Changes

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.

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]].

Following the [[Meiji Restoration]] which overthrew the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], [[Meiji government|a new Imperial government]] under the [[Meiji Emperor]] was established, patterned after the constitutional monarchies and democracies of the West. 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 [[oyatoi gaikokujin|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]].<ref>William Coaldrake, ''Architecture and Authority in Japan'', Routledge (1996), 216.</ref>

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 [[oyatoi gaikokujin|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]].<ref>William Coaldrake, ''Architecture and Authority in Japan'', Routledge (1996), 216.</ref>

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.

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 ''[[yoga|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."  

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 ''[[yoga|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." This was born, in part, out of much the same motivations as a number of other cultural developments of the period: namely, the desire to prove to the Japanese people, and to the world, that Japan was modern, civilized, and possessed just as worthy a tradition and history as any other great nation. The city of [[Kyoto]] was intentionally shaped into a symbol of Japan's great, noble, past, and numerous historical figures (such as [[Kusunoki Masashige]]) were revived and celebrated as national heroes. [[Nitobe Inazo|Nitobe Inazô]] invented and promoted the notion of ''[[bushido]]'' as a corollary to Europe's great tradition of chivalry. A European-style aristocratic peerage, complete with titles equivalent to Baron, Duke, and Marquis, was implemented, and many classical government positions were given equivalent European names; for example, the post of ''[[Naidaijin]]'' was named [[Lord of the Privy Seal]], and was, at least partially, patterned in its new, modern incarnation, after the position of Lord of the Privy Seal in European courts.<ref>Ben Ami Shillony, "Restoration, Emperor, Diet, Prefecture, or: How Japanese Concepts were Mistranslated into Western Languages," ''Collected Writings of Ben-Ami Shillony'', Edition Synapse (2000), 67.</ref>

[[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]] ([[Hokkaido|Hokkaidô]]) in [[1869]], the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]] in [[1879]], [[Taiwan]] in [[1895]], and [[Colonial Korea|Korea]] in [[1905]]-[[1910]].

[[State Shinto]] was also developed, along with a complex set of rituals, tradition, and national ideology surrounding the Emperor. However, like much else in this period, this developed over time. Though many of the earliest Meiji period documents, like the ''[[sonno|sonnô]] [[joi|jôi]]'' and ''[[kokugaku]]'' rhetoric which preceded them, express adulation of the emperor, historian David Lu suggests we should not take this at face-value, and that it was only after the [[1895]] [[Sino-Japanese War|victory over the Chinese]] that the 1900s-1940s mode of emperor-worship began to settle into place.<ref>David Lu, ''Japan: A Documentary History'', M.E. Sharpe (1997), 306.</ref>

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