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        • Human Experimentation
        • [GRAPHIC] Germ Warfare Attacks
        • Cover Ups After the War
        • [OLD] Cover Ups After the War
      • Philippines' Resistance - Guide >
        • Philippines World War II Timeline
        • The Japanese Invasion & Conquest of the Philippines
        • Bataan Death March
        • Formation of Underground Philippines Resistance
        • Supplies of the Guerrilla Fighters
        • The Hukbalahap
        • Hunter's ROTC
        • Marking's Guerrillas
        • United States Army Forces in the Philippines of Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL)
        • The Aetas
        • Chinese and Filipino-Chinese Nationalist Guerrilla Units
        • The Female Faces of the Philippine Guerrillas
      • Rising Sun Flag - Guide >
        • History of the Rising Sun Flag
        • Atrocities Committed Under the Flag
        • Rising Sun Flag in Pop Culture
      • Pinay Guerrilleras - Guide >
        • Japanese Occupation of the Philippine Islands: Pinays Answering the Call to Arms
        • The Fierce Heneralas and Kumanders of the Hukbalahap Guerrillas
        • Amazons of the Pacific Theater
        • Filipina American Veterans: Recovering the Extraordinary Feats of the Ordinary Pinays
        • The Legacy of the Asian Women Soldier
      • Fall of Singapore - Guide >
        • Singapore World War II Timeline
        • History of World War II in the Pacific
        • History of Singapore
        • Japan's Conquest in Asia
        • Japan's Invasion of the Malay Peninsula
        • Sook Ching Massacre
        • Double Tenth Incident
        • Social Changes and Challenges in Singapore
        • Voices from Syonan
        • Return to British Rule
      • Three Years and Eight Months - Guide >
        • Hong Kong before WW2
        • Buildup to World War 2
        • The Battle of Hong Kong
        • Life during 3 Years and 8 Months
        • East River Column Guerrilla Fighters
        • Prisoners of War Camps
        • End of Japanese Occupation
        • War Crimes Trials
      • Siamese Sovereignty - Guide >
        • The Land of Smiles
        • The Thai-Japanese Relationship
        • Phibun’s Domestic and International Policies
        • The Free Thai Resistance Movement
        • Post WW2 Aftermath of Thailand
      • The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial - Guide >
        • Defendants of Khabarovsk War Crime
        • The Japanese Empire and USSR in WW2
        • The Employment of the Bacteriological Weapon in the War
        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
      • Unit 731 Cover-up : The Operation Paperclip of the East - Guide >
        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
        • The Downfall of the Japanese WW2 Era
        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
        • Experiences at the Human Experimentation Complex
        • Vivisection at the Unit 731
        • Anta Testing Grounds
        • Overall Advance from the Laboratory Creations
        • The End of the War
      • Prince Konoe Memoir - Guide >
        • Who is Prince Konoe?
        • Preparation to Tripartite Pact
        • Emperor Hirohito and Prince Konoe
        • The End of Prince Konoe
      • Competing Empires in Burma - Guide >
        • What was the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • When did the China-Burma-India Theater Happen?
        • Who Fought in the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • The Second Sino Japanese War
        • Japan in the South
        • Operation U-Go
      • Battle of Shanghai - Guide >
        • The Battle of Shanghai. Background
        • Shanghai Before War
        • The First Battle of Shanghai 1932
        • Battle of Shanghai 1937
        • Aftermath of Battle for Shanghai
      • Ishi Shiro - Guide >
        • History of Biological Weapons and The Young Ishii Shiro
        • Establishment in Manchuria
        • Pingfang District - Harbin
        • Failures and Corruption
        • Post War
      • Taiwan The Israel of the East - Guide >
        • Background of Formosa
        • Industrialization of Japan
        • China During WWII
        • Taiwan under Kuomintang
        • New Taiwanese National Identity
      • Seeking Justice for Biological Warfare Victims of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Introduction of Wang Xuan
        • Colonel Memorandum
        • The Beginning of Biological Warfare
        • The Bacteriological Warfare on China
        • Victims in Zhejiang’s Testimonies
        • After the War
      • Rice and Revolution - Guide >
        • The French Colonial Period
        • Anti-Colonial Resistance
        • The Rise of the Communist Movement
        • Imperial Japan’s Entry into Indochina
        • The Portents of Famine
        • The Famine (1944-45)
        • Legacy of the 1944-45 Vietnam Famine
      • Clash of Empires - Guide >
        • Japan’s Imperialist Origins
        • Japan’s Competition against the West: Nanshin-ron and Hokushin-ron
        • Japanese Imperialism Through the Lens of French Indochina
        • The U.S.-Japan Relations and the Pearl Harbor Attack
      • Hunger for Power and Self-SufficiencyI - Guide >
        • The Influence of War Rations on Post-War Culinary Transformations
        • How World War II Complicated Food Scarcity and Invention
        • American Military Innovations
        • Government-Sponsored Food Inventions in Europe during World War II
        • Feeding the Army: The Adaptation of Japanese Military Cuisine and Its Impact on the Philippines
        • Mixed Dishes: Culinary Innovations Driven by Necessity and Food Scarcity
      • Denial A Quick Look of History of Comfort Women and Present Days’ Complication - Guide >
        • The Comfort Women System and the Fight for Recognition
        • The Role of Activism and International Pressure
        • The Controversy over Japanese History Textbooks
        • The Sonyŏsang Statue and the Symbolism of Public Memorials
        • Activism and Support from Japanese Citizens
        • The Future of Comfort Women Memorials and Education
      • Echoes of Empire: The Power of Japanese Propaganda - Guide >
        • Brief Overview of Imperial Japan
        • Defining Propaganda
        • Propaganda Encouraging Action​
        • The Rise of Nationalism
        • The Formation of Japanese State Propaganda
        • Youth and Education
      • Shadows of the Rising Sun: The Black Dragon Society and the Dawn of Pan-Asianism - Guide >
        • Origins of the Black Dragon Society
        • The Influence of Pan-Asianism
        • Relationship with Sun Yat-sen
        • The Role in Southeast Asia
        • The Spread of Ideology and Espionage
        • Disbandment and Legacy
      • Chongqing Bombing: The Forgotten Blitz of Asia and Its Lasting Impact - Guide >
        • Introduction and Historical Background
        • The Class Divide During the Bombings
        • Resilience and Unity of Chongqing
        • Key Incidents - Great Tunnel Massacre
        • The Aftermath of the Bombings
        • Legacy and Commemoration
      • Shanghai's International Zone: A Nexus of War, Intelligence, and Survival - Guide >
        • Historical Background
        • The International Zone
        • Battles in Shanghai
        • Civilian Intelligence Efforts
        • Wartime Brutality
        • Aftermath & Legacy
    • Lesson Plans >
      • Reparations
      • Ethics in Science
      • Writing the Narrative of a Pinay Fighter
      • Privilege Journal
      • Environmental Injustices
      • Female Guerrillas
      • Hunter's ROTC
      • Scientific Advancements
      • Seeking Justice: A Humanities Lesson Plan
      • The Hukbalahap
      • Trading Immunity
      • Bataan Death March
      • Biochemical Warfare Development
  • History Remembered
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Meiji Restoration and the Making of Modern Japan

5/17/2023

2 Comments

 
by Jolin Chan 
Picture
​Despite Japan’s long and rich history, much of the country we know today stems from only about 150 years ago: the Meiji Restoration. This time period, from 1868 to 1889, was a radical political revolution that brought sweeping economic, social, and cultural change as well.
Before Emperor Meiji and the Restoration, Japan was a feudal society with a strict class system of samurai, peasants, craftspeople, and merchants. The shogun ruled most of the land, while the remaining was parceled out to daimyos (feudal lords), who then ruled over their assigned land.[1] This era was also characterized by isolation from the rest of the world as Japan attempted to protect itself from foreign influences. In 1853, however, this would all change as Commodore Matthew Perry from the United States entered Edo. Commodore Perry demanded that Japan open up to trade with America, consequently ending the country’s more than 200-year-old isolationist stance.

The Tokugawa shogunate ended in 1868 after political unrest and financial issues. The role of the samurai became obsolete, and discontent peasants began to rebel because of the inflexibility of the feudal system.[2] The Chōshū Domain, in particular, played a critical role in toppling down the Tokugawa shogunate, promoting slogans such as “Restore the Emperor” and “Expel the Barbarian” (with the barbarians being Americans like Commodore Matthew C. Perry).[3] Choshu and other clans, such as the Satsuma, joined together to force the last shōgun Yoshinobu to resign. The Choshu backed Emperor Meiji, who then stepped into power and led an oligarchy of samurai who finally got the power they dreamed of.[4] At the time, Japan was a weak agricultural country with few modern technological developments compared to Europe and the United States.[5] The Meiji Restoration, however, was a period of new foreign policy, industrialization, and Westernization that fundamentally transformed Japan.

Politically, the Charter Oath in 1868, which outlined the Meiji leaders’ new goals, was critical for the Restoration. It called for deliberative assemblies, participation of all classes in the new government, allowed common people to pursue occupations beyond their previous class designation, and more. Furthermore, it was especially important because it ended bakufu (military government) and did away with the Tokugawa feudal class system. With the Charter Oath came a more democratic government, a new constitution, and a new capital in Kyoto.[6]


With the Restoration came the emergence of a representative government. This, however, did not come easy, as there were dissenting ideas and armed revolts during the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, led by samurai but ultimately suppressed by the Meiji government. At around the same time, the Popular Rights Movement was growing and gaining support from most social classes.[7] With the help of the press, the Popular Rights Movement advocated for more political power given to the people and a constitution that acknowledged popular sovereignty. The movement led to the creation of a representative government, inspired by the Prussian model, and the 1889 Constitution, which established the Imperial Diet consisting of a House of Representatives and a House of Peers.[8]

As it radically transformed Japanese politics and society, the Meiji Restoration also began an intense process of modernization and Westernization as Japan emerged out of isolation. Social and economic reforms meant that the leaders focused more on financing machinery, modernizing the army, and supporting students to study overseas.[9] Originally a country with intense isolationist policies, Japan intended to rework foreign policy, not only by joining foreign trade but also through education. Meiji leaders, recognizing the country’s weak military and lack of technological progress, were aware and interested in advancements in the West. To better understand foreign countries, Japan established “learning missions.” For example, one of these missions had members travel throughout the United States to learn about the American government, education system, factories, mines, and more.[10]

The knowledge they brought back would help them catch up with the West and become a competitive superpower, especially as Japan pursued its imperialist ambitions in Manchuria, Korea, and China, not unlike Western powers during the Age of Imperialism. The country’s modernization was critical for the Russo-Japanese War. This war—and the Japanese victory—sent a message to the wider world that Japan could either be a powerful rival or ally. During the war, Baron Kaneko Kentarō was ordered to go to the United States and gain the American public’s sympathy and support.[11] After their victory against Russia, which brought them Japanese supremacy in Korea, the Liaotung Peninsula, and more, President Theodore wrote to Baron Kaneko suggesting that “it would be well for the Japanese to point out… the enormous amount they have won.”[12]

Japan envisioned a modern country based on Western progress. This entailed a Westernized education system that was open to all, a strong military supported by advanced weaponry, new railways and telegraph systems, the growth of industries, and even a new food category called Yoshoku, which is Western-style cooking.[13]

From politics to people’s plates, the Meiji Restoration was a revolutionary era of change for Japan. The progress that the country made would change the global order and turn Japan into a rising superpower. Japan was becoming on par with the Western world and establishing to other countries that they were a force to be reckoned with.

Sources:
1. Luke Rosa, “Tokugawa Era Japan,” Students of History Teaching Resources, https://www.studentsofhistory.com/tokugawa-japan.
2. Dan Kurzman, Kishi and Japan: The Search for the Sun (New York, NY: Ivan Obolensky, Inc., 1960), 33–34.
3. 
Kurzman, 34–35.
4. 
Kurzman, 39.
5. “The Meiji Restoration and Modernization,” Asia for Educators | Columbia University, http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1750_meiji.htm.
6.  
Japan: A Country Study, eds. Ronald E. Dolan and Robert L. Worden (Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1992), 36–39.
7. Daniel A. Métraux, “Democratic Trends in Meiji Japan,” Education About Asia 16, no. 1 (Spring 2011), https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/democratic-trends-in-meiji-japan/.
8. 
Japan: A Country Study, 44.
9. Japan: A Country Study
, 38.

10. Japan: A Country Study, 40.
11. James Bradley, The China Mirage (New York, NY: Little Brown and Company, 2015), 59.
12. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kentarō Kaneko, Theodore Roosevelt Papers, Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library, Dickinson State University,
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Research/Digital-Library/Record?libID=o192599.
13. “The Meiji Restoration and Modernization,” Asia for Educators | Columbia University.


Header image: Allegory of the New Fighting the Old, in Early Japan Meiji, around 1870 by Unknown Japanese Artist
2 Comments
Dale Jenkins link
9/7/2023 07:32:03 am

Excellent and much needed article since most views of Japan were formed by the war and only modified after the war.
The period before WWII is much less known.

Reply
sigmaBRUNO link
5/16/2024 11:58:44 am

u suck

Reply



Leave a Reply.

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  • Home
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        • Summer Research Relocation Fund
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  • Books
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  • Resource Page
    • Supplementary Research Guides >
      • Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Background of Biochemical Warfare Development
        • Imperial Japan's Chemical Warfare Development Program
        • Map of Unit 731
        • Personnel of Unit 731
        • Duties of Unit 731
        • Human Experimentation
        • [GRAPHIC] Germ Warfare Attacks
        • Cover Ups After the War
        • [OLD] Cover Ups After the War
      • Philippines' Resistance - Guide >
        • Philippines World War II Timeline
        • The Japanese Invasion & Conquest of the Philippines
        • Bataan Death March
        • Formation of Underground Philippines Resistance
        • Supplies of the Guerrilla Fighters
        • The Hukbalahap
        • Hunter's ROTC
        • Marking's Guerrillas
        • United States Army Forces in the Philippines of Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL)
        • The Aetas
        • Chinese and Filipino-Chinese Nationalist Guerrilla Units
        • The Female Faces of the Philippine Guerrillas
      • Rising Sun Flag - Guide >
        • History of the Rising Sun Flag
        • Atrocities Committed Under the Flag
        • Rising Sun Flag in Pop Culture
      • Pinay Guerrilleras - Guide >
        • Japanese Occupation of the Philippine Islands: Pinays Answering the Call to Arms
        • The Fierce Heneralas and Kumanders of the Hukbalahap Guerrillas
        • Amazons of the Pacific Theater
        • Filipina American Veterans: Recovering the Extraordinary Feats of the Ordinary Pinays
        • The Legacy of the Asian Women Soldier
      • Fall of Singapore - Guide >
        • Singapore World War II Timeline
        • History of World War II in the Pacific
        • History of Singapore
        • Japan's Conquest in Asia
        • Japan's Invasion of the Malay Peninsula
        • Sook Ching Massacre
        • Double Tenth Incident
        • Social Changes and Challenges in Singapore
        • Voices from Syonan
        • Return to British Rule
      • Three Years and Eight Months - Guide >
        • Hong Kong before WW2
        • Buildup to World War 2
        • The Battle of Hong Kong
        • Life during 3 Years and 8 Months
        • East River Column Guerrilla Fighters
        • Prisoners of War Camps
        • End of Japanese Occupation
        • War Crimes Trials
      • Siamese Sovereignty - Guide >
        • The Land of Smiles
        • The Thai-Japanese Relationship
        • Phibun’s Domestic and International Policies
        • The Free Thai Resistance Movement
        • Post WW2 Aftermath of Thailand
      • The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial - Guide >
        • Defendants of Khabarovsk War Crime
        • The Japanese Empire and USSR in WW2
        • The Employment of the Bacteriological Weapon in the War
        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
      • Unit 731 Cover-up : The Operation Paperclip of the East - Guide >
        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
        • The Downfall of the Japanese WW2 Era
        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
        • Experiences at the Human Experimentation Complex
        • Vivisection at the Unit 731
        • Anta Testing Grounds
        • Overall Advance from the Laboratory Creations
        • The End of the War
      • Prince Konoe Memoir - Guide >
        • Who is Prince Konoe?
        • Preparation to Tripartite Pact
        • Emperor Hirohito and Prince Konoe
        • The End of Prince Konoe
      • Competing Empires in Burma - Guide >
        • What was the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • When did the China-Burma-India Theater Happen?
        • Who Fought in the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • The Second Sino Japanese War
        • Japan in the South
        • Operation U-Go
      • Battle of Shanghai - Guide >
        • The Battle of Shanghai. Background
        • Shanghai Before War
        • The First Battle of Shanghai 1932
        • Battle of Shanghai 1937
        • Aftermath of Battle for Shanghai
      • Ishi Shiro - Guide >
        • History of Biological Weapons and The Young Ishii Shiro
        • Establishment in Manchuria
        • Pingfang District - Harbin
        • Failures and Corruption
        • Post War
      • Taiwan The Israel of the East - Guide >
        • Background of Formosa
        • Industrialization of Japan
        • China During WWII
        • Taiwan under Kuomintang
        • New Taiwanese National Identity
      • Seeking Justice for Biological Warfare Victims of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Introduction of Wang Xuan
        • Colonel Memorandum
        • The Beginning of Biological Warfare
        • The Bacteriological Warfare on China
        • Victims in Zhejiang’s Testimonies
        • After the War
      • Rice and Revolution - Guide >
        • The French Colonial Period
        • Anti-Colonial Resistance
        • The Rise of the Communist Movement
        • Imperial Japan’s Entry into Indochina
        • The Portents of Famine
        • The Famine (1944-45)
        • Legacy of the 1944-45 Vietnam Famine
      • Clash of Empires - Guide >
        • Japan’s Imperialist Origins
        • Japan’s Competition against the West: Nanshin-ron and Hokushin-ron
        • Japanese Imperialism Through the Lens of French Indochina
        • The U.S.-Japan Relations and the Pearl Harbor Attack
      • Hunger for Power and Self-SufficiencyI - Guide >
        • The Influence of War Rations on Post-War Culinary Transformations
        • How World War II Complicated Food Scarcity and Invention
        • American Military Innovations
        • Government-Sponsored Food Inventions in Europe during World War II
        • Feeding the Army: The Adaptation of Japanese Military Cuisine and Its Impact on the Philippines
        • Mixed Dishes: Culinary Innovations Driven by Necessity and Food Scarcity
      • Denial A Quick Look of History of Comfort Women and Present Days’ Complication - Guide >
        • The Comfort Women System and the Fight for Recognition
        • The Role of Activism and International Pressure
        • The Controversy over Japanese History Textbooks
        • The Sonyŏsang Statue and the Symbolism of Public Memorials
        • Activism and Support from Japanese Citizens
        • The Future of Comfort Women Memorials and Education
      • Echoes of Empire: The Power of Japanese Propaganda - Guide >
        • Brief Overview of Imperial Japan
        • Defining Propaganda
        • Propaganda Encouraging Action​
        • The Rise of Nationalism
        • The Formation of Japanese State Propaganda
        • Youth and Education
      • Shadows of the Rising Sun: The Black Dragon Society and the Dawn of Pan-Asianism - Guide >
        • Origins of the Black Dragon Society
        • The Influence of Pan-Asianism
        • Relationship with Sun Yat-sen
        • The Role in Southeast Asia
        • The Spread of Ideology and Espionage
        • Disbandment and Legacy
      • Chongqing Bombing: The Forgotten Blitz of Asia and Its Lasting Impact - Guide >
        • Introduction and Historical Background
        • The Class Divide During the Bombings
        • Resilience and Unity of Chongqing
        • Key Incidents - Great Tunnel Massacre
        • The Aftermath of the Bombings
        • Legacy and Commemoration
      • Shanghai's International Zone: A Nexus of War, Intelligence, and Survival - Guide >
        • Historical Background
        • The International Zone
        • Battles in Shanghai
        • Civilian Intelligence Efforts
        • Wartime Brutality
        • Aftermath & Legacy
    • Lesson Plans >
      • Reparations
      • Ethics in Science
      • Writing the Narrative of a Pinay Fighter
      • Privilege Journal
      • Environmental Injustices
      • Female Guerrillas
      • Hunter's ROTC
      • Scientific Advancements
      • Seeking Justice: A Humanities Lesson Plan
      • The Hukbalahap
      • Trading Immunity
      • Bataan Death March
      • Biochemical Warfare Development
  • History Remembered
Contribute