[7] While based on traditions over a thousand years old, the term was coined in the Meiji period of the Imperial Japan to distinguish such works from Western style paintings, or Yga. [citation needed], The Meiji oligarchy that formed the government under the rule of the Emperor first introduced measures to consolidate their power against the remnants of the Edo period government, the shogunate, daimys, and the samurai class. Meiji Restoration, Overthrow of Japan's Tokugawa shogunate ( see Tokugawa period) and restoration of direct imperial rule (through the Meiji emperor) in 1868. The Meiji Reformers needed to modernize Japan so as to make it competitive in a changing world in order to contend with Western forces. The Meiji Restoration was a political event that took place in Japan in 1868. Nippon.com.After 150 years, why does the Meiji restoration matter? In ancient times, power was mostly in the hands of the court aristocracy, and later in those of powerful warrior families like the Minamoto and Ashikaga. Meiji Restoration begins - HISTORY THIS DAY IN HISTORY January 03 1868 January 03 Meiji Restoration begins In an event that heralds the birth of modern Japan, patriotic samurai from. Also in 1871 a national army was formed, which was further strengthened two years later by a universal conscription law. The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Last modified October 29, 2022. Yoshinobu mounted a brief civil war that ended with his surrender to imperial forces in June 1869. To understand the Meiji Restoration, rather than approaching it from a theoretical perspective, it is best to think of it as an event that had both causes and consequences that were unique to Japan. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. In particular, they legitimized the tenancy system which had been going on during the Tokugawa period. He took over at a time of rising democratic sentiment, but his country soon turned toward ultra-nationalism and militarism. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 toppled the long-reigning Tokugawa shoguns of the Edo period and propelled Japan into the modern era. He was the first Mongol to rule over China when he conquered the Song Dynasty of southern China in 1279. It fell in 1867-1868, and Emperor Meiji came to power. The leaders of the Meiji Restoration, as this revolution came to be known, acted in the name of restoring imperial rule to strengthen Japan against the threat of being colonized, bringing to an end the era known as sakoku (the foreign relations policy, lasting about 250 years, prescribing the death penalty for foreigners entering or Japanese nationals leaving the country). A privy council composed of the Meiji genro, created prior to the constitution, advised the emperor and wielded actual power. The Emperor Meiji Mutsuhito 1867-1912. The actual political power was transferred from the Tokugawa Bakufu into the hands of a small group of nobles and former samurai. It was developed in the context of the Cold War as an alternate theory of development to the Marxist one offered by China and the Soviet Union. Resistance to the new government continued in northern Japan, but in June 1869, the last bakufu supporters surrendered at Hakodate in Hokkaido. Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University and University of Missouri. [7] Graham Squires is a senior lecturer in Japanese Studies at the University of Newcastle in Australia. The last decades of the Edo period are referred to as the bakumatsu period. The Meiji restoration Samurai leaders from southern regions began to advise the new emperor, Meiji. [13] 18 Jan 2023. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Although the Tokugawa put in place various policies to control the daimyo, within their own han, they could more or less govern as they pleased. Vol. At first, the two nations attempted to negotiate. License. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. https://www.worldhistory.org/Meiji_Restoration/. [citation needed]. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. The horrific events are known as the Nanjing Massacre or the Rape of read more, The Russo-Japanese War was a military conflict fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan from 1904 to 1905. Heiji rebellion in 1159. . [8] Later, their debts and payments of samurai stipends were either taxed heavily or turned into bonds which resulted in a large loss of wealth among former samurai. The Meiji Restoration (1868-1912) was a period of modernization and industrialization in which Japan both embraced Western customs and sought to define its own sovereignty in the modern world. The Neo-Confucian theory that dominated Japan during the Tokugawa Period recognized only four social classessamurai warriors, artisans, farmers and merchantsand mobility between the four classes was officially prohibited. It was an era noted for its initial prosperity and tumultuous final years, and for being only the second time that China was not ruled by the Han people. The restoration event itself consisted of a coup dtat in the ancient imperial capital of Kyto on January 3, 1868. The Genroku era (1688-1704) in particular saw the rise of Kabuki theater and Bunraku puppet theater, literature (especially Matsuo Basho, the master of haiku) and woodblock printing. Meiji and the Dawn of Modernization in Japan . Consequently, domestic companies became consumers of Western technology and applied it to produce items that would be sold cheaply in the international market. When did the Meiji Period End? [4] The Tokugawa shogunate came to its official end on 9November 1867, when Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the 15th Tokugawa shgun, "put his prerogatives at the Emperor's disposal" and resigned 10 days later. Largely the handiwork of thegenro(elder statesman)It Hirobumi, the constitution established a bicameral parliament, called the Dietin full Imperial Diet (Teikoku Gikai)that was to be elected through a limited voting franchise. The perpetrators announced the ouster of Tokugawa Yoshinobu (the last shogun)who by late 1867 was no longer effectively in powerand proclaimed the young Meiji emperor to be ruler of Japan. The restoration of the emperor as sole ruler of a unified Japan came to be known as the Meiji Restoration. The Tokugawa political system is often described as being feudal, but feudalism in medieval Japan was different from feudalism in Europe in the Middle Ages. In 1853, the American commander Mathew Perry (1794-1858) sailed a fleet of 'black ships' to Japan and demanded that the country open up ports for trade. The Meiji period, which lasted from 1868 to 1912, was a time of great change for Japan. The Meiji Restoration is almost universally regarded as the dividing line between 'traditional' and 'modern' Japan. All Rights Reserved. [14] These free schools taught students reading, writing, and mathematics. As agricultural production lagged in comparison to the mercantile and commercial sectors, samurai and daimyo did not fare as well as the merchant class. The Making of the West, Peoples and Cultures. Please support World History Encyclopedia. Corrections? https://www.history.com/topics/asian-history/meiji-restoration. There was dramatic rise in production, as shown in the table below. Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) Background End of the Shogunate Restoration of Imperial Power Modernization of Japan Westernization of Japan Comeback of Traditional Values Japan on the International Scene Meiji Jingu Shrine Japan was a proud and feudal country for many centuries, until confrontation with powerful western countries. We contribute a share of our revenue to remove carbon from the atmosphere and we offset our team's carbon footprint. The third long-term cause was the rise of imperial loyalism. It was in the interests of the Tokugawa, however, to build up the prestige of the imperial family because this, in turn, gave them greater legitimacy. A program of radical social reform . How long did the Meiji Restoration last? U.S. Department of State. Below is the article summary. The Meiji Restoration is almost universally regarded as the dividing line between traditional and modern Japan because it brought a new government that introduced radical policies that fundamentally altered Japanese society. In 1860, however, in a serious blow to the bakufu's prestige, he was assassinated near Edo Castle (Sakuradamon Incident). The Meiji period was named for Emperor Meiji, who came to power during this time. In January 1868, they took control of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto and issued an edict restoring imperial rule. What role did the Meiji Restoration play in the industrialization of Japan? Carried out in the name of restoring rule to the emperor, the Meiji "Restoration" was in many ways a profound revolution. They also closed off Japanese society to Western influences. In its efforts to close Japan off from damaging foreign influence, the Tokugawa shogunate also prohibited trade with Western nations and prevented Japanese merchants from trading abroad. The oligarchs also embarked on a series of land reforms. Similar agreements soon followed with Britain, Russia, and the Netherlands. Inclusive in the deification of the Emperor, and the Shinto mythology of the creation of the world, came the logical conclusion that Japanese people were superior to all other races. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Industrialization additionally went hand in hand with the development of a national railway system and modern communications.[16]. The rapid industrialization and modernization of Japan both allowed and required a massive increase in production and infrastructure. [24] Japan then closed and shut down tens of thousands of traditional old Shinto shrines in the Shrine Consolidation Policy and the Meiji government built the new modern 15 shrines of the Kenmu restoration as a political move to link the Meiji restoration to the Kenmu restoration for their new State Shinto cult. A momentous event in Japanese and world history, it was not . While the year 1868 was crucial to the fall of the shogunate and the establishment of a new government . Japan's economic powers are a major influence on the industrial factor of its country as well. "Meiji Restoration." The government forced people to change their hairstyle because the chonmage was seen as a barbaric custom in the eyes of Westerners. The dominant faith of the Tokugawa period was Confucianism, a relatively conservative religion with a strong emphasis on loyalty and duty. 4 vols. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. World History Encyclopedia. Answer: I laughed so hard that they actually exist. During the Meiji restoration's Shinbutsu bunri, tens of thousands of Japanese Buddhist religious idols and temples were smashed and destroyed. For their part, peasants (who made up 80 percent of the Japanese population) were forbidden from engaging in non-agricultural activities, thus ensuring consistent income for landowning authorities. Asia for Educators.The Meiji Restoration: The End of the Shogunate and the Building of a Modern Japanese State. The Japanese economy grew significantly during the Tokugawa period. In a wider context, however, the Meiji Restoration of 1868 came to be identified with the subsequent era of major political, economic, and social changethe Meiji period (1868-1912)that brought about the modernization and Westernization of the country. This January marks the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration in Japan. They believed that the West depended on constitutionalism for national unity, on industrialization for material strength, and on a well-trained military for national security. The peace and stability of the Tokugawa period, and the economic development it fostered, set the stage for the rapid modernization that took place after the Meiji Restoration. The full stop or () kuten is the Japanese period. After Kmei's death on 30 January 1867, Meiji ascended the throne on February3. While it did bring to power a new government that introduced radical policies that fundamentally altered Japanese society, because it was not an especially violent event in itself, there was also a great deal of continuity between pre- and post-Restoration Japan. The leaders of the restoration were mostly young samurai from feudal domains (hans) historically hostile to Tokugawa authority, notably Chsh, in far western Honshu, and Satsuma, in southern Kyushu. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Emperor Meiji's samurai advisers from the western clans believed that abolition of feudalism, clans and rigid class distinctions was an essential first step in . In 1885 a cabinet system was formed, and in 1886 work on the constitution began. Other daimy were subsequently persuaded to do so, thus creating a central government in Japan which exercised direct power through the entire "realm". Together, these three long-term causes led to the development of a movement that opposed both continued Tokugawa rule and the opening of the country. After they successfully overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate, Emperor Mutsuhito (1852-1912) adopted the reign title Meiji, which means "enlightened rule." Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) had the emperor appoint him as shogun in 1603, and this gave him the right to establish the bakufu. This avoided an attack on the city and guaranteed the personal safety of Yoshinobu. During the 1500s, power was decentralized in Japan, which was torn apart by warfare between competing feudal lords (daimyo) for nearly a century. European warships retaliated by destroying the gun emplacements. Up, until the end of WWII, this is exactly what the bulk of the Japanese population believed through its long history. The end of the Satsuma Rebellion also marked the end of the samurai era in Japan. The Meiji Restoration incited dramatic militaristic reforms and technological advances that made conquest possible, whilst Sonnou Jyoui supplied a motive for invasion,46 emulation of Western ideas for the sake of the Emperor and proof of dominance over barbarians.47 Though not all scholars agree that Japanese imperialism was an evolution of . In the first half of the 19th century, the anti-Tokugawa movement largely developed in areas controlled by tozama daimyo: Most of these activists came from low-ranking warrior families, although some members of the court nobility also played an important role including Iwakura Tomomi (1825-1888) and Saionji Kinmochi (1849-1940). Furthermore, samurai were no longer allowed to walk about town bearing a sword or weapon to show their status. Japan underwent a vast array of changes after the Meiji Restoration. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The military of Japan, strengthened by nationwide conscription and emboldened by military success in both the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, began to view themselves as a growing world power. World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. The same was true in the Edo period (1603-1868). Submitted by Graham Squires, published on 29 October 2022. Squires, G. (2022, October 29). "Meiji Restoration." At this time Japan experienced an exceptional period of peace in which the economy expanded, the population grew, cities developed, literacy and scholarship spread, and a new urban culture appeared. In 1863, anti-foreign activists from Choshu seized control of the imperial court in Kyoto and Emperor Komei (1831-1867), who was also hostile to opening the country, issued an order to 'expel the barbarians.' In its place, a democratic social and political system was established based on constitutional law over the course of about 20 years, and it led to significant economic reforms and growth. The Meiji period that followed the Restoration was an era of major political, economic, and social change in Japan. Later, in 1874, the samurai were given the option to convert their stipends into government bonds. C. 3rd ed. Pepperdine University SCELC. To reform the military, the government instituted nationwide conscription in 1873, mandating that every male would serve for four years in the armed forces upon turning 21 years old, followed by three more years in the reserves. Countries and Their Cultures. The warrior government the Tokugawa established was called a bakufu, and the lands the daimyo controlled were called han. The Meiji government came to power after end of the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1869, the daimys of the Tosa, Hizen, Satsuma and Chsh Domains, who were pushing most fiercely against the shogunate, were persuaded to "return their domains to the Emperor". In January 1868 they announced the restoration of the emperor to power, and in May 1869 the last Tokugawa forces surrendered. Consequently, the title of Emperor must be substituted for that of Taikun, in which the treaties have been made. The causes of the Meiji Restoration can be summarised as follows: The first of the long-term causes can be found in the political system the Tokugawa imposed on Japan after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Tokugawa YoshinobuTojoMuseum of History (Public Domain). Just seven years after the Meiji period ended, a newly modernized Japan was recognized as one of the "Big Five" powers (alongside Britain, the United States, France and Italy) at the Versailles Peace Conference that ended World War I. In 1868, the Emperor Meiji (the name means "enlightened rule") replaced the Tokugawa Shogun as leader. Gakusei, the First National Plan for Education, formalized the future of education in Japan and focused on modeling Japanese education after Western . https://www.britannica.com/summary/Meiji-Restoration. "Japan." The Tokugawa feared rebellious daimyo might get support from abroad, so they limited contact with Korea and China, and all Europeans except for the Dutch were excluded. In 1868, Japan underwent a massive transformation called the 'Meiji Restoration'. This reflected their belief in the more traditional practice of imperial rule, whereby the Emperor of Japan serves solely as the spiritual authority of the nation and his ministers govern the nation in his name. 1868 - 1889 Meiji Restoration/Periods All feudal class privileges were abolished as well. A changing world in order to contend with Western forces called the #. 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