How Did The Meiji Restoration Attempt To Modernize And Westernize Japan

Before opening to the west Japan had a feudal political system, an inherited rigid social structure and a thriving economic system. The Tokugawa shogunate ruled from 1603 until 1868, when it was abolished during the Meiji Restoration. The Meiji Restoration, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868. The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure, and spanned both the late Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji period. The Japanese Government took many steps to modernize and westernize japan in the years preceding 1914, including the charter oath, liberating trade for people, and there response to western pressures. These series of events have shaped Japan as we know it today.

The bakuhan taisei was the feudal political system in the Edo period of Japan. The shogun was the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. During the Edo period, effective power rested with Tokugawa. The role of the emperor was simply
ceremonial. The shogun controlled the foreign policies, military and feudal patronage.

Under the seclusion policy, the Japanese enjoyed over two centuries of insular security and economic self-sufficiency.
Economic development during this period included urbanization, increased shipping of commodities, a significant expansion of domestic and, initially, foreign commerce, and a diffusion of trade and handicraft industries. The construction trades flourished, along with banking facilities and merchant associations. And there was rise in agricultural production and the spread of rural handicrafts.

During the Tokugawa period, the social order, based on inherited position rather than personal merits, was rigid and highly formalized. At the top were the Emperor and Court nobles, together with the Shogun and daimyo. Below them the population was divided into four classes in a system known as the four tier system: the samurai on top and the peasants on the second level. Below the peasants were the craftsmen, and even below them, on the fourth level, were the
merchants.

In 1853, commodore Mattew Perry of the US navy commanded a squadron into Tokyo harbor. He forced japan to enter trade with the US on behalf of the US government and demanded a treaty permitting trade and the opening of Japanese ports to us merchant ships. It was clear Perry could impose his demands by force. The Japanese had no navy and thus had to agree to the demands. This is evident in Source A, which depicts a large black ship surrounded by many smaller and primitive Japanese boats. It was clear by this that the Japanese leaders had no choice but to concede.

Many leaders wanted the foreigners expelled from the country but in 1854 a treaty was signed between the US and Japan which allowed trade at two ports. The trade brought much foreign currency into japan disrupting the Japanese monetary system. Because the ruling shogun seemed unable to do anything about the problems brought by the foreign trade, some samurai leaders began to demand a change in leadership. This weakness of the Tokugawa shogunate before the western demand for trade, and the disruption this trade brought, eventually led to the downfall of the shogunate and the creation of a new centralized government. This government is still in practice in modern Japan, showing that the meiji restoration was crucial to Japan.

One of the first steps, taken by the new rulers, the Meiji government, was to have the young emperor issue the charter oath. This was drafted by the young samurai, and promulgated from the throne on 6 April 1868, this is evident is source B. Of the five clauses, the first represented not a guarantee to establish a parliamentary form of government, but rather a general promise to significant forces in Japan, that they would not be excluded from the new regime. The second and third were more radical in their implications, for they pointed to the abolition of the Tokugawa status-class system. The fourth was vague, but suggested major changes in the form of rule. The last was probably the most important of all, for it signaled an orientation towards the development and strengthening of Japan through the use of western knowledge. This was a very important step taken by the government to ensure modernization and westernization of Japan.

The Battle of Tsushima Strait was one of the most decisive naval battles in history. In July of 1904 Admiral Rozhdestvenski set sail with the Russian Baltic fleet to replace losses incurred by the Far East Fleet in the Pacific at the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. After sailing around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Indian Ocean, the Russians were sighted by Admiral Togo's Japanese Combined Fleet on May 26, 1905, who then engaged the Russians the following day. Japan won in quick and relatively painless battle. In source B, a painting by a Japanese artist of action during the naval battle of Tsushima depicts Japanese sailors clad in British style uniforms, fighting and using a cannon on a large ship. When we compaire this source to scoucre A, we can see the radical differences in ships (small and primitive), attire (asiasn inspired) and weopanry or rather lack thereof. Thus proving the impact and influence on japan by opening trade to the Americans was huge, as it helped modernized Japan in less then 50 years. This primary source is also extremely valuable as it shows the governments response to the threat of the Russia. This was an important move by the government as it propelled their position in the western world.

Japan emerged from the Tokugawa transition in 1868 as the first Asian industrialized nation. Domestic commercial activities and limited foreign trade had met the demands for material culture until the Keiō period, but the modernized Meiji period had radically different requirements. From the onset, the Meiji rulers embraced the concept of a market economy and adopted British and North American forms of free enterprise capitalism. The private sector — in a nation with an abundance of aggressive entrepreneurs — welcomed such change. From source D, we can see the main desires from the meiji government, such as the push for new enterprises and liberty of trade for the people this is also evident in source B, which is important as the author, S. Okuma, of source D was a former premier and therefore may have ulterior motives but as it reflects the same beliefs of source B, it can be considered reliable. This was important, as it was crucial for the processes of modernization and the way of modern life for Japan.