The Meiji Restoration Era,
1868-1889
Road to Industrialization
Change was the currency
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isolated, feudalistic island state in 1850
a powerful colonial power with the most
modern of institutions by 1912
Samurai
Samurai of the Satsuma clan during the Boshin
War, circa 1867.
Sources of the Meiji Restoration
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Tokugawa era
(1600–1868)
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stability
centralized “feudal” system
Europeans excluded
political and educational
sophistication
Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu
Late-Tokugawa Japan ripe for change
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Japanese woodblock print of
Perry (centre) and other
high-ranking American
seamen.
leaders interested in the
ways of the West
American and European
seaman began visiting
Japan’s ports
Domains gaining power
at the expense of the
shogunate
Tokugawa opens Japan to foreigners in
1854
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most tumultuous period
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Westerners demand trade
new customs
Christian religion
Playing politics
Commodore Perry's fleet for
his second visit to Japan in
1854.
The Transition to Meiji, 1868–1877
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January 3, 1868, Meiji’s coup
leaders were young
policies were pragmatic
power was tenuous
The Meiji Emperor,
moving from Kyoto to
Tokyo, end of 1868.
“Seat-of-the-pants” Government
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“charter oath,” issued in April 1868
government structure was reorganized
repeatedly
leadership kept shifting
policies often revised
Reception by the Meiji Emperor
of the Second French Military
Mission to Japan, 1872.
The Clear Direction
Centralization
 Solidarity
 Involvement in the
broader world.
 Commitment to
making Japan a
modern nation
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Emperor Meiji in his fifties
Internationalization
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Studied Western models
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yatoi
Treaty Revision
The Meiji emperor receiving the
Order of the Garter from Prince
Arthur of Connaught in 1906,
as a consequence of the AngloJapanese Alliance.
Centralization
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replace the semi-feudal domains with
modern prefectures
military draft
School compulsory
Crisis of 1873
 Satsuma Rebellion
of 1877
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Provinces of Japan in an 1855 map.
Creating a Modern System, 1877–1889
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hard on the traditional samurai class, and
devastating for vast numbers of people
diffusion of new ideas and practices
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Food
Business
Infrastructure
culture
Saigo Takamori (seated, in Western
uniform), surrounded by his officers,
in samurai attire, during the 1877
Satsuma rebellion.
Drive toward creating a Constitutional
System
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A constant, fierce struggle between
popular and official forces.
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“movement for freedom and rights”
Ito Hirobumi, led a group to Europe to
study political systems
Prime Minister of Japan
In office
22 December 1885 – 30 April 1888
The Restoration Legacy
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The rise of nationalism
rising importance of military affairs
march to modernity
Itagaki Taisuke was
attacked by thug in Gifu.
And, he said "Itagaki may
die, but liberty never!"
Read and Answer
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What cultural beliefs and attitudes allowed
Japan to industrialize so quickly?
How does this compare to Russian
industrialization?
Read:
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The Samurai and their use of Bushido
Bushido: The Way of the Warrior
Read
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The Samurai and their use of Bushido
Bushido: The Way of the Warrior