Another reason why the Meiji Modernization was successful was because of the end of the domains. This was because, when the daimyo were in charge, there were a few incompetent and ineffective leaders, as the position of daimyo was based on hereditary and not on meritocracy and ability. Therefore many of their domains were having financial problems, thus by abolishing the domains, the court could have more centralized power and it would be more effective for the government to rule.
The creation of a National Army was implemented by conscription; all able-bodied men regardless of social background would be made to serve the army. By creating a National Army, this would very likely be key to a successful Meiji Modernization, this is because the country would be more united and there would be soldiers loyal to the government thus ensuring that plans would be made smoother and easier. By having an army, which could be ready to fight, this would give opposition something to think about and thus very unlikely to hinder with the government’s plans, in this way the creation of a National Army was vital to the Meiji Modernization.
Another factor was because of the effective system of National Taxation. Tax payments were replaced by a uniform money payment, making this revenue independent to the price of rice, sale and disposal of land was made legal and tax was assessed according to the value of the land. By doing so, this encouraged farmers to increase their capital investment, therefore this contributed to the steadily increasing agricultural productivity and this contributed to three-quarters of tax revenue. This was instrumental to the Meiji Modernization as it provided the capital and money needed to modernize Japan. By having this capital and money, Japan could now improve their economy and modernize quicker and faster, thus this was extremely vital for the success of the Modernization.
The Meiji Modernization was also successful because of the change of social structure. The Government had decided to do away with the samurai class as the samurais were responsible for 25 to 100 percent of ordinary revenue which was proving too much of a burden for the government as they had other important issues such as Western style reforms to deal with. As a result, by making everyone equal by law, the government need not shoulder such a heavy burden and thus could concentrate their money on making Japan a strong country as they now had more money to improve their economy and infrastructure.
Another reason was because of the nationalism of the Japanese. They were very patriotic to their country and were willing to make radical changes. One example that showed us how united the Japanese were, was the alliance between Choshu and Satsuma. National unity was strong at all levels, and the leaders of Japan enjoyed the cooperation of the people at large. Japan was extremely united in reaching their goal of “Fukoku Kyohei “. Thus by having a well-prepared mindset for change, it was easier for the government to make the Meiji Modernization successful, as they would not receive any opposition from the public. And by having a large group of supporters, this definitely helped smoothen the process of transition of modernization.
The Japanese’s attitude to the West was also crucial to the success of the Modernization. It understood that only by imitation and copying from the West could Japan save herself from being colonized and be seen as equals with western powers and so, the Japanese were enthusiastic with modernization. They were ready to import their knowledge from the West; they wished to learn from them so they could become a strong and rich country. For example, the Iwakura Mission which I mentioned above, hiring of foreign experts to help improve their economy and army, borrowing of Western technology and reading their books to understand their culture. The Japanese also used Western calendar and borrowed many day-to-day practices from the West. This goes to show that the Japanese were sincere in learning more about the West and tried fully to understand their culture and values. By doing so, they were very serious about learning from the West and modernizing. Hence, by having such a serious and curious mindset for Western technology and ideas, this proved successful for the Japanese Modernization as they could learn quickly and grasp Western concept easily as well.
The growth of commerce and merchant class was influential in the success of Japan’s Modernization. According to Reichschauer and Craig, ‘it was the private imitative that produced the bulk of Japan’s economic modernization and growth’. The urban merchants were mainly tending to merchandising and banking whereas the samurais invested their stipends into bonds which were a good source if investment capital. The wealthy peasant class also made a significant contribution and some became major business leaders. By having private capital, Japan could rely on its citizens to help improve their economy. Therefore, this lifted off some burden form the Japanese leaders as they had an external cash flow now. An example the success of the role private capital played was the samurai Iwasaki Yataro, with his own money he managed to become the founder of Mitsubishi. This private capital certainly helped the more traditional areas of economy such as agriculture and traditional forms of manufacturing. This was a factor for the success of the Modernization because Japan could now rely on some of her wealthy citizens to improve her economy.
Japan’s Meiji Modernization was successful also because of the fact it was carried out on a national scale. Everyone was involved in the modernization, thus it could be successful as work was allocated and it by carrying it out on a national scale, the whole country would be modernized and hence with more developed parts in Japan, efficiency of production would increase as there are more places which are economically developed and able to produce goods. When compared to China’s modernization which only involved the coastal areas. Thus this shows us how important is it to have a country which is modernized in every area and not only in concentrated parts of the country as by making full use of the are available, Japan is able to maximize their profit and thus improve their economy.
