Meiji Restoration in Japan
Meiji Restoration
Toilet seat warmers for winter, graphic anime designs and a self-cooking kitchen are some of the contemporary innovations in modern-day Japan. Quite a contrast to the famous slogan, of the nineteenth century, “Eastern ethics and Western science”; “ancient patriotism and modern scientific application” which indicates the secret ingredients of feudal Japan’s rapid rise to power. In just forty years the hitherto, homogenous country radically modernised –a remarkable feat, breaking old, traditional habits to adopt “superior” Western ways. Perry’s opening up of Japan launched the Enlightenment or Meiji era, one characterised by nationalistic ties which not only succeeded in westernising politics, social class and culture but created a window for us to view the tensions and bloody consequences. It was a time when imperialism and a strong nationalism drove the country to take the West, and serve the divine Emperor, -“Revere the sovereign, expel the barbarian.”
Before 1868, foreign pressure, or should I say, economic imperialism (from the West) and the arrival of foreigners, immensely strained traditional Japanese culture and its customary solitude. At times it led to civil unrest and the emergence of the shishi or “men of spirit” who opposed the Westerners. It was believed that the outsiders would “poison the souls of the Japanese and convert [them] to Christianity and demolish their identity.” This is revealed in the primary source, of a Nishiki-e print where a reassuringly fearsome, sumo wrestler is beating a powerless European sailor. The huge Japanese man is portrayed as far more powerful as he towers above the sailor who has been pinned helplessly by only one gigantic bare foot. In the background, the western onlookers are cowering aghast, defending a vulnerable woman in a crinoline. This 1860s print emphasises the deep Japanese hostility towards occidentals, the strong Japanese nationalist spirit and also the fear of change. Yet, it may
Toilet seat warmers for winter, graphic anime designs and a self-cooking kitchen are some of the contemporary innovations in modern-day Japan. Quite a contrast to the famous slogan, of the nineteenth century, “Eastern ethics and Western science”; “ancient patriotism and modern scientific application” which indicates the secret ingredients of feudal Japan’s rapid rise to power. In just forty years the hitherto, homogenous country radically modernised –a remarkable feat, breaking old, traditional habits to adopt “superior” Western ways. Perry’s opening up of Japan launched the Enlightenment or Meiji era, one characterised by nationalistic ties which not only succeeded in westernising politics, social class and culture but created a window for us to view the tensions and bloody consequences. It was a time when imperialism and a strong nationalism drove the country to take the West, and serve the divine Emperor, -“Revere the sovereign, expel the barbarian.”
Before 1868, foreign pressure, or should I say, economic imperialism (from the West) and the arrival of foreigners, immensely strained traditional Japanese culture and its customary solitude. At times it led to civil unrest and the emergence of the shishi or “men of spirit” who opposed the Westerners. It was believed that the outsiders would “poison the souls of the Japanese and convert [them] to Christianity and demolish their identity.” This is revealed in the primary source, of a Nishiki-e print where a reassuringly fearsome, sumo wrestler is beating a powerless European sailor. The huge Japanese man is portrayed as far more powerful as he towers above the sailor who has been pinned helplessly by only one gigantic bare foot. In the background, the western onlookers are cowering aghast, defending a vulnerable woman in a crinoline. This 1860s print emphasises the deep Japanese hostility towards occidentals, the strong Japanese nationalist spirit and also the fear of change. Yet, it may
Bibliography: Allen L. Japan: The years of Triumph, American Heritage Press, London, 1971 Fewster S Gordon A. A Modern History of Japan from Tokugawa Times to the Present. Oxford University Press, New York, 2003 Gordon B Greenwood G, Australia and Japan, 1961-6, Melbourne: Australian Institute of International Affairs, Melbourne, 1964 Reischauer E Scott Morton W. Japan its history and Culture, McGraw-Hill, Inc. America, 1994 Thomas J E Tipton E. Modern Japan a social and political history, Routledge, Canada, 2002 Watkins T Woods S. Japan an illustrated history, Hippocrene Books Inc, New York, 2004