In Asia in the mid-19th century, Japan was in the era of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the last of the shogunates. The Tokugawa Shogunate's tyrannical rule provoked rebellions from the many people who worked as farmers. Externally, the Tokugawa shogunate practiced a "lockout policy," forbidding foreign missionaries, merchants, and commoners to enter Japan. Only merchants from the Netherlands and China (the Ming Empire) were allowed to continue their activities in Nagasaki, which had been the only port open to the outside world, and the Tokugawa shogunate strictly forbade the practice of the Christian faith.
During the same period, cottage industries or workshops began to appear in some of the more economically developed areas of Japan. A system of "hired workers" emerged in the workshops, forming a capitalist production system. With the rapid expansion of the commodity economy, the power of the merchant class, especially the financial business operators, gradually increased. The merchants felt that the old system was seriously hampering their development and began to call for a reform of the political system. The daimyo (feudal lords) and samurai with bourgeois colors formed a political alliance with the merchants who demanded the reform of the system, and together with the grass-roots peasants who opposed the Shogunate, they formed the power base of the "Reverse Shogunate Faction".
In 1852, U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry (1904-1989), a former Shogun, was appointed to the post of Shogun. Matthew Calbraith Perry (Matthew Calbraith Perry) led a fleet into the Edo Bay (now Tokyo Bay) coast of Uraga, asked to negotiate with the Tokugawa shogunate, known as the "Black Ship Incident" (also known as the "Black Ship").1854, Japan In 1854, Japan signed the Kanagawa Treaty of Goodwill between Japan and the United States, agreeing to open the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate (Hakodate) to the U.S., in addition to Nagasaki, and granting the U.S. most-favored-nation status. As a result of the ensuing series of unequal treaties, the Tokugawa Shogunate once again became the target of Japanese society's crusade. The feudal camp in Japan was divided, and those who demanded reforms among the lower and middle class samurai formed a revolutionary force that called for respecting the king and resisting the barbarians. The representatives of these forces included Yoshida Matsuyin, Takasugi Shinzaku, Okubo Toshimichi, Kido Takayoon, Saigo Takamori, Yokai Konan, and Omura Ikujiro, and were mainly concentrated in the southwestern clans of Choshu (present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture), Satsuma (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture), Tosa (present-day Kochi Prefecture), and Hizen (present-day Saga Prefecture and Nagasaki Prefecture). These clans were historically at odds with the Shogunate, and had received overseas influences earlier, and were more active in importing modern science and technology and in promoting middle and lower ranking samurai.
Toward the end of the Shogunate period, the emergence of capitalism in the economy was accompanied by the emergence of a class of so-called "powerful farmers and merchants". The revolutionary forces among the lower class samurai and the aspirants from the wealthy farmers and merchants joined hands with the powerful southwestern clans and the imperial ministers who were in conflict with the Shogunate, and under the slogan of "honoring the king and repelling the barbarians", they started the struggle for the reform of the Shogunate and the defense against the invasion of the outside world, which developed into an armed rebellion against the Shogunate with the impetus of the masses of the people.
The Three Masters of the Meiji Restoration
Takamori Saigo
Among the many founding fathers of the Meiji Restoration, Takamori Saigo, Toshimichi Okubo, and Takayoon Kido played the most important roles. These three men are also known as the "Three Masters of the Meiji Restoration". Among them, the personality of Saigo Takamori was the most loved by Japanese people.
Saigo Takamori was born on December 7, 1827, the eldest son of Saigo Yoshibei, a feudal lord of Satsuma (Kagoshima Prefecture), and his name was Yoshi. Since his family was poor, at the age of eighteen, he worked as a "shugyo shusen-suke" (county shusen-suke) to support the family's finances, and at the same time, he studied "Konjiku" with Okubo Ichizo (Toshimichi) and Arimura Toshisai (Umieda Nobuyoshi), studied yangmingshiho (the science of Yang Ming), and practiced zazen under Zen master Mokusen. At the age of twenty-eight (1854), he traveled to Edo with the feudal lord, Shimazu Saitobin. At that time, the country was divided into two factions, those who supported Tokugawa Keiki and those who supported Tokugawa Iemo, over the issue of the shogun's succession. Saigo Takamori joined the Keiki faction and traveled around the country. In the fifth year of the Ansei era (1858), because of the "Ansei no Daigakudo" (a large prison in the Ansei era to suppress the supporters of Tokugawa Keiki), Saigo Takamori returned to his hometown with the escort of Monk Tsukisho, who had been prosecuted by the Shogunate. Unexpectedly, the Satsuma Clan also pursued them, and they threw themselves into Kinko Bay. The two of them were sentenced to death in Kinko Bay. Tsukisho was killed, and Takamori was sentenced to exile.
After returning to the Satsuma clan in 1864, Saigo continued to use his destructive power in the campaign against the Shogunate, and in 1868, as a member of the staff of the Governor-General, he negotiated with Katsukai Boat to enter Edo Castle without bloodshed. However, Saigo Takamori retreated at this time and returned to his hometown of Satsuma. He thought that he could not stay in the center of the country and hold a position higher than that of a feudal lord. Until the opening of Edo, he was the best leader representing the lower samurai reformers. He regarded fame and fortune as dirt, and looked upon death as a way of not buying a beautiful field for his children and grandchildren. However, under the reforms of the Reformist government, the lower class samurai became increasingly poor. After the implementation of the conscription, the samurai lost their military rights. In order to break the deadlock, Saigo Takamori was inspired to "conquer Korea" and "conquer Taiwan". He offered himself as an ambassador to Korea, but was opposed by Iwakura Gouji and Okubo Rikidori, and left the government. In 1877, the students of private schools in Kagoshima and the lower ranked samurai raised an army against the government with Saigo Takamori as their commander. This was called the Southwest War. Saigo Takamori was defeated and killed himself.
Okubo Toshimichi
Okubo Toshimichi was born on August 10, 1830, the eldest son of Toshimichi Okubo, a feudal lord of Satsuma (Kagoshima Prefecture). He was renamed Masasuke and later changed his name to Ichizo. He and Saigo Takamori were not only junior townsmen, but were also born as lower-ranking samurai and came from poor families. However, their personalities and political careers were very different. Saigo was a man of clear-cut, passionate, and sometimes irrational actions. On the other hand, Okubo was calm and resolute, and always held a realistic attitude towards politics. Although Saigo was loved by the general public, he ended in tragedy. The Okubo, though feared, was always at the height of his power.
In 1871, Toshimichi Okubo was promoted to Minister of Finance and devoted himself to the building of internal affairs. In the same year, he became the deputy ambassador of the Iwakura expedition and traveled around Europe and America. During his visit to Europe, he met the German Chancellor Bismarck and was greatly influenced by him, and in 1873, when he heard Saigo and others advocating the expropriation of Korea, he immediately returned to Japan. He was on the same side as Iwakura Gutsche and strongly opposed to the expropriation of Korea, thus breaking with his longtime friend Saigo. After the resignation of the expropriators, Okubo became the centerpiece of the government as the Minister of Internal Affairs and vigorously promoted the policy of colonization and industrialization. Although he was autocratic, he was not territorial and employed a large number of capable people. On May 14, 1878, he was assassinated by Shimada Ichiro, a member of the Shimada clan, and others because of the backlash against his dictatorship. He was 49 years old.
Takayoon Kido (Katsura Kogoro)
Takayoon Kido was born on June 26, 1833, the year of Tenpo IV, and it was said at the time that those born in that year were talented in a small way but could not become great. He was the son of Wada Masakage, a feudal lord of Choshu (Yamaguchi Prefecture). He was commonly known as Kogoro, and later became the adopted son of Katsura Kurobei. Being weak and sickly as a child, he suffered from poor health and neurosis in his later years. At the age of seventeen, he joined the Yoshida Matsuyin sect. At the age of twenty, he studied kendo, shipbuilding, and Western studies, and in 1850, he joined the Zunghwa movement. In addition to writing the draft of the "Five Articles Oath" in 1868, Takayoon Kido also played a central role in the "Return of Editions" and the "Abolition of Clans and Establishment of Prefectures". In 1871, he accompanied Iwakura Gutsi on a study tour to Europe and America as a deputy plenipotentiary, and returned to Japan in 1873, where he advised the government on the formulation of a constitution. In the following year, he became the Minister of Education. Although Kido and Okubo were initially in favor of the "conquest of Korea," after the fourth year of the Meiji era they changed their stance and began to oppose the invasion of Korea and Taiwan because they believed that internal rule was better than external development. Although Kido was an idealistic and enlightened politician, he was narrow-minded, so no one followed him. Even Ito Hirobumi and Inoue Shin, who were also from the Choshu clan, followed Okubo. He died on May 26, 1888, at the age of forty-five.
The fall of the Shogunate
In June 1863, the Shogunate was forced to proclaim a war against the Japanese, which was followed by the attack on Shimonoseki by American and French warships, and the attack on Satsuma by a British fleet. In the spring of 1865, the leader of the Choshu Clan's faction of respecting the king and resisting the Japanese, Takasugi Shinzaku, proposed a strategy of opening a port to the Shogunate and deciding to stop mentioning the war against the Japanese and turn to an armed rebellion against the Shogunate, forming a secret military alliance with the Satsuma Clan. At the same time, Britain also weighed the pros and cons and changed its strategy to assist the rebels. The Shogunate, on the other hand, defected to France and in July 1866 launched the second war against the Choshu clan. At this time, the Shogunate was hard hit by the popular revolts. The Choshu clan fought valiantly with the anti-Bakufu forces and forced the Bakufu to withdraw in September of the same year.
In 1867, when Emperor Komei died and Prince Mutsuhito (Emperor Meiji) assumed the throne, the rebel forces actively allied themselves with the Shogunate to raise an army; on November 8, the Emperor issued a secret edict to suppress the Shogunate, and on the 9th, the Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, asked for the return of the Daimyo (Great Governance), while at the same time, he assembled a large force of soldiers in Osaka in an attempt to rebel. On January 3, the emperor issued the "Great Decree for the Restoration of the Imperial Rule", abolishing the shogunate and ordering Tokugawa Yoshinobu to "resign from his post and take over his land". On January 27, the Emperor's army of 5,000 men, led by the Sa and Choshu clans, fought a fierce battle with the Shogunate's army of 15,000 men near Kyoto (the Battle of Toba and Fushimi), and Tokugawa Yoshinobu was defeated and left Edo. Thus began the War of the Euthanasia. On May 3, 1868, Tokugawa Yoshinobu was forced to surrender Edo Castle, and the rebellious clans of the Tohoku region were pacified by the beginning of November; in the spring of 1869, the Emperor's army marched to Hokkaido and captured the last stronghold of the Shogunate's forces, Gokudenkaku (in Hakodate), on June 27th, thus the War of the Euthanasia came to an end.
Reforms of the new government
The new government, headed by the Emperor, issued the political program "Five Articles Oath" on April 6, 1868, and "The Book of Government" on June 11, and changed the name of Edo to Tokyo by an imperial decree on September 3, changed the name to Meiji on October 23, and moved the capital to Tokyo on May 9, 1869, and enacted a series of reforms:
The new government was led by the Shogun, and the new government was led by the Shogun, and the new government was led by the Emperor. The capital was moved to Tokyo on May 9, 1869, and a series of reforms were enacted:
In June 1869, the Meiji government enforced the policy of "return of feudal domains" and "abolition of clans and replacement of prefectures," dividing Japan into three prefectures and 72 prefectures, and establishing a centralized political system. Reform of the identity system abolished the traditional identity system of "Shishi, Nong, Gongyi, and Shang", and renamed the aristocrats of the past, such as ministers and lords, as "Wa", and the samurai below the level of daimyo as "Shishi". In order to alleviate the financial burden associated with the "return of the title", feudal salaries were gradually abolished, and the Samurai's "Sword Abolition Decree" was promulgated, as well as the "Household Registration Law", which established the basis of the household registration system. On the social and cultural fronts, it advocated the study of Western culture and customs, and the translation of Western writings. In the calendar system, the lunar calendar was discontinued and the solar calendar was adopted to count the days (except for the year). The introduction of modern Western industrial technology; the reform of the land system, abolishing the original land policy, permitting the sale of land and implementing a new land tax policy; the abolition of customs and barriers set up by the feudal lords; the unification of currencies, and the establishment of the Bank of Japan (the central bank of the country) in 1882; and the abolition of the trade and industrial guilds and monopolies to promote the development of industry and commerce. In terms of education, the development of modern compulsory education, the country was divided into 8 university districts, each with 1 university, and 32 high school districts, each with 1 high school, and 210 elementary school districts under each high school district, with 8 elementary schools under each elementary school district, totaling 8 public universities, 245 high schools, and 53,760 elementary schools across the country. The educational institutions promulgated the "Edicts on Examination and Education," which inculcated the ideals of examination and loyalty to the emperor and the nation (some believe that this was intended to strengthen the centralized social system of the supreme power and pave the way for foreign expansion in the future). In addition, foreign students were sent to study in advanced countries such as Britain, the United States, France and Germany. On the military front, the army was reformed, with the land force trained in Germany and the navy organized in the British Navy; and in 1872, a conscription order was issued, requiring all adult men over 20 years old to serve in the military. In 1872, a conscription order was issued for all adult men over 20 years of age to serve in the military, with a general service of 3 years and a reserve service of 2 years, which was later increased to 3 years and 9 years respectively, making a total of 12 years. 1873 saw the mobilization of up to 400,000 men in combat units. In addition, the Meiji government also developed a state-run arms industry; in the middle and late Meiji era, the military budget increased dramatically, accounting for about 30% to 45% of government spending. In terms of transportation, the Meiji government improved local transportation by building new railroads and highways, and in 1872, the first railroad was opened between Tokyo (Shimbashi) and Yokohama (Sakuragicho); by 1914, the total railroad mileage in the country was more than 7,000 kilometers. The judiciary was modeled on the Western system, with a French-style criminal code in 1882, a mixed French-German civil code in 1898, and an American-style commercial code in 1899. Religion: For political reasons, the government strongly encouraged Shintoism, as it preached loyalty to the emperor and helped him to rule the country. At the same time, other religions were allowed to exist, and in 1873 the ban on Christian missions was lifted.In 1871, the Meiji government sent a large mission headed by the right minister, Iwakura Gakunori, to Europe and the United States to study the capitalist system. Under the slogans of enriching the country and strengthening the army, multiplying production and industry, and civilizing and enlightening the country, the government actively introduced Western science and technology, and carried out large-scale primitive accumulation by means of high land taxes, and established a number of state enterprises focusing on military industry, mines, railroads, and shipping. At the same time, it introduced modern equipment for reeling and weaving, set up demonstration factories, and popularized advanced technology; it recruited foreign experts and sent foreign students abroad to cultivate high-level scientific and technological talents. Because of the financial crisis caused by the excessive financial burden, in the early 1980s the government sold a number of state enterprises and mines cheaply to the capitalists (the so-called government and businessmen) who had the privilege of colluding with the government, and encouraged the Chinese, landowners, merchants, and upper-class clergy to invest in banks, railroads, and other enterprises by means of generous protection policies, thus cultivating a group of plutocrats. climax of the Industrial Revolution.
The Meiji government politically deified the absolute authority of the emperor, established the "Chinese" system to maintain the special status of the old feudal lords and ministers, and included the meritorious ministers of the Restoration and the zaibatsu in the Chinese family to cultivate the privileged class; economically, it fostered the feudal zaibatsu and parasitic landlords; ideologically, it propagated the idea of "the new government" and "the new government"; and ideologically, it promoted the idea of "the new government". Economically, they supported feudal zaibatsus and parasitic landlords. Ideologically, they promoted Shinto, Imperialism, Confucianism, and introduced German idealistic philosophy. 1882 saw the publication of the Soldier's Edict, which advocated Bushido. 1890 saw the publication of the Edict on Education, which promoted militaristic education centered on loyalty to the Emperor. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan was transformed from a feudal state ruled by the Bakufu lords to a capitalist state with feudalism. In the 1870s and 1880s, there was a liberal civil rights movement against authoritarian politics and for bourgeois liberal democratic rights. The Meiji government dismantled this movement through violent repression and political polarization, and enacted the Meiji Constitution in 1889 and opened the Diet in 1890, thus establishing an authoritarian constitutional monarchy, i.e., the modern emperor system in Japan.
In foreign relations, as the nation grew stronger, it made repeated representations and demanded treaty changes. The revision of treaties began in 1894 and was finally abolished in 1911. By the end of the 1980s, the continental policy was basically formed with aggression against China and Korea as the main goal. Since the mid-1990s, it has continuously waged wars of aggression against foreign countries.
Historical significance
After the Meiji Restoration, Japan became richer and stronger, and utilized its strong national power to gradually abolish the unequal treaties signed with the Western powers, recover the sovereignty of the country, and get rid of the crisis of being a colony; and then, with the rapid increase in economic strength, the military power was also strengthened rapidly, and in 1895 and 1904-1905, Japan was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, respectively. In 1895 and 1904 to 1905, respectively, in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, the two former strong powers - the Qing Empire and the Czarist Russia - were defeated, and were noticed by the Western powers, and became a dominant Asian power; Fukuzawa Yukichi's theory of "leaving Asia and entering Europe" also became a correct theory at this time.
In the early years of the Restoration, the social status of the samurai declined dramatically due to the policies of the Meiji government, and the economic security of the samurai was weakened by the gradual reduction of their salaries. All these led to the dissatisfaction of the samurai with the Meiji government, and there were many armed struggles against the Meiji government. The Southwest War of 1877, which was waged by Saigo Takamori, one of the leaders of the Meiji Restoration, centered on Kagoshima Prefecture, was the last and the largest of the samurai's rebellions. After the defeat, the remaining members of the clans went underground and formed political opposition through the "Free Civil Rights Movement" in conjunction with the "Movement for the Establishment of a Popularly Elected House of Assembly" led by Itagaki Yasusuke, and the "Constitution of the Empire of Japan" was proclaimed in 1889, which became the first written constitution in Asia. In 1889, the Constitution of the Empire of Japan was proclaimed, becoming the first written constitution in Asia; and in 1890, the Diet (the Imperial House of Representatives) began to function.
As for the social and cultural changes, with the foreign intellectuals (Ito Hirobumi, Okuma Shigenobu, New Watarido Inazo, etc.) absorbing and introducing the Western culture and regulations into Japan, as well as the introduction of many modern things, the trend of "civilization and enlightenment" was gradually formed, and had a great impact on the originally traditional and conservative Japanese society. This had a great impact on the originally traditional and conservative Japanese society. Not only were there changes in material needs and living habits, but there was also a gradual modernization of ideas and concepts (e.g., the concepts of punctuality, hygiene, and Western manners), as well as literary and artistic influences (especially modern literature and European-style architecture), which were widely promoted in the educational system and social organizations.
On the other hand, although the Meiji government tried hard to reform the country, on the whole it emphasized the results of making the country strong, and left many problems: the emperor had too much power, the powerful people from the clans controlled the state affairs for a long time and formed the powerful "clan politics" system, the annexation of the land was still serious, and the new zaibatsu monopolized the market economy. The monopolization of the market economy by the newly emerged zaibatsu. These negative problems interacted with the social problems that were difficult to be solved and eventually led Japan, directly or indirectly, to embark on the path of aggression and expansion.
Meiji Restoration
The Meiji Restoration was a political revolution in Japanese history. It overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate, returned the great government to the Emperor, and carried out major reforms in the political, economic, and social spheres to promote the modernization and westernization of Japan. The Meiji Restoration was led by a group of young samurai who tried to build a country on a par with the West under the slogan "Rich Country, Strong Army". 1871 saw the abolition of the feudal domains and the destruction of all the feudal regimes. In the same year, a new standing army was established, and in 1873, the national compulsory military system was introduced and the agricultural tax was reformed. Currency was also unified. In the mid-1870s, these reforms were opposed by the disillusioned samurai, who mobilized peasants dissatisfied with the agricultural policy to stage many rebellions, and by civil rights advocates influenced by Western liberalism, who demanded that a constitution be established, a parliament be convened, and everything be decided by public opinion. Under pressure from all sides, the Meiji government adopted a cabinet system in 1885, began to formulate a constitution in the following year, formally promulgated the constitution in 1889, and convened the first Diet in 1890. The political reforms were accompanied by economic and social reforms. The main goal of the Meiji government was industrialization. The military industry as well as transportation were greatly developed, the first railroad was built in 1872 and a new type of bank was established in 1882. In order to meet the needs of modernization, a great deal of Western science and technology was introduced. By the beginning of the 20th century, the goals of the Meiji Restoration had largely been accomplished, and Japan was on the road to becoming a modern industrial nation.
The Meiji government firstly took the measures of "returning the domains" and "abolishing clans and replacing them with prefectures" to put an end to Japan's long history of feudalism, and laid the foundation for the establishment of a centralized state and the development of a capitalist economy. Since then, the Meiji government implemented three major policies: enrichment of the country and the military, expansion of production and industry, and civilization and enlightenment. To enrich the country and strengthen the army is to reform the military and police system, establish the arms industry, implement conscription, and set up a new type of army and police system, which is the foundation of the country; to colonize the industry is to introduce the advanced technology, equipment and management methods of the West, and vigorously support the development of capitalism; to civilize and enlighten the civilization is to learn from the Western civilization, develop modern education, improve the level of knowledge of the nationals, and cultivate modern human resources.