Meiji Restoration
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The Meiji Restoration (明治維新 Meiji-ishin?), also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure. It occurred from 1866 to 1869, a period of three years that traverses both the late Edo period (often called Late Tokugawa shogunate) and beginning of the Meiji Era. Probably the most important foreign account of the events of 1862-69 is contained in A Diplomat in Japan by Sir Ernest Satow. The restoration was a direct response to the opening of Japan by the arrival of the Black Ships of Commodore Matthew Perry.
The formation in 1866 of the Satsuma-Chōshū Alliance between Saigō Takamori, the leader of the Satsuma domain, and Kido Takayoshi, the leader of the Chōshū domain, marks the beginning of the Meiji restoration. These two leaders supported the emperor and were brought together by Sakamoto Ryoma for the purpose of challenging the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate (bakufu) and restoring the emperor to power.
The Tokugawa Shogunate came to an official end on November 9, 1867, when the 15th Tokugawa Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu "put his prerogatives at the emperor's disposal" and then resigned his position 10 days later. This was effectively the "restoration" (Taisei Hōkan) of imperial rule, although Yoshinobu retained considerable power.
Shortly thereafter in January 1868, the Boshin War (War of the Year of the Dragon) started with the Battle of Toba Fushimi in which an army led by forces from Chōshū and Satsuma defeated the ex-shogun's army and forced the Emperor to strip Yoshinobu of all power. Some shogunate forces escaped to Hokkaidō, where they attempted to set up the breakaway Republic of Ezo, but this came to an early end in May 1869 with the siege of Hakodate, Hokkaidō. The defeat of the armies of the former shogun (led by Hijikata Toshizo) marked the end of the Meiji Restoration; all defiance to the emperor and his rule ended.
The leaders of the Meiji Restoration, as this revolution came to be known, acted in the name of restoring imperial rule. However, political power simply moved from the Tokugawa Shogun to an oligarchy consisting of themselves, mostly from the Satsuma Province (Okubo Toshimichi and Saigō Takamori), and the Chōshū province (Ito Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo, and Kido Koin.) This was mostly because their idea of imperial rule was the ancient one where the emperor performs his high priestly duties, while his ministers govern the nation in his name.
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[edit] Leaders
These were the leaders in the Meiji Restoration when the Japanese emperors retook power from the Tokugawa shoguns. Some of them went on to become Prime Minister of Japan.
- Okubo Toshimichi(大久保 利通) (1830-1878)
- Kido Takayoshi(木戸 孝允) (1833-1877)
- Saigō Takamori(西郷 隆盛) (1827-1877)
- Iwakura Tomomi|岩倉 具視) (1825-1883)
- Ito Hirobumi(伊藤 博文) (1841-1909)
- Kuroda Kiyotaka(黒田 清隆) (1840-1900)
- Matsukata Masayoshi(松方 正義) (1835-1924)
- Oyama Iwao(大山 巌) (1842-1916)
- Saigō Tsugumichi(西郷 従道) (1843-1902)
- Yamagata Aritomo(山県 有朋) (1838-1922)
- Inoue Kaoru(井上馨) (1835-1915)
- Saionji Kinmochi(西園寺 公望) (1849-1940)
[edit] Effects
The Meiji Restoration was the catalyst toward industrialization in Japan that led to the rise of the island nation as a military power by 1905, under the slogan of "National Wealth and Military Strength" (fukoku kyohei, 富国強兵).
The Meiji oligarchy that formed the government under the rule of the Emperor first introduced measures to consolidate their power against the remnants of the Edo period government, the shogunate, daimyo and the samurai class. In 1868, the Emperor took all land from the Tokugawa and put it under his own control. In 1869, the daimyos of the Tosa han, Hizen han, Satsuma han and Chōshū domains, who were pushing most fiercely against the shogunate, were persuaded to return their domains to the Emperor. Other daimyos were subsequently persuaded to do so. Finally, in 1871, the daimyos, past and present, were summoned before the Emperor, where it was declared that all domains were now to be returned to the Emperor. The roughly 300 domains (han) were turned into prefectures, each under the control of a state-appointed governor. Until 1888, several prefectures were merged in several steps to reduce their number to 75. The daimyo were promised 1/10 of their fiefs' income as private income. Furthermore, their debts and payments of samurai stipends were to be taken over by the state.
The oligarchs also endeavoured to abolish the four divisions of society.
Throughout Japan at the time, the samurai numbered 1.9 million, (which, for comparison, was more than 10 times the size of the French privileged class before the 1789 French Revolution; although the samurai in Japan were not merely the lords, but also their higher retainers, people who actually worked). With each samurai being paid fixed stipends, their upkeep presented a tremendous financial burden, which may have prompted the oligarchs to action. Whatever their true intentions, the oligarchs embarked on another slow and deliberate process to abolish the samurai class. First, in 1873, it was announced that the samurai stipends were to be taxed on a rolling basis. Later, in 1874, the samurai were given the option to convert their stipends into government bonds. Finally, in 1876, this commutation was made compulsory.
To reform the military, the government instituted nation-wide conscription in 1873, mandating that every male serve in the armed forces for 3 years upon turning twenty-one. One of the primary differences between the samurai and peasant class was the right to bear arms; this ancient privilege was suddenly extended to every male in the nation.
Not surprisingly, this led to a series of riots from disgruntled samurai. One of the major riots was the one led by Saigō Takamori, the Satsuma rebellion, which eventually turned into a civil war. This rebellion was, however, put down swiftly by the newly formed imperial army, trained in Western tactics and weapons, even though the core of the new army was the Tokyo Police force, which was formed in great parts of former samurai. This sent a strong message to the dissenting samurai that their time was indeed up. There were fewer subsequent samurai uprisings and the distinction became all but a name as the samurai joined the new society. The ideal of samurai military spirit lived on in romanticized form and was often used as propaganda during Imperial Japan's early 20th century wars.
However, it is equally true that the majority of samurai were content despite having their status abolished. Many found employment in the government bureaucracy, which resembled an elite class in its own right. The samurai, being better educated than most of the population, became teachers, government officials or military officers. While the formal title of samurai was abolished, the elitist spirit which characterised the samurai class lived on even beyond the 1870s.
The oligarchs also embarked on a series of land reforms. In particular, they legitimized the tenancy system which had been going on during the Tokugawa period. Despite the bakufu's best efforts to freeze the four classes of society in place, during their rule villagers had begun to lease land out to other farmers, becoming rich in the process. This greatly disrupted the clearly defined class system which the bakufu had envisaged, partly leading to their eventual downfall.
[edit] Related links
- History of Japan
- Lists of incumbents
- Emperor Meiji
- Meiji-era leaders
- Modernization of Japanese Military 1868-1931
- Meiji Constitution
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Bakumatsu
[edit] Reference and further reading
Beasley, W. G. The Rise of Modern Japan: Political, Economic and Social Change Since 1850. St. Martin's Press, New York 1995.
Murphey, Rhoads. East Asia: A New History. Addison Wesley Longman, New York 1997. The names of the Meiji Oligarchists were drawn this work.
Further reading: A Diplomat in Japan by Sir Ernest Satow ISBN 4-925080-28-8
Akamatsu, Paul. Meiji 1868: Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Japan. Trans. Miriam Kochan. New York: Harper & Row, 1972.
Beasley, W. G. The Meiji Restoration. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972.
Craig, Albert M. Chōshū in the Meiji Restoration. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961.
Jansen, Marius B. and Gilbert Rozman, eds. Japan in Transition: From Tokugawa to Meiji. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986.
Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.
Wall, Rachel F. Japan's Century: An Interpretation of Japanese History since the Eighteen-fifties. London: The Historical Association, 1971.
