The Meiji Restoration

“By this oath we set up as our aim the establishment of the national weal on a broad basis and the framing of a constitution and laws (Meiji Government qtd. in “The Charter Oath”).” This is the preamble of the Charter Oath of the Meiji government. This document was revolutionary in that it proposed radical change in a country known for its traditional ways. It is a list of hopes and dreams, including “all matters decided by public discussion,” “all classes… shall unite,” “that there may be no discontent,” “evil customs of the past shall be broken off and everything based upon the just laws of nature,” and “knowledge shall be sought from around the word (Meiji Government qtd. in “The Charter Oath”).” It would shape the course Japan will take and lead up to its role in World War Two. A young Japanese teenager, by the name of Mutsuhito (Huffman), was given this document to sign in April 1868 (Morton and Olenik 147). This boy is better known as the Emperor Meiji, or “Enlightened rule (Morton and Olenik 147).” The name “Meiji Restoration” came from this name, and it officially began on January 3, 1868 (Huffman). He and his followers claimed power on this date in a “relatively tranquil coup (Huffman)” that overthrew the previous administration, the Tokugawa regime (Huffman). The Tokugawa Era, begun by shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu after a lengthy period of war between the samurai, lasted about two hundred and fifty years, from 1600 to 1868 (Huffman). This period is sometimes called the “pax Tokugawa,” or the “Tokugawa peace (Huffman).” One of the main areas of opposition to the Tokugawa government approaching the mid-seventeenth century was the lower-ranked samurai or “shishi,” “men of spirit (Huffman).” When Shogun Tokugawa Keiki admitted the westerners into the country in 1854, led by Matthew Perry, all of these samurai gained enough support to topple the government in 1868 (Huffman). This coup d’état “brought into power a group of young, visionary samurai from the regional

Cited: Cooke, Timothy, ed. History of the Modern World: The Changing Balance of Power. Huffman, James. "The Meiji Restoration Era, 1868-1889." About Japan: A Teacher 's Resource. 21 April 2008. Japan Society. 7 March 2012. <http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/ content.cfm/the_meiji_restoration_era_1868-1889>. Morton, W. Scott, and J. Kenneth Olenik. Japan: Its History and Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005. Platt, Brian, annotator. “‘The Imperial Rescript on Education’ [Official Document]." Children and Youth in History. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/136>. “The Charter Oath (of the Meiji Restoration), 1868.” Asia for Educators. Colombia University. 14 March 2012. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/charter_oath_1868.pdf>