MODERNIZATION OF JAPAN: BACKGROUND, CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The modernization of Japan (19th century) was a process experienced in the Asian country thanks to which it left behind its old feudal structures, modernizing in part all national areas. The reforms carried out in politics, society and the economy ended up making it one of the powers in the area.

Japan was closed to the world of its own accord for two centuries, but American and British demands to open new trade routes forced it to change in the second half of the 19th century. Until then the emperor had a limited power by the shogun, a kind of feudal lords who exercised control in each territory.

Promulgation of the new Japanese Constitution by the Emperor of Japan in Tokyo in 1899

The process that ended this social structure was called the Meiji Restoration and it took up to five wars for the reforms to take place. It was only after 1968 that the whole country began to change.

The end result led, on the one hand, to Japan becoming a more modern state and, on the other, to the emergence of an expansionist policy that ended up causing World War II in the Pacific.

Background

European colonialism and the advance of Christianity had been the causes that led the Japanese leaders to close their borders. Thus, they became by their own decision an isolated country, for fear of losing their cultural and religious references.

In this way, in 1630 the Tokuwa shogunate - the military leaders - prohibited the spread of any message that involved Christian proselytism. Other measures adopted were the end of commercial exchanges and prohibiting all Japanese from traveling abroad.

For almost 200 years Japan remained unchanged and without external influences. The society had a structure very similar to that of European feudalism.

The figure of the emperor, legitimized by religion when saying that he descended from the gods, lived with the shoguns, more or less equivalent to the feudal lords. In practice, they were the ones with the real power.

Causes of modernization

However, by the 19th century the world had changed and new powers such as the United States set out to find new trade routes. On the Pacific, the meeting with Japan was inevitable.

The first clash occurred in 1853, when the Americans managed under military threat to get the Japanese to open some ports for them. Militarily inferior, they not only had to accept the demand of the Americans, but were also forced to negotiate with the Netherlands, Russia, Great Britain and France.

The situation did not stop there. The death of an Englishman in Japan led to the bombing of the city of Kagashkma by the British. By that time, it was clear to the Japanese that the great world powers were here to stay.

However, the crisis and inefficiency of their own political and social system did not allow them to defend themselves. For this reason, from 1866 reforms began to modernize society.

The Meiji Restoration

The name given to this period in Japanese history is the Meiji Restoration. He understood from 1866 to 1869 and ended up changing all aspects of the political and social structure. Historians emphasize that it was a strange revolution, since it was the ruling class itself that demanded the changes, even at the cost of losing its privileges.

In general terms, the samurai lost their special rights, including being the only ones who could have surnames. Until then, the general population was called by the name of their profession.

Obviously, not everyone agreed with the reforms. Some armed uprisings took place, but finally the Meiji Era began.

Consequences of modernization

Social and economic reforms

The social and economic reforms were the most important of those carried out to modernize the country since, like any feudal state, they were the bases on which its entire structure rested. It can be summarized by saying that from the decentralization that the feudal lords supposed, it was passed to a subordination to the state as a whole.

This reform meant that many of the agricultural sharecroppers became owners. In the territorial aspect, the old fiefdoms became a species of provinces. Finally, the nobility lost their privileges and they only had the title of nobility as something honorary.

Despite this, the nobles were mostly those who held public positions, at the service of the State.

Those who noticed little about the reforms were the farmers. The only difference is that the owner of the land was no longer the shogun, but private owners. Industrialization attracted many of these peasants, creating a working class. The economy quickly drifted towards capitalism.

Political reforms

In order to modernize the state, the Japanese had to undertake some drastic changes in the political arena. The result was the a mixture between the own oriental traditions with more modern institutions of European origin.

The first step that was taken was the establishment of an almost absolute monarchy. That is, the emperor was the only one with decision-making capacity in all public areas.

After this a Senate was created, timidly advancing towards another type of system. The Constitution of 1889 tried to follow that path, although it fell halfway.

Part of the article was very similar to the western one, as when it indicated the separation of powers, but it established that the emperor would continue to have a wide margin of decision. This is very visible in the military realm.

Military reforms

The armed forces were also reformed in depth, especially because they started from a very archaic way of working. Until then, only samurai could do military service, which changed to make it a general duty.

The army now consists of 250,000 well-trained men. Within this instruction, a special emphasis was placed on loyalty and veneration to the emperor, who in this regard was fused with the homeland.

Another effort made was the formation of a navy and a network of shipyards, of which it lacked until that moment. In just 20 years, Japan had 22 cruisers and 25 torpedo boats, although it still had only one battleship.

Cultural and educational reforms

The only way for the reforms to be implemented and sustained over time was to change the educational system as well. Primary school became compulsory and schools began to be built all over Japan.

At first they had to bring foreign professors to the universities that were opened, but little by little they were forming their own.

Education was based on the creation of a patriotic pride; this, coupled with economic advance, led to the emergence of a very radical nationalism. These sentiments led to a military expansionism that eventually led to World War II.

References

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2. Arthistory. Modernization of Japan. Obtained from artehistoria.com
3. Bonifazi, Mauro. Japan: Revolution, Westernization and Economic Miracle. Retrieved from node50.org
4. Wikipedia. Meiji Restoration. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org
5. Beech, Philip. Japan & Early Westernization. Retrieved from japanvisitor.com
6. Christensen, Maria. The Meiji Era and the Modernization of Japan. Recovered from samurai-archives.com
7. Smith, Thomas C. Landlords and Rural Capitalists in the Modernization of Japan. Retrieved from cambridge.org
8. US Library of Congress. Modernization and Industrialization. Retrieved from countrystudies.us