The document outlines Japan's evolution from feudalism to a corporate state, highlighting similarities with France's feudal system and significant historical periods such as the Jomon, Nara, and Tokugawa eras. It details the emergence of a centralized administrative state and the impact of the Meiji Restoration, which led to industrialization and militarization, reshaping Japan's economy and governance. Ultimately, it emphasizes Japan's transition into a strong corporate society that emerged from a complex historical context.

1. Japan From Feudal to Corporate State

2. Defining Feudal States Japan and France: feudal states had similar features: Contract involving protection for services (provision of agricultural products) Bonds of personal loyalty (fealty in France, bushido in Japan) Lord: landowner with military backing Vassal: the peasant who provided services Centralized control within regions surrounded by larger regions not under any control Replacement of horticulture or foraging with intensive cultivation (rice in Japan)

3. Japan: The Name Nippon is the official name for Japan Nihon is the informal name Both terms means “land of the rising sun” (see flag, upper left) This is given that Japan is east of China. (see map, lower left) The term Japan probably comes from Malay, which Portuguese traders probably adopted Eventually, the name Japan became widely adopted in Europe and the Americas

4. Pre-Feudal Japan The country had settled communities long before agriculture Fish, animal, and plant resources were abundant enough to support these communities The Jomon period (10,500-300 BCE) was marked by decorative pottery (upper left) Communities were build around a ritual or public center in a horseshoe pattern This structure was found in a village dated 5,000-4,000 BP (before the present; lower left)

5. Nara: The First Centralized State Japan developed an administrative apparatus early in Nara was the site of the first centralized state It was strong, but not enough to contain the warring feudal warriors known as samurai The administrative state was adopted from China’s hierarchical system of offices (the mandarins) Written literature also developed at 720 CE

6. Shoguns and Samurai Shoguns were the heads of state, but subject to shifting fortunes Feudal lords ( daimyo ) competed for power over regions and one shogun could be replaced A shogun might dominate the entire nation of Japan, only to be overthrown at any time Samurai were elite warriors who supported one or another feudal lord By the time Commodore Matthew Perry forced open the nation of Japan, Tokugawa was the shogun for the entire polity

7. Formation of Japan: First Middle Ages I Period: 1334-1568 CE (Common Era) Replacement of foraging with dry rice cultivation, then irrigated (wet) rice cultivation Populations increased dramatically Intensification of land use extended to previously unusable land Military aristocracy gradually integrated extended family households into their realms Lord resisted integration into larger state

8. Formation of Japan: First Middle Ages II Household clustered into settlement around the lord’s manor These communities had their own water supply, land, and agriculture Nonfarm craftsmen emerged, and incipient trade came into being Towns and cities had not yet arisen Size of land holdings and populations increases became long-term trends

9. Consolidation of Japan: Second Middle Ages I Period: 1568-1868, including the Tokugawa period More powerful rulers emerge, dominating regions over local lords Base of advantage: wealth and military might Waterways connected villages and supplied water to the fields Markets emerged, forcing interdependence—you cannot produce everything yourself Populations increased and land sizes decreased

10. Consolidation of Japan: Second Middle Ages II Technology advances: Iron tools introduced and existing tools are improved New rice varieties increase productivity Fertilizer is introduced and increase production costs: fish cakes, fish oil, human manure Involution: as field size declines, agriculture labor per field increases Draft animals increase agricultural production Marginal areas are cultivated, resulting in reduction of firewood and fodder

11. Development of Complex Social Institutions Markets become important as single crops are grown for sale This displaces multiple crops for subsistence Manufactured products create dependence in rural areas To ensure safety, police forces are formed, laws enacted, and regional daimyos (great lords) enforce laws and security Gradually, fewer and fewer daimyos dominate ever greater regions.

12. Emergence of Unitary Society Land become scarce, requiring contracts of loyalty They were personalistic in name only; law form the basis of contracts Landless peasants increase in size and peasant revolts became commonplace Samurai warriors joined the landless peasants—with honor but without land, capital, or money The emperor became the supreme authority

13. Institutional Basis of Japanese Modernity Legal contracts converted land into a commodity that could be bought, sold, and deeded Wealth passed from daimyo to industrialists, merchants, and bureaucrats Power passed to a unitary monarch An administrative apparatus emerged The apparatus of a modern nation state developed even before Perry entered the scene

14. Tokugawa Era Having had problems with Portuguese traders and missionaries, Japan kept foreign influence to a minimum Despite efforts to follow this policy, Tokugawa Japan could not resist the rising foreign commerce in Asia The commercialization of its own economy weakened the will of Japan to resist foreign traders In 1854, U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry presented an ultimatum: trade or be invaded Japan signed a treaty in 1854 promoting trade between the United States and Japan

15. Meiji Restoration After a civil war in 1868, the Meiji regime established its control throughout the country The daimyo and samurai were stripped of all power and assets The 300 prefectures (reduced to 75) passed into the control of the emperor A policy of industrialization and militarization began

16. Meiji Restoration: Workforce Development The high population created a landless workforce available to work in the factories. Peasant girls were often recruited under a special program that ensured their “purity” while working on the assembly line Rationale: females tended to be more docile workers and less likely to join in labor movements than their male counterparts

17. Meiji Restoration: Industrialization Japanese emissaries were sent across Europe and the United States Countries were selected that provided the best models of industry (upper left: train in Manchuria) The U.S. mail system was emulated in Japan Britain’s navy was the model for Japan’s navy Heavy industry from Germany was another model The corporate zaibatsu provided the motive force for the country’s development The main four zaibatsu: Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, and Yasuda Lower left: Iwasaki Yataro, founder of Mitsubishi

18. Meiji Restoration: Militarism Japan underwent military reforms beginning with the Meiji regime The Imperial Japanese Army was form, incorporated the latest military strategies of Western armed forces Conscription (the draft) was imposed in 1873; all males were to be drafted upon reaching 21 Though the Samurai were dismantled, they live on for propaganda purposes into the 20 th century Being the best educated, the Samurai found employment in the bureaucracy and posts in the Imperial army.

19. Consequences of Modernization: Foreign Wars The Russo-Japanese (top) and First Sino-Japanese Wars resulted in Japan’s annexation of Korea and the Sakhalin peninsula of Russia The Second Sino-Japanese War expanded Japanese control of Manchuria in 1931 and northeastern China in 1937 The cutoff by the United States of oil to Japan led to the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 A well-trained military extended the War of the Pacific (Japan’s term for World War II) into a vour year period The atomic attacks at Hiroshima and Nagasaki (bottom) were arguably decisive factors in ending the war

20. Post-World War II Japan Under the guidance of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, many of the institutions of postwar Japan were founded (upper left) Infusions of aid provided the initial impetus to rebuild (lower left) Restoration of the Japanese Diet (legislature) Universal voting rights by secret ballot Foundations for industrial revival Labor rights Relative freedom of the press

21. Modern Japan One of the strongest industrialized countries of the world (reflected in the new Sony building in Tokyo, upper left) Diverse industries from automobiles to computers (lower right) A corporate society descended from the original zaibatsu A model of Japanese management that guaranteed employment for life—which has since gone by the board Vulnerability to the fluctuations of a global economy

22. Conclusion Japan is dominated by an administrative state with a corporate economy The pattern is deeply rooted in history The Jomon period began with settled, well-designed communities even without agriculture It went through a period of warlord-dominated feudalism Nevertheless, with the Tokugawa period and reinforced by the Meiji restoration, Japan developed a highly centralized administrative state The corporate structure reflects this pattern.