In 1868, the end to the Tokugawa Shogunate led to the formation of the Meiji Restoration which modified Japan’s political, economic, cultural, and social structures similar to the impact of the American and French Revolutions that shaped modern society. These revolutions lead to many different reformations that are distinct from one another. However, similarly they all contributed in shaping today’s modern environment. Many of these similarities and differences include political changes to military along with government structure, economic changes with new trade partners and technological inventions, and social changes in role of different classes and dominance from one another. The strive for reformation lead to larger implications of revolutions that resulted from the growing urge for freedom. The American and French revolutions along with the Meiji Restoration had founded the basis of standard and transition from imperialism to decolonization and the establishment of modern states. Although, the revolutions weren't just war but also helped build the foundation for diplomatic relations and economic opportunities. The struggles within the country was actually necessary because it lead to revolutions and reformations that lead the outcome of unification. This is seen through the Meiji Restoration impacts as they took in Western influences and became unified through government changes along with building a sense of Nationalism. Among the most important changes that resulted in these traumatic revolutions include the reestablishment of government and political adjustments. The change from a decentralized political system during the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate to a highly centralized, bureaucratic government established by the em... ... middle of paper ... ...s straight from the Stamp Act imposed during the American Revolution in protest against the taxation for merchandising. During the French Revolution, Sources of Japanese Tradition, volume II, compiled by Ryusaku Tsunoda, Wm. Theodore de Bary and Donald Keene (N.Y.:Columbia University Press, 1958) p. 137. Totman, Conrad. "Ethnicity in the Meiji Restoration: An Interpretive Essay."JSTOR. Monumenta Nipponica Vol.37, No.3, pp. 269-287. Sophia University. F. M. Anderson, The Constitution and Other Select Documents Illustrative of the History of France, 1789-1907, 2d Ed., (Minneapolis, 1908), pp. 507-513. Greene, Jack P. The American Historical Review Vol.105, No. 1 (Feb.,2000), pp 93-102 Journal of the First Congress of the American Colonies, in Opposition to the Tyrannical Acts of the British Parliament. Held at New York, October 7, 1765 (New York, 1845), pp. 27-29.
Japanese revolts ensue with the opening of Japan to the Western World. The middle and lower classes wanted Japan to be open while the conservative daimyo did not. Both of these groups looked to the emperor for a decision. The shogunate, reliant on the isolation, collapsed under pressures caused by outsid...
The goals of the Meiji Restoration included dismantling of the old feudal regime and the creation of a nation-state capable of standing equal among Western powers, including the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the Unites States. The leaders of the Meiji Restoration were mostly young samurai motivated by increasing domestic problems and threats of foreign intrusion. Saigō Takamori was also an influential leader in the Meiji Restoration. He was responsible for leading several rebellions against the government in companionship with samurai warriors and peasants who distrusted the new regime. The citizens of Japan were also, arguably, influential leaders of the Meiji restoration. Under their pressure to insist on the creation of a constitutional government, the government formed a Cabinet system in 1885 and in 1886 began developing the Constitution, which would be presented as a gift from the emperor to the people in 1889 and established a bicameral parliament. Revolutionary tactics from the Meiji Restoration included the development of transportation and communication. Railroads were built, telegraphs connecting major cities, and the institution of a European-style banking system developed. We can clearly recognize differences between the revolutionary tactics of the Meiji Restoration to those in the Mexican Revolution and those in the
Beasley, W. G. The Japanese experience: a short history of Japan. Los Angeles: Berkeley, 1999.
customs and traditions hidden in the roots of the Japanese empire. The Tang Dynasty displayed a
Reischauer, Edwin O., and Albert M. Craig. Japan, Tradition & Transformation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978. Print.
A few aspects of Japan’s industrializing gave insight to the hectic political theater in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: imperialism, industrial capitalism, and growth of the national image. Imperialism molded politics in Japan due to the ability for it to convince the population to believe that the Empire was doing the will of the people, and that the Empire answered to the people and not their own interests. Industrial capitalism at the end of the nineteenth-century brought important political changes. The industrialization of Japan gave birth to a larger class of laborers who gathered in cities such as Osaka and Tokyo. These people would later develop a new view of the future for a modern Japan. The growth of national image was encouraged by the political electoral process. Demonstrations and political rallies became sort of a normal occurrence, this is unprecedented for Japan.
Ogawa, D. (1993) The Japanese of Los Angeles. Journal of Asian and African Studies, v19, pp.142-3.
During the late 1700’s, rules and regulations were placed to subdue the colonies and raise money after the French-and-Indian war, as too Britain’s Seven-Year-War. In replace of the Stamp Act of 1765, a new act, under the financial leader, Charles Townshend, the Townshend Acts were added to place a tax upon certain imported goods. The Townshend Acts was implemented to raise revenue for the civil government. This act placed a tax onto glass, lead, painters, colors, paper, and tea imported into the colonies. These “external” taxes would raise 40,000 Euros to pay commissioners of customs. People argued toward the act for raising revenue, or used to pay royal officials in the colonies. Britain sent a seven-hundred pocket army to protect those customs, which angered the colonists. Later, the Massachusetts legislature wrote the Circular Letter to send to Britain, issuing that one cannot be taxed without direct representation. Adding on to the Townshend Acts’ mayhem was the ...
Tsuzuki, Chushichi. The Pursuit of Power in Modern Japan, 1825-1995. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Questia. Web. 28 Apr. 2011.
Though it seems that it was the Western influence that set off this revolutionary change, a more scrutinizing look into Japanese society at the time reveals that Japan was in fact on the brink of supplanting the fixed, hierarchical Tokugawa order for one that was better suited for its fast evolving, capitalistic society. As historian David Lu states, “Our people began to discover [modern civilization’s] utility and gradually and yet actively moved towards its acceptance. However, there was an old fashioned and bloated government that stood in the way of progress.” (Lu, 351). Therefore in a way we can view the intrusion of Western powers in Japan on that infamous July day in 1853 as an event that occurred during a time when Japan was ready for a world renewal, and not a direct and complete cause of modernization of Japan; in fact it was Japan’s revaluation of modernization and what it meant to be Japanese amidst strong western influences that eventually ...
Kitasawa, Shinjiro. "Shintoism and the Japanese Nation." The Sewanee Review 23.4 (1915): 479-83. JSTOR. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Webster, R.G. Japan: from the old to the new. S.W. Patridge & Co., 1905, 1978
...t diversity as a necessary evil of the new world economy, but still hold onto the xenophobic and conformity views it has had throughout its’ history. Only time will tell whether the Japanese society is ready to accept diversity. The movement has been started by the younger generation and the successful technology based companies they have founded. Japan’s history dictates that conflict follows fast cultural changes. The transformation from the Nara Era into the Tokogawa Era, and later from the Tokogawa Era into the Meiji Era were all marked by quick and rapid changes in Japanese cultural doctrine. Each transition had violent confrontations between those fighting to take power and those trying to keep it. During each of these cultural revolutions influences from the old system remained. Japan today has put down their swords, but as past history shows, the old conservatives will not hand over their system to the younger liberals easily. This suggests that the change toward diversity in Japan will not happen over night, but slowly over time. It may take generations for the Japanese society to completely forget the conformist and xenophobic cultural influences of the past 1500 years.
Deal, William E. 2006. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Facts on File, Inc., 2006. eBook
Fifty years after the end of the second World War, it is easy to look back on the American occupation of Japan and see it as a mild nudge to the left rather than a new beginning for the country. We still see an emperor, even if only as a symbol. Industry, when it was rebuilt, was under much of the same leadership as before the war. Many elements of the traditional lifestyle remained–with less government support and in competition with new variants. The Japanese people remained connected to a culture which was half western and half Japanese. Nevertheless, it is irrefutable that the surrender in 1945 had a major impact on the lives of the Japanese. Political parties, elected by the populous, became a great deal more influential in the government. This changed the dynamics of Japanese industry, even if the zaibatsu were sill the foundation of the economy. Financial success took on a new character; the production of high tech goods for sale to the world’s most developed countries was now a better source of income. The affluence of the upper class was more evenly distributed. On a broader scale, for the first time, America had more influence than European powers. The prevention of the formation of a military put the focus of the government on trade, the United Nations, and the cold war rather than an empire in Asia. Simultaneously, social attitudes and lifestyle were more independent of the government and consumer led.