JAPA
NESE
ISOLATIONISM &
THE
MEIJI RESTORATIO
N
W O R L D HI S
T O R Y
D E C E M B E R 13 , 2
0 1 3
• Japan is a mountainous archipelago
• It is located in the Ring of Fire
• It is close to China, but for the most part is physically separated from other nations
JAPAN’S GEOGRAPHY
• In the early 1600s, Japan shut itself off from the world
• This is called isolationism
• Under the rule of the Tokugawa shoguns, Japan remained strictly ordered by following a system of feudalism
• Samurai warriors kept Japan protected and fairly peaceful for two centuries
• Throughout a period of 200 years, many foreign countries had requested trade with Japan
• Japan refused
JAPAN’S POLICY OF ISOLATION
• Religion• Mixture of native Shintoism and Zen Buddhism• Also a sense of Confucianism
• Economy• Growing internal trade during the Edo period• Merchants began to surpass the samurai in wealth
• Rigid Social Order• These limits were being tested by the end of the Tokugawa
Shogunate
JAPANESE CULTURE AND ECONOMY
• U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry (1794 – 1858)• 1853 – gunboat diplomacy• 1854 – trade treaty with the U.S.• Great Britain, Netherlands, and
Russia soon gained similar trading rights
• Townsend Harris (1804 – 1878)• U.S. Consul General to Japan• 1858 – commercial treaty
between U.S. and Japan• European powers soon gained
similar rights in Japan
END OF JAPANESE ISOLATIONISM
Pros Cons“Dutch Learning” (Western knowledge) became very popular among many doctors, scholars, and scientists
Western knowledge went against many traditional Japanese beliefs
Japanese entrepreneurs, merchants, and budding industrialists stood to profit from increased trade
Traditional holders of prestige and power (daimyos and samurai) did not tend to profit from increased trade
Resentment SolutionExtraterritorial rights of Americans and Europeans
“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”
Anti-foreign uprisings (1863-1864) Japan has the power to set conditionsJapanese parts in turn bombarded by foreign ships
Westernization
THE JAPANESE REACTION
•When the unpopular Tokugawa Shogun stepped down in 1867, the young Emperor Mutsuhito made many changes• Shogun had to give up power• Power was officially in the hands of
Emperor Mutsuhito• Wanted to modernize, industrialize,
and militarize• This began the Meiji Era (1867-1913)• Meiji = “enlightened rule”
MEIJI RESTORATION
REFORMSPolitical Economic Military Social
• Diet – Japan’s bicameral legislature• First
convened in 1889
• Meiji (Imperial) Constitution• Adopted in
1890• Followed
until WWII
• End of feudalism
• Currency adopted
• Encouragement of foreign trade
• Growth of factories• First large
factories manufactured textiles
• First workers were girls and women
• Land reform
• Previously the army did not serve a central government
• Meiji Era: Modern army and navy established that were loyal to the government
• Conscription – all men had to serve for three years after turning 21
• Education for all levels
• Universities established
• Westernization of many laws
• Western clothing
• Western architecture
• Imperialization = things having to do with an empire
Why did Japan look to imperialize?• Lack of fertile land for
agriculture• Markets for finished products• Need for the raw materials of
industry• Population growth• Response to Western
Imperialism
JAPANESE IMPERIALISM