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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 the first ''[[zaibatsu]]'' and ''[[keiretsu]]'' conglomerates, among other sorts of modern corporate businesses abounded, and Japan quickly became a competitive force on the world stage. Modern technologies for factory mass production became widespread, particularly for the production of textiles. For the entire Meiji period, textiles accounted for roughly half of all of Japan's exports.<ref>Ellen Conant, "Cut from Kyoto Cloth: Takeuchi Seihô and his Artistic Milieu," ''Impressions'' 33 (2012), 74.</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 the first ''[[zaibatsu]]'' and ''[[keiretsu]]'' conglomerates, among other sorts of modern corporate businesses abounded, and Japan quickly became a competitive force on the world stage. Modern technologies for factory mass production became widespread, particularly for the production of textiles. For the entire Meiji period, textiles accounted for roughly half of all of Japan's exports.<ref>Ellen Conant, "Cut from Kyoto Cloth: Takeuchi Seihô and his Artistic Milieu," ''Impressions'' 33 (2012), 74.</ref>
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> Numerous iconic new modern buildings were constructed at this time, combining modern Western style, methods, and materials with Japanese traditional elements.
The government was wary of the dangers of foreign investment (which could lead to a country becoming rather dependent on, or even controlled in significant ways by, foreign corporations), and so did little to encourage foreign investment, though they did permit it. Many in the government were further concerned that individual Japanese merchants might not possess the initiative or the knowledge to start and run Western-style modern industrial operations. Thus, direct government involvement was extensive.<ref name=gordon71>Andrew Gordon, ''A Modern History of Japan'', Oxford University Press (2013), 71.</ref>
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> Numerous iconic new modern buildings were constructed at this time, combining modern Western style, methods, and materials with Japanese traditional elements. Government invested heavily in some two dozen industries, including [[silk]] and [[cotton]], mining, shipyards, engineering, arms production, glass, [[sugar]], and even [[beer]] brewing.<ref name=gordon71/>
Still the government encouraged private entrepreneurship as well, through nationalist slogans such as ''bunmei kaika'' (文明開化, "civilization and enlightenment"), ''fukoku kyôhei'' (富国強兵, "prosperous country, strong military"), ''wakon yôsai'' (和魂洋才, "Japanese spirit, Western technique"), and ''shokusan kôgyô'' (殖産興業, promotion of industry). The government also explicitly encouraged the formation of joint-stock companies, backed by private investors, a model that was quite powerful in the West. And individual entrepreneurs indeed did drive much of the major economic, financial, and industrial changes of the period. The most prominent and influential entrepreneurs included many of the former merchant class (such as the founders of [[Echigoya|Mitsukoshi]], [[Takashimaya]], etc.), and also many of the former samurai class; for example, the [[Shimazu clan]] shifted their family wealth into the Shimazu Corporation, and low-ranking samurai [[Iwasaki Yataro|Iwasaki Yatarô]] founded [[Mitsubishi]].
The first rail lines in the country were opened in [[1872]], linking [[Sakuragicho Station|Yokohama]], [[Shinbashi Station|Shinbashi]], and [[Shinagawa]]. An express line linking the capital with [[Kyoto]], [[Osaka]], and [[Kobe]] in the west, opened in [[1896]].
Most of the factories, mills, and so forth begun by the government did poorly, and were sold off in the 1880s to private businessmen for rather low amounts. However, this should likely not be seen as a failure, but rather as a phenomenon which contributed importantly to the initial development of "modern" industry in Japan, both by having the government start these industries to begin with, and by having the government then provide low entry costs for aspiring entrepreneurs (or, established ones seeking to expand). Historian [[Andrew Gordon]] has identified this process, the well-considered decisions of Meiji oligarchs that government should take an active role in encouraging and supporting industry, as the foundation for Japan's continued dedication to that economic policy attitude through the 20th century to the present.<ref>Gordon, 71-72.</ref>
Meanwhile, the government began printing & minting new [[currency]] in [[1868]], establishing the [[yen]] as the new Japanese currency in [[1871]], and establishing the [[Bank of Japan]] in [[1882]].<ref>Pamphlets, Currency Museum of the Bank of Japan.</ref> The first [[telegraph]] lines were laid beginning in [[1869]], and a [[postal system]] based on the British model was established in 1871.<ref name=gordon71/> The first rail lines in the country were opened in [[1872]], linking [[Sakuragicho Station|Yokohama]], [[Shinbashi Station|Shinbashi]], and [[Shinagawa]]. An express line linking the capital with [[Kyoto]], [[Osaka]], and [[Kobe]] in the west, opened in [[1896]]. Samurai and others were encouraged to invest in the railroads, and did so. By 1890, some 1400 miles of railroad had been laid; at that time, the government owned and operated roughly 40% of the lines, while private railroad companies ran the rest.<ref name=gordon71/>
As for government revenues, in its very first years the Meiji government had to rely only on the agricultural base of the former Tokugawa lands, and on loans from Osaka-based merchants. With the abolition of the domains in 1871, however, they were able to put into place a new nationwide tax system. Samurai stipends proved a considerable burden upon the young state, amounting to as much as half of the national budget. These were soon phased out, however, despite [[shizoku rebellions|violent opposition]]. Ôkubo Toshimichi led the introduction, beginning in [[1873]], of a new system of land taxes, which was accompanied by widespread land reform. Whereas taxes had previously been paid by villages, and in kind, with little true legal system for land ownership, the government now undertook a massive, nationwide, land survey, in which title deeds were issued, officially and legally identifying individuals as the owners of each given area of land, and then holding that individual (not the communal village) responsible for paying taxes based on the assessed productive value of his land. Whereas previously it was samurai authorities who gained or lost real value as the price of rice rose or fell (the amount of rice being paid, e.g. X number of ''[[koku]]'' per village, being fixed), under this new tax system individual taxpayers had to pay more or less tax to make up for shifts in the market.<ref>Gordon, 70.</ref>
==Society==
==Society==
