Changes

The [[samurai]] class was abolished along with the system of feudal domains (''han'') in [[1871]]. The wearing of swords in public was [[Haito edict|banned]] in [[1876]]. 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.  

The [[samurai]] class was abolished along with the system of feudal domains (''han'') in [[1871]]. The wearing of swords in public was [[Haito edict|banned]] in [[1876]]. 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.  

The government implemented a system of [[Meiji education|nationwide public education]] which gradually came into fruition over the course of the period. A national curriculum was aimed at suppressing regional difference and creating a unified, national, "Japanese" culture. The [[Ministry of Education]] began efforts in [[1872]] to establish schools across the country; in addition to this, a significant portion of the education budget in the first decades of the Meiji period was devoted to bringing in foreign teachers, and to funding students to study overseas. Building schools, training and hiring (native Japanese) teachers, and so forth took some time, and as late as [[1902]], the country was still only partially on the way to the goals that had been set in 1872, in terms of the number of schools in operation. As for the content and character of the national curriculum, [[1890]] was a turning point in this as in many things. The [[Imperial Rescript on Education]] issued that year is a short document which declared a set of nationalist core principles, and which served from that point forward as the foundation of a curriculum of moral education emphasizing filial piety, nationalist zeal or patriotism, reverence for the Emperor, and personal sacrifice for the sake of the nation.<ref>Schirokauer, et al, 187-188.</ref>

The government implemented a system of [[Meiji education|nationwide public education]] which gradually came into fruition over the course of the period, based on a combination of Western knowledge (e.g. sciences, geography, economics) and [[Neo-Confucianism|Neo-Confucian]] moral education. A national curriculum was aimed at suppressing regional difference and creating a unified, national, "Japanese" culture. The [[Ministry of Education]] began efforts in [[1872]] to establish schools across the country; in addition to this, a significant portion of the education budget in the first decades of the Meiji period was devoted to bringing in foreign teachers, and to funding students to study overseas. Building schools, training and hiring (native Japanese) teachers, and so forth took some time, and as late as [[1902]], the country was still only partially on the way to the goals that had been set in 1872, in terms of the number of schools in operation. As for the content and character of the national curriculum, [[1890]] was a turning point in this as in many things. The [[Imperial Rescript on Education]] issued that year is a short document which declared a set of nationalist core principles, and which served from that point forward as the foundation of a curriculum of moral education emphasizing filial piety, nationalist zeal or patriotism, reverence for the Emperor, and personal sacrifice for the sake of the nation.<ref>Schirokauer, et al, 187-188.</ref>

 

 

Similarly, a [[1897]] Civil Code, in addition to its many other stipulations, established formal legal definitions of marriage, legal procedures for divorce, and so forth, bringing Japanese definitions and practices closer to being in-line with Western "modern" practices. Marriage became a legal procedure for the first time, and was formally recognized by the government in ways it was not previously.<ref>Fujitani, 188-190.</ref>

The 1872 [[Prostitute Emancipation Act]] freed [[prostitution|prostitutes]] and [[geisha]] from their contracts of indentured servitude, though prostitution itself was not yet outlawed. This freed many women, and introduced the concept of "liberation," and debate over the issue, into public discourse, but ultimately did not effect a sea-change, as the government returned several years later to recognizing such contracts once again. Further, many women, despite being freed from their contracts, had no other home, no other job, and/or no other employable skills to fall back on, and so many became waitresses, inn hostesses, bathhouse staff, or the like, continuing to sell sex, albeit under the thin veil of nominally more above-board practices.<ref>Amy Stanley, ''Selling Women: Prostitution, Markets, and the Household in Early Modern Japan'', UC Press (2012), 194.</ref>

The 1872 [[Prostitute Emancipation Act]] freed [[prostitution|prostitutes]] and [[geisha]] from their contracts of indentured servitude, though prostitution itself was not yet outlawed. This freed many women, and introduced the concept of "liberation," and debate over the issue, into public discourse, but ultimately did not effect a sea-change, as the government returned several years later to recognizing such contracts once again. Further, many women, despite being freed from their contracts, had no other home, no other job, and/or no other employable skills to fall back on, and so many became waitresses, inn hostesses, bathhouse staff, or the like, continuing to sell sex, albeit under the thin veil of nominally more above-board practices.<ref>Amy Stanley, ''Selling Women: Prostitution, Markets, and the Household in Early Modern Japan'', UC Press (2012), 194.</ref>

==Culture==

==Culture==

In response to this, however, a number of scholars, writers, and artists perceived the loss of regional folk traditions as an existential threat to Japanese identity. They argued that Japanese identity was grounded fundamentally in folk traditions, including especially folk arts (''[[mingei]]'') such as pottery and textiles, and that this was being actively destroyed by the nationalization and modernization efforts; as Japan modernized, they found in [[Hokkaido|Hokkaidô]], [[Okinawa]], [[Colonial Korea|Korea]], and [[Taiwan]] what they claimed was an earlier, truer form of Japanese culture, which was being lost and which needed to be recovered. While their efforts certainly did serve to revive or preserve many folk traditions which might otherwise have been lost, it is important to note that the ''Mingei'' movement was not in fact rescuing these traditions as they truly had been in ages past, but rather was re-inventing, re-conceptualizing these arts; the ''Mingei'' vision of Japanese culture, history, and identity was an invented tradition<ref>Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger. ''The Invention of Tradition''. Cambridge University Press, 2012.</ref> no less so than the more official and mainstream efforts to promote National arts.

In response to this, however, a number of scholars, writers, and artists perceived the loss of regional folk traditions as an existential threat to Japanese identity. They argued that Japanese identity was grounded fundamentally in folk traditions, including especially folk arts (''[[mingei]]'') such as pottery and textiles, and that this was being actively destroyed by the nationalization and modernization efforts; as Japan modernized, they found in [[Hokkaido|Hokkaidô]], [[Okinawa]], [[Colonial Korea|Korea]], and [[Taiwan]] what they claimed was an earlier, truer form of Japanese culture, which was being lost and which needed to be recovered. While their efforts certainly did serve to revive or preserve many folk traditions which might otherwise have been lost, it is important to note that the ''Mingei'' movement was not in fact rescuing these traditions as they truly had been in ages past, but rather was re-inventing, re-conceptualizing these arts; the ''Mingei'' vision of Japanese culture, history, and identity was an invented tradition<ref>Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger. ''The Invention of Tradition''. Cambridge University Press, 2012.</ref> no less so than the more official and mainstream efforts to promote National arts.

Through participation in [[World's Fairs]], the establishment of [[Tokyo National Museum|Imperial (National) Museums]] in the 1880s, the establishment of a system of [[National Treasures]], and the promotion of particular art forms, among other means, the government worked 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. Many new art forms, such as ''[[Nihonga]]'' (neo-traditional painting) and ''[[yoga|yôga]]'' (Western-style oil painting), the novel & other forms of "modern" literature, and [[shinpa|new forms of theatre]], were born out of this, while many older art forms, such as [[Noh]], [[kabuki]], [[shamisen]] music, [[nihon buyo|Japanese dance]], and [[tea ceremony]], were formalized or re-invented as "national traditions." Others, such as ''[[ukiyo-e]]'', simply continued along, changing and developing but not being re-conceptualized entirely. Artists such as [[Kobayashi Kiyochika]] designed ''ukiyo-e'' propaganda prints which served to report on national events, such as the promulgation of the Constitution, and the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars. By the end of the period, however, ''ukiyo-e'' had fallen away, and had been replaced by modern print forms such as ''[[shin hanga]]'' ("new prints") and ''[[sosaku hanga|sôsaku hanga]]'' ("creative prints"). Photography, postcards, newspapers, and a variety of other modern arts & cultural forms also developed and became widespread in the Meiji period.

Through participation in [[World's Fairs]], the establishment of [[Tokyo National Museum|Imperial (National) Museums]] in the 1880s, the establishment of a system of [[National Treasures]], and the promotion of particular art forms, among other means, the government worked 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. Many new art forms, such as ''[[Nihonga]]'' (neo-traditional painting) and ''[[yoga|yôga]]'' (Western-style oil painting), the novel & other forms of "modern" literature, and [[shinpa|new forms of theatre]], were born out of this, while many older art forms, such as [[Noh]], [[kabuki]], [[shamisen]] and other forms of traditional [[music]], [[nihon buyo|Japanese dance]], and [[tea ceremony]], were formalized or re-invented as "national traditions." Others, such as ''[[ukiyo-e]]'', simply continued along, changing and developing but not being re-conceptualized entirely. Artists such as [[Kobayashi Kiyochika]] designed ''ukiyo-e'' propaganda prints which served to report on national events, such as the promulgation of the Constitution, and the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars. By the end of the period, however, ''ukiyo-e'' had fallen away, and had been replaced by modern print forms such as ''[[shin hanga]]'' ("new prints") and ''[[sosaku hanga|sôsaku hanga]]'' ("creative prints"). Photography, postcards, newspapers, and a variety of other modern arts & cultural forms also developed and became widespread in the Meiji period.

Numerous Westerners visited Japan in the Bakumatsu and Meiji eras. Among many other activities, many of them collected Japanese art, bringing large collections back to the West, where they introduced Western audiences to Japanese art. Many museum collections got their start at this time, through the donation or sale of the private collections of people like [[William Sturgis Bigelow]], [[Charles Lang Freer]], and [[Ernest Fenollosa]], and through figures like [[Okakura Kakuzo|Okakura Kakuzô]] pioneering curatorial positions, and giving lectures and demonstrations. Japanese art began to be sold in the West as well; [[Hayashi Tadamasa]], for example, was a prominent art dealer in Paris in the 1880s through [[1905]], and the importation of Japanese art, especially ''ukiyo-e'', spurred the ''[[japonisme]]'' movement, becoming profoundly influential upon Impressionism and other major art trends in the West. Figures such as Fenollosa and Okakura also played significant roles in shaping Japanese modern art, through encouragement of ''Nihonga'' artists, and promoting appreciation for Buddhist and Japanese traditional arts, discouraging the Japanese art world from fleeing entirely into adoption of Western styles and subjects. The development of art societies, art journals, and official government salon-style exhibitions such as the [[Teiten]], were significant developments, too, in the Japanese art world's modern transformation.

Numerous Westerners visited Japan in the Bakumatsu and Meiji eras. Among many other activities, many of them collected Japanese art, bringing large collections back to the West, where they introduced Western audiences to Japanese art. Many museum collections got their start at this time, through the donation or sale of the private collections of people like [[William Sturgis Bigelow]], [[Charles Lang Freer]], and [[Ernest Fenollosa]], and through figures like [[Okakura Kakuzo|Okakura Kakuzô]] pioneering curatorial positions, and giving lectures and demonstrations. Japanese art began to be sold in the West as well; [[Hayashi Tadamasa]], for example, was a prominent art dealer in Paris in the 1880s through [[1905]], and the importation of Japanese art, especially ''ukiyo-e'', spurred the ''[[japonisme]]'' movement, becoming profoundly influential upon Impressionism and other major art trends in the West. Figures such as Fenollosa and Okakura also played significant roles in shaping Japanese modern art, through encouragement of ''Nihonga'' artists, and promoting appreciation for Buddhist and Japanese traditional arts, discouraging the Japanese art world from fleeing entirely into adoption of Western styles and subjects. The development of art societies, art journals, and official government salon-style exhibitions such as the [[Teiten]], were significant developments, too, in the Japanese art world's modern transformation.

For the first decade or two of the period, the Meiji government made little concerted effort to guide the (re)building and shaping of Tokyo and Kyoto, and in fact for the first several years of the period the government remained undecided as to which city would be the official capital, or whether they might have multiple capitals. Even after it was decided that Tokyo would be the national, Imperial, capital, for many years little coordinated effort was made to reshape the city into a national symbol and modern capital in the Western/modern mode. The Imperial family moved from Kyoto into a set of buildings in the nishi-no-maru (western bailey) of [[Edo castle]] as early as [[1869]], but it was only in the late 1880s and 1890s (albeit with a few earlier exceptions) that the government begin to build grand boulevards, triumphal arches, massive public parks, and statues of national heroes. And it was only in 1889 that the [[Tokyo Imperial Palace]] itself was (re)built, the modern imperial palace created out of the former shogunal castle. Similarly, the old imperial capital of Kyoto was largely left to simply fall into disrepair from 1868 until the 1880s, before the government decided to make a concerted effort to shape Kyoto into a powerful symbol of Japan's illustrious past. Beginning in the 1880s, the [[Kyoto Imperial Palace]] was repaired, and much of its grounds transformed into a public park, with many other sites in the city attracting government attention and support as well. Historian [[Takashi Fujitani]] writes of a "museumification of Kyoto" which was effected at this time, transforming the city into something "not unlike a public museum in its display of objects that were to be appreciated as the true representations of history."<ref>Fujitani, 60-61.</ref>

For the first decade or two of the period, the Meiji government made little concerted effort to guide the (re)building and shaping of Tokyo and Kyoto, and in fact for the first several years of the period the government remained undecided as to which city would be the official capital, or whether they might have multiple capitals. Even after it was decided that Tokyo would be the national, Imperial, capital, for many years little coordinated effort was made to reshape the city into a national symbol and modern capital in the Western/modern mode. The Imperial family moved from Kyoto into a set of buildings in the nishi-no-maru (western bailey) of [[Edo castle]] as early as [[1869]], but it was only in the late 1880s and 1890s (albeit with a few earlier exceptions) that the government begin to build grand boulevards, triumphal arches, massive public parks, and statues of national heroes. And it was only in 1889 that the [[Tokyo Imperial Palace]] itself was (re)built, the modern imperial palace created out of the former shogunal castle. Similarly, the old imperial capital of Kyoto was largely left to simply fall into disrepair from 1868 until the 1880s, before the government decided to make a concerted effort to shape Kyoto into a powerful symbol of Japan's illustrious past. Beginning in the 1880s, the [[Kyoto Imperial Palace]] was repaired, and much of its grounds transformed into a public park, with many other sites in the city attracting government attention and support as well. Historian [[Takashi Fujitani]] writes of a "museumification of Kyoto" which was effected at this time, transforming the city into something "not unlike a public museum in its display of objects that were to be appreciated as the true representations of history."<ref>Fujitani, 60-61.</ref>

[[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 express adulation of the emperor, continuing the ''[[sonno|sonnô]] [[joi|jôi]]'' and ''[[kokugaku]]'' rhetoric which preceded them, it was only after the [[1895]] [[Sino-Japanese War|victory over the Chinese]] that the ultranationalist forms of "emperor-worship" emblematic of the 1930s-1940s began to settle into place.<ref>David Lu, ''Japan: A Documentary History'', M.E. Sharpe (1997), 306.</ref> Shinto was divided into State Shinto, with hierarchies of national shrines being created; Sect Shinto, in which networks of related shrines were counted as separate from the national hierarchies; and local folk practices. Numerous shrines were formally designated as chief shrine for their prefecture, and shrines were also established in the colonies. [[Buddhism]] was at the same time very briefly but very powerfully suppressed, in a policy known as ''[[haibutsu kishaku]]''. Where Buddhism and Shinto had previously been closely intertwined, Buddhism was now extricated from shrines, to make them more purely Shinto sites. A great many temples were closed in [[1869]]-[[1870]] or so, and a great many Buddhist artworks, icons, and artifacts were either sold to foreign collectors or were destroyed.

[[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 express adulation of the emperor, continuing the ''[[sonno|sonnô]] [[joi|jôi]]'' and ''[[kokugaku]]'' rhetoric which preceded them, it was only after the [[1895]] [[Sino-Japanese War|victory over the Chinese]] that the ultranationalist forms of "emperor-worship" emblematic of the 1930s-1940s began to settle into place.<ref>David Lu, ''Japan: A Documentary History'', M.E. Sharpe (1997), 306.</ref> Shinto was divided into State Shinto, with hierarchies of national shrines being created; Sect Shinto, in which networks of related shrines were counted as separate from the national hierarchies; and local folk practices. Numerous shrines were formally designated as chief shrine for their prefecture, and shrines were also established in the colonies. [[Buddhism]] was at the same time very briefly but very powerfully suppressed, in a policy known as ''[[haibutsu kishaku]]''. Where Buddhism and Shinto had previously been closely intertwined, Buddhism was now extricated from shrines, to make them more purely Shinto sites. A great many temples were closed in [[1869]]-[[1870]] or so, and a great many Buddhist artworks, icons, and artifacts were either sold to foreign collectors or were destroyed. A number of [[New Religions]] (''shinkyô'' or ''shinshûkyô''), such as [[Omoto|Ômoto]] (est. [[1892]]), also first emerged at this time.<ref>Fujitani, 200.</ref>

The massive cultural and societal shifts into modernity also brought significant linguistic developments. Firstly, the shift from [[Printing and Publishing|woodblock printing]] to movable type meant a standardization of the characters ([[kana]] and [[kanji]]). Where woodblock printing previously emulated handwriting, in which each character might be abbreviated, calligraphically, in a number of ways, modern type (along with modern public education) now formalized both the ''kana'' and ''kanji'' into the forms we know today.<ref>Note, however, that the simplification of characters did not occur until after World War II. What are known today as ''kyûjitai'' (lit. "old character forms"), such as 國、禮、and 體, were still standard through the Meiji period, and had not yet been formally, officially, replaced by the ''shinjitai'' ("new character forms") 国、礼、and 体.</ref> Second, numerous new terms were coined and incorporated into the language, to refer to modern technologies, Western cultural and intellectual concepts, and modern political and social structures. The term ''tetsudô'' (鉄道, lit. "iron road") was coined, for example, to refer to [[railroads]], and the terms ''jitensha'' (自転車, "self turning vehicle") and ''denwa'' (電話, "electric talk") for bicycles and telephone respectively. New words were coined to refer to "philosophy" (哲学, ''tetsugaku''), "literature" (文学, ''bungaku''), "economics" (経済, ''keizai''), and "politics" (政治, ''seiji''), as understood in their particular modern/Western forms. The concept of "art," that is, high art, especially as divided into "visual arts" and "performing arts," similarly had not previously existed in Japan, and so the terms ''bijutsu'' 美術 and ''geijutsu'' 芸術 were coined. Meanwhile, numerous new fields only first emerging in the West as well at that time, such as anthropology (人類学, ''jinruigaku''), needed to be termed in Japanese. New political structures and concepts such as the "citizen" (国民, ''kokumin''), the Imperial subject (皇民, ''kômin''), and the Nation/State (国家, ''[[kokka]]''), as well as "society" (社会, ''shakai''), "freedom" or "liberty" (自由, ''jiyû''), and "people's rights" (民権, ''minken''), similarly came into being at this time. A great many of these terms were then adopted into [[Chinese language|Chinese]].  

The massive cultural and societal shifts into modernity also brought significant linguistic developments. Firstly, the shift from [[Printing and Publishing|woodblock printing]] to movable type meant a standardization of the characters ([[kana]] and [[kanji]]). Where woodblock printing previously emulated handwriting, in which each character might be abbreviated, calligraphically, in a number of ways, modern type (along with modern public education) now formalized both the ''kana'' and ''kanji'' into the forms we know today.<ref>Note, however, that the simplification of characters did not occur until after World War II. What are known today as ''kyûjitai'' (lit. "old character forms"), such as 國、禮、and 體, were still standard through the Meiji period, and had not yet been formally, officially, replaced by the ''shinjitai'' ("new character forms") 国、礼、and 体.</ref> Second, numerous new terms were coined and incorporated into the language, to refer to modern technologies, Western cultural and intellectual concepts, and modern political and social structures. The term ''tetsudô'' (鉄道, lit. "iron road") was coined, for example, to refer to [[railroads]], and the terms ''jitensha'' (自転車, "self turning vehicle") and ''denwa'' (電話, "electric talk") for bicycles and telephone respectively. New words were coined to refer to "philosophy" (哲学, ''tetsugaku''), "literature" (文学, ''bungaku''), "economics" (経済, ''keizai''), and "politics" (政治, ''seiji''), as understood in their particular modern/Western forms. The concept of "art," that is, high art, especially as divided into "visual arts" and "performing arts," similarly had not previously existed in Japan, and so the terms ''bijutsu'' 美術 and ''geijutsu'' 芸術 were coined. Meanwhile, numerous new fields only first emerging in the West as well at that time, such as anthropology (人類学, ''jinruigaku''), needed to be termed in Japanese. New political structures and concepts such as the "citizen" (国民, ''kokumin''), the Imperial subject (皇民, ''kômin''), and the Nation/State (国家, ''[[kokka]]''), as well as "society" (社会, ''shakai''), "freedom" or "liberty" (自由, ''jiyû''), and "people's rights" (民権, ''minken''), similarly came into being at this time. A great many of these terms were then adopted into [[Chinese language|Chinese]].