The Meiji Restoration
The Meiji restoration refers to the re-emergence of an emperor in Japan. This change in power came after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which was caused by the uprising of a group of Samurai who were pro-modernization in Japan. This group, known as the 'oligarchy', had seen the modern 'black ships' of Commander Perry, who came from America seeking trade relations with Japan. The oligarchy became convinced that they would have to let the West infiltrate their society in order to avoid the fate China had seen under the hands of imperialism. The oligarchy saw the need for Japan to learn from the West and gain enough knowledge to be able to remain independent. They overthrew the Shogun and elected a new emperor, an emperor for all of Japan. 'Meiji', meaning "enlightened ruler", was the sixteen-year-old boy they chose for this position. He was small, young and naive, the perfect puppet for the oligarchy to exercise their power through. He ruled for forty-four years but Meiji was merely a symbol of power for a new, united Japan, rather than an actual head of state. The Meiji restoration effected Japan profoundly. Every facet of Japanese life was altered in some way, from economics to education. Japan was no
The social life of the Japanese aristocrats also changed. Japan had fallen in love with the West and everything new or in the latest fashion was of Western influence. Western clothing, hairstyles, even dancing were all seen as supremely wonderful and they were adopted rapidly throughout society. New inventions from the West were also brought over, the most life changing of these for the Japanese was the clock. Until then the Japanese had been using the sun to tell the time of day with. This invention was therefore welcomed with great haste into their lives. Japan was given a model train by some Westerners, fifty years later (1872) Japan a locomotive system of it's own. This is definitive of the rate at which Japan modernized. It took Japan just forty years to develop into an independent, self sufficient, part of world-wide economic trade, whilst it had taken the USA over one hundred and fifty years. Along with this new railway line Japan setup other forms of communication systems. A modern postal system came into operation in 1868 and was followed by a telegraph system in 1871. Education in Japan also changed drastically. The first and foremost difference was that schools became compulsory for children- through to University students. The government had realized that for Japan to be a powerful country in the future it's children needed to be educated in the ways of the Western world. Education became highly centralized and aimed to give every Japanese the skills they would need t
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Approximate Word count = 1006
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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