Essay on he Meiji Restoration in Japan

With the change of government in Japan, economic change soon followed. Banks were founded to invest in capital, railways and steam boats were developed, restrictions on trade such as tariffs and guilds were removed, and land was re-distributed. These reforms helped spur the Industrial

The Meiji Era, also known as the Meiji Restoration, lasted from 1868-1912. It was an era for great change and this was also the period in which Japan became more modern. During this era, Japan witnessed changes politically, socially, and economically as it worked to become more modern. Japan expressed a desire to catch up to and adopt the policies of its Western counterparts. This gradual Westernization led to Japan becoming a more modern state and eventually a global power on par with Britain and the United States. However, these changes and the stable transition from the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Meiji Restoration would not have been possible without Emperor Meiji and other government leaders.

The Meiji Restoration of Japan led by Emperor Meiji caused rapid industrialization of Japan, the growth of Japan’s military, and the “Westernization” of a seemingly backward nation. Many countries, such as Britain and Russia, had experienced Industrial Revolutions. The revolution in Russia was forced by the state and created another revolution entirely henceforth- a Communist movement. Great Britain,

The government than also led in the way of building railways and shipping lines, telegraphs and telephone systems, three shipyards, ten mines, fifty-three consumer industries. The Meiji Government opened their borders, allowing japan to improve their basic infrastructure, improving communication and to be able to travel from city to city easier. The markets were often based on main roads/path ways, rivers and special temples so that the local sellers are able to easily bring their items to the markets, according to (The Program for Teaching East Asia 2008). In doing this Japan was able to become more richer and Emperor Meiji was able to turn Japan into a modern world power as we see it

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

After centuries of living in seclusion to the outside world, the government knew that they needed the technological advancements that the West offered. The Industrial Revolution and growing urbanisation in Japan had intended to and succeeded in mimicking Western growth. Moreover, the Japanese were well-known for their diligence, discipline, perseverance, and hard work – this resulted in substantial economic development including increased shipping of commodities and a significant expansion of trade and handicraft industries. However, the political elite pocketed most of the profits through influence and corruption. Workers and farmers found it unfair that their patriotic and back-breaking labour only received a little wage in comparison, but with a state-controlled media and education system, they couldn’t make their voices heard. So overall, this collective and nationalistic open-mindedness for communal prosperity was beneficial for Japan as a whole, but the common people were disadvantaged with no access to basic human rights and a fair

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

The ideology that a larger country’s influence should be spread to a smaller nation was adopted quickly by Europe and the United States. Held together by nationalism, countries were introduced to the different cultures of the west. However, Japan’s adaptation of a different culture originates from their beginning, when they took in new technology from Southeast China and Korea, such as iron and rice farming. When western forces come in for trade, the Western and European Imperialism will push Japan for its industrialisation and militarisation, eventually leading them to become an imperial force, beginning with the introduction of guns from Europe, and leading to the Meiji restoration, the temporary positive effect of European Imperialism allowed

The Meiji Restoration allowed Japan to modernise and adopt the ideas, technologies, and social, political

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

The Meiji Restoration marked a time in Japanese history that dealt with “domestic turmoil… national integration and unification” (Part 1 Intro). They went through the process of defending against westernization and actively taking part in international affairs. During this era, prefectures appointed by the emperor replaced the daimyo. The population doubled and quality of life improved. People moved towards a more urban lifestyle and by 1900, Edo was the largest city in world. Nevertheless, in the midst of all the growth, the attitude towards women and their roles in society remained stagnant. Japanese society treated women as subhuman instead of actual citizens due to the belief that they were

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.

The Tokugawa Period is often said to be the longest period of peace in Japanese history; as it was a period characterized by economic reform, the celebration of art and culture, and the installation of new social order. Ieyasu Tokugawa, with the aid of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Oda Nobunaga, first established the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603 as a means of reforming Japanese society and government. During this period, significant policies were enforced in order to ensure that power remained in the hands of the Shogunate, and also to negate the possibility of conflict between different domains. With Ieyasu beginning his rule, Japan was ending its Sengoku period; otherwise known as the Warring States period, Japanese society was finally leaving an era marked by social upheaval, suffering political stability, and domanial conflict. In

This reformation changed the system of Japanese military which samurai lost their power and they weren’t be able to hold their swords anymore. Instead, Japan started to develop western weapons and draft system was adopted into Japanese society. This led to Satsuma Rebellion where group of samurai, leaded by Saigo Takamori tried to defeat the shogunate, but they were defeated by new Japanese army.

Japan emerged from the Tokugawa-Meiji transition as the first Asian industrialized nation. Domestic commercial activities and limited foreign trade had met the demands for material culture in the Tokugawa period, but the modernized Meiji era had radically different requirements. From the beginning, the Meiji rulers embraced the concept of a market economy and adopted British and North American forms of free enterprise capitalism. The private sector — in a nation blessed with an abundance of aggressive entrepreneurs — welcomed such change.