Meiji era: Difference between revisions

| image = Meiji tenno3.jpg

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| before = [[Keiō]]

*[[First Sino-Japanese War]]

*[[Russo-Japanese War]]

| after = [[Taishō era|Taishō]]

| monarch = [[Emperor Meiji|Meiji]]

periods}}

 

 

The rapid modernization during the Meiji era was not without its opponents, as the rapid changes to society caused many disaffected traditionalists from the former [[samurai]] class to rebel against the Meiji government during the 1870s, most famously [[Saigō Takamori]] who led the [[Satsuma Rebellion]]. However, there were also former samurai who remained loyal while serving in the Meiji government, such as [[Itō Hirobumi]] and [[Itagaki Taisuke]].

On February 3, 1867, the 14-year-old [[Emperor Meiji|Prince Mutsuhito]] succeeded his father, [[Emperor Kōmei]], to the [[Chrysanthemum Throne]] as the 122nd emperor.

 

On November 9, 1867, then-''[[shōgun]]'' [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] tendered his resignation to the Emperor, and "put his prerogatives at the Emperor’s disposal", formally stepping down ten days later.<ref>Takano, p. 256.</ref> [[Meiji Restoration|Imperial restoration]] occurred the next year on January 3, 1868, with the formation of [[Meiji government|the new government]]. The [[fall of Edo]] in the summer of 1868 marked the end of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], and a new era, ''Meiji'', was proclaimed.

 

 

== Politics ==

{{main|Meiji oligarchy|Government of Meiji Japan|Meiji Constitution}}

 

 

Dissatisfied with the pace of reform after having rejoined the Council of State in 1875, Itagaki organized his followers and other democratic proponents into the nationwide [[Aikokusha]] (Society of Patriots) to push for representative government in 1878. In 1881, in an action for which he is best known, Itagaki helped found the [[Liberal Party of Japan (1881)|Jiyūtō]] (Liberal Party), which favored French political doctrines.

 

In 1882, [[Ōkuma Shigenobu]] established the [[Rikken Kaishintō]] (Constitutional Progressive Party), which called for a British-style constitutional democracy. In response, government bureaucrats, local government officials, and other conservatives established the [[Rikken Teiseitō]] (Imperial Rule Party), a pro-government party, in 1882. Numerous political demonstrations followed, some of them violent, resulting in further government restrictions. The restrictions hindered the political parties and led to divisions within and among them. The Jiyūtō, which had opposed the Kaishinto, was disbanded in 1884 and Ōkuma resigned as Kaishintō president.

 

[[File:La femme nue de M. Kuroda by Georges Bigot.jpg|thumb|right|Display of a painting of a nude, [[Kuroda Seiki]]'s ''Morning Toilette'', at the Fourth [[National Industrial Exhibition]] in 1895 caused a stir, captured by [[Georges Ferdinand Bigot|Bigot]]<ref>{{cite journal |title=Kuroda Seiki's Morning Toilette on Exhibition in Modern Kyoto |author=Tseng, Alice Y. |journal=[[The Art Bulletin]] |publisher=[[College Art Association]] |year=2008 |volume=90 |issue=3|doi=10.1080/00043079.2008.10786401 |pages=417–440|s2cid=191642343 }}</ref>]]

 

The elite class of the Meiji era adapted many aspects of Victorian taste, as seen in the construction of Western-style pavilions and reception rooms called ''yōkan or yōma'' in their homes. These parts of Meiji homes were displayed in popular magazines of the time, such as ''Ladies' Graphic,'' which portrayed the often empty rooms of the homes of the aristocracy of all levels, including the imperial palaces. Integrating Western cultural forms with an assumed, untouched native Japanese spirit was characteristic of Meiji society, especially at the top levels, and represented Japan's search for a place within a new world power system in which European colonial empires dominated.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Was Meiji Taste in Interiors "Orientalist?"|last = Sand|first = Jordan|date = 2000|journal = Positions: East Asia Cultures Critique|publisher = Duke University Press|issue = 3|url = http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/pos/summary/v008/8.3sand.html|volume = 8|pages = 637–673|doi = 10.1215/10679847-8-3-637|s2cid = 143701933}}</ref>

 

=== Fashion ===

The production of [[kimono]] started to use Western technologies such as [[Dye|synthetic dye]], and decoration was sometimes influenced by Western motifs.{{sfn|Iwao|2015|p=11}} The textile industry modernized rapidly and silk from Tokyo's factories became Japan's principal export.{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=117}} Cheap synthetic dyes meant that bold purples and reds, previously restricted to the wealthy elite, could be owned by anyone.{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=118}} Faster and cheaper manufacture allowed more people to afford silk kimono, and enabled designers to create new patterns.{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=118}} [[Emperor Meiji|The Emperor]] issued a proclamation promoting Western dress over the allegedly effeminate Japanese dress.{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=112}} [[Fukuzawa Yukichi]]'s descriptions of Western clothing and customs were influential.{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=113}} Western dress became popular in the public sphere: many men adopted Western dress in the workplace, although kimono were still the norm for men at home and for women.{{sfn|Guth|2015|p=110}} In the 1890s the kimono reasserted itself, with people wearing bolder and brighter styles. A new type called the {{lang|ja-Latn|[[hōmongi]]}} bridged the gap between formal dress and everyday dress.{{sfn|Jackson|2015|p=117}}

 

The [[Industrial Revolution]] in Japan occurred during the Meiji era. The industrial revolution began around 1870 as Meiji era leaders decided to catch up with the West. The government built railroads, improved roads, and inaugurated a land reform program to prepare the country for further development. It inaugurated a new Western-based education system for all young people, sent thousands of students to the United States and Europe, and hired more than 3,000 Westerners to teach modern science, mathematics, technology, and foreign languages in Japan (O-yatoi gaikokujin).

 

 

 

 

[[File:Tokyo Industrial Exhibition.JPG|thumb|1907 Tokyo Industrial Exhibition]]

 

 

[[File:Tsurumai Park 1910.jpg|thumb|[[Tsuruma Park]], 1910; in January 1873 the [[Dajō-kan]] issued a notice providing for the establishment of public parks, that of [[Ueno Park]] following shortly after.<ref name="Diet">{{cite web |url=https://www.ndl.go.jp/scenery/e/column/tokyo/ueno-park.html |title=Ueno Park |publisher=[[National Diet Library]] |access-date=8 September 2020}}</ref>]]

 

 

 

The industrial economy continued to expand rapidly, until about 1920, due to inputs of advanced Western technology and large private investments. By World War I, Japan had become a major industrial nation.

===Early Meiji period (1868–77)===

In 1854, after [[United States Navy|US Navy]] Commodore [[Matthew C. Perry]] forced the signing of the [[Treaty of Kanagawa]], Japanese elites took the position that they needed to modernize the state's military capacities, or risk further coercion from Western powers.<ref>Gordon (2000).</ref>

In 1868, the Japanese government established the Tokyo Arsenal. The same year, [[Ōmura Masujirō]] established Japan's first military academy in Kyoto. Ōmura further proposed military [[billets]] be filled by all classes of people including farmers and merchants. The ''shōgun'' class,{{clarify|reason=Thre was a "shōgun class"?|date=January 2018}} not happy with Ōmura's views on conscription, assassinated him the following year.<ref>Shinsengumihq.com, n.d.</ref>

 

 

In 1872, Yamagata Aritomo and [[Saigō Jūdō]], both new field marshals, founded the Corps of the Imperial Guards. Also, in the same year, the hyobusho (war office) was replaced with a War Department and a Naval Department. The samurai class suffered great disappointment the following years, when in January the Conscription Law of 1873 was passed. This monumental law, signifying the beginning of the end for the samurai class, initially met resistance from both the peasant and warrior alike. The peasant class interpreted the term for military service, ketsu-eki (blood tax) literally, and attempted to avoid service by any means necessary. Avoidance methods included maiming, self-mutilation, and local uprisings.{{sfn|Kublin|1949|p=32}}

 

In conjunction with the new conscription law, the Japanese government began modeling their ground forces after the French military. Indeed, the new Japanese army used the same rank structure as the French.{{sfn|Kublin|1949|p=31}} The enlisted corps ranks were: private, noncommissioned officers, and officers. The private classes were: jōtō-hei or upper soldier, ittō-sotsu or first-class soldier, and nitō-sotsu or second-class soldier. The noncommissioned officer class ranks were: gochō or corporal, gunsō or sergeant, sōchō or sergeant major, and tokumu-sōchō or special sergeant major.

 

Despite the Conscription Law of 1873, and all the reforms and progress, the new Japanese army was still untested. That all changed in 1877, when [[Saigō Takamori]] led the last rebellion of the samurai in Kyūshū. In February 1877, Saigō left Kagoshima with a small contingent of soldiers on a journey to Tokyo. Kumamoto castle was the site of the first major engagement when garrisoned forces fired on Saigō's army as they attempted to force their way into the castle. Rather than leave an enemy behind him, Saigō laid siege to the castle. Two days later, Saigō's rebels, while attempting to block a mountain pass, encountered advanced elements of the national army en route to reinforce Kumamoto castle. After a short battle, both sides withdrew to reconstitute their forces. A few weeks later the national army engaged Saigō's rebels in a frontal assault at what now is called the Battle of Tabaruzuka. During this eight-day-battle, Saigō's nearly ten thousand strong army battled hand-to-hand the equally matched national army. Both sides suffered nearly four thousand casualties during this engagement. Due to conscription, however, the Japanese army was able to reconstitute its forces, while Saigō's was not. Later, forces loyal to the emperor broke through rebel lines and managed to end the siege on [[Kumamoto Castle]] after fifty-four days. Saigō's troops fled north and were pursued by the national army. The national army caught up with Saigō at Mt. [[Enodake]]. Saigō's army was outnumbered seven-to-one, prompting a mass surrender of many samurai. The remaining five hundred samurai loyal to Saigō escaped, travelling south to Kagoshima. The rebellion ended on September 24, 1877, following the final engagement with Imperial forces which resulted in the deaths of the remaining forty samurai including Saigō, who, having suffered a fatal bullet wound in the abdomen, was honorably beheaded by his retainer. The national army's victory validated the current course of the modernization of the Japanese army as well as ended the era of the samurai.

 

== Foreign relations ==

[[File:Vase LACMA M.91.251.1 (2 of 2).jpg|thumb|150px|Flower and bird pattern vase, by [[Namikawa Yasuyuki]]]]

During the Meiji era, Japanese [[cloisonné]] enamel reached a technical peak, producing items more advanced than any that had existed before.{{sfn|Earle|1999|p=252}} The period from 1890 to 1910 was known as the "Golden age" of Japanese enamels.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Japonisme and the rise of the modern art movement : the arts of the Meiji period : the Khalili collection|publisher=Thames & Hudson|year=2013|isbn=978-0-500-23913-1|editor-last=Irvine|editor-first=Gregory|first=Gregory|last=Irvine|chapter=''Wakon Yosai''- Japanese spirit, Western techniques: Meiji period arts for the West|location=New York|pages=177|oclc=853452453}}</ref> Artists experimented with pastes and with the firing process to produce ever larger blocks of enamel, with less need for ''cloisons'' (enclosing metal strips).{{sfn|Earle|1999|p=252}} During this period, enamels with a design unique to Japan, in which flowers, birds and insects were used as themes, became popular. Designs also increasingly used areas of blank space.{{sfn|Earle|1999|p=254}} The two most famous enamelers of this era were [[Namikawa Yasuyuki]] and [[Namikawa Sōsuke]], whose family names sound the same but who were not related.{{sfn|Earle|1999|p=254}} Namikawa Sōsuke promoted his work as technically innovative and adopted a style resembling fine paintings. Namikawa Yasuyuki was more conservative, opting for geometrical patterns but gradually becoming more pictorial during his career.{{sfn|Earle|1999|p=255}} Along with the two Namikawa, the [[Ando Cloisonné Company]] has produced many high-quality cloisonné works.

 

=== Lacquerware ===

 

=== Textiles ===

The 1902 edition of ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' wrote, "In no branch of applied art does the decorative genius of Japan show more attractive results than that of textile fabrics, and in none has there been more conspicuous progress during recent years. [...] Kawashima of Kyoto [...] inaugurated the departure a few years ago by copying a [[Gobelins Manufactory|Gobelin]], but it may safely be asserted that no Gobelin will bear comparison with the pieces now produced in Japan".<ref name="eb1902">"Japan" in [[:File:1902_Encyclopædia_Britannica_-_Volume_29_-_GLA-JUT.pdf|''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (1902), Volume 29]], pages 724–725.</ref> Very large, colorful pictorial works were being produced in Kyoto. Embroidery had become an art form in its own right, adopting a range of pictorial techniques such as [[chiaroscuro]] and [[aerial perspective]].<ref name="eb1902" />

 

=== Music ===

With the contribution of foreign and Japanese authors, the first military music score collections were completed and published. In the military field, the Japanese conducting school was formed, the founders of which were English, French and German cultural figures such as [[John William Fenton]], [[Charles Leroux]], and [[Franz Eckert]]. Under their leadership, the first Japanese military conductors were raised: Suketsune Nakamura and Yoshitoyo Yotsumoto.<ref name="Suda" />

 

Christian missions also became an important way for spreading Western-style music in Meiji era.

 

 

 

All of them became Orthodox Christians and adopted Christian names.<ref name="Suda" />

 

Tokyo Academy of Music became the first Western-style music educational establishment in Japan. This was the nascence of schools teaching composition in the Western style in Japan, the genesis of an opera tradition in Japan, and laid the foundations for the Japanese formal tradition of familiarization with Western music.<ref name="Suda" />

 

==Conversion table==