What is the significance of the political, economic and social changes that occurred during the Meiji Period?

Jamie Land Upper Sixth

Emperor Meiji

The Meiji period (1868-1912) is one defined by Japan’s rapid modernisation to emulate major western powers through extensive political, economic and social change. Pre-Meiji Japan was characterised by growing domestic complications and fear of intrusion from foreign countries, who were attempting to open Japan following over 200 years of isolationism under the military autocracy of the Tokugawa shogunate. Such extended isolation saw the sword-wielding samurai warriors of Japan, who had become a ruling class of aristocrats after not seeing conflict in centuries, standing in the shadows of colossal US warships; Japan’s immaturity in comparison to the technological giants of the west resulted in unequal treaties becoming imposed on their backward nation. The ascent of emperor Meiji brought an end to the shogunate in an event known as the Meiji Restoration, kickstarting the marathon in catching up to western prowess. This essay will discuss the political, economic and social changes that occurred after the Meiji Restoration, and how significant they were in the modernisation of Japan.

The first act of the Meiji reformers in 1868 was to relocate the imperial capital from Kyoto to Edo, the centre of power of the former shogunate, which was renamed to Tokyo. This had the effect of aligning the new imperial government with the The Meiji period’s political reforms administrative centre of Japan and giving continued with the creation of Japan’s first the restoration leaders control over trade constitution in 1889 and the formation of with the west. This allowed for the new the Diet, Japan’s parliamentary system, government to modernise and defend Japan consisting of a cabinet, where members from external threats more efficiently. The were directly appointed by the emperor, formation of a strong national army and and a lower house elected by the Japanese navy in 1871 also bolstered Japan against people. This system initially seems to follow these threats, indicating to western powers the patterns of a western government; that Japan was a respectable nation. however, the constitution was far from However, much of Japan’s weakness was democratic. The emperor was considered connected to the lack of organisation sacrosanct; he had control over the army in its political structure. Japan was a and navy and had the authority to dissolve country divided the elected house by hundreds of One of the most at will. In addition, domains, each controlled by an influential military significant political changes during the voting restrictions profoundly narrowed the voting population figure known as a Meiji period was in Japan; roughly daimyo. Domains were economically self-sufficient, the abolition of this feudal structure. 5 per cent of adult males were eligible for voting, and and each daimyo women did not controlled a military of their own; they have access to the vote at all. Despite this, existed largely independently of the central the revised political system undoubtedly government. One of the most significant produced a more democratic society and political changes during the Meiji period greater freedoms for the Japanese people was the abolition of this feudal structure; than had existed previously. the daimyo gradually surrendered their lands to the emperor, in return being The new Meiji government understood given governing roles until 1871 when that they had to rapidly industrialise and their domains were officially replaced promote economic growth to catch up with prefectures, a system that remains to to the technologically advanced western this day. As a result, Japan became unified powers. The government invested in the under a central government. development of infrastructure, such as

transport and communication systems their goods as they pleased, many were through railways and telegraph lines, which forced into tenancy, and others’ lands were linked all major cities by 1880, and started seized due to their inability to fulfil the tax up 53 different nationalised requirements. industries, including glass, iron and textiles. This became The political and The rapid investment in financially possible after economic changes industry caused the government withdrew the benefits that were paid to the Samurai class and by that occurred during the Meiji government funds to thin; private owners introducing agricultural tax period had assumed control reforms in 1873, where taxes were made monetary, rather than being based on rice. dramatic effects on the Japanese of Japanese industry, aided by the introduction These taxes provided the most population. of a Europeansubstantial source of income style banking for the government. However, system and a whilst these agricultural reforms allowed unified currency, jumpstarting capitalism. farmers to own their own land and trade The government also wanted to discourage the trade of foreign goods and support domestic industries to progress Japan further towards independence and defend it from western pressure. This was achieved through the introduction of import tariffs. However, despite all the momentous economic reforms of the Meiji period, the Japanese economy was still heavily based on agriculture and lagged behind the industrial prowess of western countries.

The political and economic changes that occurred during the Meiji period had dramatic effects on the Japanese population, resulting in significant social change. For example, the rigid class structure that had accompanied the feudal system came under fire from the Japanese government after the abolition of domains;

Samurai

removing the samurai class proved most under shared loyalty to the sovereign. challenging. The samurai had been an Simultaneously, alternative religions important clique during the time of the such as Buddhism were withdrawn from shogunate and were a deeply embedded the spotlight and whilst Christianity was part of Japanese society; the samurai class legalised in 1873, it was regarded with totalled almost two million at the beginning much suspicion by the government and was of the Meiji period. After the removal of effectively only allowed to exist to prevent their economic foreign criticism. benefits, The Meiji the samurai were less economically government were staunch believers In 1872, an inclusive education system was created; the tenuous education under the superior to in the need for a shogunate only allowed the the Japanese population. more united Japan. most wealthy and powerful to be educated. However, the On top of this, new system made education national conscription, introduced in 1873, widely accessible. Initially, this mimicked demolished the military superiority that western institutions to create strong the samurai held as they no longer existed foundations for a more educated Japanese as the substance of the Japanese army. population; however, fears that Japan was Furthermore, symbols of the samurai class, losing its cultural identity in the 1880s led such as traditional swords and samurai to the Imperial Rescript on Education in haircuts, were banned by the government 1890. This instilled the moral education in 1876, resulting in the effective syllabus with Shinto and Confucian disappearance of the samurai class; ideology, seeking to guarantee that future nothing distinguished the samurai from the Japanese population. Such changes helped to form a fairer society with a diminishing class structure. However, this also had the effect of agitating many conservative ‘ex-samurai’ who revolted against the Meiji government in 1877 with the Satsuma Rebellion, which was swiftly crushed by the Japanese military, bringing a definitive end to the arguably archaic samurai class.

The Meiji government were staunch believers in the need for a more united Japan; religion played a pivotal role in this regard. The reinforcement of Shinto in Japan accompanied by the introduction of national deities to support the position of the emperor helped to unify the population generations would accept imperial authority without question. This imbued the future Japanese with a nationalistic fervour that would unite them and create a strong Japan. However, it cannot be ignored that such changes may have contributed to the crimes that Japan committed in the second world war.

In conclusion, the political, economic and social changes that occurred in Japan during the Meiji period had a revolutionary impact on the position of Japan heading into the 20th century; the constitutional reforms and rapid industrialisation began to match it with dominating powers such as the United States. Earning the respect of the west culminated in the amendment of the unequal treaties that had established western privileges in commerce and diplomacy. Consequently, Japan had also become the most powerful nation in East Asia after its resounding victories in the Sino-Japanese war (1894-95) and RussoJapanese war (1904-05) brought much prestige to the empire. However, whilst there is no doubt in the strength of Japan as a nation after emperor Meiji died in 1912, bringing an official end to the Meiji period, it is arguable that many of their outdated, and arguably backward, social structures were not fully modernised until after the Japanese were finally defeated in 1945, American occupation beginning the next step in Japan’s journey towards modernisation.