Ms. Susan M. Pojer & Mrs. Lisbeth Rath
Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY
The
Rise
of
Modern
Japan
Japan learned from China how not to respond to the West.
Resisting at first, Japan reacted differently to contact.
Japan emerged as a great military and imperial power.
The U.S. Renews Contact
Treaty of Kanagawa
• 1603-1867, Tokugawa regime ruled
Japan; limited contact with outside
• 1853, Perry appeared in Tokyo Bay
with four warships; 1854, nine ships
• American, European merchants
wanted to trade with Japan
• Threat of U.S. Navy convinced
Japan to sign Treaty of Kanagawa
• U.S. president Millard Fillmore sent
Matthew Perry on mission to Japan
• Allowed American ships to stop at
two Japanese ports; 1858 treaty
opened 5 more ports
Humiliating treaties contributed to the rise of Japanese
nationalism.
Japan Changes Direction During the
Meiji Era: 1868 - 1912
Commodore Matthew Perry
1853 – Commodore Matthew Perry
“Opens Up” Japan to Western Trade!
What Did the U. S. Want??
 Coaling stations.

More trading
partners.

A haven for
ship-wrecked
sailors.
Perry’s “Black
Ships”
The Treaty of Kanagawa - 1854
Japan Learns a Lesson!
In 1862, just before the start of the
Meiji period, Tokugawa sent officials and
scholars to China to study the situation
there. A Japanese recorded in his diary
from Shanghai…
The Chinese have become servants to the
foreigners. Sovereignty may belong to
China but in fact it's no more than a
colony of Great Britain and France.
China’s “Unequal Treaties”

After the Opium War of 1839-1842,
Japan was convinced that it had to Open Up
to the West.
The Meiji Restoration
Shogun
• Throughout Tokugawa period, emperor had been little more than symbolic
• Shogun, supreme military ruler, real power in Tokugawa Japan
• Many resented way shogun had given in to Western demands
Meiji Restoration
• Forced shogun to step down; ended military control of Japanese government
• 1868, Emperor Mutsuhito took back power of government
• Took name Emperor Meiji; return to power called Meiji Restoration
Preserving Strength
• Meiji emperor learned about risk of resisting Western demands
• China had been unsuccessful keeping sovereignty
• Meiji emperor believed way to preserve, build strength, to modernize, reform
Meiji Restoration: Lead-up
• Choshu incident 1863
– Choshu tries to sink
Western ships
– Choshu marches against
Kyoto to capture
Emperor but fails
• Tokugawa fails to
punish Choshu
Meiji Restoration: Lead-up
Review:
• 1864: Ships from England,
France, Holland and the US all
attack the Choshu
– Choshu leaders recognize futility
of resistance – for now
– Map out new response including
modernization/Westernization
Young Choshu leaders visit
London 1860s
The Shi-shi (“Men of High Purpose”)
 Highly idealistic samurai who felt that the
arrival of Westerners was an attack on the
traditional values of Japan.
 They believed that:
 Japan was sacred ground.
 The emperor, now a figurehead in
Kyoto, was a God.
 Were furious at the Shogun for signing treaties
with the West without the Emperor’s consent.
 Their slogan  Revere the Emperor, Expel
the Barbarians!
Meiji Restoration
1868
Choshu and Satsuma
draw up alliance
Plot revolution
Satsuma/Choshu Plotters
• Young Samurai decide to reform Japan
• March on Kyoto and seize new young Emperor Meiji
• Declare Restoration of the Emperor to his rightful
place
– Liberate the Emperor from Tokugawa’s rule
– Emperor to rule directly
The Meiji Revolt - 1868
 A powerful group
of samurai
overthrow the
Shogun.
 Sakamoto Ryoma,
the hero.
 He helped Japan
emerge from
feudalism into a
unified modern
state.
Meiji Restoration
• Tokugawa Shogunate counter attacks
• Satsuma/Choshu alliance wins
• Meiji Emperor assumes leadership with Satsuma
and Choshu based committee of advisors
– New Government made up of young Samurai with a
smattering of nobles
Meiji Restoration
Why Satsuma and Choshu?
• Two richest Han
Choshu

 Satsuma
• Choshu: 100 + years of illegal, secret investment in
commercial enterprises
• They were secretly running a merchant trade
• Satsuma: Profitable sugar monopoly
• Both: Secretly and illegally traded with Western
nations for technology and military equipment
Meiji Leadership
• Collective leadership with the Emperor
• 20-30 young leaders
– Mostly samurai
– Mostly from Satsuma or Choshu
– Includes some reformers among the royal
court
• Known as the Meiji Oligarchy
The Shogunate Is Overthrown!
 The last
Shogun.
 Tokugawa
Yoshinobu.
The Emperor Is “Restored” to Power
MEIJI  “Enlightened Rule”
Meiji Oligarchy:
Ruling Platform
To survive Japan must modernize…
Become a Rich nation with a Strong Army:
Fukoku Kyohei
• Japan must learn from the West
• Japan must Adapt to a Western-dominated world
•
•
•
•
By learning and adapting, Japan can become modern
By becoming modern they can become rich
By becoming rich they can build a strong army
With a strong army they can become truly independent
Fukoku Kyohei!
Meiji Oligarchy
Ruling Platform
Iwakura Mission
•
•
•
•
•
•
Japan sends diplomatic mission to Western nations
San Francisco  across the US
London  Continental Europe
Goals:
Build relationships: earn Western respect
Gain knowledge: patterns of business, science, and
government
Meiji Restoration:
Rapid Westernization / modernization
Japan launches wholesale Westernization
drive
Wholesale rejection
of all things
Japanese
Even Japanese art takes 
on a strictly modern tone
Newspaper Cartoon, 1870s?
Enlightened
Half-Enlightened
Un-Enlightened
Modernization by
“Selective
Borrowing”
 Popular board game.
 Start by leaving
Japan & studying in
various Western
capitals.
 End by returning to
Japan and becoming a
prominent government
official.
European
Goods
 Europe began to
“loom large” in
the thinking of
many Japanese.
 New slogan:
Japanese Spirit;
Western
Technology!
The Japanese Became Obsessed
with Western Styles
Civilization and Enlightenment!
Everything Western Was
Fashionable!
Everything Western Was Fashionable!
Japanese soldiers with their wives.
The Rulers Set the Tone
with Western Dress
Emperor Meiji
Empress Haruko
(1868- 1912)
Changing Women’s
Fashions
1900 Styles
The First
“Miss Japan”
(1908)
Abolition
of the
feudal system
Modern
Banking
System
Land
Redistribution
Meiji
Reforms
Written
Constitution
(Germans)
Westernize
the School
System
(Fr. & Ger.)
Modernize
the Army
(Prussian)
Build a
Modern Navy
(British)
Human Rights
& Religious
Freedom
Emperor
Worship
Intensified
Meiji Restoration:
Rapid Westernization / modernization
Abolish Caste Structure
• Strip Daimyo of Han and special
privilege
• Compensate Daimyo for lost land with
cash
Abolish Samurai class and privileges
• Adopt conscript army of commoners
• Forbid wearing of swords
• Assign many former samurai as
Satsuma Rebellion – 1877:
Reaction to too much
Saigō Takamori: a Meiji Oligarch
modernization
• Saw too much change
• Feared Japan was losing its soul
• Angered by Korea’s refusal (1873) to recognize Emperor
(they called him a king)
• Wanted war with Korea
– (got unequal treaty with Korea, 1874)
• Oligarchy saw war with Korea as a distraction – would
not attack
• Saigo stormed out
Satsuma Rebellion: 1877
• Saigo leads failed attack against the too-modern
Meiji government
• Tries to reinstitute special role of Samurai
• Failed last throe of traditional Japan
Basis for
“The Last Samurai”
movie with Tom
Cruise
Meiji Program
Iwakura Mission
departs from Japan,
1871
• Following the
Iwakura Mission
– Japanese Business largely
borrows American and
British models
– Japanese Government patterns itself after Germany
• Sovereign monarch (Germany’s Kaiser)
• Weak legislative branch (Germany’s Diet)
• Constitution as a gift from the Emperor
• Powerful, professional, prestigious bureaucracy
Meiji’s Economic Plan
Government supported rapid development
• Market-based economy
• Former Daimyo stripped of land but paid
compensation
– Daimyo fortunes become source of Capital for new
manufacturing firms
– Merchant fortunes also fund new manufacturing
• Government plays strong role in directing
investment
Meiji Reforms
Many Changes
• Reforms of Meiji era farreaching
• Group of Japanese officials
took two-year journey, Iwakura
Mission
• Traveled to U.S., Europe to
learn about Western society,
military practices, economics
• Officials tried to determine
which aspects of Western life
would help Japan modernize
Modern Economy
• Required all children to attend
school
• Military officials adapted
practices of U.S., European
forces to strengthen military
• Emperor supported rapid
industrialization
• Government financed
construction of infrastructure for
modern economy—built
telegraph lines, set up postal
service, established rail system
• By 1890s, economy booming
A Constitutional Government
Copied from the Germans
Satsuma &
Choshu Families
The Emperor
of Japan
The Diet
(Legislative Body)
House of
Representatives
House
of Peers
1889 Constitution
of Japan
Bureaucracy in Japan
• Difficult Civil Service Exam
• Political appointments minimal
• Elite educational requirements
– Tokyo National University, Dept. of Law
• Extraordinary policy-making authority
– Patterned after Kaiser Wilhelm's Germany
– Similar to France – elite education
Expansionism
& the Rise of Military Power
New players on the block?
Sino-Japanese War: 1894-1895
The Meiji Emperor was in Hiroshima during the
Sino-Japanese War
Soldiers on the Battlefield
During the Sino-Japanese War
The Treaty of Shimonoseki ended the war.
Today—Tensions Between China &
Japan
 Offshore gas field in
the East China Sea
reveals recently
strained relations
between China & Japan.
 Tension over disputed
gas field on the rise,
exacerbating mutual
mistrust dating back to
the Sino-Japanese War.
EEZ-Exclusive Economic
Zone.
The Russo-Japanese War:
1904-1905
The Battle of Tsushima:
The results startled the world!
President Teddy Roosevelt
Mediates the Peace
The Treaty of Portsmouth, NH ended the
Russo-Japanese War.
Japan Annexes Korea
Japan Is a Player in China
Competition from Another “Pacific”
Power Is on the Horizon
The U. S. “Great White Fleet”
But, Japanese Power Would Grow . . .