Japanese Glossary
Akihito. Heisei, ascending the throne on November 12, 1990; son of the Showa Emperor Hirohito.
Bakufu Tent government. This term is often used to refer to the shogunate as the center of Japanese government through the end of the Edo Period. It is sometimes still used today to refer simply to the Japanese government.
Battle of Sekigahara. Titanic battle in 1600 that led to the establishment of the Tokugawa regime. Tokugawa Ieyasu won a decisive victory
Battle of Tsushima Straits.
Decisive battle in the Russo-Japanese war won by Japan’s navy.
Charter Oath An Imperial oath in five articles given by the Emperor Meiji in 1868. Among the items in the oath is
Imperial support for a representative assembly.
Choshu The western and southern region of Honshu with Hagi at its center. This region, along with Satsuma and Tosa, produced many of the leaders of the Meiji Restoration. Ito, Kido, and Yoshida were all from Choshu.
Daimyo Feudal lords of Japan who dominated the Edo Period as local and regional rulers. Daimyo were classified as shimpan (related to the Shogun), fudai (hereditary landholders), and tozama (outside allies). Daimyo lands were replaced by modern prefectures in 1871.
Edo The old name for Tokyo and the name given to the long period of Japanese isolation under the Tokugawa
Shoguns.
“fokoku kyohei”. Phrase meaning strong country; strong military
Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901) Best-known promoter of Western culture and enlightenment during the Meiji Period; author of numerous works, most notably Conditions in the West. He also founded what is now Keio University in
Tokyo.
Genro The name given to the oligarchs who led the Meiji Restoration and continued to be a dominant force in Japanese government through the Taisho and into the Showa period.
Han. Name for the territorial units (domains) in Japan.
Harris Treaty, 1858 . Treaty negotiated by Townsend Harris that opening up several ports to trade, provided for consular officials to reside in Japan, extraterritorial privileges for the US, and a fixed tariff on goods imported into
Japan.
Hirohito (1901-1989) The Showa Emperor and father of the present Emperor Akihito. Hirohito reigned longer than any other Japanese Emperor in history.
Hizen A domain during the Edo Period, parts of today's Nagasaki and Saga prefectures on Kyushu. Hizen was the home of several leaders of the Meiji Restoration, including Okuma Shigenobu.
Hokusai (1760-1849) Among the most prominent ukiyo e artists. He is best known for his Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji and his One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji. Early in his career he worked under other names.
Ii Naosuke . Daimyo of Hikone han who negotiated the Harris Treaty with the US without imperial approval. He was assassinated by fanatics who wished to keep Japan free from Western influence.
Itagaki Taisuke (1837-1919) One of the pioneers of democratic politics in Japan. He founded Japan's first political party, the Jiyuto (Liberal Party), and was active in the Freedom and People's Rights Movement.
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Ito Hirobumi Japan's first prime minister and often regarded as the architect of the Meiji Constitution. He served as prime minister on several occasions and was assassinated in China by a Korean dissident, an event that helped lead
Japan to annex Korea in 1910.
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Iwakura Tomomi (1825-1883) A leader of the Meiji Restoration; instrumental in the issuing of the Charter Oath by the Meiji Emperor; influential in the transition from daimyo to prefectures; leader of the Iwakura Mission overseas.
Iwasaki Yataro . Son of a Tosa peasant who bought the daimyo’s shipping business that eventually became Mitsubishi, one of the largest zaibatsu in Japan.
Kabuki. Traditional Japanese theatre popular from Tokugawa times to the present.
Keio University Private university in Tokyo founded in 1858 by Fukuzawa Yukichi and widely regarded as among
Japan's most prestigious private schools.
Manchukuo. State created by the Japanese army in 1932 that covered all of Manchuria and part of inner Mongolia.
Matsukata Masayoshi. Finance Minister of the Japanese government in the 1880. It was Matsukata who pursued financial retrenchment and sold off large financial concerns to private entrepreneurs associated with the Meiji oligarchs.
Meiji Name of the emperor in whose name the great reforms of the late nineteen century took place; also the name for the period from 1868 to 1912.
Meiji Constitution The first constitution for Japan in 1889. It was a gift from the Empero to the Japanese people.
Mitsui. Large Japanese zaibatsu from the Tokugawa period that developed into one of the largest companies in the world.
Mutshuhito. Name of the young Meiji Emperor in whose name the 1868 Restoration took place.
Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) One of the three great unifiers of sixteenth-century Japan. He took control of Kyoto and the surrounding areas and is especially known for confiscating weapons and for providing for a comprehensive land survey.
Okubo Toshimichi (1830-1878) A leader in the Meiji. Okubo led the land tax reforms, and later led the government's resistance to Saigo's Satsuma Rebellion. He was assassinated by Satsuma samurai.
Okuma Shigenobu (1838-1922) Leader in early Meiji politics and later founder of Waseda University. He was from
Hizen and served as prime minister and also led first Party cabinet under the Meiji Constitution. He was a leading critic of the Satsuma-Choshu clique.
Perry, Matthew C. (1794-1858) Commanded naval forces in the Mexican War prior to his leading the expeditions to
Japan in 1853 and 1854. With four ships he entered Japanese waters at Edo on July 8, 1853, to force diplomatic and trade talks. He returned February 1854 with nine ships, and in March the first treaty between Japan and
United States was signed.
Privy Council Created by Imperial Ordinance in 1888 primarily to direct preparation of the Meiji Constitution. Under the latter, this council was given substantial power "deliberate upon important matters of state."
Ronin. Masterless samurai in traditional Japan; today, also refers to students who f gain acceptance to the college of their choice upon first try. Ronin literally means, “ floating” man.
Saionji Kinmochi . Member of the Kyoto court and major advisor to the emperor who worked with the genro to govern Japan.
Sankin Kotai . Alternating attendance of daimyo in Edo to wait on the Shogun every other year. This practice was used to control the daimyo all over Japan.
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Satsuma . Region surrounding what is now Kagoshima Prefecture at the southern end of Kyushu. With Choshu,
Satsuma samurai, most famously Saigo Takemori, led the Meiji Restoration.
Satsuma Rebellion . Rebellion led by Saigo in 1877, representing the last great action of Japanese samurai, against the new Meiji state. The rebellion was put down by national government troops.
Seiyukai . Early political party founded by Ito Hirobumi in 1900; also the party of Hara Takashi. It was dissolved with all other parties in 1940, but today's LDP traces part of its beginnings to this party.
“sonno joi”.
Phrase meaning honor the emperor and repel the barbarian uttered by radical samurai who opposed opening up Japan to the West. This was the rally cry of those who sought an imperial restoration.
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Shibusawa Eiichi. Major business leader in Meiji times who developed the textile industry in Japan.
St. Francis Xavier. Founder of the Jesuit order who went to Japan to convert the Japanese people to Christianity.
Sumitomo.
Large Japanese zaibatsu with interests in banking, insurance and foreign trade. A major Japanese company today.
Tokugawa The ruling Shogun family from 1600 to 1868. The period is alternatively called Edo and Tokugawa.
Tokugawa Ieyasu is considered the great unifier of modern Japan for his victory at Sekigahara in 1600 and his subsequent inauguration of 250 years of relative peace.
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) Founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate and hero of Sekigahara in 1600. He is sometimes called the Napoleon of Japan.
Tokyo University. Oldest and most prestigious of the public institutions of higher education in Japan. Todai graduates traditionally assume roles in upper government administration and in corporate management. It was formerly known as
Tokyo Imperial University.
Tosa. Domain in present Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku that played a prominent role, with Satsuma and Choshu, in the
Meiji Restoration.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) Military leader of non-aristocratic birth and a general under Oda Nobunaga,
Toyotomi succeeded in unifying late sixteenth-century Japan. He instituted many reforms and never took the title of
Shogun.
Treaty of Kanagawa, 1854 . Treaty signed with Commodore Perry opening up several ports to trade, permitting ships to obtain supplies, permitting an American consul to reside at Shimoda and promising better treatment of shipwrecked sailors.
Treaty of Shimonoseki, 1895 . Treaty ending the Sino-Japanese war of 1894-5. Japan won major concessions including large indemnities which helped to finance the modernization of Japan.
Treaty of Portsmouth, 1905 . Treaty ending the Russo-Japanese war in 1905 facilitated by Teddy Roosevelt.
Ukiyo zoshi . Floating world pictures made from woodblocks during the Edo Period and made famous by artists like
Utamaro, Hokusai, and Hiroshige.
Utamaro Kitagawa (1753-1806) Famous ukiyo e artist who specialized in portraying the women of the Edo Period, notably women of the pleasure quarters.
Waseda University A large private university in Tokyo and one of Japan's most prestigious institutions of higher education. It was founded in 1882 by Okuma
Yamagata Aritomo. Meiji samurai who established the modern Japanese army. Served as Prime Minister and
Minister of the Army during Meiji times.
Yarwata Iron and Steel Works. Major Japanese iron and steel producer who was a major beneficiary of indemnifications from the Sino-Japanese war of 1895. Produced most of Japan’s naval vessels.
Yoshida Shonin. Young samurai from Choshu who attempted to make contact with Western ships. He was executed by the regime but before he trained most of the samurai who would lead to Meiji Restoration.
Zaibatsu Large business and financial combinations during Japan's industrial development during Meiji. The US tried to dissolve these after WW II
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