Overview and historiographical questions to consider
Japan had an equally traumatic encounter with the Western World, but unlike Qing China, is commonly seen as making a successful transition to the modern age. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 in Japan saw the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the 'restoration' of the emperor. As well as being fascinating in its own right, the Meiji era is likely to come up in the final exam in various guises either on its own or in direct comparison with Self-Strengthening in Qing China. I've included some exam style questions below to give you an idea of the kind of questions that can come up as you work through the unit. It is also a rich source of potential internal assessment (or extended essay) topics.
It doesn't take much intelligence to realise that answering these questions well will require you to be able to understand the reforms and impacts. Candidates going for the higher levels will also tend to have a grasp of some of the key historiographical debates. Here is one debate to get you started: Were the Meiji reforms OPPRESSIVE and REACTIONARY? Here are two radically different views of the Meiji restoration:
Traditional left wing view: Meiji reforms were both oppressive and reactionary
VS
Cullen's view: Meiji reforms were rational and pragmatic responses to global reality in the 19th Century.
Q.Let's start with the left: Why do they argue the Meiji regime was oppressive and reactionary?
This is a direct reference to the People's Rights Movement which sought a government based on representative democracy. This movement is seen as being ultimately a failure as it was brought under state control.
Q. What do they mean by 'Strong and repressive state'?
They are referring to (among other things) the 1889 Meiji Constitution which was modeled on that of imperial Germany, so hardly the most democratic or representative of models. Q. Any famous thinkers I can mention as putting this view forward?
Is Trotsky famous enough for you? In terms of historians, E.H. Norman also took a broadly left-wing viewQ. I've got it, so who is Cullen?
He's a professor of modern Irish history at the world famous Trinity College, Dublin, and a scholar of early modern trade, and after two years in Japan, now an expert in Japanese history.
Q. So what is his interpretation of Meiji Japan?
More or less the opposite, Cullen sees the reforms of the Meiji era as well thought out and sensible responses to the realities of the 19th Century world, and in particular the threat from Western Imperialism.
Q. What are Cullen's supporting arguments?
It doesn't take much intelligence to realise that answering these questions well will require you to be able to understand the reforms and impacts. Candidates going for the higher levels will also tend to have a grasp of some of the key historiographical debates. Here is one debate to get you started: Were the Meiji reforms OPPRESSIVE and REACTIONARY? Here are two radically different views of the Meiji restoration:
Traditional left wing view: Meiji reforms were both oppressive and reactionary
VS
Cullen's view: Meiji reforms were rational and pragmatic responses to global reality in the 19th Century.
Q.Let's start with the left: Why do they argue the Meiji regime was oppressive and reactionary?
- The Meiji Restoration was a revolution from the top of society typified by the genro (the elite group of ex-daimyo who ran Meiji Japan)
- This led to peasants, females and urban laborers wanting more freedoms than the repressive regime was willing to grant.
- This in turn led to social and political upheavals which led to the development of a strong and repressive state run by the ruling group.
This is a direct reference to the People's Rights Movement which sought a government based on representative democracy. This movement is seen as being ultimately a failure as it was brought under state control.
Q. What do they mean by 'Strong and repressive state'?
They are referring to (among other things) the 1889 Meiji Constitution which was modeled on that of imperial Germany, so hardly the most democratic or representative of models. Q. Any famous thinkers I can mention as putting this view forward?
Is Trotsky famous enough for you? In terms of historians, E.H. Norman also took a broadly left-wing viewQ. I've got it, so who is Cullen?
He's a professor of modern Irish history at the world famous Trinity College, Dublin, and a scholar of early modern trade, and after two years in Japan, now an expert in Japanese history.
Q. So what is his interpretation of Meiji Japan?
More or less the opposite, Cullen sees the reforms of the Meiji era as well thought out and sensible responses to the realities of the 19th Century world, and in particular the threat from Western Imperialism.
Q. What are Cullen's supporting arguments?
- The Meiji rulers did deal firmly with opposition to their reforms but this was a necessary if Japan was to be turned into a strong and modern nation-state.
- The Meiji reforms improved production, and freed up resources/various types of capital for development.
- The Meiji military reforms and active foreign policy meant that they gradually obtained western support and were able to renegotiate the unequal treaties.
- The Meiji reforms were so successful that Japan's armies were able to defeat both China (1894-5) and Russia (1905).
- The Iwakura mission concluded that if the hated unequal treaties were to be changed (these treaties included extraterritoriality which meant foreigners could not be tried for crimes in Japanese courts) then Japan would have to modernise along western lines. As a direct result of this:
- The Japanese legal system was modelled on western examples
- The Daimyo were converted into a legal aristocracy with generous pensions
- A national education system was quickly developed
- A national land tax was created which was the first national tax.
- A national army was developed and the samurai lost their status
- Samurai in return were given pensions. but these were replaced from 1876 by cash payments and government bonds and soon removed altogether.
- Japanese involvement in Korea was primarily motivated by fear of Russia
- The Meiji constitution came only in 1889 and was crafted to protect the interests of the ruling elite. For example: The emperor nominated ministers on advice from the ruling group, and as the constitution was unclear on how this was to be carried out, it meant that cabinet ministers could control these important appointments rather than political parties.
- Army and naval officers were appointed to the war ministries, thus making the armed forces much more powerful (and beginning the process of militarizing japanese society).
Key questions
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Historiographical arguments: Were the Meiji reforms oppressive and reactionary? Cullen Versus the left wing view
Traditional Left Wing View: Yes!1. Government ministers were appointed in the name of the emperor by the ruling oligarchs NOT by the majority party in the Japanese parliament (the Diet).
2. The 1898 Civil Laws placed the emperor at the head of the entire nation. 3. Husbands and wives were not equal. Wives were treated as children, and were not allowed to take legal action. 4.Women were banned from participating in political activities despite playing a key role in the developing industrial economy and textiles in particular. 5. Emperor worship was enshrined in the constitution and Meiji culture and society as a device to protect the interests of the small ruling group and in particular, the interests of industrial and financial capitalists, such as the huge zaibatsu conglomerates eg: Mitsubishi. |
Cullen: No!
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A Third Interpretation: William Beasley- The Meiji restoration as a nationalist movement and not a full revolution
"The political movement that brought this society into being cannot properly be called "bourgeois' in view of the dominant role samurai played in it and the power they retained when it was done. It was certainly not "peasant," given the fate of peasant revolt. Nor was it "absolutist" or "rightist," if that is to imply that the primary stimulus was a fear of popular unrest. What then is left, when none of these standard categories satisfactorily apply? Only to call it a nationalist revolution, perhaps, thereby giving recognition to the nature of the emotions that above all brought it about."
A fourth Interpretation: Andrew Gordon-The Meiji Restoration as a revolution
“ The Restoration of the young Emperor Meiji in 1867-68 was a little more than a coup d’etat. A relatively small band of insurgents had toppled the Bakufu. Yet when compare the changes that take place a decade later the changes are breath taking and merit the term revolution."
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Some Example IA or EE Questions for MEiji Japan
- To what extent were the Meiji reforms reactionary and oppressive?
- To what extent were the Meiji reforms rational and pragmatic?
- "The Meiji reforms preserved more than they changed." Discuss to what extent you agree with this view