional values of Japan were primary in this revolution of education. Values such as respect to elders, obligation to achieve one’s fullest potential, and duty in a group are greatly demanded and upheld by...
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...experienced such changes, it remained characterized by strong central governments battling internal rebellions and external threats and maintained its strong roots of the early religion/ideology of Confucianism. ! From 1400-1900, East Asia experienced an increase in imports from Western nations while undergoing the process of industrialization. In Japan, the annual average of silk production increased by approximately 6000 tons between 1868-1899. Coal, used for industrial steamships and railroads, production increased from .6 million metric tons in 1875 to 5 metric tons by 1895(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_Restoration). We see such increases in industrialization because the Japanese elite initiated economic reforms under the Meiji Restoration in order to industrialize Japan in hopes of catching up to more dominant Western countries that were dominating the world politically and economically. During this period we also see an increase in East Asian trade with Western nations. In China, we see an increase in opium imports from Britain. This change occurs because China was forced to open trade to European countries after losing the 1st Opium War against Britain after its population had become dependent on an opium addiction. In Japan, we an increase in foreign imports from 1860 to 1865 of 13.34 million Mexican dollars(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opening_of_Japan). This was due to forced opening of Japanʼs trading “doors” by a US naval fleet...
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...The Satsuma rebellion was a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 to September 24, 1877, 9 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government. Although the Satsuma Domain had been one of the key players in the Meiji Restoration, and although many men from Satsuma had risen to influential positions in the new Meiji government, there was growing dissatisfaction with the direction the country was taking. The modernization of the country meant the abolition of the privileged social status of the samurai class, and had undermined their financial position. The very rapid and massive changes to Japanese culture, language, dress and society appeared to many samurai to be a betrayal. Saigō Takamori, one of the senior Satsuma leaders in the Meiji government who had supported the reforms in the beginning, was especially concerned about growing political corruption. Saigo offered to go to korea and spur a war. A war would not only spur the strengthening of Japan's military, but would restore to the samurai their reason to be. When the plan was rejected, Saigō resigned from all of his government positions in protest and returned to his hometown of Kagoshima, as did many other Satsuma ex-samurai in the military and police forces. To help support and employ these men, in 1874 Saigō established a private academy in Kagoshima. Word of Saigō’s academies was greeted with considerable concern...
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...governments sought to intercede in and influence the political and economic fortunes of Asian countries through the use of new methodologies such as "protectorate", "sphere of influence", and concession which minimized the need for direct military conflict between competing European powers. The newly modernized Meiji government of Japan sought to join these colonizing efforts and initiated discussions (Seikanron|(lit. "subdue Korea")) in Japan in 1873. This effort was allegedly fueled by Saigō Takamori and his supporters who insisted that Japan confront Korea's refusal to recognize the legitimacy of Emperor Meiji as ruler of the Empire of Japan, as well as for supposed insulting treatment meted out to Japanese envoys attempting to establish trade and diplomatic relations. In fact the debate concerned Korea, then in the sphere of influence of China's Qing Dynasty which elements in the Japanese government sought to separate from Chinese influence and establish as a Japanese satellite.[8] Those in favor also saw the issue as an opportunity to find meaningful employment for the thousands of out-of-work samurai, who had lost most of their income and social standing in the new Meiji socioeconomic order. Further, the acquisition of Korea would provide both a foothold on the Asian continent for Japanese expansion as well as a rich source of raw materials for Japanese industry. The arguments against such designs were outlined in Okubo Toshimichi's "7 Point Document", dated October 1873, in...
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...The two actors that was responsible for the major achievements of the Meiji Restoration were Hisamitsu of Satsuma domain and Kido Takayoshi of Choshu domain. The two were both daimyos, the great lords ofthe Shogun. In order to overthrow Tokugawa Shogunate, Hisamitsu and Takayoshi joined together to form an alliance because they wanted to Emperor Komei to be in charge. The reason behind all this was because they believed that Komei was able to deal with foreign threats. They did not want to suffer like China did after the Opium Wars, therefore they felt like it was important to have a strong Emperor to defend them from foreign threats, especially the Western imperial power. However, due to the fact that the Emperor died so early, his son took over the throne....
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...Some historians refer to Japan’s social, economic, and political advancements during the late 19th century and early 20th century as the “Meiji Miracle.” During the 1860’s the Tokugawa shogunate was at its weakest point and it would soon fall after the shotgun abdicated his power. In 1868, the Meiji regime was established under Mutsuhito in Edo, or modern Tokyo. Previously during the Edo rule; the weak Tokugawa rulers were forced into signing unequal treaties with various Western powers. The Meiji emperor and his advisors soon realized that Japan must change and initiate reforms in order to prevent the Western powers from dominating Japan. The Meiji rulers would soon embrace western technologies, industries, and lifestyles to initiate modernization policies that would forever alter Japanese politics, society, and economics. The Meiji would begin their political reform by stripping the daimyo of titles to the land in 1871. To maintain peace among the daimyo the Meiji rulers made the former daimyo regional governors over their prefectures. By doing this, the Meiji rulers were able to successfully remove the daimyo from holding full possession of the land without major resistance. The Meiji government would continue to modernize Japanese politics by establishing a parliament and constitution based on the Western government. The use of a constitution sparked a debate on among the officers and intellectuals of which form of parliament was more beneficial. The politicians favored...
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...WHAT DO KUME KUNITAKE’S OBSERVATIONS OF THE WEST DURING HIS TRAVELS WITH THE IWAKURA EMBASSY REVEAL ABOUT JAPAN IN THE 1870S? In December 1871 the prominent Japanese minister Iwakura Tomomi led almost half of the new Meiji government (“the government”) on an embassy around the Western world. Travelling with the ‘Iwakura Embassy’ was Kume Kunitake, a Neo-Confucian scholar and historian. Employed as both Iwakura’s personal secretary and the Embassy’s recorder, Kume along with his assistant Sugiura Kozo (later Hatakeyama Yoshinari) were instructed to record what the Embassy witnessed in the West. The record they produced was to form the basis for Kume’s ‘True Account’ (‘Jikki’) of the Embassy’s ‘Journey of Observations’ (‘Kairan’). Clearly set aside from the Jikki’s narrative in indented sections are Kume’s ‘personal views and observations’ (“Kume’s observations”). Yet these are much more than mere observations. Indeed, before Kume could publish his work he required the approval of Iwakura. While this presumably encouraged Kume to toe the government line, it also gave Iwakura considerable influence over Kume. Considering that the Jikki was revised over ten times before it was approved, it seems that Iwakura fully exercised this influence. Indeed, as Kume’s observations often appear to digress from the main narrative it suggests that they were imposed into Jikki at a late stage of compilation, presumably during these revisions. This suggests that these observations were written...
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...“MEIJI ERA’s (1868-1912) IMPORTANCE IN JAPANESE MODERNIZATION.” Japan is a country that has never been colonised and was never colonised during the colonial period. It was governed by the Emperors, Shoguns, Daimyos and the Samurais through the feudal structure of governance with the Emperor as the head of the hierarchy. It maintained its isolationist policy and never opened-up to the outside world for centuries and was in a stagnant stage in terms of development. However, in the 19th Century it dumped its feudal past and subsequently emerged stronger and economically superior after the rubbles left behind by the Pacific War in the 20th Century. Japan showed her strength in the two World Wars. Japan is now ranked one of the world’s largest power/economy behind The United States and China. It is regarded as a distinct civilization of its own, with very unique history. To fully understand present day Japan and its economic miracle, critical investigation needs to be done on its past history to see where its foundation of modernity and industrialization has been laid. When investigation was done, it showed that the Meiji Era (1868-1912) is considered to be the upward trajectory that fired-up Japanese industrialization and helped establish its modernization path. This started when Japan’s pre-modern political system and its feudal society (1603-1865): the Edo Period, led by the Tokugawa Shogunate, with its band of radical samurais was ended in 1868. The Tokugawa Shogunate/central...
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...Meiji Japan. In 1867/68, the Tokugawa era found an end in the Meiji Restoration. The emperor Meiji was moved from Kyototo Tokyo which became the new capital; his imperial power was restored. The actual political power was transferred from the Tokugawa Bakufu into the hands of a small group of nobles and former samurai. Like other subjugated Asian nations, the Japanese were forced to sign unequal treaties with Western powers. These treaties granted the Westerners one-sided economical and legal advantages in Japan. In order to regain independence from the Europeans and Americans and establish herself as a respected nation in the world, Meiji Japan was determined to close the gap to the Western powers economically and militarily. Drastic reforms were carried out in practically all areas. The new government aimed to make Japan a democratic state with equality among all its people. The boundaries between the social classes of Tokugawa Japan were gradually broken down. Consequently, the samurai were the big losers of those social reforms since they lost all their privileges. The reforms also included the establishment of human rights such as religious freedom in 1873. In order to stabilize the new government, the former feudal lords (daimyo) had to return all their lands to the emperor. This was achieved already in 1870 and followed by the restructuring of the country in prefectures. The education system was reformed after the French and later after the German system. Among those...
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...short stories of Rudyard Kipling (the ‘Bard’ of Empire), and examine the (contradictory?) lure of the primitive, even as British modernity is taken for granted. Second, the module will proceed to examine some major Chinese and Japanese writers and intellectuals (and an Indian poet and critics, the Nobel Prize-winning Rabindranath Tagore) and see how northeast Asian culture was broadly affected by their sense of Western modern superiority in technology, political organisation and literary (and other forms of creative) culture. Both China and Japan, the major countries in East-Southeast Asia, were never colonised, but they were intimidated by the presence of the Great Western Powers (and their colonies) in the region. Japan after the Meiji Restoration (1868) became the first modern Asian nation-state, and their attempts at intensive (and disruptive) modernisation of their culture had a profound impact on the whole region – and this desire to be modern also meant that Japan itself became a colonising state, following the British, French and German states. This module attempts, therefore, a comparative examination of the ambiguities and contradictions in the process of becoming modern both in the colonial centre (Great Britain) and in northeast Asia, and an understanding of the new forms of literature that resulted in that...
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...curtailed the Japanese sovereignty for the first time in history, and alerted Japanese politicians to the dangers of further foreign encroachment. After the fierce debates among Japanese intellectuals, they realized ‘Gunboat diplomacy’ is the essence of the international political game. Thus, some of enlightened leaders such as Sakamoto Ryōma (1867) emphasized the necessity of modernize Japan as Western states by strengthening the military and economic power in his writing Eight-Point Program in order to survive in the arena of power politics. This idea was adopted as a center pillar of Meiji Restoration and enabled Japan to build up military power comparable to Western states within a short period of time. However, Japan needed to show its advanced military strength to be recognized as a growing power and to join ranks of powers in international politics (Ebrey, 2009, p.371). Therefore, the Meiji government planned the way to be a ‘regional hegemon’ through military expansion in Asia. It first defeated Qing Dynasty in Sino-Japanese War in 1895 and representatives of both states signed at the Treaty of Simonoseki that included the Article to cede full sovereignty of Taiwan to Empire of Japan in perpetuity. In other words, Taiwan officially became the first oversea colony of Japan. Nearly a decade later, Japan attained a surprising victory over the Russian forces and successfully received acknowledgement of Russia concerning its takeover of Korean peninsula with the Treaty of Portsmouth...
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...The Meiji period (1868 to 1912) saw a major shift in childrearing practices. The Meiji Restoration in 1868 caused a surge of industrialization and modernization, directing the Meiji government to construct a nation-state, which cultivated nationalism and brought on the deification of the emperor. These changes led to the formation of a family model--the ie system. Within this system, since men were expected to “carry out orders” and die for the nation-state, motherhood began to be emphasized and respected as having the primary role of childcare, overshadowing fathers in the sphere of childrearing. Part of Japan’s transition to a modern society was the enactment of its first School Law in 1872 which established state-sponsored compulsory education, thereby replacing the role of fathers in giving their children a preliminary...
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...Name Professor Course Date Family Representation in the Lives of the Kimoto Family in “The River Ki” The novel, “The River Ki”, represents and accurately portrays three generations of a declining traditional family and how it changed in the modern world by spanning over sixty years, before, during and after World War II (1900-1960). The three generations represented by Hana who is seen as the apple of Toyono Kimoto’s eye (her grandmother) is raised and bred as a traditional Japanese woman, is married and gives birth to Fumio. Fumio is the next generation who despite Hana's efforts and wishes, rebels against the traditional arts and culture of her upbringing and ultimately her own daughter wants to learn more about the traditional, conservative lifestyle of a Japanese woman. In the novel, Ariyoshi establishes a strong link between women and the natural world in the context of a family. Each woman's life, (which is seen as a representation of a family generation) contrasts the others as the intense social and technological changes of the period affect their initially rural Wakayama Prefecture of Southern Japan. Changes Found in Family Hana is a girl about to enter an arraigned marriage to an ambitious man of a lesser family. The story begins with her very traditional, arranged marriage to a first born son in a town located down stream on the River Ki. Hana, the main protagonist, held tradition and superstition very dearly representing the initial Kimoto family’s attributes...
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