HIEA 112 Final Assignment
The Role of Westernization in Shaping Modern Japanese History
This image was accessed on March 13th, on google, qz.com.
After the Meiji leaders took control over Japan, the country that was sealed within themselves without intermingling with outside influences finally began to experience and welcome foreign ideas. Hoping that likening themselves to the great Western powers would make the countries acknowledge Japan as their equal, they actively encouraged the integration of the Western ideas and ways. During the period of Meiji restoration, Japan faced great changes in all aspects through Westernization, which became an indispensable event that shaped the history of modern Japan.
Before the Meiji leaders implemented change in Japan, the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa imperial family, with the imperial lines and the aristocrats controlling and governing the country as they saw fit. In “Memorial on the Return of Feudal Domains and Census Registers”, it is mentioned that under the Tokugawa rule, the imperial family had an absolute say in decisions made for the country, as well as any individual subjects in Japan, due to the fact that one was born into the imperial line. The author displays the one-sided ruling that was favored under Tokugawa’s reign by accusing the aristocrats of the same fault of having too much power over the country just because they were born into aristocratic families boasting great ancestors (Early Meiji 311–312). However, under the rule of Meiji rulers, Japan began to embrace the Western ideologies. With the political shift from Tokugawa to Meiji leaders, the once closed-off nation began to venture out into the world and welcome Western influences into their own home country, marking the beginning of a series of changes that shaped modern Japanese history.
The astounding difference between Tokugawa and Meiji’s reaction to Western influences was undoubtedly clear. While Tokugawa rejected such influences, the Meiji leaders welcomed westernization with hopes that it would strengthen their country’s standing in the world. Not only did they welcome the changes, but they actually seeked for westernization in their country. In “Iwakura Mission of 1871,” the author writes concerning Western cultures and ways that he observed while he was abroad on Western lands (Kunitake 169). Whatever he saw, he kept detailed records of them, with attempts to understand and explain western viewpoints. It is clearly evident how much the Meiji government desired for westernization through their actions of sending groups of people on an expedition to the western hemisphere in order to learn about their ways. To further emphasize the weight of how much the government held westernization to be of importance, I would like to focus on the people who were sent on the expedition. In order to understand another country’s culture and their ways, one must be fluent in that country’s tongues, and in order to write down and keep records, they must be literate and educated. This shows that the individuals who went on the expedition were individuals of importance, from noble families who were well-versed in their own language and had proven to have great minds required to understand foreign ideas. Sending such talents, in groups nonetheless, to a foreign country in hopes of learning more about their culture and their ideologies speaks in great lengths how important this mission was for the Meiji government.
The Meiji government strongly pushed for westernization, and this was apparent in their government systems. The Meiji leaders modeled the government after the U.S. government, with checks and balances and centralized power. However, government systems were not the only aspect in Japan that showed signs of change towards westernization. In the painting above, the setting is most definitely based in Japan, as we can tell by the drawing techniques and portrayal of human faces that resemble the techniques seen more often in Asia than in the western lands. However, the outfits that the individuals in painting wear should be duly noted. The women in the painting are wearing dresses that are fashioned according to western styles, and the men are wearing military uniforms that are fashioned much after western uniforms compared to the outfits that Japanese samurais and shoguns previously wore. This shows that while westernization was first encouraged in order to model their government after the western government for the purpose of strengthening their country and gaining recognition from other nations as their equals, the western influences went further to have a great impact on the Japanese society and economy. Through westernization, the once closed-off Japanese government began its climb up the political ladder on the international level, and the Japanese society began to face changes as new cultures and foreigners were introduced to their land, bringing forth growth, as well as conflicts and despair.
Seeing the flaws of the Tokugawa government, the Meiji leaders advocated and emphasized westernization in their home country. Their great efforts to embrace such reformation is evident in the expeditions they planned and executed to the west, and their new form of government that they established exhibited the leaders’ approval of westernization. Westernization marked the start of a series of changes in Japan that brought them up the political ladder on international level, but it also gave a way for foreign cultures and foreigners to enter their society, shaping the modern Japanese history filled with constant power struggle and discrimination.
