Suitable for IB DP History higher level, East Asia. Overview of the main personalities of the Meiji Restoration, and historiography on the Meiji Constitution
1. +
The Genro and the Meiji Constitution
notes from Beasley, Borthwick, Gluck, Najita, Tinios
2. +
The Meiji Emperor (1852 – 1912)
Mutsuhito
16 years old in 1868
Meiji is the title of the
reign, it means
“enlightened rule”
3. +
Growing up in Public 1872, 1873, 1888
Idea Taken from Andrew Gordon,
A Modern History of Japan
4. +
Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835 – 1901)
„The Teacher‟
Learned Dutch, then English
Travelled to Europe and the
USA
Helped to set up Tokyo
University (1877)
Wrote „Conditions in the
West‟ and „An
Encouragement of Learning‟
Fukuzawa Yukichi with Theodora Alice in
San Francisco, 1860 (wikimedia commons)
5. Kido Takayoshi aka Kido Koin
(1840 – 1900)
“The Pen”
In charge of government
structures, reforms, and replacing
the daimyo with prefectures and
governors
6. +
Okubo Toshimichi (1830 – 1878)
“The Despot”
In charge of finance, and
confiscating the assets of
the old ruling class
He is known as “Japan‟s
Bismarck”
Okubo Toshimichi (wikimedia commons)
7. +
Saigo Takamori (1828 – 1877)
“The Sword”
In charge of the reorganization
of the armed forces. Conscripts
were to replace the samurai
Eventually Saigo disowned the
reforms and led the Satsuma
rebellion, 1877
Featured loosely, in “The Last
Samurai”
8. +
Yamagata Aritomo (1838 – 1922)
He was impressed with the
strength of the conscript armies
in France and Germany
(wikimedia commons)
Organized a volunteer army in
war against the shogun
Introduced the Conscription
Ordinance, 1873, which
replaced the samurai with a
modern army
10. +
Matsukata Masayoshi (1835 –
1924)
Designed the land reforms of
1871
As finance minister 1881-1885
he implemented Matsukata
Economics
Slashed government
spending, increased taxes and
sold government enterprises
Promoted private enterprise –
helped founding of zaibatsu
11. +
Zaibatsu
Japanese business
conglomerate
Characterised by family
ownership, high degree of
diversification
„political merchants‟ like Iwasaki
Yataro (Mitsubishi) grew
powerful businesses as a result
of ties to the Meiji government.
Artist Yoko Ono (wikimedia commons)
12. +
Ito Hirobumi (1841 – 1909)
Ito toured Europe in search of a
suitable constitution for Japan
In 1889 the new constitution
was announced – “Constitution
Ito”
Ito was the first prime minister
(1885 – 1888) and on three
further occasions (between
1892 and 1901)
Ito was assassinated by a
Korean nationalist in
Harbin, China (1909)
13. Stepping Stones* to the Constitution
+
Gradual
elevation of
the emperor
to „above the
clouds‟
Consultative
assemblies of
governors in
Tokyo (1875)
Prefectural
Assemblies
(1878)
The Imperial
Promise(1881)
The creation
of a cabinet
system
(1885)
Meiji
Constitution
(1889)
* A key feature of Japanese garden design
15. +
Responses to the Meiji Constitution
Frank Gibney (quoted in Pacific Century)
Constitution represents a forward step
Male suffrage based on property rights
Basic individual freedoms
Bicameral legislature
Many prerogatives left to Emperor
Military control in hands of Emperor
Amazon.ca
16. +
Responses to the Meiji Constitution
Tetsuo Najita
Japan: The Intellectual Foundations of Modern
Japanese Politics (pp 82 – 86)
The political settlement following the restoration was
characterised by great tension and turmoil, resulting
from a struggle between rival forces strongly
committed to different modes of achieving national
greatness
Meiji Constitution not aimed at a democratic ethic „but
was an embodiment of the restorationist aspiration for
a comprehensive and predictable legal system that
would provide a final justification for the dissolution of
the old order and the ushering in of a new and strong
Japan‟
Picture: University of Chicago
17. +
Responses to the Meiji Constitution
Tetsuo Najita
Japan: The Intellectual Foundations of Modern
Japanese Politics (pp 82 – 86)
Violence against the „new order‟
was unconstitutional
Loyalism now an unassailable
virtue
„The privileges just
mentioned…were not aimed at
supporting the ideal of human
liberty…but the prerogative of all
to participate in the creation of a
strong society‟
http://www.bibliovault.org/thumbs/978-0-226-56803-4frontcover.jpg
18. +
Responses to the Meiji Constitution
Walter Beasley
Cambridge History of Japan (pp 664 – 665)
Constitution contains no „social
contract‟
Role of the Emperor formulated in
terms of „mystical absolutism‟ and
no constitutional procedure by
which the Emperor could „act‟
19. +
Responses to the Meiji Constitution
Carol Gluck
Japan's Modern Myths: Ideology in the Late Meiji Period
http://ajw.asahi.com
„…what is now called the Emperor system
did not emerge in earnest until around 1890‟
The Oligarchs promised a constitution in
1881…then „spent much of the next nine
years making…provisions to ensure that the
beginning of parliamentary government
would not mean the end of their
bureaucratic dominance.‟
20. +
Responses to the Meiji Constitution
Carol Gluck
Japan's Modern Myths: Ideology in the Late Meiji Period
The Constitution only provided the legal
framework… ‟It was the first general
election and opening of the Diet in 1890
that marked political change‟
Ito: assert the authority of the sovereign
against political parties. The Imperial
House as the „axis of the nation‟ (1888)
Emperor‟s role „strictly ceremonial‟
Amazon.co.uk
21. +
Responses to the Meiji Constitution
Andrew Gordon
A Modern History of Japan (p.70)
Obligations: military service,
school attendance, payment of
taxes
Rights: suffrage for the few
Constitution would contain the
opposition but an elected
national assembly now
existed…and may be a source
of future change
22. +
Yamagata Aritomo, 1880
“It is true that the Meiji Restoration‟s
achievements are outstanding…[but these
gains] are nothing compared to the question of
Japan‟s relationship with other
countries, which in turn is tied to Japan‟s rise
and fall”
Editor's Notes
When he realised most foreigners didn’t speak Dutchv. PopularSuspicious of Okubo etc… esp that they would establish a strict authoritarian govt – based on TokSupported education of womenLater on in life seeks to harmonize western and eastern views of civilisation. – a nationalist who seeks to distance Japan from the rest of Asia (possiby as a new western power)
SatsumaWent to USAPM 1888 – 1889Alcoholism prevented him from meeting potential
SatsumaFinance 1871 – 1873Home Ministry 1873 – 1874Steel Will – Saw advanced wn nations as a source of learning, but also the west as a threat to J independence
ChoshuTravelled abroadPut down the Satsuma rebellionPM 1889 – 1891 and 1898 - 1900, justice minister1894 led J army in Korea during first past Sino-Japanese war, chief of staff during R-J warHelped form Yamagata-Lobanov agreement (1896) R-J spheres of influence in an ‘independent’ koreaAnd Ango-Japanese allicance 1902Poet, master gardener. Singer, tea ceremony
Satsuma
Of the ‘Big Four’ Meiji zaibatsu, only the Yasuda corporation does not exist today. Mostly involved in finance and insurance, Yasuda was disbanded by its owners in 1945. Artist Yoko Ono, (John Lennon’s widow) is a direct descendant of the Yasuda ‘merchants’. Some Yasuda ‘descended’ businesses continue to operate.Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance co.
Peasant stock – adopted by a samurai familyNational studies (kokugaku) scholarHome MinisterPM during Sino-Japanese warJapan’s first resident general goverenor of Korea (1905 – 9)
1875 – prefectural assemblies of governors, partial substitute for a national legislature, limited electorateThe Imperial Promise to promulgate a constitution in 1889‘elevation of emperor – no more imperial circuits from 1885
Preamble:Emp ‘sacred and invioable’Ch 2Rights and duties of subjects, regardless of inherited statusCh3Bicameral diet (house of peers and elected house of repsCh4Cabinet required to advise empCh6Budget if not approved then same as last year.
Notes that :Ito – Gmn model appopriate – newly unifed nation, constitution written explicitly, G indus rapidly, beat FrIto delayed const till details of Meiji bureaucracy worked out – so by time of constitution J had a cabinet, major ministries – so the const confirmed and legitimised the current operating structure AFTER the qns of power had been settledGovt hierarchy wd terminate with with the monarchy, which wd at the same time be the prime focus of cultural idenitification, symbolising a continuous history and the nationa’s idea of itself (concept in the preamble)Transcendant monarch therefore inactive – so loyal men active on his behalf, monarch removed from action therefore ministers responsible for decisions
Notes that :Movel away froman agrarian and feudal order to a strong constitutional system
In political philosophy the social contract or political contract is a theory or model, originating during the Age of Enlightenment, that typically addresses the questions of the origin of society and the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual.[1] Social contract arguments typically posit that individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly, to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the ruler or magistrate (or to the decision of a majority), in exchange for protection of their remaining rights. ideas of Rousseau (wikipedia)Action – compare to Art 48 in Weimar const
“Epoch making political developments included centralisation, conscription, tax reform, the movement for parliamentary government, and the drafting of a constitution. Social change, too, had been considerable, with the legal leveling of the classes, compulsory education, westernisation, leaps in material culture and increased stature for the rural agricultural elite” (p17)
Ito with his grasp of western legalism wanted to reconceive the imperial institution in such a way that that the emperor and his govtwd emerge as legally soundImp house to keep politicans at bay and a symbol of national unity – monarchy as a paragon of society‘The constitution and the monarch formed the legal and symbolic bases of the state, but neither alone nor together did they appear to the Meiji elite to be sufficient to weld a people into a nation’ – Imperial rescript on education would do this.
About 1% of men paid enough taxes to qualify for the vote
Proud of J’s acheiveentsBut J would still go a long way to be prudent when dealing with the west.3 wars in the life time of the Meiji leaders – Sino-Japan (starts empire and leads to Anglo-Jaalliacne)R-J – consolodates empireAnd WWI – Japan consolidates in china