Why Japan The Land Of The Rising Sun?

‘The Land of the Rising Sun’; that is what the Japanese call the land in which they reside. It earned the name from the fact that if you were to gaze from China, a nation in which Japan derives an extremely large amount of its culture from, the sun appears to arise from the area where Japan lies. It is believed that the first Japanese inhabitants crossed over from China via an ancient land bridge that has since been lost to the sea due to continental drift, or they were simply Chinese fisherman who had sought or had discovered the new lands by accident seeking new fishing area. For ages Japanese culture remained isolated and unchanged when compared to the western world, most people living simple lives, farming and engaging in small conflicts
The region of Eastern Asia began to swell with looming westerners looking to expand their already gargantuan empires through military conquest. Japan looked to the western countries expanding their influence to model their young empire after, worrying about the country’s future (“Lipman, 2003”). Japan’s first move was to take Hokkaido, a vast island lying in Northern Japan, and the Ryukyu Islands which lay south of Japan (Lipman, 2003). Most important was that Japan take after the western empires and swallow mouthfuls of land. After witnessing metal dragons billowing smoke from their heads enter their harbors, the Japanese people and their government were greatly concerned for their nation’s prolonged indepence. The Japanese needed to adapt in order to have a chance of winning any conflict that may arise. They needed to transform a country that has farmed rice and built structures using reeds and paper into a world power. They needed to industrialize The Rising
Unlike that of the modern day United States, the state had immense power in terms of controlling the economy and social structure. Japan strived to be like the west in almost every aspect, sending government officials to European countries and the United States in order to closely examine the economic and political systems, as well as the strive for technological advancement and the role it played in the capitalist machine (McMichael, 2012). State controlled banks were established, causing trade activity and the nation's economy to skyrocket. Railway systems spread across the Japanese nation like wildfire, alongside steam vessels that began to dominate Japanese waters. Division of land ownership to the individual was allowed and many outdated trade tariffs and ancient restrictions on the practice of capitalism were completely abolished. In 1870, the government of Japan founded the Ministry of Industry, establishing a solid, sound economic policy. The Ministry created state run corporations, which played an extremely important part in the industrialization. Privately owned business existed and played a vital part in the economy as well (McMichael,