ASIA 101 Jan 29 19th century Japan

Japan’s march toward modernity First country in Asia to modernize How? Political institutions (state-building) Economy and industry Nation and nationalism

Review and background Asia and the West: 19th C tipping point Chinese experience Opium war, Treaties, Semi-colonial status Japan under the Tokugawa feudalistic state (bakuhan system) urbanization, commerce, pop culture Samurai bureaucrats

Japan in the first half of 19th C Samurai in debt Famine and social unrest Social order breaking down Scholarly discussion about Japan’s superiority Emperor and Kokutai (Ebrey, 338)

Foreign affairs (Ebrey, 338-41) Perry’s “black ships”, 1853 Guns, steam, and opening of ports Treaties in 1854, 1858 Unequal Treaty, what is it?

Yokohama, a treaty port

Consequences Domestic turmoil (Ebrey, 342) Emperor enters politics Radical activists attack foreigners “Revere the emperor and expel the barbarians” Open up debates about national policies, defence Tokugawa loses legitimacy, “barbarian subduing” general

Meiji restoration Satsuma & Choshu domains force Shogun to give up rule, 1867/11 “Restoration of imperial rule”

Popular response to uncertainties Ee ja naika: wild, rowdy dance fest Nationalists?

Building the Meiji state What was achieved by 1868? Basic orientations of the new state?

Centralization Abolish the domains (han) from 261 domains to 72 prefectures, 1871 The end of the samurai status (and stipend), 1876 What happened to the samurai? Census (household registers), Taxation Why? remove the layers of feudalism, and harness the nation under the central state

Rich country, strong army State kickstarts industrialization (factories) arms and heavy industries (railway, shipyards) textiles: silk and cotton are these new? Where did the money come from? Private silk factories in rural areas 90% of exports textiles in 1900 (Ebrey, 356)

Army Who fights when warrior class is no more? Conscripts (1873) resistance from farmers and warriors: “blood tax” nationalism?

How did nationalism become widespread? Schools compulsory education (1872) turn kids into productive members of a nation instill “national” values “Imperial Rescript on Education”, 1890 (Ebrey, 359) Confucian values Loyalty to the kokutai (national polity) Emperor’s portrait Family state

Learn from the West “Civilization and Enlightenment” Do away with “bad old customs” education, food, personal appearance Becomes an imperialist state Fukuzawa Yukichi’s “Leaving Asia” (Ebrey, 360-61) forces unequal treaty on Korea, 1876 war with Qing China, 1894-95 colonizes Taiwan

summation By 1900, Japan had Centralized, modern, imperial state Nation and nationalism Constitution, 1889 Capitalist economy