Meiji Restoration
The term Meiji Restoration ( Japanese 明治維新, Meiji ishin ) formally refers to the renewal of the power of the Tennō and the abolition of the shogunate in Japan from 1868. This not only involved the establishment of a new political system based on Western models, but also a complete one transformation of Japanese society. The Meiji Restoration, named after Emperor Meiji's throne name , practically ended with the last resistance of the samurai Saigō Takamori in 1877Constitution of the Japanese Empire of 1890 .
Historical background
From the beginning of the 19th century, more and more foreign ships reached Japan and threatened the country's isolation from the Edo period , which had existed since the middle of the 17th century . As one of the first reactions, the shogunate ordered the entire coast of Japan to be surveyed, which Inō Tadataka succeeded in a short time. With the threat from outside, the Kokugaku studies intensified, intended to provide an ideological basis for the newly emerging Japanese nation-state.
When the American Commodore Perry appeared in Edo Bay with his " Black Ships " , the shogunate felt compelled to partially open the country in 1854. One of the consequences of this compliance was that some Han (fiefdoms), who had been excluded from government since the beginning of the Tokugawa period ( Tozama daimyō ), rebelled against the shogunate.
During this difficult time, Tokugawa Yoshinobu took office in 1866 as the 15th shogun. On November 8, 1867, the opposing Han agreed on joint action against the Bakufu (幕府) called shogunate government. The next day, Yoshinobu announced the return of government power to the Tennō (大政奉還, taisei hōkan ), but without expressly refraining from participating in a reorganization of the government. Then the opposing Han, with the participation of the court nobility, declared on January 3, 1868 in the name of the Tennō the restoration of imperial power (王政復古, ōsei fukko ) excluding the Tokugawa . The Shogun, who was in Osaka , responded by mobilizing his army and moving towards Kyoto on January 27th . This began the Boshin War , which resulted in the handover of Edo to the new government on May 3 and the shōgun's final resignation, but did not end until the following year.
The new government
The new government was initially formed after the old imperial model, as Dajōkan (太政官). It consisted mainly of representatives of the Chōshū- and Satsuma -han , supplemented by representatives of the Tosa- and Saga - han and representatives of the court nobility ( Kuge ). But capable people were also taken over from the former Bakufu . From the outset, a national, imperialist and a progressive wing striving for internal reforms can be distinguished. The new government prepared the relatively abstract "Five-Paragraph Oath" (五ヵ条の誓文, gokajō no seimon ), which was promulgated by the Tennō in the spring of 1868. The abolition of the old estate society can be seen as the most important statement. Also a future participation of the people in the government is indicated.
The internal discussion about a modern legal system and a constitution began as early as the 1870s and then became more concrete in the 1880s. Germany became a role model in both of these areas. In anticipation of the constitution, the first cabinet based on the European model was formed in 1885.
domestic policy
As a starting signal, the Han represented in the new government gave back their fiefdoms (版籍奉還, hanseki hōkan ), the others then had to follow. As a further measure, the Han were abolished and converted into prefectures (廃藩置県, haihan chiken ), but this dragged on for years until 1888, when the more than 300 prefectures in the meantime became 46 based on the old provinces. Added to this was the Hokkaidō development area . With the dissolution of feudal structures, all Japanese again became direct subjects of the tennō or the central government. The peasant movement to reduce taxes and rents developed nationally and in political form.
With the introduction of general conscription in 1872, the samurai also lost their special status. Saigō , who had not enforced his punitive train against Korea in 1873 and had withdrawn to Kyūshū, used the general dissatisfaction for a military rebellion in 1877, and the "Southwest War" ensued. With the suppression and death of Saigō, the new system was finally secured.
In 1869, the Meiji government created a central institution, the Hokkaido Development Authority ( Hokkaido kaitakushi ), to incorporate the island into the Japanese nation. The state mainly settled members of samurai families. Likewise, the indigenous Ainu were subjected to a cultural assimilation policy. Few settlers settled permanently in Hokkaido, but the state managed to assimilate the island culturally and economically.
The samurai, despite the near-complete abolition of their estate, were heavily involved in the Meiji state. The sociologist Eiko Ikegami describes the samurai, among other things, as an important source of intellectuals, which had become necessary, for example, because of the new national compulsory education. In addition, a significant proportion of the civil servants in the new system of government were ex-samurai: in 1881, 41% of all civil servants were ex-samurai, and in 1885 their share among senior civil servants was as high as 95%.
foreign policy
In 1871, the Iwakura Mission embarked on a world tour. The participants wanted to present the new government of Japan, replace the " Unequal Treaties " of 1854 and get a personal impression of the West. After the USA ruled out negotiations on the treaties, there was nothing to negotiate in Europe either. Nevertheless, the trip can be considered a success, especially since Iwakura's secretary, Kume Kunitake , wrote a five-volume travelogue supplemented by literature studies, which gave a detailed picture of the West.
The mission returned in time to prevent a military expedition to Korea under Saigō. Among other things, it was about pushing back Chinese influence. However, Japan now confirmed Korea's independence in the Japanese-Korean Friendship Treaty of 1876.
The government signed the Treaty of Saint Petersburg in 1875 , agreeing with Russia to relinquish Sakhalin Island in exchange for recognition of Japanese control of the Kuril Islands . In March 1879, Japanese troops occupied the Ryūkyū Islands ; the prince of the islands was integrated into the Japanese system of rule as a noble and the territory was incorporated into the empire as Okinawa Prefecture . The government tried to forestall a suspected US attempt at colonization with the occupation.
technology and science
The government proceeded in two ways: on the one hand, technicians and scientists were invited as advisors or teachers ( o-yatoi gaikokujin ), on the other hand, selected students were sent abroad. In 1877 various predecessor institutions were combined to form the University of Tokyo . She was given the large grounds of the city residence of the wealthy Maeda family in the Hongō district .
political leaders
The political leadership group that shared government offices from 1868 to 1890 (and partly beyond) was known as the Meiji oligarchy.
postscript
The Meiji Restoration was a multi-layered process, the details of which are constantly being re-evaluated. The process of modernization was not easy, as can be seen from the uprisings, the attacks with dead and wounded within the government ( Etō Shimpei , Saigō Takamori , Ōkubo Toshimichi , Mori Arinori , Iwakura Tomomi , Ōkuma Shigenobu ). What is certain is that Japan, as an exception in Asia, managed within a short period of time to develop into a modern nation respected by the imperialist West on its own – with an educated elite and with sufficient funds of its own to finance the entire development aid.
See also
literature
- S. Noma (ed.): Meiji Restoration . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993. ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 951.
- Janet Hunter: Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. University of California Press, Berkeley CA et al. 1984, ISBN 0-520-04390-1 .
- Kiyoshi Inoue: Meiji ishin (Volume 20 of the History of Japan). Chuo koronsha, Tokyo 1966 (Japanese).
- Walter W. McLaren: A Political History of Japan during the Meiji Era. 1867-1912. 2nd impression. Frank Cass, London 1965.
- Satoru Nakamura: Meiji ishin (Volume 16 of the History of Japan). Shueisha, Tokyo 1992, ISBN 4-08-195016-4 (Japanese).
- Martin Ramming (ed.): Japan Handbook. Japanese Studies Reference Book. Steiniger-Verlag in Verlag Hobbing, Berlin 1941.
itemizations
- ↑ Mark Ravina: To Stand with the Nations of the World. Japan's Meiji Restoration in World History. Oxford University Press New York, NY 2017, ISBN 978-0-19-532771-7 , pp. 174 f.
- ↑ Eiko Ikegami: The Taming of the Samurai. Honorific Individualism and the Making of Modern Japan . Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA et al. 1995, ISBN 0-674-86808-0 , pp. 360 .
- ↑ See Hunter: Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. 1984, p. 85.
- ↑ Mark Ravina: To Stand with the Nations of the World. Japan's Meiji Restoration in World History. Oxford University Press New York, NY 2017, ISBN 978-0-19-532771-7 , pp. 172-174.
Remarks
- ↑ Literally "Meiji renewal". At first one spoke, hardly translatable, of "The Imperial One: New" (御一新, go isshin ).
- ↑ The traditional names were continuously replaced by new ones, but they live on to distinguish them from places with the same name, e.g. B. Hida no Takayama .
- ↑ Not equal to z. B. what prosecution of foreigners, which concerned import duties.
- ↑ Kume reveals that he was more impressed by the West's technical than its social level.