Modern History of Japan - Essay Example

Modern History of Japan Introduction Meiji Restoration happened in 1868 when the Meiji emperor and the Oligarchy formed by Kyoto aristocrats aroundhim. The Shogunates and the samurais had lost their hold on the people since most of them felt that the samurais are living like parasites on the general public. Inadvertently, by providing peace to the country, samurais had helped the farmers to bring in an agricultural revolution by making the farmers wealthy. In addition to that, a proto-industrial employment to the farmers during the lean season also made them richer. This was noticed by the samurais and they tried to increase the taxation on the farmers. The restoration that started as a farmer movement for over one year had the tacit support of the emperor and one of the Samurais. Soon, on the super natural grounds the rule of the Samurai in the rural areas was temporarily suspended. When the Samurai – farmer conflict rose, the farmers gathered in larger numbers resulting in violent attacks on Samurais. The emperor took the side of the farmers and some of the samurais lower down the rung also took the side of the Emperor. The Kyoto aristocrats also moved in to ensure that the restoration was least violent and was more in line with religious requirements. The samurais were thus replaced. And the Emperor with his aristocratic council became the decision makers for the country. Major Decisions of the Meiji Oligarchy With the start of the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government started facing a number of issues that were found common to China as well. The ‘Treaty of the Ports’ with the Western powers kept the governments of the East at bay and could not implement one common law for all its people. This was the first rule that the Meiji broke to ensure that Japan could stop the treaty, that was one sided and was more to toe the line needed by the Western powers. The super power of the day was the British and by properly positioning itself, Japan could negotiate a settlement with the British that will right of the Treaty of the Ports. In order to do this, the legal system of the land had to be modified to treat every one of the people equally. This also had a social impact to ensure that the people in the society including the ‘Untouchables’ will have a common law. They were not untouchables any more and major steps were taken to bring them also on par with the rest. The powers of the samurais were removed and they had to live out of a government honorarium rather than collect taxes for their livelihood. A number of the other systems such as the financial route taken by the tax through the merchants to the government were abolished and the government got its due directly. This ensured that the amount reached the government and did not flush the intermediaries with money. However, this was done to ensure that the legal system is more in line with modern trends and as needed by the Western powers for implementation. The Meiji rulers wanted the treaty out of the way because the port is the way through which technology could be brought into the country and military might can be built. But if this were to be under the direct supervision of an external western power, then these objectives cannot be realized. Meiji Japan had plans on Korea may not be from the economic motives but propelled possibly by strategic considerations. Similar strategic consideration is also the case with the strategy Japan adopted with China. In both the cases, Japan attacked the nations to ensure that it had its way. In the case of Korea, while the Japanese thought that the Chinese would come to their rescue, but to their surprise Russians moved their troops to counter the Japanese aggression. This resulted in a war with Russia too. With a renewed military strength, Japan proved to the west that it could defeat a western power like Russia and throw them out of Korea. Korea remained a Japanese protectorate. Impact of these Decisions These decisions had a strong impact on the way Japanese conducted business with China. They became party to the Treaty of the Ports along with the Western powers. Japanese business could land up in the Chinese main land without much ado. And they could also mobilize substantial military might during this period of the Meiji restoration. The country moved from a largely agricultural background to a major industrial power house. This could happen because there was already a proto-industrial revolution happening in the rural Japan. Similarly with the Russians, Japan could gain possession of Port Arthur, which was a strategic port for the main land China and to project its power close to the Chinese capital, with no clear plan to dominate China in any other way. In addition to this, during this period, the pride of the Japanese fell in place. The Japanese nationalism budded and grew to a great extent. With the industrial change from a largely agrarian economy, the wealth of the nation also multiplied tremendously. The overall GDP of the country grew to the level of any other western nation which made the country a major competition for the western powers. Meiji era also saw the rise of the Popular Rights Movement which was more a democracy movement but was crushed by the ruling oligarchy. The imperial army had grown in its power and capacity and can handle such minor uprisings with crushing cruelty. They displayed the same tendency during the Chinese and the Korean War; by the end of the Meiji era the nationalistic spirit has been well stoked in Japan. Conclusion The major reasons that resulted in industrial growth during the Meiji Restoration are the following: 1. Peace within the Japanese country side 2. Clear policy to promote trade 3. The military build up helped Japan a lot. Read More