Meiji Restoration (Meiji Revolution)

The Meiji Restoration is the name given to the global modernization that took place in Japan from 1867 to 1889. Officially, the Meiji era began with the accession to the throne of the new Emperor Mutsuhito, who made “Bright Reign” (which is how “Meiji” is translated from Japanese) the motto of his reign. But the prerequisites for the reformation arose earlier - during the shogunate of the Tokugawa clan.

Reasons for the Meiji Restoration

Japanese state ideology was largely built on the opposition of the orderly, sublime and powerful eastern world to the corrupt and barbaric western one. But in the 19th century, it became obvious that very soon the Japanese would have to face the Western barbarians directly and, most likely, abandon their self-isolation. The country faced a difficult task: to join the modern world, but at the same time maintain its own identity.

So, the reasons for the start of the Meiji Reformation include:

The activation of Western countries (including Russia) in the Pacific basin: rapidly developing capitalism forced governments to look for new markets for their products; many goods were supposed to be sold in Japan. In addition, the Americans began to establish whaling in the Pacific Ocean and needed open Japanese ports where supplies of drinking water, food and fuel could be replenished. The issue of cooperation with foreigners split Japanese society in half; some opponents of establishing ties with foreigners even organized a series of murders of foreign diplomats and sailors, as well as courtiers who welcomed communication with aliens. Emperor Komei himself became the leader of the opponents of foreign domination.
The need to restructure the system of government. Since the end of the 12th century, Japan was ruled by military leaders - shoguns, and the emperor was directly dependent on them. But by the middle of the 19th century, the situation changed; the Tokugawa clan, to which all shoguns belonged since the beginning of the 17th century, weakened. The shoguns could no longer resist either Western invasion or internal destabilization. Peasants, impoverished samurai, merchants, and some aristocrats began to speak out against the shogun and his government - the bakufu. In this situation, Emperor Komei began to take the first steps to regain full power for himself and his heirs. His son Mutsuhito managed to complete this process. The change in the political situation was also noticed by the daimyo (the heads of the small principalities that made up Japan before 1871), who, one after another, began to side with the emperor, opposing the Tokugawa family.
The backwardness of Japan, where even in the 19th century feudal orders still reigned, preserving society and not allowing capitalism to develop.
Difficult economic situation. The population of Japan often suffered from crop failures, famine, natural disasters and abuses of officials and moneylenders. The standard of living of the peasants was very low, and there was a strong gap in society between the rich and the poor. This often became the cause of unrest and riots.

Army modernization

This was one of the government's key objectives during the Meiji period. The armies of the pre-existing principalities consisted of samurai. However, these territories were liquidated, and the armies came under the control of the War Ministry. In January 1873, on the initiative of Yamagata Aritomo and Omura Masujiro, the government introduced universal conscription. From that moment on, all men over twenty years of age were required to serve in the army, regardless of their social status. Exemption from military duty was granted to heads and heirs of families, students, officials and persons who paid a ransom of 270 yen. Mostly peasants joined the new army.

The Meiji Revolution was accompanied not only by changes in the state troops. Police units were formed separately from the army. They were subordinate to the Ministry of Justice until 1872, and from the next they came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Metropolitan law enforcement units were organized into a separate Tokyo Police Department.

Main directions of reforms

In 1867, Emperor Komei died and fifteen-year-old Mutsuhito ascended the throne. Despite his young age, he was a decisive and insightful ruler. He continued his father's policy aimed at strengthening imperial power. Under pressure from the daimyos of the southwestern principalities and the emperor, the last shogun, Yoshinobu Tokugawa, was forced to submit his resignation, which he himself, however, considered a formality and a temporary maneuver.

In early 1868, Emperor Mutsuhito solemnly announced “restoration,” that is, the restoration of the power of the emperor, the abolition of the position of shogun and the creation of a new government in place of the bakufu. Yoshinobu Tokugawa did not want to obey and, together with his vassals, began a civil war. Mutsuhito, relying on loyal daimyo and samurai, led by the talented commander Takamori Saigo, began his victorious campaign against the shogun. Yoshinobu Tokugawa fled after the first serious battle; in March he surrendered, his life was spared and he was given a good pension. For some time, the northern daimyo resisted, but within a year their rebellion was suppressed.

Now Emperor Mutsuhito could calmly implement his planned projects. Researchers identify several main areas of reform:

activities aimed at awakening national consciousness and creating a strong state ideology based, first of all, on the veneration of the emperor. It was for this purpose that the Department of History was established even before the final victory in the Civil War. The tasks of Department officials included searching, processing and publishing ancient documents and compiling historical chronicles. As you might guess, special emphasis was placed on the role of the emperor and supporters of the further isolation and independence of Japan, while the shoguns in the published works appeared petty and insidious. At the same time, state symbols appeared, including the famous Japanese flag - a red circle (symbol of the solar goddess Amaterasu) on a white background. The capital was moved from Kyoto to Edo (slightly later renamed Tokyo). Religious rituals were unified, Shintoism was purified with Buddhist inclusions. Persecution of Buddhism and Christianity began. It should be noted that while implementing all these measures, Mutsuhito did not slip into radicalism. He exchanged embassies with Western rulers and willingly borrowed the best from foreigners, be it science, technical achievements, or European-style clothing. In addition, the emperor eradicated terrorism, the victims of which were often foreigners.
democratization of society. Under Mutsuhito, the sale of girls from poor families to brothels was prohibited and the guild system was destroyed: professions were no longer inherited, but were freely chosen by each subject.
government reform. Following the model of Western countries, a division of powers into legislative, executive and judicial branches appeared in Japan.
educational reform. By decree of the emperor, numerous secular schools were created, where a lot of attention was paid to “political information” - schoolchildren were necessarily introduced to all the decrees of the emperor. In addition, universities and institutes began to appear.
streamlining the judicial system. The institution of the legal profession and a system of supervision over the activities of judges appeared in the country.
creation of a strong vertical of power. First of all, the ancient custom was restored, according to which the emperor was the owner of all the lands of Japan. The principalities were abolished and prefectures were created in their place. Daimyo now had the status not of independent princes, but of officials who ruled on behalf of the emperor locally. Surprisingly, this change was accepted quite calmly by the princes themselves. The pinnacle of Emperor Mutsuhito's political transformations was the publication in 1889 of a constitution that established the foundations of government, as well as the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
changing the social structure of society in order to unite the nation. Of course, there could be no talk of fully vesting all subjects with a single set of rights and responsibilities: there were still castes of the highest nobility, samurai and commoners. But the social structure itself became significantly simpler and more democratic; for example, the class of pariahs who did the dirtiest work was eliminated. The change in the status of the daimyo led to a crisis in samuraiism: many samurai who served their princes now found themselves out of work.
Another serious aspect of the transformation was reforms in the economic sphere. First, agrarian reform was carried out. The government allowed the purchase and sale of land and began to recognize the right of private property, and taxes on the peasantry were now levied not in products, but in money. It was this land tax that became the main source of replenishment of the state budget. Secondly, the government took a number of measures aimed at developing capitalism - the government invested huge amounts of money in industrial enterprises and attracted foreign investment.
introduction of all-class military service. If previously the main fighting force of Japan were samurai, each of whom was personally subordinate to his master, now the emperor could rely on a homogeneous army, staffed mainly by peasants.
Another area of reform was changes in the field of science and technology. In 1872, the first railway was opened, connecting Tokyo and Yokohama. The first passenger on the Japanese train was Mutsuhito himself. The European calendar was borrowed, in which the year began on January 1; telegraph and telephone lines were created; paper money and postage stamps were introduced into use; state awards appeared, established in the Western style.

All of the above measures had a positive impact on the development of the country. However, any revolution also generates opposition.

Resistance

At the end of January, supporters of the former shogunate attempted to seize Kyoto to restore their rule. The emperor's few but modernized forces came out against them. On January 27-30, 1868, the rebels were defeated at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. The imperial army moved to the northeast. In May 1868, Edo capitulated. Throughout the summer and autumn, troops fought in the northern part of the state against the Northern Alliance, which also sided with the former shogunate. But in November the resistance army was finally defeated with the surrender of Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle.

After the overthrow of Yoshinobu, most of the state recognized imperial power. However, the core of supporters of the former shogunate, led by the Aizu clan, continued active resistance. A battle took place that lasted a month. As a result, on September 23, 1868, Aizu admitted defeat, after which most of the young samurai of the White Tiger squad committed suicide. A month later, Edo was renamed Tokyo. From this moment the Meiji story began.

Japanese opposition during the Meiji era

From the mid-1870s, an opposition began to form in the country, dissatisfied with some of the transformations. Various statements about Japan's future path appeared on the pages of newspapers, the number of which also increased sharply. Although most of the population still remained passive, thanks to the press, ordinary Japanese began to get acquainted with the political situation and form their own opinion about the processes taking place in the country.

Japanese opposition at the time consisted of two camps: those who believed that democratic reforms were insufficient, and those who believed that reforms had already gone too far. In 1874, the first Japanese political party, the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, arose, expressing the views of the first camp. Basically, it included small landowners and bourgeois who did not receive such huge subsidies from the government as the large capitalists. Their main demand was the creation of a parliament. But very soon a radical wing arose within the party, demanding civil rights and freedoms common to the entire population, and defending, first of all, the interests of the peasantry.

The core of the conservative opposition was the samurai, most of whom were unable to fit into the new capitalist society. In addition to losing their status, they were worried about the government's refusal to conquer Korea. The opposition believed that this was humiliating for Japan. The leader of the dissatisfied was the “last samurai” - the famous Takamori Saigo. He also believed that Japan should pursue an aggressive foreign policy, however, his political and philosophical views were not limited to this. Saigoµ found inspiration in the teachings of bushido and the romantic ideals of the bygone era of samurai. Retiring to his home prefecture of Kagoshima, Saigo opened a school for “real samurai” where he trained cadets in accordance with his own philosophy.

In 1877, Mutsuhito finally abolished samurai privileges. The number of Takamori Saigo's students at that time reached 10 thousand. It was a full-fledged military unit that responded to the government's actions by seizing the arsenal and launching a campaign against Tokyo. The confrontation between government troops and Saigo's people continued for several months; in one of the battles, the rebel leader was wounded, after which he committed suicide. The uprising was soon suppressed. Even though Saigoµ was the leader of the rebellion, the population treated him with respect. Even Emperor Mutsuhito himself did not want to deprive his commander of all ranks and outlaw him until the very end.

Estates

The Meiji Revolution also affected the population of the state. By the end of June 1869, the government formed 2 privileged noble classes: kazoku (titled) and shizoku (untitled). The first included the capital's aristocrats directly, together with the daimyos of the liquidated princedoms-khans. The untitled nobility included small and medium samurai. The Meiji class restoration was aimed at eliminating the eternal confrontation between aristocrats and samurai. The government sought to eliminate divisions in society and eliminate the medieval model of master-servant relations. At the same time, the Meiji class restoration was accompanied by the proclamation of the equality of peasants, merchants and artisans, regardless of their positions and type of activity. All of them began to be called heimin (common people). In 1871, the same class included pariahs who were discriminated against during the Edo period. All common people had to have surnames (previously only samurai had them). Untitled and titled nobility received the right to inter-class marriages. The Meiji Restoration also included the abolition of restrictions on changing professions and travel. At the beginning of April 1871, the government issued a law on registration of citizens. The following year they were entered into the family register books according to class.

Results

The Meiji Revolution led to the growth of Japan's military and industrial power. Now the state, which until recently was considered by the Western powers as a potential raw materials appendage or supplier of cheap labor, has itself become involved in the struggle for the colonial redistribution of the world. Despite the initial refusal to conquer Korea, which led to the rebellion of Takamori Saigo, the ambitions of the Japanese nobility grew. A militaristic regime began to take shape in Japan, headed by an absolute monarch. Perhaps the democratic seed contained in the reforms would later grow into a constitutional monarchy on the model of Great Britain, but these processes were interrupted by two world wars.

The development of capitalism was also dualistic. On the one hand, huge monopolies flourished, military enterprises and railways were built, and on the other, the exploitation of peasants and workers intensified. Industry ensured the growth of military potential, but did not provide the population with consumer goods and products, which led to the “rice riots” in 1918.

But even these contradictions do not negate the fact that for Japan the Meiji Revolution was a colossal breakthrough that placed it among the leading world powers.

Administrative changes

One of the conditions for the formation of a unitary state was the liquidation of the previous structure. The administrative-territorial units were autonomous principalities, which were ruled by daimyo. During the civil war, the government confiscated the shogunate's possessions and divided them into prefectures. At the same time, there remained territories that were not directly controlled by the emperor.

The Meiji government proposed to the monarch to reassign the four khan principalities. The daimyos of Satsuma, Hizen, Choshu and Tosa agreed to this. They returned their lands along with their people to the state. Now the emperor owned them. The Meiji government ordered other kingdoms to do the same. In most cases, the transfer of ownership to the state took place quickly and voluntarily. Only 12 princes offered resistance. However, they were forced to hand over the land registers and population by order. In exchange for this, the daimyo became heads of regional offices and began to receive government salaries.

Despite the formal transfer of land to the government, the khans themselves were not eliminated. Their daimyo retained the right to collect taxes and form troops in the territories entrusted to them. Thus, these administrative territories remained semi-autonomous.

However, such half-hearted Meiji reforms caused discontent among the people. For the final transition to a unitary form of structure, at the end of August 1871, the government proclaimed the widespread elimination of khans and the establishment of prefectures. The former daimyo were transferred to Tokyo. In their place, the government appointed governors of prefectures dependent on the center. Until 1888, the number of regions was reduced from 306 to 47. Hokkaido was designated as a special region. Large cities were also considered prefectures: Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo.

Philosophy

In this area, Western individualism and liberalism began to emerge as the dominant ideologies. Traditional moral and ethical principles based on Confucianism began to be considered obsolete. Translations of the works of Darwin, Spencer, Rousseau, and Hegel began to appear in the literature. Based on these works, Japanese thinkers began to develop the concept of natural rights to happiness, freedom, and equality. These ideas were spread by Nakamura Masanao and Fukuzawa Yukichi. The works created by these authors became bestsellers. Their works contributed to the destruction of the traditional worldview and the formation of a new national consciousness.

Recommendations

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