Meiji period

The Meiji Restoration in 1868, was a chain of events that reset practical imperial rule in Japan. This was caused by a series of political and social revolts over the course of about three years—1866-1869. These lead to the eventual rule of the leader of these revolutions, the Meiji Emperor. These revolutions were likely partly due to the threat of western imperialism. The people of China/Japan were still recovering in many ways from their western defeat in the Opium Wars and likely…

and be judge. This was called extraterritoriality and Japan found away around it. Wisely borrowing the laws from Britain they hired foreigners to do their Constitution and civil laws and just like that one of those commands diminished. “A key to the Meiji reformers success was borrowing of the western technology without indebted to western…

world, it is even considered one of the world 's five narrative poems. Hokkaido dense forests, vast wilderness and the blue sea is the Ainu living home, before Yamato arrived, they lived a rich and peaceful life. Meiji two years (1869) in July, Japanese emperor Meiji set up a "pioneer" in Hokkaido, a large scale organization and people in Hokkaido to carry out development, and into the army. Since then, the Ainu quiet life was broken. In 1871, the Japanese government has formulated the…

Since the Meiji era to our Modern era, Nihonga was changed and Tenmyouya Hisashi created Neo-Nihonga to break out of this rut that Japanese painters have been stuck in and now wants to shake everything up for this new age. Wanting Neo-Hihonga to break free of that structure that Hihonga was given over 120 years ago and create something new and fresh. Tenmyouya Hisashi went as far as to create a whole new style called “BASARA” “which is extravagant as well as extraordinary which embodies a…

Protest activity, prompted by prolonged inequality, arises from the frustrations of men who feel socio-economically disadvantaged and are displeased with the government’s approach towards society’s issues. The Tokugawa and Meiji periods encountered several instances of uprising amongst the peasantry—most notably those led by Oshio Heihachiro, Tanaka Shozo, and Sakura Sogoro. The story of Sakura Sogoro—a protest in which an archetypal heroic peasant martyr appealed directly to the elites in…

and were one of the elites of Japan’s class system. Although samurais were once known as “Great”, the samurai’s downfall was inevitable because they want to keep the same traditions not trying modernize. During the eighth century, the Heian Period, around the year 800 to 1200, Samurai originally was referred to household servants. The Heian Era was a time where Japan’s government was ruled by an Emperor who ruled by military force. The Emperor had heavy taxation and those who refused to…

at that period, this battle during late Heian-period, and this battle is meaningful for the late of history of Japan, because when this battle finished, the Family of “Taira” is destroyed by the family of “Minamoto” and the family of “Minamoto” established the first Bakufu system, called the “Kamakura bakufu”, this…

Commonly called, “The Heart of Japan” Kyoto was the center of Japan’s culture, literature, Japanese Imperial Court, and arts during it’s hayday. Looking at Japan’s long history, it was first introduced 1200 years ago as Japan’s capital during the Heian Period (794 to 1185 C.E.) as Heian-kyō meaning, "tranquility and peace capital.” The four centuries of the Heian Golden Age changed the course of Japan’s history because of the emergence of the intertwining elements such as well-renowned female…

Saigō Takamori was born on on 1827/12/7 in the Castletown of Kagoshima, an isolated area within the Satsuma domain under the control of the Shimazu clan which had established themselves as the oldest living clan in Japan at the time of his birth. The Shimazu clan were of notable prestige in that they were the only clan that received foreign ambassadors in a time when, under the orders of the Tokugawa Shogunate (the shogunate was a council of military commanders led primarily by a single domain),…

Imagining a country that is totally closed off from all exterior surroundings is very difficult do, as there are very few countries that even have the resources for such an endeavor. This is the perceived vision of what Japan was like during the Tokugawa period, where the Shoguns employed an idea of Sakoku in Japan. But what does Sakoku mean? There is a literal translation of closing down the country, but the foreign relations policy did not follow this word for word translation . Along with…