Reading Questions
- What were Japan's reasons for Industrialization?
- What were the consequences of Commodore Perry's forceful "opening up" of Japan?
- What was the government's role in Industrializing Japan?
- What were the economic consequences of Japan's industrialization?
- What were the political consequences of industrialization?
- What were the cultural consequences of industrialization?
Japanese Government prior to Industrialization
From the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Meiji
The Tokugawa Shogun ruled Japan while the Emperor remain only a figurehead. The shogun was able to create a long period of peace but was unable to truly unify the country. The Daimyos still maintained some level of local autonomy. While there was peace, the samurai became salaried bureaucrats. Economic growth followed. By 1750, Japan became the most urbanized country.
The Tokugawa Shogun ruled Japan while the Emperor remain only a figurehead. The shogun was able to create a long period of peace but was unable to truly unify the country. The Daimyos still maintained some level of local autonomy. While there was peace, the samurai became salaried bureaucrats. Economic growth followed. By 1750, Japan became the most urbanized country.
US and Western Powers Pressure
Pressure from western states would lead to the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Japanese had expelled all Europeans including Christian missionaries. Even people who shipwrecked were expelled, killed, or jailed. The only Europeans to be allowed to trade were the Dutch and they could only do so at a single port. In 1853, the U.S. sent Commodore Perry to demand fair treatment to castaways, demand that US ships be able to refuel and that merchants be allowed to trade. Perry presented gifts including a telegraph, a printing press, and a steam train miniature model. Hoqwever, Perry also presented the Japanese with a white flag for them to use for surrendering. He had also arrived with nine steam-powered ships, 1800 men, and 100 mounted cannons.
Pressure from western states would lead to the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Japanese had expelled all Europeans including Christian missionaries. Even people who shipwrecked were expelled, killed, or jailed. The only Europeans to be allowed to trade were the Dutch and they could only do so at a single port. In 1853, the U.S. sent Commodore Perry to demand fair treatment to castaways, demand that US ships be able to refuel and that merchants be allowed to trade. Perry presented gifts including a telegraph, a printing press, and a steam train miniature model. Hoqwever, Perry also presented the Japanese with a white flag for them to use for surrendering. He had also arrived with nine steam-powered ships, 1800 men, and 100 mounted cannons.
The Fall of the Tokugawa
By this time Japan already knew that China was forced into a series of unequal treaties due to their defeat in the Opium Wars. In order to avoid war, the Shogun accepted to open up the ports. The trade agreement between the US and other Western powers and Japan was also unequal. This humiliation in front of the foreign “devils” led to a brief civil war in 1868 resulting in the fall of the Tokugawa Shogun and the rise of the Meiji government.
By this time Japan already knew that China was forced into a series of unequal treaties due to their defeat in the Opium Wars. In order to avoid war, the Shogun accepted to open up the ports. The trade agreement between the US and other Western powers and Japan was also unequal. This humiliation in front of the foreign “devils” led to a brief civil war in 1868 resulting in the fall of the Tokugawa Shogun and the rise of the Meiji government.
Samurai lose power
The Samurais numbered around 1.9 million warriors in the 1870’s. During the Tokugawa period, the members of this class were paid fixed salaries that drained the governments treasury. To remedy this situation, the Meiji announced a heavy taxation on the Samurais’ incomes in 1873. The right to bear arms was extended to all male citizens of Japan, despite heavy protest from the Samurais, who were the only ones who could carry weapons before. Additionally, the Government enforced a mandatory military service for all males above 21 years old. These changes ended up pushing the Samurai elite out of power. |
Meiji Rule
The new rulers claimed they were restoring power to the emperor and avoiding foreign rule. The emperor’s throne name was Meiji. The Meiji government vowed to seek knowledge throughout the world to maintain the emperor’s power. This pivotal period of Japanese history was called the Meiji Restoration. Industrialization in Japan was achieved largely through state direction rather than through private initiative. The Meiji government responded to Western economic and political pressure by trying to emulate Western technology, science, and education.
The new rulers claimed they were restoring power to the emperor and avoiding foreign rule. The emperor’s throne name was Meiji. The Meiji government vowed to seek knowledge throughout the world to maintain the emperor’s power. This pivotal period of Japanese history was called the Meiji Restoration. Industrialization in Japan was achieved largely through state direction rather than through private initiative. The Meiji government responded to Western economic and political pressure by trying to emulate Western technology, science, and education.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, Japanese industrialization was facilitated by significant initial investment in key industries by the central government, which eventually sold those holdings to private entrepreneurs. Japanese manufacturing output rose as a consequence of industrialization. By the early twentieth century, the Japanese developed organizations called zaibatsu - (Japanese: “wealthy clique”), any of the large capitalist enterprises of Japan before World War II, similar to cartels or trusts. Japan became a major exporter of textiles but still had to import many raw materials.
The Meiji takeover meant a shift of power away from regional lords and to the emperor. Although the Meiji reforms included the establishment of a parliament and the adoption of a constitution, the Meiji parliament (Diet) had limited and largely advisory functions. It did not rule the country directly. Power was centralized in the capital and with the emperor. The government also took the power of the Daimyo by establishing local administrators who came from all social classes. They became responsible for collecting taxes.
The Meiji Restoration also involved numerous policies that were directly intended to modernize Japan’s military, including modernization of the ranks and the officer corps, importation (and later domestic manufacturing) of modern gunpowder weapons and ships, the hiring of numerous foreign military advisors, and the creation of a system of national military conscription.
The industrialization of Japan led to a rise in its military power, which fueled a policy of imperial expansion that sought to take advantage of the political and military weakness of neighboring Asian states, such as China and Korea. Indeed, the Japanese military easily defeated China during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, which resulted in China ceding territory, recognizing the independence of Korea, and paying large war reparations to Japan. Japan also defeated Russia in 1905.
Cultural changes accompanying greater contact with the United States. The government sent many students abroad to study. Some found their way to the United States. Suddenly, the elite developed a fascination with western clothes, hairstyles, food, and education including ideas about the Enlightenment. The Japanese borrowed selectively meaning they took what they thought useful from the west and discarded the rest. Below you see a graphic organizer showing that same idea.
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