C: Japan 15. Contact and Change in Meiji Japan p. 326 Flashcards
What was the first western military force to enter Japan in 1853?
Did other countries try to enter before this?
What was different about this time?
Commodore Matthew Perry’s ships from the United States arriving in Uraga Harbour to proceed toward Edo, the Japanese capital.
Yes, other countries tried to enter before: Russians, British, and Americans in the early 1800s.
This time, Japan would lose its battle to remain a closed society since the Japanese feudal system was crumbling, and people were starving. Japan was open to negotiations and signed the Treaty of Kanagawa.
Treaty of Kanagawa
1854
Matthew Perry and representatives of the shogunate signed this treaty.
- it opened two Japanese ports to American Ships
- it established an American consulate in Japan
- it accepted the demands regarding shipwrecked sailors and coal
What other treaties were signed just after the Treaty of Kanagawa from 1854?
1858:
a) a commercial treaty giving further trading rights to the US
b) similar treaty with England
c) similar treaty with France
d) similar treaty with Netherlands
e) similar treaty with Russia
Were these new treaties concerning trade between Japan and other countries fair?
No, because the Japanese had lost control over their trade that they used to have among themselves. The treaties were seen as unequal and they had been forced upon the Japanese.
The American weapons were more advanced and the Japanese did not want to bring about a war that they might lose.
If the Japanese held the motto to ˋhonour the Emperor and expel the barbariansˋ what would their ideas and solutions be?
ideas: Japan is the divine land and the Japanese are superior to Westerners
solution: create war against Westerners and preserve isolation
If the Japanese held the motto to have Eastern ethics but Western science, what would their ideas and solutions be?
ideas:
- adopt western technology including military equipment
- keep Japanese values and morals
The solution would be to only adopt some things from Western civilization.
If the Japanese wanted to increase their wealth and embrace change, what ideas and solutions might arise?
ideas:
- overseas trade is necessary
- change is inevitable
solutions:
- welcome Americans and Europeans and trade with them
Why did many Japanese believe the shogun was weak? What attitudes did the Japanese people have toward their shogun?
Because the treaties were forced upon the Japanese, they believed that the shogun was weak since he did not fight for their trading rights.
Riots in the streets and other acts of violence started to occur since people believed in different things and did not want to settle the differences in the council chambers.
Some daimyo opposed the shogun, but then they were retired or put under arrest. Their samurai were imprisoned, exiled, or executed.
Foreigners and Japanese were in conflict.
In 1868 who resigned? Who took his place?
The shogun resigned (Tokugawa Yoshinobu) and formally petitioned the emperor to take over power.
Then a civil war began between people who wanted to restore the shogunate and those who favoured rule by the emperor.
30 000 troops supporting the emperor blasted a shogunate stronghold for two weeks and then set it on fire.
Prince Mutsuhito was made Emperor of Japan and was still very young. His name changed to ˋMeijiˋ which means enlightened rule. The emperors lived in the imperial palace in Kyoto.
Meiji period
The time when Emperor Meiji was in power after the Meiji Restoration:
Meiji Restoration = 1867 for three years
Meiji period = after that until Meijiˋs death in 1912
How did Japan govern after the emperor came into power?
Meiji unelected leaders came from the samurai who had led the fight to defeat the shogunate and restore the emperor. This created oligarchy (a form of government in which a small group of people have all the power).
Program of reform:
- create strong central government that coult unite the country
- use democratic ideas from the West
Pushing the idea to the Japanese that allegiance to the emperor was the foundation of a strong nation.
Where was the imperial court moved to? Where did it come from?
The imperial court used to be in Kyoto.
They moved it to capital Tokyo (old name was Edo) so that the government and the emperor would be in the same location, further pushing the idea that the emperor should be respected as being part of the government, or at least connected to it.
The emperor was no longer isolated, and in full view. Today there are gardens all around the Imperial Palace in the centre of Tokyo, giving downtown a very nice feel.
What happened to the daimyo in the Meiji period?
They were encouraged to turn over their lands to the state and were given pensions as compensation.
(The Meiji leaders also pointed out that the land was actually always the property of the emperor, trying to sound nice and convincing to the daimyo.)
What happened to the samurai during the Meiji period?
- at first they were given tax free income
- then they were just told to get jobs and no longer had tax free income since the feudal system in Japan had come to an end
In the future, only the government would have the right to collect taxes
How did the common people benefit from changes during the Meiji period?
The Charter Oath gave them new rights:
- choice of location to live
- choice of occupation
- allowed to now have a family name (instead of just the name of what work they did)
- outdated rules on dress were abolished
- peasants could now own land
- discrimination problem was fought with legislation (to help end discrimation against outcasts - remember that this included people who were native to the land)
