In 1853, uninvited and ultimately unwelcome foreigners, who sought diplomatic and trade relations with Japan, shattered its centuries old ‘system of exclusion,’ as claimed by (Gilhooly, 2002, p18). Pressure had began to be exerted on Japan from the 1850’s to open up trading ports as foreign ships probed Japan’s isolation with increasing insistency. In 1853, Commodore Perry sailed into Edo Bay with a letter from the American President requesting the opening of Japan’s doors to trade. “No nation can cut itself off from the rest of the world,” president Adams had declared. (Rajenara and Lower, 1984, p186). Gilhooly (2002, p18) highlights that the arrival of Perry’s black ships equipped with cannons made the request rather more of a demand, however, internal dissatisfaction with the Tokugawa government also played a role in 1854 where the first of many treaties with Western countries were thereby established.
Most Japanese were opposed to the forced intrusion by foreigners and felt that their Shogun had shown his weakness by signing the treaties. Thus, in 1868, Japan’s military government was overthrown and replaced by a new imperial government under the fifteen-year-old Meiji Emperor. In April of that year, the Emperor announced a policy of modernization, whereby the Japanese resolved to become powerful enough to deal with the Westerners in terms of equality, as hypothesized by (Cowie, 1993, p112). The policy, known formally as the Charter Oath, made a plea to the Japanese to denounce the evil customs of the past and stressed that every Japanese should devote himself to furthering the interests of his country. Most importantly, knowledge would be sought throughout the world to strengthen imperial rule, as highlighted by (Rajenara, 1984, p188).
Great changes took place in political, military, industrial and educational fields during the 44 years of Meiji rule. Japan’s Foreign Minister, Inove Kaoru, wrote the following statement in 1885. “In my opinion, what must be done is to transform our empire and our people. We have to establish a new, European-style empire on the edge of Asia.” (Jansen and Marius, 1996, p66). In enthusiasm to modernize, leading figures of the Meiji government embarked on the Iwakura Mission in 1871. Richie (1992, p54) claims that the purpose of this eighteen-month mission was for leading members of the newly formed government to study Western learning and systems through a series of good will and fact-finding visits to both America and Europe.
Japan established a parliamentary system based on that of the German model with the primary intention of equaling and moreover dominating over Western powers. Cowie (1993, p113) argues that although the constitution of 1889 took Japan some way towards parliamentary democracy, there were indeed significant limitations. In particular, the constitution stressed that the emperor was the source of all sovereignty within the nation. With this, the majority of Japanese society systematically indoctrinated in a spirit of devotion and obedience to the nation as embodied in the emperor. People seldom came into contact with the emperor; however, they carried out his orders without question in honor to him and to national unity by which he symbolized. In fact, Columbia University (2003) highlights that the emperor wielded no real political power, it was in effect his ‘advisors’ who devised and carried out the modernization program, in the name of the emperor. Thus, through Japan’s skillfully modernized political system, it was able to gain international prestige and equality and moreover prepare the country for imperial expansion.
From the outset of the Meiji Restoration, it was manifest that Japan would have to modernize its armed forces in order to gain the strength eventually to stand against Western imperialism and obtain an empire. “We must exercise the strictest economy so as to provide funds for the building of a navy and the fortification of an army.“ (Rajenara and Lower, 1984, p186). The amount of money spent on the armed forces was indicative of the effort that the Japanese government put into gaining territories. Between 1880 and 1912, approximately 30% of total government funds were donated to the program of military expansion, as noted by (Hoepper, 1996, p295). In order to acquire a great army and navy, the once privileged Samurai class was disbanded in 1876 and class equality was established. Additionally, a system of conscription was introduced in 1872, providing thousands of peasants with the opportunity to become part of the new symbol of Japanese modernization. This required for all men, Samurai and commoner alike, three years of military service, as confirmed by (Columbia University, 2003). Overall, by the 1890’s, Japan had militarily prepared itself for imperial expansion and was ready to establish itself as an international superpower.
The development of Japanese militarism gave an important stimulus to the economy and to a program of industrialization. It was during Japan’s period of seclusion that the majority of Western nations were undergoing the phenomenal Industrial Revolution. Thus, when Japan entered the Meiji Restoration it was forced to rapidly industrialise to cater particularly for its military market. Gilhooly (2002, p20) confirms that the Japanese Government rose to the occasion by arranging for experts in textiles, engineering, weaponry and shipbuilding to come from Britain, Holland, France, Switzerland and Italy to train Japanese technicians and supervise in the development of factories. Additionally, selected Japanese were sent overseas to study industrial production techniques. Japan thus used its modern industrial system to greatly raise the Japanese economy and facilitate for its program of military expansion to ultimately acquire colonies and markets.
The Japanese Government quickly realized that a new system of education would be paramount to their aim of colonialisation. Teachers were trained to teach children three fundamental concepts, the Shinto religion, reverence for the emperor and their country and respect for the family unit, particularly elders. Additionally, Richie (1992, p56) claims that standard school history texts stressed a moral obligation of loyalty to the emperor and promoted a spirit of unity and national strength. In this way, education became highly centralized and aimed to give every Japanese person the basic skills necessary for efficient service in the army, navy and in factories, as hypothesized by (Bloomfield and Ludemann, 1990, p5).
As a result of the measures taken to modernize, Japan was able to embark on its most pressing aim - imperial expansion. By the late nineteenth century, a now prosperous and virtually modernized Japan was eager to show off its accomplishments to the rest of the world. Japan’s growing confidence was demonstrated by the ease with which they subjugated both China, in the Sino-Japanese War and Russia, in the Russo-Japanese War, in the early twentieth century. Although much of the Chinese territory was forcefully returned to China, due to Western interference, Japan’s sudden, decisive victory surprised the world and worried some European powers. No longer prepared to tolerate the ‘second class treatment’ by which they had been subjected to for decades, Japan’s latter war victories allowed them to craft many of their own unequal treaties and acquire an empire. Hall (1992, p45) claims that by 1918, the Japanese military, imperial and economic power had reached phenomenal heights. Ultimately, Japan had succeeded in what it had set out to do.
At the outset of the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan had little technological development, was primarily multicultural and militarily weak. When the Meiji period ended in 1912, with the death of the emperor, Japan had achieved international prestige, military superiority, an established and rapidly growing industrial sector, a highly centralized government with an elected parliament and a highly educated population. Japan had established complete independence and equality in international affairs and, in just over a generation, had exceeded all previous expectations. Japan had not only remained strong in the face of Western imperialism, but had indeed become an imperial power itself. Conscious of the fact that the possession of an empire was an almost indispensable feature of a leading power, Japan modernized its many institutions and henceforth achieved what it had set out to do at the commencement of the Meiji Restoration.
