Meiji period

Statue of Emperor Meiji at Naminoue Shrine in Okinawa, identified as kokka (国家), or, "The State."

• Dates: 1868-1912
• Other Names: 近代 (kindai)
• Japanese: 明治時代 (Meiji jidai)

The Meiji period, spanning the years from 1868 to 1912, saw dramatic changes in myriad aspects of politics, economy, culture, and society, and marked the emergence of the modern nation-state of Japan.

Following the Meiji Restoration which overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate, a new Imperial government under the Meiji Emperor was established, patterned after the constitutional monarchies and democracies of the West. The samurai class was abolished in 187X, and the system of feudal domains (han) in 1871. Though all were now meant to be relatively equal, as Imperial subjects, no longer divided into Confucian classes of merchants, peasants, and artisans, a new aristocracy was formed to include the former daimyô, court nobles, and others. After much consideration and debate, a Constitution was written up, and promulgated in 1889.

In terms of commerce, industry, and infrastructure, the country modernized perhaps more quickly than any country ever has. Railroads, electricity, gaslamps, steamships, and countless other technological advances which began to be introduced in the Bakumatsu era spread, quickly becoming ubiquitous. Banks, factories, import-export companies, and other sorts of modern corporate businesses abounded, and Japan quickly became a competitive force on the world stage. The government hired some 3,000 foreigners to serve as advisors and teachers in guiding these infrastructure efforts, and in teaching the first generation of Japanese experts at the newly established Imperial universities. The majority by far were experts in engineering and architecture, and were employed by the Ministry of Education.

Everyday culture changed dramatically, from food to fashion to architecture, as Western styles were adopted. Much was retained, of course, or evolved into new modern forms without being discarded entirely; still, modernity came quickly, especially in the big cities, in these respects.

A national culture was born for the first time. Public education, nationwide newspapers, and the abolition of the feudal system & centralization of government under Tokyo, along with numerous other factors fueled the development of a single national culture. Regional culture was celebrated, but it was also suppressed, as the government put into place nationwide public education curricula, encouraged the development of a "standard" Japanese language, and so forth. Further, in the arts, considerable efforts were made to develop and promote "national" arts; many new art forms, such as Nihonga (neo-traditional painting) and yôga (Western-style oil painting) were born out of this, while many older art forms, such as Noh, kabuki, and tea ceremony, were formalized or re-invented as "national traditions."

State Shinto was also developed, along with a complex set of rituals, tradition, and national ideology surrounding the Emperor. Japan also began along the path of imperialism in the Meiji period, annexing Ezo (Hokkaidô) in 1869, the Ryûkyû Islands in 1879, Taiwan in 1895, and Korea in 1905-1910.