The Meiji Republic

Japan first started out as an isolated nation, but soon it would become one of the most powerful countries during WWII. But before Japan was a powerful Nation, it needed to modernize. According to document 1, Japan was isolated from 1635-1853.1853 to 1854.This was when US Commodore Perry visited Japan and forced them to open their ports(document 1, N.d, timeline. As a result of this, the Japanese create the Meiji Restoration. According to document 5, the emperor is given the power to command the Army and the Navy end to rule over Japan, but the citizens too have a house of representatives( Alfred Stead,1904, Doc 5).

Japan’s warring state period ended after the consolidation of power by the Tokugawa family in 1603, and the new Tokugawa Period was one of Japan’s most peaceful eras that lasted for nearly two and a half centuries up till 1868. The Tokugawa period had many major developments that alter the lives of how Japanese people functioned during this time period, and one such person who lived during time was Katsu Kokichi (1802 – 1850), who wrote an autobiography, Musui’s Story, showcasing how these new developments affected his life. These new developments that happened during this time period was the introduction of Neo-Confucianism to the samurai class, the role of adoption into other samurai family, and pleasure quarters that were established and

In 1894, a Sino-Japanese war broke out between Qing China and Meiji Japan over the control of Korea. The defeat of Qing government in the war not only illustrated failure of China in attempting modernization, but also highlighted the success of Meiji Restoration. While both countries adopted modernizing and strengthening policies in the similar period and were with similar strengths in the beginning, they differed much in terms of their policies and attitude towards the West, which resulted in a big contrast between their performances in the war.

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.

Japan was ultimately beneficial over its time span of its existence because of its many advances and benefits to the people who were a part of the empire. Though there were negative and harmful aspects of its rule, the good of the empire outweighed the bad. The Japanese were among the last to develop a complex society and completely isolated itself from outside influence. An era occurred where they began to borrow many things from China. They adopted their writing and imitated their literature. By the late 1800s, however, an imperial restoration occurred with Commander Perry in charge . In order to stop westernization in Japan, the country adopted western culture. The Empire of Japan emerged and was more reformed than ever. By rapidly expanding under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei (“Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Army”), Japan began its journey to beginning a world power. Japan began to seek profits overseas increasing their exposure to the outside world and their cultures. With all of these advancements, the overall success and benefit to its people of the empire of Imperial Japan came from its militarization.

To back up my first statement, the Shogunate’s had many large armies around Japan, this did help the Shogunate’s protect their land from the Mongol Empire, who at the time were one of the biggest empires in the world. This compared to the puny Polynesian armies which mostly consisted of twenty to thirty warriors from different tribes on the islands. These small armies could never put up such a fight like the Shogunate’s did and also win. The Polynesian would of been finished as quick as a fire spreading through a dried out forest. The Shogunate armies consisted of about 5,000 to 10,000 footman and cavalry, this let the Shogunate’s attack from different angles and fight in different terrains which helped let them win their wars. The Polynesian’s

The Tokugawa and Meiji state ruling class and officials wished to impose their ideology onto their subjects. The ruling class and officials hoped that this would assist them in their endeavors. Their goals differed between time periods; however, one constant is the mechanism they used to perpetuate their ideology, mythistory. In Tokugawa Japan, they used mythistory to create an ideology based on many religions to justify the social hierarchy the officials created (1 - professor). The ­Meiji state used mythistory to obtain national support for industrialization and modernization. These ideologies had many adverse effects on the lives of many peasants. In the Tokugawa period, numerous peasants were harshly taxed, even when they did not have

The death of emperor Hideyoshi and subsequent ascension to the throne of Hideyori in 1598 set into motion events that would alter the political landscape in Japan for the next two hundred and fifty years. Tokugawa Ieyasu, in his quest to become absolute ruler of Japan defeated Hideyori loyalists in the battle of Sekigahara and was appointed Shogun by Hideyori in 1603. This military “coup d’état” effectively gave Tokugawa complete control of Japan and reduced the emperor to little more than a figurehead in the governing of Japan. As history would show, the feudal system of government that Tokugawa created ultimately led to

The first humans arrived to Japan around 35,000 B.C. Japan has a history of being locked out to the outside world, refusing to open its borders to foreigners. In 1633, the Sakoku Policy, issued a “locked country” law that banned immigrants from entering Japan on penalty of death and disallowed Japanese from leaving Japan. The first historic papers mentioning Japan date to around the 5th century, legend holds that Emperor Jimmu was the primary emperor of an imperial line that is still in place today. Archaeological proof gathered by a number of scholars implied the imperial rule started later, the third to seventh centuries AD, during the Kofun period. Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to re-join the country and effectively founded the Tokugawa Shogunate.

The Edo period, also known as the Tokugawa period-taken from the name of the ruling Tokugawa family-was a long period of peace and order that lasted for about 250 years. This was a remarkable feat considering the fact that this period was preceded by devastating ordeals. The sengoku jidai ("the age of country at war") was the Warring States Period of Japan during which numerous rival daimyos with their individual armies fought each other to gain greater jurisdiction of control over Japan, which was divided into about 260 "countries". The term, "Warring State Period" was borrowed, among many other things, from the Chinese. But though the name was appropriate in describing the chaotic feudal warfare, it was more of a war (power struggle) among

With all the struggle the Japanese went though, they finally were grasping a sense of themselves. This age of curiosity and exploration of a country, that the world would later know as Japan, was called the Tokugawa period. As a result of their newfound self, came art and more specifically, woodblock prints. These woodblock prints are significant to the Tokugawa era because they reflected what was going on during that period, including: what was currently happening, how the people viewed the world, and what new discoveries were made. During the Tokugawa era, the woodblock prints show that this was a time of peace because of the often travel, economic growth and significance of nature.

The Meiji Restoration brought enormous changes in Japan's structure. It eliminated the Tokugawa Shogunate, which allowed the emperor to regain full power, and transformed Japan from a feudal system to a modern state. The new era established the Meiji Constitution, which created a new structure for the government and laws, reformed the military and education system, experienced westernization and was the catalyst towards industrialization. However, it cannot be completely considered as a revolution. Although there were changes in the nature of Japan's economic and social system, and some aspects proved itself to be a complete transformation, a few were still practiced traditionally, mainly the political structure. Also, a revolution is

The history of japan goes back in time to the early 800s. It went through many eras and periods of time under different rules and situations and continued to evolve in culture, politics, ideologies and all different aspects. A period of time where japan was known for its peace, prosperity, growing economic stability, cultural productivity and had the last feudal Japanese government is the Tokugawa Shogunate, also known as Tokugawa Bakufu and Edo Bakufu. It was founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu the first shogun (general) of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603 and lasted until the Meiji restoration took over in 1868. As any other nation in history. The Edo period, lasting for more than two centuries, went through many changes through time. The last decade

Between 1968 and 1912, Japan was going through a reformation called Meiji Restoration in order make the country strong as western countries. It had caused changes in many parts of Japan such as society, government, military, etc. Some of these changes still can be seen in the Japanese society today such as emperors are honored by Japanese citizens and seen as a special figure. Since this reformation had a great impact on development of Japan, it can be consider as a very important part of Japanese history.This study will seek to answer the question: To what extent did the Meiji Restoration succeeded to reform and strengthen Japan? In order to answer the question, the investigation will analyze military reform and economic reform caused by

The country is a constitutional monarchy and although Japan has an Emperor, power is mainly within the Prime Minister and Diet’s control. Therefore, the Emperor is more a ceremonial figure. The National Diet is Japan’s bicameral legislature and is dominated by the social liberal Democratic Party of Japan and the conservative Liberal