Major Issues In Japan's Period Of Reunification

In Japan, during the end of the first millennium, the samurai went to war with the emperor. This war is known as the Genpei War and the Emperor was defeated by the Samurai. This led to the first established shogunate. During the Edo period (1603-1868) or also known as the Tokugawa shogunate, there was an era of stability that led to the rise of shoguns. Shoguns were considered the single ruler of Japan although, the emperor was above the shoguns on the social class. Tokugawa Ieyasu ruled Japan for 15 generations, controlling about 25% of the peoples land, leaving the rest of the 75% to be put into domains, ruled by 275 daimyos. The shogun of Japan controlled government, however, when the Meiji Restoration began in the 19th century, Japans stable society ended and the Shoguns lost all power, due to Matthew Perry. Matthew Perry was a Christian who was seen as a threat to Japan as he wanted to create a divide within Japan. Japan was split into two sections, one being the shogunate and its supporters to remain in power and the Japanese nationalists who wanted the Emperor to regain power. This divide in Japan led to a civil war known as the Boshin war or the

Transformations in China and Japan In both the cases of the Qing Dynasty of China and the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, their rule prospered until the centuries old dynastic systems were overthrown in both countries. In their own ways the Qing and Tokugawa shared similarities yet also displayed many differences in how they were overthrown, their impacts, and the forces that overall led to the change at the end of these systems. Their influential powers from the 1600s to the early 19th century brought great change to their countries that were seen well at first, but the people were not happy with either complete outcome, overall leading to the definite ends of the two powers despite their differences throughout.

During the post classical period, 650 C.E to 1450 C.E, Japanese leaders were confronted with several issues that threatened political order in Japan. The problems that arose during that time included a lack of respect for Buddhism, for example, monks were not taking their vows seriously. Another problem included the division between classes in the social structure, one instance was when the lady-in-waiting in the temple showed disdain for the peasants in a lower class than her. Ultimately, one last problem was the lack of overall respect for the government. Samurais were not being properly trained and the Daimyo were fighting among themselves simply for power. The issues that presented themselves during this time period can be solved in many ways. Buddhism, a unified religion, reestablishing Confucian values and relationships, and properly training the Samurai are just

With recent tensions rising between North Korea and the world, it is no surprise that the Japanese citizens are aligning themselves with a nationalist government. Japanese Prime Minister Abe has started to consider revoking the disarmament treaty. Revoking it would let Japan increase spending on the military, which would ultimately result in a much larger and advanced military. Although rearming the Japanese military would improve security in the country, it would only increase the tension, doing damage to not only myself, but future generations of Japanese citizens.

Under the daimyos, warfare changed from heroic combat to a more modern conflict. The constant state of war damaged the Japanese economy and because of that, some peasants engaged in futile rebellions against

Although Japan changed in many ways from 1853 to 1941, there were also many factors that remained the same throughout the history of Japan. One such continuity was the maintained existence of a figurehead ruler controlled by other political authorities. The feudalistic emperor of Japan was the supposed “highest, most powerful authority” in the land, but was actually controlled by the military leaders- the shogun. Similarly, the militaristic emperor of Japan decades later continued to remain a figurehead ruler controlled by military and government officials. In addition, Japan continued to remain reliant on exports in order to maintain its economy. As a result of Japan’s small geographical size, the island nation had few natural resources and was forced to rely on exports to survive economically. The nation also grew increasingly reliant on other nations to provide materials and supplies that it could not provide for itself. This complete reliance on other nations was seen illustrated when the Japanese military was provoked to attacking another superpower- the United States, in response to the 1940 United States embargo

If their people got in their way or tried to slow down their progress, civil war was the first option to get them back in line. Industrialization and militarization were two advances in their country that were quickly grasped. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was famous for saying “Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Army”. As the empire began to conquer other lands surrounding them, this quote was law and what they lived everyday by. Enriching their country and making a stronger army is one of the key things that made the Japanese Empire excellent. By increasing the stregnth of their army many other European countries fell to Japan after the Pearl Harbor attack. From the time when Japan attacked the United States, the United States were brought into World War II. Soon they began to ask Japan to surrender, but the Japanese would not give in. “In 1947, the Empire of Japan fell due to the United Sates dropping atomic bombs on them” . Since the Japanese would not give in, the United States decided to bomb them with an atomic bomb. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki collapsed the empire and the Japanese Empire failed to bounce back.

Every leadership position was hereditary, passing the same titles down the lines of esteemed Japanese families. Only the Shogun could give favor and titles to families, completely cutting off any chance at social mobility. This strategic move kept daimyo competing with each other to please the Shogun, losing the chance to band together and overthrow the government instead (Lecture, 2013 Feb 12). This decentralized government was inefficient for any kind of domestic and foreign affairs to be handles quickly. There was no sense of nationalism and profits circulated only among the elite, who controlled trade. The large degree of separation between the domains ultimately resulted in civil war, permanently bringing down Tokugawa

The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan adopted in 1947. It is an unitary state, containing forty-seven administrative divisions, with the Emperor as its head of state. His role is ceremonial and he has no powers related to Government. Instead, it is the Cabinet, composing of the Ministers of State and the Prime Minister, that directs and controls the Government. The Cabinet is the source of power of the Executive branch, and is formed by the Prime Minister, who is the head of government. It is an unitary state, containing forty- seven administrative divisions, with the Emperor as its head of state. Japan was ruled by successive military shoguns. During this period, effective power of the government resided in the Shogun, who officially ruled the country in the name of the Emperor. The Shoguns were the hereditary military Governors.

From the beginning of the 1900s tension had grown between the Soviet Union and Japan after the Russo-Japanese War. In 1904, the Soviet Union’s empire and Japan’s empire collided in their own individual efforts take Manchuria, which is a part of China, and Korea(Young). Japan tried to talk the Soviet Union into letting them take over Korea, so the Soviet Union could go capture Manchuria. But the Soviet Union also wanted the northern part of Korea, so the Japanese government declared war against the Soviet Union.

With the new dominance of the samurai, it faced many problems relating to any government. Rebellion and civil unrest were not uncommon, and throughout the superiority of the Samurai, there were many different periods of rule, each facing their own dilemmas. Attacks from external threats such as the Mongols among other things, weakened samurai rule and at a certain point, Japanese imperial rule regained power. As samurai rule continued, internal problems such as disloyalty among officials caused instability in their government. Regional officials called Daimyo’s were ignoring orders from the Shogun (head of government) and supported

Tokugawa Ieyasu was one of the three great unifiers of Japan, but was different in the way he actually succeeded. Oda Nobunaga had the mentality to crush anybody in his way of his goal, Hideyoshi had much too great ambitions, but Ieyasu was reserved and cautious which lead to his success. His belief that the use of politics was just as important if not more important than war to unify the realm perpetually was his key to doing just that. His careful thinking and strategy lead him to be the last great unifier of Japan.

Only 10 years after the bomb, “Japan was at the forefront of modern manufacturing industry… it was one of the world’s leading economies” (Lawton). This alone shows how fast Japan got back on their feet, modernizing, and getting ahead of other countries. Immediately after the bombs, Japan adopted a war disaster reconstruction plan, which helped them rebuild the cities as quickly as possible. In terms of survivors, they were offered long term medical care under the A-Bomb Victims Special Measures Law, which gave the people access to nursing, burials, medical care, and many other services. Though the sense of normalcy in the city did not return quickly, it did return steadily. Over time, the chemicals were removed from the environment, the buildings

Japan faced many internal and external struggles in its unification. The nation's daimyo held a great amount of power, and often battled for land. This made it difficult for a singe administrative system to control the entire country. The Ashikaga Shogunate was also weakened from the Onin War, making it more difficult for it to maintain its place in Japan. These factors combined made it uniquely difficult for a ruling system to control all of

     The Japanese culture has allowed for very little diversity. This started very early in their history. The social controls used to eliminate diversity are the family, the power of gender, the poor treatment of minority groups, the corporate Japanese mentality, and the respect required by people in authority. However, due to globalization and the shrinking of the world, Japanese society is starting to make the change to diversity. The individualistic mentality shared by the new technology driven younger generation is putting pressure on the old Japanese status quo. The transformation is happening very slow, but as the population ages and the old conservatives are being replaced by the new liberals, the old way