Meiji Restoration

rest of the world. When Great Britain and other western countries came to China and Japan, they reacted very differently. When America came to Japan and threatened them for trade rights, Japan was forced to open trade to foreigners. Under the Meiji Restoration, Japan adopted a new form of government in which political power was centralized and feudalism was abolished. They changed the school systems, which influenced a growth in enlightened thinkers. The enlightened ways of thinking led to the…

The bushido as a code of ethics may has fade away, but the its power will lives on. In the Bushido: The Soul of Japan, the last two chapters discussed about the the bushido in the context of morden japan and the future of bushido. In the chapter “Is Bushido alive?” , the author believes that although the bushido as a code of ethics is dead the effect is still there deep-rooted in the morden-day Japanese society. "We are told every day how Europe has influenced Japan, and forget that the change…

Topic: The function of Bakufu system in history of Japan Nowadays, people pay more attention to the historical event, and some historical event are unique in the whole world, such as the Chinese emperor control whole china so long time, or the peculiar system at Japan called “the Bakufu system”, this system began at 1185. At 1185, the family of “Taira” fought with the family of “Minamoto”, this two family are the Samurai family at that period, this battle during late Heian-period, and this…

Japanese culture and whether or not these stories served as a commentary about Japan being invaded and forced to change it’s technology, essentially “catching up with the rest of the world”. The vulnerability that Japan experienced after the Meiji restoration (the isolation from the rest of the world) and the invasion of Western and…

Through industrialization and colonization, Japan became an economically established participant of global competition over trade. To withstand Western pressure, Japan felt the need to industrialize because “Japan as an agricultural country cannot stand against Russia, Australia, Canada, or America.” (Doc 7) However, since Japan consists of numerous disconnected smaller islands, and it lacks valuable resources, except silk and coal, Japan struggled to meet the high demands of the Western…

It is difficult to determine when Asians started immigrating to the Americas, but the first findings of a person of Asian descent in the American territory come from an archeological project in 2007. This project speculated that the first people were actually sea men from Japan that came around 16,000 years ago. It can also be said that Asian immigration to America started in 1763. In 1763, Filipino sailors abandoned ship from the Spanish ships and inhabited the New Orleans area. However, the…

Understanding Japan’s Culture Culture is the collection of all the physical and intangible manifestations of human knowledge and achievement of a society or societal subgroup (Chapter 9, n.d.). Culture can include art and artistic knowledge, for example. All cultures share several fundamental characteristics in common. Culture is shared – passed from person to person and group to group in a variety of ways. Culture is learned – children and adults are taught culture by others, through both…

Translating to “wealthy clique” the Zaibatsu were the conglomerate businesses created during the Meiji restoration where one company comprised of one family held complete control over all subsidiaries while maintaining a monopoly of the industry sector. Dating back to the Tokugawa period the prominent large merchant houses would transcend to become Zaibatsu and during this time companies were just beginning to form with little separation between shareholders and management. Their economic growth…

English, Shinto translates directly to "way of the gods". There are many variations of the Shinto religion, the most common being known as "Shrine Shinto". Shrine Shinto mainly consists of rituals performed at shrines, hence the name. Before the Meiji restoration in 1868, shrines were disorganised institutions, generally associated or attached to a Buddhist temple. Now, The current successor to the imperial organisation system, the Association of Shinto Shrines, oversees about 80,000 shrines…

Towards the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu (shogun at the time), issued an edict that prevented Japanese from leaving Japan, and closed Japan to all foreigners. This brought 250 years of peace to the country. In July 1853, US Commodore Perry was the first foreigner to gain access into the closed country during this period. This event lead to the demise of the Tokugawa Shogunate, as Perry influenced other countries to do the same. With the sudden opening of its doors to…