Intellectual Developments In 18th Century Japan And Europe

The Tokugawa shogunate was a transition period in which Japan began to modernize and began trading due to the arrival of Commodore Perry. Society during this period was based on strict class hierarchy with tight restrictions for social mobility. With urbanization, came an increase reliance on markets and merchants for funds which increased the need and want for trade with the Western nations. The images displayed in chapter two show the progress of events and how the Western nation influenced Japan. It begins with images of how the Japanese viewed the world, moving on towards the arrival of Commodore Perry, to the modernization of the port cities where a lot of trade occurred, to the beheading of the domain lord by anti-foreign Japanese citizens,

The Japanese were not unknown to attempts to have them enter the consumerist world of the 19th century. Michael R. Austin bring this up in his book Negotiating with Imperialism, “The boundary’s physical manifestation was the trading complex at Nagasaki, on the southern island of Kyushu…Nagasaki first and foremost was closed to whom the bakufu wished to keep out of Japan.” The bakufu was basically the government of the time that was command by the Emperor. He later describes how Japan slowly rolled out their trade to other countries prior to the west that were mostly in Asian. He later describes how that the Japanese were uneasy to open to the west due to cultural boundaries instead of the aforementioned physical

When Japan opened its waters backed for trade, a vast amount of influence swept the European countries. Along with the Japanese products came an influence in the art of Europe called “Japonisme”. This type of art tended to focus on the beauty of everyday life such as the focus on many of the Japanese woodblocks. The most obvious influence of Japan on European art was a painting by James Jacques Joseph Tissot called Japanese Vase. This painting perfectly emphasizes and illustrates the common indicators of Japanese influence on European art.

In 1543, three Portuguese travelers aboard a Chinese ship accidentally drifted ashore on Tanegashima, a Japanese Island. Within a few short years, a myriad of Portuguese merchants, missionaries, and settlers began to arrive in the country and ushered in almost a century of Portuguese imperial presence in Japan. This time period was a unique era in the history of European imperialism, and it is important to evaluate it from multiple points of view. This comparison is easily done with records such as, Captain Alexander Hamilton’s A New Account of the East Indies: Descriptions of Japan and Engelbert Kaempfer’s History of Japan. These two works are both first-hand accounts of the European interactions with the Japanese people. Indeed, these two

Commercially and culturally, Western Europe had many global interactions with regions surrounding them. In this era, Europeans expanded and built many new empires. They established more trading companies, like the Dutch East Trading Company, for instance. This company flourished and survived for two centuries and succeeded in bringing trade between Asia and Europe. Also, empires like the British Empire provided new trading posts and slave laborers. Overall, Europe was busy making advancements in trans-regional and global trade networks, which resulted in spreading of religion, migration of people, and other elements of culture. This is a vast difference from Tokugawa Japan of this time period. Japan began its self-imposed isolation around the

As Europe begins to make tremendous impacts on the New World through colonization, the Old World also began to feel the effects of this new world order. With Europe creeping into South East Asia, it was only a matter of time before they would be right on China and Japan’s doorstep. Zen Buddhist Japan has remained untouched by the Europeans, and Daimyo’s, Samurais, and Emperors continued to dominate the Japanese system. Confucian dominant China, like Japan, still did not feel the true effects of a new European order and remained virtually unaffected. However, the old order of China and Japan were about to change with the arrival of Europeans and their missionaries, who brought Christianity with them.

The Far East reacted both positively and negatively to the West encroaching onto their lands. Japan was one of the countries that, in the beginning, reacted positively. The Japanese leaders either sent people, or went themselves to study Western cultures and technology, ending the country’s isolation. This helped make Japan a more modernized and industrial country compared to other countries in the Far East.

They were in awed by the new ideas and technologies that reached Japan, which had created impact on many levels of the Japanese society. The Japanese went by a motto “Western sciences, Japanese essence.” After opening their doors, Japan rapidly reinvigorated itself and quickly grew into one of the wealthiest and most

Western Influence on Japan Japan, as a nation, is a continually changing society. Ever since western nations became involved with Japan, its changes over recent times have increased at a substantial rate. Japan now faces cultural, economical and social differences as a result of the western involvement. The involvement was initiated by the Japanese themselves, beginning during the Meiji Period1 through current times.

Japan is an unique oriental country in many aspects, especially in politics and economy, both western practices and traditional nationalism are coexisted in this country. The period 1890-1940 was just followed the Meiji restoration, and was typical in the history of Japan, at that time, Japan was on the way from a feudal country to a capitalistic country, called modernization. Many western practices were being more and more adopted, however, at the same time, traditional rules still had strong influences in Japan. Under this background, this report will discuss the Japanese cultural factors during 1890-1940 that influenced the disclosure

Following the opening of Japan to the world in the mid-1800’s Japans economy boomed. Rapidly industrializing, Japan’s economic infrastructure transformed from agricultural to industrial one by taking a sort of world tour and then applying what was seen abroad at home. “That Japan has been enabled to [industrialize] is a boon conferred on her by foreign intercourse, and it may be said that the nation has succeeded in this grand metamorphosis through the promptings and the influence of foreign civilization…We have welcomed Occidental civilization while preserving their

Portrait of an Arhat (Rakan) was created in Edo period of the Japanese art culture. This period started in 1615-1868 when culture expression started to really blossom for the Japanese culture (Singer). From statues, lavish paintings, and religion the art speaks vibrant vibrations. This culturally diverse period gets its name from the city of Edo, known as Tokyo modern day. Which became the headquarters of the government when Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542 – 1616) unified the country (Department of Asian Art). The Tokugawa regime was started in 1603, when the emperor, in “recognition of Ieyasu’s supremacy on the battlefield”, appointed him shogun. Shogun is the highest military position you can carry in Japan (Singer). After this Japan had strict laws on not using motor vehicles were put into place. Going into the 1630s, contact with the outside world was stopped through “official prohibition of foreigners” (Department of Asian Art). Around 1720 Edo had a population of “more than one million residents having more population than London or Paris at the time” (Singer). According to Art of Edo Japan Kyoto, was city of temples and shrines. It was the leading center of arts and crafts production with a population of close to 400,000 (Singer).

The Victorian Era shaped many countries by providing a Western and English philosophy and backbone, one nation of which was heavily influenced by England was Japan. In between the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II, the queen of “Keep Calm and Carry On” there was the Victorian Era, a time of industrial and global progression and possession for the British Empire. The Era brought Western influence to the rest of the world and especially affected one very important country today, Japan. From isolation to global power, the Japan rose to be known for their unique culture, praised for their amazing artwork, and was renowned by the British whom augmented the economy pressed by backside of revolution. Japanese culture in the Victorian

Japanese art has a rich history stretching back tens of thousands of years. This long history has been divided into many different periods. The Meiji, Taisho, Showa, and Heisei periods cover the Modern Era-- 1868-present-- of Japanese art. Katsuhika Hokusai, Takahashi Yuichi, and Claude Monet are all famous artists of modern Japanese art history. Westernization is the term that describes the influence of the West in Japan. Japonisme refers to the period of time in which European artists looked to the East in order to emulate its style in their art. The West was very important to modern Japanese art history because if was influential and influenced by Japan.

The Great Enlightenment caused a great influx of independent thinkers and progressive ideas in the Western world. Through new philosophies coined by Locke, Voltaire, Descartes, Montesquieu, and many others, a new age in society was jumpstarted. Through the Age of Enlightenment, many revolutions were sparked in several areas of life. Enlightenment was a loose revolution made of scattered “philosophes” that caused a change in life as it was known. The Age of Enlightenment could easily be defined as the most pivotal event in history due to its mass effects on education, individuality, and theoretical advancements.