Japanese Industrial Revolution Part 2

Question 1

What did the Japanese adopt besides copying the West in terms of industrialisation?

Answer 1

It adopted many Western customs and dresses; wealthy Japanese wore moustaches, top hats, bow ties and western-style suits and carried umbrellas

Question 2

What did the Japanese began to use in 1872?

Answer 2

A western calendar

Question 3

What kind of system did the Japanese adopt 50 years before it was introduced in Britain?

Answer 3

A metric system

Question 4

When was education made necessary for 4 years and what was built?

Answer 4

Education was made necessary in 1872, and primary and secondary schools were built to facilitate this importance.

Question 5

What type of broad education was taught to the students?

Answer 5

Western knowledge as well as Japanese beliefs and skills

Question 6

With what strong sense were children brought up with?

Answer 6

A strong sense of patriotism and reverence for the Emperor

Question 7

What is the Emperor Rescript of Education and when was it issued?

Answer 7

It is a detailed set of aims for education issued to schools, in the year 1890

Question 8

What did the children do with the Emperor Rescript of Education as a regular practice?

Answer 8

They memorised the aims, and promised to obey their parents and to ‘guard and maintain’ the prosperity of their Imperial Throne

Question 9

What are the names of and when were the two universities founded in Japan?

Answer 9

Tokyo University in 1877 and Kyoto University in 1897

Question 10

What was the result as Japan developed its own colleges?

Answer 10

The huge number of Japanese students who went abroad to pursue further studies declined

Question 11

What did the government had to do to raise money to tackle the social protests in the country?

Answer 11

It had to sell of many of its factories to private investors; many of whom were very rich families called zaibatsu

Question 12

What had already begun before the fall of the shogunate system and why?

Answer 12

Modernisation of the military had begun, as there were some powerful daimyo who were impressed by Western forces

Question 13

Japan’s navy was constructed on the basis of whose model?

Answer 13

Japan built its navy on the basis of Britain’s navy; the most strongest navy in the world at that time

Question 14

How was the army developed in Japan?

Answer 14

Initially the army was modelled on the French, but later adopted methods from the Germans

Question 15

When was the new Imperial Army formed and what it consisted of?

Answer 15

The new Imperial Army was built in 1872, and it was a combination of the Choshu and Satsuma armies

Question 16

When was conscription introduced?

Answer 16

1873

Question 17

In what manner did the peasant conscripts proved themselves fully capable?

Answer 17

Through the victorious defeat of the samurai rebellion of 1877

Question 18

What are the features of the new Imperial Army?

Answer 18

They were well trained, equipped with modern weapons and effectively led

Question 19

What was the impactful accomplishment of the new Imperial Army?

Answer 19

Their victory against the European power Russia in the Russo-Japanese war of 1894-95

Question 20

What was the key reason Japan had embarked on a radical program of modernisation?

Answer 20

To revise the unequal treaties and take back control of their own country

Question 21

Which two key elements that emphasised foreign superiority had to be undone?

Answer 21

First- extraterritorial rights, and second- foreign control of custom duties

Question 22

When did Japan reformed its legal code and what was the impact?

Answer 22

In 1889. As a result there was a minor reason for foreign nationals to want to live under another justice system

Question 23

HOW and WHEN were the two key elements that emphasised foreign superiority REVISED?

Answer 23

In 1894, Britain and then the other Western powers gave up their extraterritorial rights. In 1911, foreign control over tariffs was removed

Question 24

At the time when reforms for Japan was going, how were the lives of most of the people?

Answer 24

Their standard of living didn’t improve and their lives were more unpredictable

Question 25

Who were able to adapt to ‘new’ Japan and take advantage of modernisation?

Answer 25

Traders and Factory Owners

Question 26

What made the samurai feel intense discontent and resentment?

Answer 26

Their privileged lifestyles were put to an end. They could no longer wear swords and their salaries were stopped. Most of all, their traditional respected status in Japanese society no longer existed

Question 27

What did this resentment amongst the samurai resulted into?

Answer 27

It exploded in the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877

Question 28

What did the other samurai attempted to do to fight for their role?

Answer 28

They attempted to form political parties to legally pressure the government for improvement ; that is greater democracy

Question 29

What is the drawback of the 1889 Written Constitution of Japan?

Answer 29

Despite giving Japan an elected parliament, there was limited democracy with 4 percent of Japanese men allowed to vote

Question 30

What problems occurred in the countryside because of unhappiness by the peasants with the Meiji reforms?

Answer 30

Violent uprisings were occurring in the countryside at a rate of 30 a year, between 1869 and 1874

Question 31

How many peasants were there in the peasant army till the end of 19th century?

Answer 31

An army of 10,000 peasants

Question 32

Against what change made by the Meiji government did the peasants revolt?

Answer 32

Against the change in the way taxes were paid. Instead of being able to pay in rice, now tax had to be paid in cash

Question 33

What were all the revolts and damages done by the peasant revolts till the end of the 19th century

Answer 33

Government buildings in the east of Osaka were burnt down in 1876, widespread rioting in Fukushima in 1882 and Chichibu in 1884

Question 34

What did the peasants thought of the assessments made on their plots of land?

Answer 34

They were too high

Question 35

What did the peasants still had to do if a bad season had passed and crop yield was low? What was the injustice?

Answer 35

They still had to pay their cash tax and were often forced into debt. Many peasant farmers were forced to borrow money and this in turn forced them to sell their land when they could not pay the debt.

Question 36

What happened to farmers between 1883 and 1890?

Answer 36

Many of the farmers had to sell their lands and either move to the cities to find work or take up jobs as labourers

Question 37

What impact made peasants impoverished?

Answer 37

The impact of foreign trade