Summary: The Meiji Restoration

The Meiji Restoration, also known as the Reign of the Meiji Emperor was a massive movement that took place in 1868, which brought about an industrialization in Japan. The movement began when the Tokugawa Shogun, who ruled Japan; who lost his power due to being overthrown, was replaced by the emperor of Japan to the supreme position. The emperor chose “Meiji” as the name for his rule as it referred to the “Enlightened Rule”. As the nation began restoring itself, it had to tackle many of its economic needs. Japan at that point was militarily weak, it had no technological advancements and its economy was mainly aided through agriculture. Before the restoration, Japan was controlled by hundreds of semi-independent feudal lords. The Meiji period was one of the most successful endeavors taken up by any nation in the world towards reinventing themselves. In 1912, the Meiji period came to an end due to the death of the emperor; but his rule had successfully transformed Japan. Japan had completed changed its economic and social workings and was moving towards massive industrialization; something that was expected of Japan by the Western powers. By 1912, Japan had a highly centralized, bureaucratic government; a constitution establishing an elected government; a well-developed transport and communications system; a highly-educated population free of feudal class restrictions; an established industrial sector which relied on the latest technologies; and a powerful army and navy. The Meiji Restoration had successfully brought power to the emperor, creating a political revolution, but the emperor himself didn’t “rule”. The emperor was in fact just a puppet, who was commandeered by the working groups who lead the restoration. This group of landlords and samurai also brought about the overthrowing of the previous shogunate. A small number of young men from the lower ranks of the samurai emerged to take control and establish a new political system and framework for Japan. Their initiatives worked only towards the beginning when the emperor was under their control and influence and accepted their advice; and their ambitions were further fueled by powerful feudal domains who …show more content…
The government built a railway, several shipping lines, a telegraph system, telephone system, shipyards, mines, munition works and fifty-three consumer industries that produced sugar, glass, textiles, chemicals, and other products. This massive move of industrialization proved to be quite expensive for the government; in 1880, the government decided to sell most of its industries to private investors, and later encouraged investments through subsidies and other incentives. At this point, some of the samurai and other merchants, who built these industries, established major corporate conglomerates called Zaibatsu, who controlled much of Japan’s industry. The government expanded its reach towards its people by introducing an educational system and a constitution, creating an elected parliament called the ‘Diet’. This move was considered important because it promoted a good environment for national growth, win the respect of the Western powers, and build support for the modern state of Japan. In the Tokugawa period, before the restoration, popular education had spread rapidly, and 1872 the government established a national system to educate the entire population. By the end of the Meiji period Japan showed drastic changes in its demographics. Almost, all Japanese citizens attended the free public schools for at six years. The government closely controlled the schools,