CHAPTER FOUR
THE MEIJI RESTORATION
Japan, like China, pursued an inwardly focused
independent path until the 19th century. The insular policy of
sakoku, the "closed country policy", was still in effect as
this region entered the 1800's. The Tokugawa Shogunate ruled a unified state,
with symbolic unity under the emperor. Social and economic restrictions
during this period resulted in slow but sustainable growth. Japanese
society had only had minimal exposure to the revolutionary achievements taking
place in the West through trading contacts in Nagasaki;
Japan's
technology by the 19th century was far behind that of industrial
powers. Japanese military capabilities were still based on the skills and code
of the samurai, the arts of the sword and archery. Sakoku severely slowed
Japanese technological growth, although Japan enjoyed a remarkable period
of relative peace and the seclusion in which they cultivated their native
traditions. That seclusion was about to end.
THE END OF
SAKOKU
In the 19th
century, several industrial powers sought to end Japan's self-imposed isolation.
Countries like Britain and
the U.S. desired access to Japan's ports for refueling/repair of their
merchant ships and also saw Japan
as an untapped market for their goods. Recognize, unlike Africa and India, access
to Japanese territories was sought not for its resources since these were very
limited. Rather, industrialized powers wanted strategic access to ports and the
ability to sell goods to the Japanese market. It was ultimately the United States navy which forcibly opened Japan in 1853. Steaming
into Tokyo harbor, the U.S., under the command of Commodore Perry,
ordered the Japanese to receive U.S.
envoys who presented the Tokugawa leadership with several demands effectively
ending sakoku. This "negotiation" took place under the clear and
visible threat of U.S.
naval power; the Tokugawa Shogunate had no choice but to submit in the face of
this superior firepower. The opening of Japan was a classic example of
"gunboat diplomacy”.
A familiar pattern began. The
Japanese government was forced to concede to U.S. demands, and later forced to
accept unfair treaties imposed by other industrial powers. Due to the obvious
military inferiority of Japanese land forces (and absence of a navy), Japanese
leaders were forced to agree to:
- opening up of ports to Western ships
- diplomatic missions and embassies (thus mandatory
involvement in global politics)
- having to accept U.S. control over the Japanese
tariffs
Japan clearly lost control of its borders
and economic policies.
THE MEIJI
RESTORATION
From 1853 - 1868, the
Tokugawa Shogunate ruled over a weak country and an increasingly angry
population. There was a great deal of frustration regarding Japan's
vulnerable position. This frustration was directed, fruitlessly, at
lashing out in violent attacks on Westerners. But this doomed campaign to
"drive out the barbarians" only resulted in further punishment and
concessions (following the pattern in China);
Japan
was simply too weak to actually halt or push out industrial powers. Tokugawa
leaders were blamed for this continued humiliation and in 1868, a rebellion of
daimyo and samurai resulted in the overthrow of the Shogunate after over two
centuries of rule.
No new military leader rose
to fill this vacuum, instead, the Japanese turned to their spiritual and
symbolic leader - the Emperor. For a period of time, power reverted (really for
the first time) to the imperial court as Japanese turned to the unifying figure
of the Emperor during this national, cultural crisis. At the time of this power
shift, the Emperor Mutsuhito was a 16 year old boy; obviously it was actually
his advisors who guided Japan.
In the long run, the youth of the Emperor proved helpful since his long reign
provided a consistency and continuity to the policies established under his
rule in 1868.
The government that emerged
in 1868 became known as the Meiji government and the reforms enacted are
collectively referred to as the Meiji Restoration. Meiji meant "
Enlightened"; the fundamental emphasis of the Meiji period was that
Japanese leaders stopped the futile attempts to lash out at the intrusive
Western presence. Instead, Japanese leaders began a conscious campaign to learn
and adopt Western technology and abilities - to achieve equal power and thus true
autonomy (and then throw out the foreign control!) Over the next 20-30
years, Japan
underwent a period of staggering change - the Japanese consciously and
purposefully adopted Western knowledge, and adapted it to Japanese needs and
existing traditions. Students were sent to Europe and the U.S. to learn
about industry, technology, military structures and political models. Foreign
experts were brought in to teach new methods and technological capabilities.
Japan displayed a remarkable ability to
borrow and adopt outside ideas in a short space of time. However, recognize an
important fact - this ability to adopt was NOT wholesale mimicry; not
everything in the West was accepted, and many defining Japanese traditions were
maintained. Thus it was a period that historians refer to as
"selective" borrowing - some Western elements were transplanted,
merged with existing, deeply rooted Japanese traditions to produce the
synthesis of modern Japan.
POLITICAL CHANGES
One of the areas where the
impact of the Meiji period clearly changed Japan was in the realm of politics.
The Japanese Emperor remained the head of the state in name; however, he did
not rule as an absolute monarch. Borrowing from the Prussian/German model of
limited constitutionalism, the Meiji leadership created a system of shared
power with the emperor as the executive head, and with a two-house legislative
assembly, the Diet (a German name). A Constitution (the basis
of rule by law) was created in 1889, with an accompanying Bill of Rights. Key
liberal structures were in place by 1890. Recognize, the Prussian form of
limited monarchy was different from Britain in that the monarch held
more power.
In this political sphere we
see the selective borrowing mentioned earlier. Modernizing Japan did not result in a mini-Prussia or shadow
reflection of Britain.
Key Japanese political traditions remained - specifically the special role of
the emperor. The Japanese Emperor had more power than constitutional monarchs
in Europe, since he was still viewed as
semi-divine, a spiritual, untouchable figure. For example, even through
there was a Constitution and Bill of Rights, the Emperor was not bound by
these laws. The Emperor (seen by Japanese as semi-divine) remained
above the law, untouchable, or in legal terms, "inviolable". Thus,
the Japanese government was a hybrid of constitutional elements, but still with
an untouchable semi-divine emperor as the official head of the state.
The basis of Constitutional
government in Meiji Japan
was also unique. Unlike the Western conception that rights came from natural
laws and were a natural birthright, the Japanese perception was that the
Constitution, and the rights it contained, were a gift from the Emperor
- a totally different, Japanese, theoretical framework of constitutional
government.
The elite dominance of the
daimyo was another Japanese political tradition that remained. The right
to vote and be elected to this new Constitutional government was reserved for
those with a high property ownership, in essence limiting political power to
the landed elite. Thus the daimyo remained the elite class. They were no longer
military warlords; but in their new position as elected officials, the same
clans sustained their elite status.
The result of this
selective borrowing and adaptations was a liberal based political system in Japan - but one
that retained an emperor and powerful, dominant clans. It was a
remarkably swift transformation from the feudal heritage of local power and
repressive military dictatorship of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Japan's
government heading into the 20th century was a fusion of Western ideas and
Japanese traditions.
MILITARY CHANGES
Another key sector of
society that underwent significant change was the military. In fact a primary
goal underlying the entire Meiji movement was to match the Western military and
naval power which had humiliated the Shogunate. In terms of land forces, the
Meiji leadership created a massive, national army - drafting conscripted
(mostly peasant) troops. This ended the professional and privileged
status of the samurai class. In the place of highly prized swords and
refined skills of hand-to-hand combat, these drafted peasants were armed with less
"noble" but much more effective mass produced guns. Modern western
weaponry was purchased, and the Japanese leaders also sought to gain the technical
ability to produce such weaponry was actively learned and adopted by Japan. Thus, in
place of the traditional professional samurai, Japan had a large, drafted force,
armed with modern weapons. Meiji planners structured the organization,
hierarchy, discipline and military law of this new massive army on the model
borrowed from what was then considered the most effective land force in Europe, the Prussian (later German) army. Japan's modern
army reflected Prussian/German discipline and structure.
The effectiveness of this new
force was tested early on. In 1877, angry samurai rebelled against their loss
of status and privileges. The new peasant army was sent in - and modern arms
quickly defeated samurai skills. The rebellion was put down decisively.
Although the echoes of the code of Bushido and the warrior tradition remained
within the new army and as part of Japanese cultural heritage, Japan's
military forces were rapidly and dramatically modernized in terms of structure,
make-up, size, and weaponry during the Meiji period.
Japan also undertook a massive campaign
to create a modern navy. In a 180-degree turn around from sakoku, Japan attempted to utilize its coastlines (as England had so
successfully done) and concentrate on effective naval power. Meiji
leaders identified Great Britain
as the world's greatest naval power; Japan
thus borrowed heavily from Britain's
naval technology, organization, and naval system of chain of command.
These changes were very successful. Within the space of about 30 years, Japan had
created a modern land and naval force.
ECONOMIC CHANGES
To support and strengthen
military power, the Meiji leadership undertook the daunting task of rapidly industrializing Japan.
The primary focus of Meiji economic policies was to shift from an agricultural
base to industrial production. It was clear that industrial ability was needed
for Japan
to sustain its military agenda and to protect itself and ultimately compete
with Western economic power.
However, Japan faced
serious obstacles in its efforts to industrialize. Remember the
"prerequisites" discussed a few weeks ago - things that are necessary
for successful industrialization. Japan
lacked some critical ingredients, including access to resources (Japan is
resource poor) and more immediately, there was no wealthy, established middle
class to fund the building of factories, infrastructure, and transportation
systems. Thus, in Japan,
it was the new Meiji government, the Diet, which took on the role of
building and pursuing industrialization. This was a markedly different path to
industrialization than that taken by Europe and the US. The Japanese government took on
the dominant role of funding and building the economic infrastructure.
The government used state taxes to build factories and transportation
infrastructure, and then sold off large sectors of the economy to private
investors. These large monopolies (called zaibatsu) were sold off to powerful
daimyo families. Thus the old land based economic elite transformed into the
industrial based elite in modernizing Japan.
As a result of strong
governmental involvement, Japan
was able to industrialize in a remarkably short period of time. Even after
sectors of government-funded industries were sold off to the private sector,
the Japanese government maintained a strong interest and involvement in
industrial development. So, to restate, Japan industrialized, but pursued a
different path to that industrial build-up, one based not on "laissez -
faire", free market economy, but rather on direct and substantive
government involvement in the economy. You should remember this difference in
terms of better understanding ongoing differences between U.S. and
Japanese leaders regarding the role of the government in protecting the
economy.
IMPERIAL
EXPANSION
Industrialization required Japan
to secure necessary raw materials, and the Meiji leadership solved this problem
in the same way as Western powers, through colonial control and expansion. In
the 1890's, Japan
launched a series of successful invasions into the Korean peninsula. Japan
maintained colonial control in this peninsula until after World War II (1945). Japan also came into increased confrontation
with China.
Japan decisively defeated China in the Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895),
seizing control of Formosa
(now Taiwan).
In 1904-1905, Japanese
movement into Manchuria led to a clash with Russia - the Russo-Japanese war. Japan was far more powerful and defeated
non-industrialized Russia.
(see account)
With the defeat of Russia, Japan solidified a presence in Manchuria, and
laid claim to parts of the Sakhalin
Islands. Japan's victory over Russia was a rare victory in this
era - an Asian state defeated a European power; this made vividly clear
to other non-Western leaders the importance and potential of industrial
power. If Japan could
catch up, and compete with Europe through
"modernization", others could as well. Japan became an
important model for other non-western powers in the 20th century as they
attempted to both throw off Western control, and leap into the modernization
process of industrialization. (see
map)
Due to the dramatic consequences
of New Imperial aggression, power and territorial control in Asia
changed dramatically in the space of 30 years. Japan,
based on the power from Meiji modernization, emerged as the dominant Asian
power, defeating China and Russia. (see Japanese
assessment - 1908) Competition between Japan
and the industrial powers of the West, in particular the U.S., continued
well into the 20th century.
SUMMARY
The 19th and
early 20th centuries were dramatic and traumatic years for
non-industrialized regions. The hunger of industrial powers for resources,
strategic position, and markets led to a massive land grab all over the world.
Long established empires and traditional communities were shaken or destroyed.
With the exception of Japan
which recovered and then joined the race, colonized regions remained
under colonial control /influence well into the middle of the 20th
century.
The colonial hold of
industrial powers was not shaken until the devastation of the Second World War set
in motion a global wave of decolonization. The legacies of this period
of imperial colonization still strongly shape our world. New Imperialism
was thus a staggeringly important event and period in world
history; much of the conflict, controversy and upheaval you read of today are continued
legacies of this period.
INTERESTING
WEB SITES
IMPERIALISM :
INTERNET SOURCES
EAST ASIAN
INTERNET SOURCEBOOK
MODERN JAPAN
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