The modernization resulted into Japan being rated as the most developed in the whole of Eastern Asia. Consequently, western technology was greatly employed by domestic companies to produce highly sophisticated products. Therefore, the Meijis era opted to create a solution for the need at hand. Japan's success in modernization has created great interest in why and how it was able to adopt Western political, social, and economic institutions in so short a time. This reduces the incentive to improve one's land (investment), the very thing which creates growth and . What were some political effects of the Meiji Restoration? How did the Meiji Restoration change Japan? China had a more reluctant response which led to their defeat. There was no military in Japan during the Edo Period. Therefore, a revolution was started that was geared to more of advancement and revolution. Social Change - Meiji Period This led to a powerful military rise in the year 1905. The revolutionary changes carried out by restoration leaders, who acted in the name of the emperor, faced increasing opposition by the mid-1870s. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! Japan's goal of achieving fukoku kyohei, "rich country; strong military", fuelled major political, economic and social changes during the Meiji Restoration. Because Japan had been a closed country since the 1600s, excluding one island in Nagasaki exclusively used by the Dutch, the shogunate reacted by declaring death to anyone who aided foreigners. Japan utilized the weapons in war times that enabled them to secure their territory. A strong national army and navy became a main priority. Japan increased the number of steamships from 26 in 1873 to 1,514 in 1913 and 18 miles of train track in 1872 to over 7,000 in 1914. I feel like its a lifeline. Those men were motivated by growing domestic problems and by the threat of foreign encroachment. The town area urbanized progressively during the Togukuwa era. The era resulted into the introduction of boarder line trading. They enforced a lot of new rules for government, education, society, military, and economy. The government played a huge role in social change by creating new laws and a constitution. Parallel to this was the Land Tax Reform, or chisokaisei, which removed the feudal regions owned by the regional lords and placed them back in the hands of the people. This was like an assurance to the Meijis era because by the time the transition was taking there would be great achievements. The new government was very tactical. In 1882, the first horse-drawn carriage railroad opened in Tokyo. Japan replaced its feudalistic government, led by the Tokugawa Shogunate, with representative government; they copied Western ideas, including those of the nation-state and technology, with amazing successes and unified into a cohesive, educated, and aggressively expanding country. 160 -61Google Scholar, 'It has long been recognized that the Meiji Restoration was influenced and motivated by foreign relations beginning with the Opening of Japan. Age of Marriage in Japan -Legal and average ages. The Chinese branded themselves with the notion of self superiority. Meiji period was characterized by rapid change and modernization. https://www.britannica.com/event/Meiji-Restoration, Asia for Educators - The Meiji Restoration and Modernization, The abolition of the feudal system and all feudal class privileges, The construction of transport and communication systems. The Meiji era (, Meiji jidai, Japanese pronunciation: [me(d)i]) is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji Restoration was a coup d'tat that resulted in the dissolution of Japan's feudal system of government and the restoration of the imperial system. Japan was beaten by Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. Over 100 years after the Meiji Era, the first McDonalds restaurant, first Starbucks store, and first Apple retail store in Japan were all in Ginza. The Tenpo calendar (lunisolar calendar) was used until December 2, 1872, after which the solar calendar was adopted. The Meijis rule or era had a lot of trade relations with the international countries. After 150 years, why does the Meiji restoration matter? Japan before the Meiji restoration In 1839 and 1856 Asian nations were shocked by Britain's crushing victories over China in the two Opium Wars. Japanese Imperialism: Territorial Acquisitions & Wars, The Westernization of Japan During the Meiji Era. They were collectively known as Tsusho-no-kuni. Schooling combined Western ideas with Japanese culture. copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. This eventually led to their expansion. There were three main causes of the Meiji Restoration: First, internal problems in Japan made ruling the country too difficult. Many learning institutions were built that mostly related to business management studies. There were radical changes that took place during the Meiji transformation. Universal education and industrialization helped build an educated populace with better transportation and communication technology. Consequently, catching up with the newest forms of technology according to that era would have been a great challenge incase a former leader retained the office. Although the actual events of 1868 constituted little more than a shift of power within the old ruling class, the larger process referred to as the Meiji Restoration brought an end to the ascendancy of the warrior class and replaced the decentralized structure of early modern feudalism with a central state under the . Members of the ruling samurai class had become concerned about the shogunates ability to protect the country as more Western countries attempted to open Japan after more than two hundred years of virtual isolation. Titles of land ownership were issued to farmers, as were demands for taxation. It was later converted into a train transportation system. Omissions? Western-style clothing The first Japanese to wear clothes were the imperial family and the military personnel. What were the causes of the Japanese industrial revolution? An isolated, feudalistic island state in 1850, Japan had become a powerful colonial power with the most modern of institutions when Meiji's son, the Taisho emperor, took the throne in 1912. The feudal system was decaying, and factions were growing. The development resulted into Japan becoming a powerful industrial country. However, the Western countries were still unwilling to accept Japan as a great power. Japan made rapid strides to industrialize after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, boosting its transportation and communication networks and revolutionizing its light industry by the turn of the century. The movement was instigated by some scholars and priests, joined by people who had a strong antipathy toward temples. Two breakaway provinces of Choshu and Satsuma, which had been shunned by the shogunate over the last few centuries, supported the rule over the emperor instead of the shogunate. As the Edo period continued and enter it's later years, the stability of the system was sha. This led to the Boshin War. Introduction. The latter concern had its origins in the efforts by Western powers to open Japan, beginning in the 1850s after more than two centuries of near isolation, and the fear that Japan could be subjected to the same imperialist pressures that they observed happening in nearby China. Social mobility refers to the movement of individuals from one socio-economic strata to another, followed by a change in their social status. They also began to copy the West's expanding imperialism. succeed. Document #6: Overall Effects Based on the quotes and your new knowledge, what were the overall effects of the Meiji Restoration on Japan? In some ways, the worship of Western civilization created a sense that Japanese traditional culture was inferior, consisting of old habits. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. A military dictator, or shogun, ruled over everyone. One of the these was the virtually bloodless end of the aristocratic warrior class known as the samurai. Japan quickly instituted universal education, created a Western-style army and navy, and fell madly in love with something the American sailors were seen playing - baseball. All work is written to order. The Meiji Restoration , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Renovation, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Japan created an efficient rail system, improved communications technology, and started mechanizing industry. Due to the fact that Western nations were involved in Imperialism prior to and during the same time as the Meiji period, the wealth and power the European nations gained stood out to the Japanese. In 1871, the Meiji government issued an order to cut the topknot, urging people to stop wearing the chonmage. At the same time, universal education was introduced to Japan. The Japanese phrase sonno joi, or "praise the emperor and expel the barbaric West," was present until the anti-Western movement was quickly quashed. The entrepreneurs in Japan became more enlightened and powerful. The Meiji Restoration had two major slogans: Fukoku Kyohei and Bunmei Kaika. Another major contribution to modernization was the agrarian revolution. The rule that existed in the Meijis period wanted a collaboration of views that would integrate both western ways to traditional values. The adoption of universal education. The Meiji Restoration began in 1868 to 1912 which transformed Japan society with western influence but . Being a very clever lot, they embraced the issue of trade with other countries hence, they greatly improved. These businesses provided a lot of income that was used in purchasing most intensives used for development. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. World History 1600-1900: Lesson Plans & Resources, Psychological Research & Experimental Design, All Teacher Certification Test Prep Courses. Also, Japan sent ad hoc ambassadors to the West, like Yukichi Fukuzawa, to analyze, write about, and ultimately mimic the Industrial Revolution powering the West. The whole of Japan became interested in Western culture and began actively adopting it. In Japanese military history, the modernization of the Japanese army and navy during the Meiji period (1868-1912) and until the Mukden Incident (1931) was carried out by the newly founded national government, a military leadership that was only responsible to the Emperor, and with the help of France, Britain, and later Germany . Then, the leaders of the restoration really went to work. The war ended in the northern island of Hokkaido after the remaining forces of the shogunate tried to create a breakaway empire and were quashed. Though the emperor was considered the highest position in feudal Japan, the shogun and their military establishment kept him from wielding any real power. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.