Chapter 6: How Did Rapid Change During the Meiji Period Affect Japan’s Worldview? Flashcards
How did Japan Decide to Implement Change During the Meiji Period?
- Leaders borrowed + adopted parts of Western ideologies
- implemented aspects of democracy
- believed they needed education to help modernize
- embraced tech
Who was fukuzawa Yukichi?
- author, educator, + business entrepreneur
- Member of Iwakura mission + strong advocate for american style democracy
- born in Osaka in 1835 to low ranking Samurai Family
- Studied and taught Dutch
- owner of influential newspaper and fought for women
What was Fukuzawa Yukichi beliefs?
- People must develop a sense of personal value and strength
- education and study will create opportunities for personal success
- Governments should earn, in return government respect the will + needs of the people
- Japan stand up to west with an understanding of its worldview
How did modernizing the japanese political system reflect a new worldview?
- started to prepare for new government
- imperial control moved from Kyoto to Tokyo
- Tokyo more centralized for government
- Emperor moved to Shogun castle once the Bakufu lost power
What did the oligarchy decide to modernize Japan?
- must unify Japan’s territories
- Look for model of government that could be adapted to Japanese ways
- change social order so all will have same obligations and loyalty to their state
- create constitution so that most important values +beliefs of Japan guide them in future
Unifying the Country.
- Many Samurai fought to dethrone the Shogun
- domains and institutions placed under a set of unified laws and regulations
- petition called, “Return of the Registers”
- All domains were abolished and replaced with a prefecture system
What did the leaders use as a symbol to help establish a nationalistic feeling?
- Emperor
- Daimyo gave up their rights and not guaranteed any rights
- only person with rights was the Emperor
Searching for a new model of Government:
- more Liberal supported French + American human rights
- More conservative supported more German ways
- oligarchy decided to look for centralized not democracy
- adapted a German government with strong cabinet and limited powers of parliament
- new government was called Dajokan after an ancient Japanese imperial institution
Political Change Affects the Social Systems:
- Eliminated the hierarchical social order of Japanese society
- Feudal class system was abolished
- all Japan lived under same obligation: to be loyal to emperor + state
Why did Japan’s leaders want to develop a constitution?
- most strong European countries had constitutions
- west countries would see Japan stronger if it had a constitution
- constitution would unify Japan
Creating a Constitution:
- Many not satisfied with control of strong centralized government
- Samurai not called Shizoku
- People wanted more participation
- 3 political parties supported by different newspapers were formed
- political debates and violent revolts happened
- new law allowing government to censor newspapers happened
- in response people wanted a representative government
What did the Emperor announce with the new constitution?
- Emperor is sacred and above all law
- Government are responsible to the Emperor
- citizens granted freedom of speech, religion, and association, but rights can be taken away
What does the Emperor have the power to do?
- command military forces + control foreign policy
- appoint cabinet members, judges + privy council members
- convene and dissolve the Imperial Diet (parliament) at will
Describe the changes to the Imperial Diet (Parliament)
- divided into 2 houses of equal power
- Upper house called house of peers members selected for life by Emperor
- Lower house consists of 300 members, elected by citizens for 4 years
How did the unequal treaties affect Japan’s economic system?
- Japan restricted by unequal treaties
- not allowed to lower taxes on domestic goods
- not allowed to raise taxes on foreign goods
- the unfair treaties made it hard for domestic trades to surrvive
The industries of Japan:
- most new ones such as monitions, gunpowder, were for the military
- other ones such as silk, textile, glass, and chemical plants
- most industries were government owned/funded
- within 10 years most of these factories, except the military ones, were handed over to private business
The private business of Japan:
- reduced economic competition since large parton of the country’s major industries came under control of small private business
- ^ worried some Japanese economists
- the men owning these companies were called Zaibatsu
- ^ closely tied to government + strengthened support for Meiji state
- 1 famous companies run by Mitsubishi Family, today still is 1 of leading exporters
Who was Matsukata Masayoshi?
- Minister of Finance in 1881