Western Influence on Japan Essay

Western incursion into China and Japan is a key factor as to how these countries developed economically and socially. While China and Japan were trying to get on their feet and figure out the standards in which to run their countries, the West was escalating in both power and ambitions. The escalation meant growth in European fire arm power which allowed the European countries to make their way into China and Japan without China and Japan being able to stop them because they were not as strong at this point. However, China and Japan both responded to European influence in very different ways. Under the influence of Western imperialism, China was hindered in the process of structural change and industrialization in their society, where as,

Japan and China had many contrasting responses to western penetration in the nineteenth century, including economic interaction - economically China suffered and Japan prospered, Japanese agricultural productivity increased while China’s did not, and China only accepted a small amount of goods while Japan accepted a wide range of goods- and political interaction - China went to war but Japan did not, Japan adopted western learning styles but China did not, and Japan heavily increased taxes on their people after 1890, while China did not -but had very comparable geographic traits – both had ocean borders – Japan was completely surrounded by water while China was bordered on a large percentage of itself, both kept their ports either fully

In the present, Japan is a military and economic superpower with strong influence. However, it was not always like this. In the early 1700s, Japan isolated itself from the world and greeted foreigners unfortunate enough to shipwreck in Japan with hostility. In the 1850s, the United States attempted to make contact with Japan to establish a treaty. The U.S. knew even though Japan was hostile, it was weak compared to a western power. Although the U.S. was stronger than Japan, it was nowhere close to being as strong as other western powers such as Brittan or France and was struggling to keep up. Japanese hostility, U.S. power struggles, and Japan’s isolation all led to the inevitable Japanese and U.S. conflict.

Japan at the turn of the century was clearly trying to westernize and change is isolated society into one more intellectually and scientifically involved with the rest of the world. When the Japanese open their ports to the western civilization food and merchandise were not the only things being traded. When ports were open the western way of living was integrated with the Japanese culture which gradually changed the way the

Before an American naval commander “opened” Japan, the country was extremely isolated. Interaction with other nations was limited. Trade was discouraged in society due to Neo-Confucian

In Japan, most of the Chinese influence was brought to Japan through Korea. Japan consists of four mountainous islands off the coast of Korea, and its early development reflected that of the mainland. There were several waves of immigrants that came to Japan. In about 10,000 B.C.E., the Jōmon people practiced hunting and fishing and made clay pots. People who immigrated from northeast Asia brought agriculture and Yayoi culture with them. Yayoi communities were distinguished by complex social organization containing rulers, soldier, artisans, and priests. Objects made in China and Korea could be found in Japan, which shows that people were traveling back and forth from Japan. More waves of immigrants came from Korea during the fourth through

the practice by which powerful nations or social orders hope to create and keep up control or effect over weaker nations or society. By the 1800 's, the Western powers had central focuses in this technique. They drove the world in creative advances, giving them a quality while vanquishing distinctive countries. The European Imperialists made tries to vanquish China and Japan. In this methodology, they succeeded by affecting Japan immensely. In any case, they were not as productive with China.

From 1450 to 1750, both Russia and Tokugawa Japan faced incoming influence from western Europe. They handled this in both similar and different ways in the aspects of culture, government, and global interaction.

The events leading up to the Japanese’s entry in WWII occurred prior the start of the twentieth century. For over two hundred years Japan had been an isolationist country, the only contact with the Western world they had was through the Dutch in Nagasaki.

The people of Japan knew that the time for change had come, and in 1868 a group of samurai overthrew the Shogunate. This eventually led to the rise of the Meiji Restoration in 1889. The western countries were much more advanced compared to Japan during the industrial revolution and if they were to become a global power, Japan would need to advance as well. The Meiji Restoration was brought up upon western ideology, which led to new advanced technology along with rapid social and economic growth and the formation of a national military. The Meiji restoration had occurred in the 19th century because Japan needed a change in order to advance during the industrial revolution. The restoration was the change, that eventually led Japan to become an international force. For decades the high tariffs of the unequal treaties affected my pay and my life. Though this new restoration has brought more jobs and better pay for us

American troops invaded many countries and remain with them for a very long time, but nothing quite like the history between America and Japan. America’s presence in Japan has shown to have had grave effects on the country from past to present. The intent of this paper is to discuss how America has altered the Japanese way of life through the incorporation of its military, politics, and culture.

The nineteenth century was a turbulent time of western imperialism and a major Asian power shift. European powers and the United States had a destabilizing effect on the region and the choices Japan and China made in response their imposing expansion was a major contributor to the trajectory of their respective futures. Social factors, such as the differences in national and religious unity, also played a role in the how the two nations emerged from the Age of Imperialism.

The Japanese economy had changed immensely as it became a place of free trade and importations from being a place where there was little to no foreign interactions a century ago. The japanese had implemented this closed door policy due to the unruliness of the Europeans in the 17th century and felt complacent in their situation. Although the Japanese government implemented a closed-door policy from 1639 to 1854, their rapid economic development after this period was due to their similar geographical conditions to England. Their location allowed them to reap the benefits of being imperialized because they were able to westernize and set up the foundation of a good economy. They had been able to live peacefully while absorbing technology and culture from the Eurasian countries, this help them develop their ‘foreign acceptance’ as they were used to taking technology from other countries.

Japan was struggling to form their empire. They wanted to feel a sense of equality amongst the powerful Western nations. However, the West did not taking Japan seriously. Numerous misunderstandings between Japan and the West came from Japan believing that the Western nations had a different approach when dealing with the European nations than they did when it came to dealing with an Asian power.

Both Japan and China lie in the East of Asia. ‪To a certain extent，Japan and China own similar culture background, in the Confucian Cultural Circle. But when we look back into the modern history development, Japan and China made quite different decisions when facing the western countries’ aggression. China suffered the invasion in 1840 after the first Sino-British War. Japan was in a similar situation in the black boat incident in 1853, the Opium War made the West began to pay attention to East Asia. From then on, Japan began to face the western culture. ‬The reactions, as well as the result of Japan and China were quite disparate. This article wants to discuss what lead to the difference. ‬‬