1. JAPAN’S MEIJI RESTORATION

2. Internal Problems
By early 19th century, Japanese society was in turmoil
Declining agricultural productivity
Periodic crop failures, famine, and starvation
Harsh taxes on peasants
Samurai and daimyo are in debt to merchants
West arrives demanding trade with Japan

3. Instructional Objectives
We will be able to:
Explain the causes of the Meiji Restoration
Describe the changes that took place during the Meiji Period.
Discuss how Japan would go on to become an imperial power.

4. The Meiji Restoration
Japanese period beginning in 1853 when Japan went from a non-industrial feudal nation to a modern, industrial and imperial power.

5. Causes of Meiji Period
Japanese saw what happened to their neighbor China. One Japanese visitor noted…
“The Chinese have become servants to the foreigners. Sovereignty may belong to China but in fact it's no more than a colony of Great Britain and France”.

6. China’s “Unequal Treaties”
After the Opium War of , Japan was convinced that it had to Open Up to the West.

7. Challenge of the West Arrival of Matthew Perry (1853) Unequal Treaties
Similar to the treaties signed by the Qing dynasty
Perry’s “Black Ships” steam into Tokyo Bay
Force the Japanese to establish trade and diplomatic relations with the U.S.
Japanese depiction of Admiral Matthew Perry

8. Japan Changes
The Japanese overthrew the last Shogun and put their emperor in charge.
Japan ended it’s policy of isolationism.
Emperor Meiji’s government decided the only way to avoid China’s fate was to modernize through selective borrowing from the Western nations.
New slogan: Japanese Spirit; Western Technology!

9. The Rulers Set the Tone with Western Dress
Emperor Meiji Empress Haruko ( )

10. Changing Women’s Fashions The First “Miss Japan” (1908)
1900 Styles

11. Meiji Reforms Land Redistribution
Westernize the School System (Fr. & Ger.)
Abolition of the feudal system
Modern Banking System
Modernize the Army (Prussian)
Meiji Reforms
Written Constitution (Germans)
Build a Modern Navy (British)
Human Rights & Religious Freedom
Emperor Worship Intensified

12. In order to Industrialize you must…
Imperialize
Japan followed queue with other industrialized nations and went after an empire to get…

13. Modernization: Meiji Restoration
Abolish feudal order
Administrative districts replace feudal domains
Daimyo removed from power
Samurai class is abolished
Constitutional government
Constitution of 1889 based on German model
Establishes constitutional monarchy with legislature
Emperor commanded armed forces, named prime minister, and appoint the cabinet

14. Modernization: Meiji Restoration
Constitutional government (con’d)
Recognized individual rights
Could limit rights in the interest of the state
Suffrage limited
Only 5% of population could vote in 1890 election
Japanese industrialization
Modernize transportation, communication, and education
Sold government businesses to private investors

15. Modernization: Meiji Restoration
Japanese industrialization (con’d)
Creation of zaibatsu
Combination of state initiative and private investment
Consolidates economic power into the hands of a few powerful families
Many companies started by men of samurai origins

17. Soldiers on the Battlefield During the Sino-Japanese War
The Treaty of Shimonoseki ended the war.

18. Japan Is a Player in China

19. Japan Annexes Korea

20. The Russo-Japanese War: 1904-1905
The Battle of Tsushima: The results startled the world!

21. But, Japanese Power Would Grow . . .

22. Social Developments No reforms to ease burdens on rural population
Massive population growth
Strained resources and kept labor costs low
Role of women
Maintain inferiority of women in the home
High-school education for women (1899)
Silk industry relied upon women working in factories

23. Japanese Imperialism Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War
Japan gains influence over Korea
Russo-Japanese War
Japan’s navy leads to victory over Russia
Japan annexes Korea in 1910