Japan
Overview
Statewide Dual Credit Modern World History: Unit 10, Lesson 2
A discussion of the Meiji Restoration in Japan, a period of rapid modernization and reform that began in 1868. The Meiji government implemented widespread changes, including the adoption of Western political and economic systems, industrialization, and educational reforms. Includes excerpts from the 1871 Letter from Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito) to President Ulysses S. Grant, on the Iwakura Mission (1871)
Meiji Restoration
Until the mid-19th century, Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate, a conservative regime that prioritized maintaining internal stability and limiting foreign influence. This policy of isolation, known as sakoku, had ensured a period of relative peace and prosperity for over 250 years.
However, by the mid-19th century, Japan began to face increasing challenges. Declining agricultural yields, famines, and widespread poverty exacerbated internal unrest. Simultaneously, growing external pressures from Western powers, eager to expand trade and diplomatic relations, threatened to disrupt the established order. Although the Tokugawas refused to open up Japan to foreign traders and ships (except for the Dutch, which had a small and highly regulated presence in Nagasaki), it became increasingly clear that Japan lacked the military and naval power to effectively counter these external pressures.
The turning point came in 1853 when a U.S. naval squadron led by Commodore Matthew Perry (1794- 1858) entered Tokyo Bay. Perry turned his guns on the capital of Edo (now Tokyo) and demanded that the shogun open up Japan to American trade and diplomacy. Unable to find a solution to the naval threat, the shogun eventually gave in when Perry returned the following year. European powers demanded and were granted similar trading and diplomatic privileges. Like China, Japan was forced to sign unequal treaties which threatened Japan’s independence and economy.
In response to these treaties, some groups began to advocate for a new government centered around the emperor. The imperial court in Kyoto had long been relegated to a ceremonial rather than administrative or executive role. However, during the crisis of foreign encroachment, the palace began to host groups advocating for a new government led by the emperor.
A civil war broke out between those loyal to the shogunate and those wishing to see the emperor restored. Eventually, the forces dedicated to restoring the emperor proved decisive. This ended more than 250 years of Tokugawa rule. Known by the regnal name Meiji (1852-1912), the new emperor came to the throne on January 3, 1868, signifying what would become a new era in Japanese history.
Spotlight On | MEIJI RESTORATION
The Meiji Restoration (January 3, 1868) is named after Emperor Meiji, considered the 122nd Emperor of Japan. The Restoration and his reign led to rapid modernization, which swept away much of Japan’s feudal and isolationist policies transforming the country into an industrialized power. Before the Restoration, the shoguns ruled, and it was in their interest to keep the emperor isolated in his palaces and ignorant of contemporary events. Emperors and their families were often kept in isoloation, with many dying young due to the hardships of their sheltered lives. All five of Emperor Meiji’s siblings died as infants, and only five of his 15 children survived into adulthood. Having contracted smallpox, his own father died at 36. While the rapid modernization of Japan is indisputable, historians still debate the degree to which Emperor Meiji supported reform, with some claiming he had almost no role, with others painting him as an active participant in the process. Whatever the case, Emperor Meiji has been, and will likely continue to be, closely associated with the rapid modernization of Japan.
After centuries of isolation, Japan underwent a dramatic transformation known as the Meiji Restoration. This period of rapid modernization began in the mid-19th century, as Japan recognized the need to catch up with the West. Both progressive and conservative leaders embraced Western ideas and technologies. A prime example of this shift was Emperor Meiji's letter to U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant in 1871.
The Meiji Restoration brought about significant changes to Japanese society. One of the most notable reforms was the dismantling of the feudal system. This involved abolishing hereditary ranks, privileges, and the rigid social hierarchy that had characterized traditional Japan.
The Meijis wanted their political system to emulate the West. A constitutional committee travelled to several Western countries to study European and American political systems. This created much debate over which version of Western democracy best suited Japan. The Meiji settled on the Bismarckian example, which, although it had a parliament, placed ultimate authority in the executive branch. The result was a system that, although it looked like and acted like a democracy, was in practice still highly authoritarian.
Reformers understood that success ultimately rested with reforming and modernizing the state and the economy. To stimulate production, land was transferred away from the nobles and large landholders to those who tilled the soil. In return for private ownership of the land, farmers paid an annual tax on the value of their land. This created a reliable and stable tax base. This was not all positive, as those who could not meet the tax obligation were pushed off their land and forced to find employment in the city as part of the growing number of factory workers.
The Meiji government also pursued a policy of industrialization. Personal profit and the sanctity of capital were not the guiding principles but rather whether the industry served the state. With this perspective, the Meiji government might favor one company over another or force a weaker, less productive company to merge with a stronger, better organized one or even to shutter its doors. This approach worked, and at the dawn of the 20th century, Japan had a strong industrial economy.
Japan looked to the West for inspiration and technical and educational know-how. European officers, mainly from Germany, were employed to help Japan develop a modern army based on meritocracy and universal conscription. The Japanese armed forces were quickly modernized with the ultimate goal of being able to compete with European and American forces. Inspired by the American educational system, the Meiji government instituted universal education. With an emphasis on technical training, the Japanese government sponsored a series of programs encouraging bright students to study abroad while inviting leading European and American scholars to teach in Japan. These schools and opportunities were open to women as well. Emphasizing duty, service and loyalty as the ultimate virtues of education, the state downplayed the individualism which might be gleaned from an American education.
The mingling of culture with the West allowed Western fashions, arts and preoccupations to become popular in Japan. American leisure activities, including ballroom dancing, music and American sports became increasingly popular, especially among Japanese youth. Today, we see the results of this development, including the popularity of baseball in Japan.
Primary Source | The Meiji Restoration
The Letter from Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito) to President Ulysses S. Grant, on the Iwakura Mission (1871)
Mitsuhito, Emperor of Japan, etc., to the President of the United States of America, our good brother and faithful friend, greeting:
Mr. President: Whereas since our accession by the blessing of heaven to the sacred throne on which our ancestors reigned from time immemorial, we have not dispatched any embassy to the Courts and Governments of friendly countries. We have thought fit to select our trusted and honored minister, Iwakura Tomomi, the Junior Prime Minister (udaijin), as Ambassador Extraordinary … and invested [him] with full powers to proceed to the Government of the United States, as well as to other Governments, in order to declare our cordial friendship, and to place the peaceful relations between our respective nations on a firmer and broader basis. The period for revising the treaties now existing between ourselves and the United States is less than one year distant. We expect and intend to reform and improve the same so as to stand upon a similar footing with the most enlightened nations, and to attain the full development of public rights and interest. The civilization and institutions of Japan are so different from those of other countries that we cannot expect to reach the declared end at once. It is our purpose to select from the various institutions prevailing among enlightened nations such as are best suited to our present conditions, and adapt them in gradual reforms and improvements of our policy and customs so as to be upon an equality with them. With this object we desire to fully disclose to the United States Government the constitution of affairs in our Empire, and to consult upon the means of giving greater efficiency to our institutions at present and in the future, and as soon as the said Embassy returns home we will consider the revision of the treaties and accomplish what we have expected and intended.…
Your affectionate brother and friend,
Signed Mutsuhito
Countersigned Sanjō Sanetomi, Prime Minister
From Asia for Educators, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University