2. Japan
becomes an
imperialist power

3. Japan Changes Direction During the
Meiji Era: 1868 - 1912
Commodore Matthew Perry

4. 1853 – Commodore Matthew Perry
“Opens Up” Japan to Western Trade!

5. What Did the U. S. Want??

6. What Did the U. S. Want??
 Coaling stations.

7. What Did the U. S. Want??
 Coaling stations.
 More trading
partners.

8. What Did the U. S. Want??
 Coaling stations.
 More trading
partners.
 A haven for
ship-wrecked
sailors.

9. Perry’s “Black
Ships”

10. The Treaty of Kanagawa - 1854

11. Japan Learns a Lesson!

12. Japan Learns a Lesson!
In 1862, just before the start of the
Meiji period, Tokugawa sent officials and
scholars to China to study the situation
there. A Japanese recorded in his diary
from Shanghai…

13. Japan Learns a Lesson!
In 1862, just before the start of the
Meiji period, Tokugawa sent officials and
scholars to China to study the situation
there. A Japanese recorded in his diary
from Shanghai…
“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.”

14. China’s “Unequal Treaties”
 After the Opium War of 1839-1842,
Japan was convinced that it had to Open Up
to the West.

15. The Shi-shi (“Men of High Purpose”)

16. The Shi-shi (“Men of High Purpose”)
 Highly idealistic samurai who felt that the
arrival of Westerners was an attack on the
traditional values of Japan.

17. The Shi-shi (“Men of High Purpose”)
 Highly idealistic samurai who felt that the
arrival of Westerners was an attack on the
traditional values of Japan.
 They believed that:

18. The Shi-shi (“Men of High Purpose”)
 Highly idealistic samurai who felt that the
arrival of Westerners was an attack on the
traditional values of Japan.
 They believed that:
 Japan was sacred ground.

19. The Shi-shi (“Men of High Purpose”)
 Highly idealistic samurai who felt that the
arrival of Westerners was an attack on the
traditional values of Japan.
 They believed that:
 Japan was sacred ground.
 The emperor, now a figurehead in
Kyoto, was a God.

20. The Shi-shi (“Men of High Purpose”)
 Highly idealistic samurai who felt that the
arrival of Westerners was an attack on the
traditional values of Japan.
 They believed that:
 Japan was sacred ground.
 The emperor, now a figurehead in
Kyoto, was a God.
 Were furious at the Shogun for signing treaties
with the West without the Emperor’s consent.

21. The Shi-shi (“Men of High Purpose”)
 Highly idealistic samurai who felt that the
arrival of Westerners was an attack on the
traditional values of Japan.
 They believed that:
 Japan was sacred ground.
 The emperor, now a figurehead in
Kyoto, was a God.
 Were furious at the Shogun for signing treaties
with the West without the Emperor’s consent.
 Their slogan  Revere the Emperor, Expel
the Barbarians!

22. The Meiji Revolt - 1868
 A powerful group
of samurai
overthrow the
Shogun.
 Sakamoto Ryoma,
the hero.
 He helped Japan
emerge from
feudalism into a
unified modern

23. The Shogunate Is Overthrown!
 The last
Shogun.
 Tokugawa
Yoshinobu.

24. The Shogunate Is Overthrown!
 The last
Shogun.
 Tokugawa
Yoshinobu.

25. The Emperor Is “Restored” to Power
MEIJI  “Enlightened Rule”

26. Newspaper Cartoon, 1870s?
Enlightened Half-Enlightened Un-Enlightened

27. Modernization by
“Selective Borrowing”

28. Modernization by
“Selective Borrowing”
 Popular board game.

29. Modernization by
“Selective Borrowing”
 Popular board game.
 Start by leaving
Japan & studying in
various Western
capitals.

30. Modernization by
“Selective Borrowing”
 Popular board game.
 Start by leaving
Japan & studying in
various Western
capitals.
 End by returning to
Japan and becoming a
prominent government
official.

31. European
Goods
 Europe began to
“loom large” in
the thinking of
many Japanese.
 New slogan:
Japanese Spirit;
Western
Technology!

32. The Japanese Became Obsessed
with Western Styles
Civilization and Enlightenment!

33. Everything Western Was Fashionable!

34. Everything Western Was Fashionable!
Japanese soldiers with their wives.

35. The Rulers Set the Tone
with Western Dress
Emperor Meiji Empress Haruko
(1868- 1912)

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

37. Meiji
Reforms

38. Abolition
of the
feudal system
Meiji
Reforms

39. Abolition Land
of the Redistribution
feudal system
Meiji
Reforms

40. Westernize
Abolition Land the School
of the Redistribution System
feudal system (Fr. & Ger.)
Meiji
Reforms

41. Westernize
Abolition Land the School
of the Redistribution System
feudal system (Fr. & Ger.)
Meiji
Modernize
the Army
(Prussian)
Reforms

42. Westernize
Abolition Land the School
of the Redistribution System
feudal system (Fr. & Ger.)
Meiji
Modernize
the Army
(Prussian)
Reforms
Build a
Modern Navy
(British)

43. Westernize
Abolition Land the School
of the Redistribution System
feudal system (Fr. & Ger.)
Meiji
Modernize
the Army
(Prussian)
Reforms
Build a
Modern Navy
(British)
Emperor
Worship
Intensified

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

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

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

47. A Constitutional Government
Copied from the Germans
Satsuma &
Choshu Families
The Emperor
of Japan
The Diet 1889 Constitution
(Legislative Body) of Japan
House of House
Representatives of Peers

48. Expansionism
& the Rise of Military Power

49. Expansionism
& the Rise of Military Power
New players on the block?

50. Sino-Japanese War: 1894-1895
The Meiji Emperor was in Hiroshima during the
Sino-Japanese War

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

52. Today—Tensions Between China & Japan
EEZ-Exclusive Economic
Zone.

53. Today—Tensions Between China & Japan
 Offshore gas field in
the East China Sea
reveals recently
strained relations
between China & Japan.
EEZ-Exclusive Economic
Zone.

54. Today—Tensions Between China & Japan
 Offshore gas field in
the East China Sea
reveals recently
strained relations
between China & Japan.
 Tension over disputed
gas field on the rise,
exacerbating mutual
mistrust dating back to
the Sino-Japanese War.
EEZ-Exclusive Economic
Zone.

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

56. President Teddy Roosevelt
Mediates the Peace
The Treaty of Portsmouth, NH ended the
Russo-Japanese War.

57. Japan Annexes Korea

58. Japan Is a Player in China

59. Competition from Another
“Pacific” Power Is on the Horizon

60. The U. S. “Great White Fleet”

61. But, Japanese Power Would Grow . . .