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Meiji era japan effects on society
Effects of the Meiji restoration
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Emperor Meiji triggered the start of modernization in Japan. He made the right decision because this helped convey to people that it was time to change and become part of the outside world. The modernized Japan had become advanced in technology, art, culture and literature, however not everyone wanted this lifestyle. Samurais who still believed in the traditional worldview fought for what they thought was right. The problem was that Emperor Meiji was set on the idea of modernization and the samurai wanted tradition and the old ways.
One of the things Japan advanced in was technology and that includes weapons. When the samurai fought against the Emperor’s soldiers, the samurai suffered an honourable defeat because even though they lost, they helped start a new era where the worldviews could live together in peace. Weapons were not the thing they advanced in. They also designed and created the bullet train in the future.In the Edo Period, Japan progressed greatly. One of the ways they did that was to use western technology and improve it and add their own touches. In the west they created the railroads and that inspired the Japanese to create a better one. Technology improved over time and that led to great new inventions, including the bullet train. They also advanced in their
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Emperor Meiji helped with the evolution of Japan because he helped advance guns and that helped them in wars and getting colonized by other countries. Japan has always been changing and trying to fit in the with the outside world. For Japan to be part of the outside world, they had to make friends with the other countries. 2 years after the Meiji Period ended, World War 1 began and was dragged into the fight. What Emperor Meiji did to advance Japan helped Japan survive the war because they had better firearms and they were connected to the world so they could ask for
In the early 1800’s, Japan had blocked off all trade from other countries. Foreign whaling ships could not even reload or repair their ships in Japan territory. This offended many other countries. In 1852, Matthew Perry was sent to Japan to negotiate open trade. Japan felt threatened by the United States, and gave in to their demands. Japan was frightened by their stipulations, and immediately began to reform. They developed a new education system that was similar to America and Europe’s. They also developed a Western style judiciary system.
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
Initially Japan’s objective for industrializing was to avoid being overtaken by Western superpowers, however during the process of industrializing the Japanese government realized that industrialization is key in order to remain a dominant force in the market during this new contemporary era. Thus the Japanese began to promote industrialization in order for national prestige, power, and wealth just as Germany did. In the end both countries were successful from modernizing and industrializing. Thus promoting the increase of power and wealth for members of the higher classes. While having generally negative effects on the members of lower classes.
When the American Commodore Perry arrived and forced the Japanese to open up trading with the Americans in 1853 it caused a massive shift in the way Japan was run. The shogun could not deal with the looming threat and began a campaign of anti-foreignism “’Toi!’ (Expel the Barbarians!)” . The shogun eventually capitulated and began to allow foreign ships into Japan; this sparked the anti-foreign element, created by the shogun, to remove the shogun and reinstate the Emperor into power: “’Sonno’ (Revere the Emperor) was added to their mantra of ‘Toi’ to represent the old system where the Emperor was like a god. The Emperor took power back into his hands and renamed himself Meiji meaning “Enlightened Rule.” However, the Emperor did not expel the ‘barbarians’, instead he saw them as a method of creating a better Japan and began a campaign known as the ‘Meiji Restoration’ to modernize the nation. Japan needed to modernize because the western countries had forced the Tokugawa shogunate to sign unfair treaties that greatly favoured the western countries, notably the United States of America, Russia, Great Britain and France . One of the key events of the Meiji Restoration was the decline and fall of the samurai class in Japan. This essay intends to show the reasons for the decline of the samurai at the beginning of the Empire of Japan through the policies enacted during the Meiji Restoration. This will be shown through the military, cultural, political and social reforms enacted by the Japanese government.
The samurai were the warriors for the shogun in the feudal times of Japan. The samurai were one of the highest ranked class. The samurai’s from Japan used a variety of weapons. Some were quite different in design and size and some were very similar. The variety of weapons had a variety of purposes. Most people know of the samurai sword and the shuriken or more commonly known as the ninja or throwing star. What most people don’t know is that there were a lot more then just those weapons. Some of those being the Naginata, Tetsubo and the Kunai Knife.The Samurai
This contrasted to the Ottoman Empire, which did not undergo such a revolution to become an industrialized society. In a state-guided industrialization program, Japan created modern infrastructure by creating railroads, postal systems, and national currency. Along with being a major exporter of textiles, munitions, industrial goods, newspapers, and electric lights were produced. The Ottomans were not able to create industrial economies to fend of European intrusion, and in turn, they depended on Europe. Japan was able to have a solid foundation for its industrial growth due to urban development that took place in the Tokugawa era. Different from the Ottoman Empire, Japan, in its time of peace, had become a fairly urbanized country with an educated population, leading into a burst of economic growth and commercialization. In contrast to the Ottoman Empire, Japan was able to experience industrialization due to the utilization of its own resources. The Ottomans, on the other hand, relied on foreign loans to support economic development. Unable to pay off these massive debts, Europe took control of its revenue-generating
Within a short period of time, Japan had caught up with many Western technologies; having established universities, founded telegraph and railroad lines, as well as a national postal system being created. Shipping and textile industries were a huge success an exports rose.
Japan lasted from 1185-1603. During that time Japan had emperors, shoguns, daimyos, samurai, and peasants who were all apart of a social class, and all together it was called the Samurai Society. The emperor was just a figurehead for the shogun. The shogun was a powerful military leader that ruled in the emperor’s name. Daimyo were powerful landlords. The daimyo often led armies of samurai. These samurai were trained professional warriors who served daimyo and shoguns. The samurai had to follow a certain code of rules for samurai called Bushido. One of their rules included to always have self-discipline to become a good samurai. The samurai warriors wore light armor, helmets (usually shaped like an animal), and had two swords around their waist. Their armor had a lot of detail and color to it, like their unique helmets. After the samurai comes the peasants, which included farmers and fishermen. They usually always work, then pay takes to the shogun. They usually gave the shogun what they earned from working like food or crops. What made their jobs a bit difficult was their topography. Japan’s topography included many mountains, undersea volcanoes, and barely any flat land to farm on. The Japanese didn’t only work they also practiced their religion. For example, they practiced Confucianism, Buddhism (...
as well.8 The Meiji period was an important part of Japan's changing western ways. After World War II, Japan changed forever. With the Atomic bomb physically destroying their cities, and their defeat destroying their. imperialistic mentality, Japan was deeply wounded. Japan lost the respect of the world during the war and few people felt sorry for them....
This is due to the Meiji Modernization that successfully transformed Japan “into a modern industrial and military power in the late 1800s.” The Japanese created an industrial economy that only paralleled to those of Western countries. Additionally, they transformed the improvised imperial government from the 1870s into a Western-style constitutional monarchy with a democratic parliament. From this point the Japanese wanted to prove themselves and their nationalist abilities to the rest of the world, and they did exactly that with their victory over the Chinese in 1895 and Russia in
During the Meiji Restoration, Japan transformed into a strong industrialized nation by adopting the Western political, cultural, and technological ideas. Japan was the “only non-Western country to industrialize in the nineteenth century and that, moreover, she did so in an extremely short time” (Sugiyama 1). Japan’s social, political, and economic aspects were all affected by the Western technologies to transform Japan into an industrialized nation (Wittner 1). By adopting the Western ideas during the Meiji Restoration, Japan has turned into a powerful industrialized nation by becoming an “international political player in the 1880s” (Wittner 1).
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 ...
63). This not only increased the Japanese people’s nationalism but also their imperialistic journey because of the samurai having military leadership roles; this stressed the importance of their loyalty to society. British roles that already existed in Japan had affected their education— “For a long time, Japanese naval cadets had been sent to Great Britain for training. British experts and officers had worked in Japan in advisory and instructing roles, and most of the Japanese fleet had as built in British yards” in which Japan resulted with multiple strategies for way (Roberts, p. 62 and 212). Another thriving element was Japan’s environment; it provided support through trading with other countries by being a “…semi-developed, diversifying society, with a money economy, large commercial cities and the beginnings of a quasi-capitalist structure in agriculture.” Therefore, they were able to compete and trade not only with Britain but with
The Last Samurai depicted the Japanese monarchy in the light that they had attempted to destroy their system of feudalism, which they had in place for thousands of years, with that of monstrosity. The movie differentiates between warriors who fought for honor and loyalty, battling against red, white and blue savages who only fought for greed and power. This is the lasting label/influence that America has to offer the world; monsters who destroyed anything in their paths at the cost of receiving false success. Americans have done their fair share of unethical acts to get to their position of power in the world. By influencing and sharing their methods with Japan, they extended their reach of corrupt innovation. With this help, Japan did to its own people what Americans had done to the people of their homeland.
...high power status, Japan had to have a self-reliant industrial common ground and be able to move all human and material resources (S,195). Through the Shogun Revolution of 1868, the abolition of Feudalism in 1871, the activation of the national army in 1873, and the assembly of parliament in 1889, the political system of Japan became westernized (Q,3). Local Labor and commercial assistance from the United States and Europe allowed Japan’s industry to bloom into a developed, modern, industrial nation (Q,3). As a consequence production surplus, and food shortage followed (Q,3). Because of how much it relied on aid of western powers, Japan’s strategic position became especially weak. In an attempt to break off slightly from the aid of the west Japanese leaders believed that it would be essential for Japan to expand beyond its borders to obtain necessary raw materials.