9. Economy and Life in Meiji Japan

Fukoku kyōhei

“Rich country, strong army”. Part of Japan’s strategy for increased independence. Need economic development to support a strong military. Led to various programs of economic support.

Shokusan kōgyō

“Increase production, promote industry”. Government support given to mechanisation of industry. Focus on cotton and silk textile production. Done to overcome advantages of higher quality foreign-made cloth.

Technological Developments in Meiji Japan

• 1890’s--Creation of telephone system

• 1872--First railroad constructed

• 1889—Rail network completed on main island of Honshu

Matsukata Deflation

Matsukata Masayoshi became finance minister in the early 1880’s. Slashed spending, hiked taxes, and sold many government enterprises at firesale prices.

Created Bank of Japan to control money supply.

Created an economic crisis but set up conditions for better private sector development

Shibusawa Eiichi

Japanese industrialist who founded companies in a variety of fields including cotton textiles and amassed large amounts of wealth. Became a philanthropist later on in life. Known as the “father of Japanese capitalism“.

zaibatsu

Large conglomerates controlled by groups of families who had interlocking companies.

Prominent examples include: Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, and Yasuda.

Factory girl (kojo)

Movement made up of female textile workers that protested the terrible labor conditions in their line of work. Advertised their willingness to defend themselves from abuse.

Ryōsai kenbo

“Good wife, wise mother”

Women to reside in private sphere, but be educated and provide moral foundation to the family.

Appealed mainly to upper middle classes.

Did encourage female education.

State Shinto

Meiji leaders aimed to centralize Shinto shrines into one national network. New ritual calendar focused on celebrations of the emperor and the nation. Aim to use Shinto as a unifying factor for new Japanese nation-state.

Sect Shinto

New religions based on Shinto arising in Tokugawa times worried about new government moves.

Emphasised their orthodoxy.

13 sects officially approved by the government.

Remained separate from official hierarchy.

Important for transmitting Shinto and national values to common people.