The Meiji Restoration : Change And Domitarianism In Japan

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.

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

The Meiji Restoration, refers to the events that led to the “restoration” of power to Emperor Meiji Tenno. The previous political and military leader of Japan had been the Tokugawa shogunate, but due to the intrusion of the western powers, particularly the Americans, under the command of Commodore Perry, the Shogun was forced to return power to the Emperor. This restoration of power led to many changes in Japanese society such as the social structure, the education system and the Japanese economy that has contributed to Japan becoming a modern world power.

By the nineteenth century Western nations had developed superior military technology than other countries. Western countries were able to control other nations by coercing them into unfair trading treaties which would leave the country economically dependent on them. The countries rarely resisted successfully due to their insufficient military power. This occured often Asia with only Japan and Thailand remaining independent. Only Japan thrived however and became an imperial power. Japan was an isolated country until the United States forcibly opened it to trade. Japan experienced a regime change following a tumultuous time in which western nations coerced Japan into trade treaties. The new government favored capitalism and industry which lead to Japan industrializing impressively fast through “top down” government mandated modernization. Western imperialism forced Japan to modernize in order to remain a sovereign and successful state. Modernization in this case was synonymous with becoming more like the West. Imperialism drastically changed Japanese economic interaction as well as Japanese culture and class system because modernization included becoming more like the West in most aspects but their treatment of women remained the same because the West did not treat women very differently.

The Japanese’s foundation of strength and character relied on an ever present honor system. This character not only went into their everyday lives but also their military. The Empire of Japan‘s militarization benefitted the people by embodying the best characteristics and highest morals of the Japanese people, thereby encouraging people to keep faith in their

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 Meiji Restoration played a significant role in the modernisation of Japan. The Meiji period was a time of political and social revolution. It brought momentous social, political and economic changes to Japan, and these changes became the foundation of the Japan we know today. Prior to the 1868 Restoration, Japan was a militarily weak country with a feudal agricultural society, and was controlled by feudal lords. When the Meiji period ended with the Emperor's death in 1912, Japan was a well-developed nation with a constitutional monarchy, an elected government, a strong economy, a powerful military and a well educated population.

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

There are many things that contributed to Japan’s change to modernity and democracy whether it was between the political parties or if it was between their cultural system and the people 's rights. Before Japan changed to a more modern and democratic society it was a feudal government structure based on Confucius views which was during the Tokugawa period. During the Tokugawa period there was a separation between the social classes which was categorized in four groups the samurai, peasants, artisans, and merchants. The two classes that had the most power were the samurai and the peasants. The samurai had the most power because they created a moral example and the peasants came in second into the social class since they produced food which was essential to survival of the people. The last two classes the artisans and the merchants. Although the merchants were last in the social class some were very wealthy and even owned their own monopolies, but since they were in the bottom of the class the laws prevented them to come higher into power. Although Japan was a feudal government and was more traditional the Japanese still developed some modernized urban influences like expanding their trading of commodities, and their advancement in their science studies. Though the Japanese had some of these modernized views the Tokugawa period soon came to an end due to the lack of government control by the shogun which created the four classes to fall apart.

Shinto, an ethnic, ritualistic religion of Japan, has proved somewhat adaptable to social change and significantly more adaptable to political change within the nation since its initial emergence, with origins which trace back to 300BC . While experts argue that Shinto has been extremely influential in shaping Japanese culture and identity, its popularity has been diminishing since the religion was imposed by the State in Japan’s pre-World War II, evoking a surge of nationalism. In today’s society, the religion has made conscious efforts to regain popularity, however has not been able to wholly adapt to Japan’s modern social context, despite it being syncretic in nature (and popularly combined with Japanese Buddhist or Confucian practices).

The Meiji government realized they needed to defend themselves and look stable in the western world’s eyes because they knew they would be judged. So they created a stronger

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

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

The Meiji Era in Japan is known as a time of rapid industrialization and Westernization where many institutions of society were realigned in one form or another to be consistent with their Western counterparts. Ironically, at the same time, it was a period of growing nationalistic feelings that began to develop in Japanese society. However, besides being a reactionary or nostalgic feeling experienced by the population, this nationalist ideology was also actively promoted by the Meiji leadership. Central to this ideology was the emperor who was effectively and successfully used as a tool for legitimizing the Meiji government.

Japan had not always been a unified country, it had consisted of two-hundred and fifty regions, which were all under the rule of a Daimyo. These Daimyo were constantly at war with each other, all trying to increase their holdings and power. Though the Emperor was the Supreme ruler, the real power and authority was given to the Shogun. The unification of Japan began during the Onin War (1467-77) through the Seven Year War (1592-1598). The importance of unifying Japan was to defeat the warring Daimyo, who were all competing to gain more territory for themselves. The unification of Japan fell under three shoguns, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.