Intro to Japanese Imperialism

Japanese feudal system (1192-1868

Shogunate, Japanese Bakufu, or Shōgunshoku was the government of the Shogun, or hereditary military dictator of Japan.

From 1192 to 1854 Japan was ruled by the Shogun under a feudal military dictatorship.
There was also an emperor- but they held more symbolic power.

This system was in place until Matthew Perry’s black ships showed up!

Tokugawa Period

1600 - 1868

Sakoku - closed country (national seclusion)

In 1639, Shogun Tokugawa Lemitsu , issued an edict called Sakoku- closed country (national seclusion) banning all foreigners from the country (especially Christians) & prohibiting anyone from leaving or entering the Japanese shores, with the threat of death penalty to those who breached the rule. With the exception of some trade with China and Korea and to lesser extent with the Netherlands, Japan had isolated itself completely from the outside world. The ban lasted for over two centuries.

Text from the seclusion edict …

No Japanese ship ... nor any native of Japan, shall presume to go out of the country; whoever acts contrary to this, shall die, and the ship with the crew and goods aboard shall be sequestered until further orders. All persons who return from abroad shall be put to death. Whoever discovers a Christian priest shall have a reward of 400 to 500 sheets of silver and for
every Christian in proportion. who propagate the doctrine of the Catholics, or bear this scandalous name, shall be imprisoned in the Onra, or common jail of the town. The whole race of the Portuguese with their mothers, nurses and whatever belongs to them, shall be banished to Macao. Whoever presumes to bring
a letter from abroad, or to return after he hath been banished, shall die with his family; also whoever presumes to intercede for him, shall be put to death. No nobleman nor any soldier shall be suffered to purchase anything from the foreigner.

Japan Isolationist Policy

The Edo period or Tokugawa period is the period between 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate

They maintained limited contact with outside- did trade with the Dutch and Chinese.- But only with special charters and within a small area around Nagasaki

Also, the Japanese had expelled most European foreigners when they tried to convert them to Christianity

By the mid 1800’s American and European merchants wanted to open up trade with Japan as they had with China ( through coercion- Opium wars )

U.S. president Millard Fillmore sent Matthew Perry on mission to Japan

Japanese views of the west

Between the years 1675-1837- Japan had suffered 20 famines and by the end of the 18th cy unrest grew among the peasant class-

Also during this period, many samurais fell into difficult times and were forced to take up production of handicrafts – or find jobs with merchants

By the early 19th cy, western intrusion became to increase when Russian traders and warships landed and captured parts of Karafuto and Kuril islands (northern parts of Hokkaido islands)

In addition, a British warship came to Nagasaki scouting for Dutch enemy ships and American trading and naval ships also landed on Japanese shores

Although, the Japanese endeavoured to keep out foreigners, many had adopted the Rangaku school of thought- to learn about these foreigners- their language – culture. An official “Institute for the Investigation of Barbarian Books,” was even set up.
However, due to economic turbulence as peasant classes began revolting, the shogunate began to enact strict policies including the suppression of the Rangaku school of thought and the censorship of art and literature and a return to a frugal lifestyle. The luxurious lifestyle of the samurai was to be abolished.

As news of more foreign encroachment in Asia reached Japan, regarding China, more reforms were passed to prevent the spread of foreign influence in Japan

In July 1846, Commodore James Biddle landed in Edo Bay with 2 warships in an effort to set up US diplomatic relations in Japan. However, the Japanese turned
down this offer- THE AMERICANS WOULD BE BACK!

China - Japan Understanding of the West

Even though Japan’s contact with the West was limited to the Netherlands, the Shogunate, unlike the Qing rulers, not only allowed but also promoted learning
about the West.

In 1811 the Institute for the Investigation of Barbarian Books, was an office in charge of translating Western texts, and by 1857 became a school of Western
knowledge and languages.

Scholars of Western knowledge were allowed to speak out and divulge information freely (Reischauer, 1978). It is not surprising, then, that the Japanese officials were able to more clearly assess their situation in relation to the
Western powers than their Chinese counterparts, and to make a decision based on facts instead of prejudices.

Therefore, Chinese officials couldn’t understand the great changes that had occurred in the West during the Industrial Revolution, and that they faced not simple “barbarians”, but nations with superior military power

Japanese Learn more About Americans prior to Matthew Perry

On his return to Japan in 1851-1852, Japanese sailor –
John Manjiro who had been rescued by Americans and
taken to the US where he lived for several years wrote
about his experiences:

Manjiro praised the Americans as a people who were
“upright and generous, and do no evil”—although he noted that they did engage in odd practices like reading in the toilet, living in houses cluttered with furniture, and
expressing affection between men and women in public (in this regard, he found them “lewd” and “wanton”). Manjiro also described America’s remarkable technological progress, including railways, steamships, and the telegraph. His accounts were published in 1852- just a year before Perry showed up.

Gun Boat Diplomacy

In 1853- American Naval Officer, Commodore Matthew Perry arrived on the shores of Japan with several USS steam ships (that became known to the Japanese as the Black ships) with the intent of opening Japan up to trade.

He brought with him a letter from American President Fillmore explaining why the Americans felt that the Japanese needed to open up their ports. He also brought groovy present to impress the emperor with Western culture such as a working model of a steam locomotive, a
telescope, a telegraph, and a variety of wines and liquors.

Abe Masahiro: senior bakufu councilor tasked with negotiating with AMERICANS

Kanagawa treaty

TRIED TO MEDIATE BETWEEN THE JAPANESE
RESPONSE TO THE AMERICANS DEMANDS.

JAPANESE WERE DIVIDED:
SENIOR COUNCILORS WANTED TO COMPROMISE WITH AMERICANS
THE EMPEROR WANTED TO KEEP THE AMERICANS OUT
THE DAIYMO WANTED TO DECLARE WAR ON THEM
AS A RESULT – NO CLEAR ACTION WAS DECIDED AND THE AMERICANS

EVENTUALLY GOT WHAT THEY WANTED

TREATY OF KANAGWAWA- OR TREATY OF PEACE AND AMITY SIGNED IN MARCH 1854

Paper 1 Practice- Question 1: Commodore Perry’s Arrival

This Japanese print shows commodore Perry’s marines “testing the girth” of a sumo wrestler.

Illustrations of Matthew Perry

COMMODORE PERRY AS DEPICTED BY THE JAPANESE

“It is the President's opinion that steps should be taken at once to enable our enterprising merchants to supply the last link in that great chain which unites all nations of the world, by the early establishment of a line of steamers from California to China.”

So begins a letter of instructions from Secretary of State Daniel Webster to Commodore John Aulick in June of 1851 on the subject of “opening” Japan to the outside world.

More depictions of Perry

Leaders (pre meiji restoration)

Commodore Perry's Arrival

Perry’s Black ships consisted of four steam ships, two sloops, two warships, seventy three cannons, and intimidating Paixans shell guns (first naval gun to fire explosive shells)

Also brought official artists, several unofficial interpreters, and a host of sailors. Perry reached Edo (future Tokyo) Bay on July 8th, 1853. Edo was the ruling centre of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Perry wanted to meet with the Emperor Kōmei

The town of Uraga, located at the entrance to Edo Bay, was the first line of defense for the Shogun’s capital. Perry’s boats steamed past those defenses, & headed straight for the capital. He fired off blanks from his seventy three cannons which he claimed was in belated celebration of
American Independence day, which was four days earlier…

Over the next few days, Perry began a campaign of intimidation, & sent boats to survey the coast, & threaten force if the Shoguns’s guard boats did not disperse.

He sent the Japanese a letter telling them that if they chose to fight he would destroy them. The people of Uraga were intimidated, and sent word to Edo that they were not prepared to defend against this force.

Perry demanded that he deliver a letter from President Fillmore to the emperor. After the letter was delivered, Perry left Japan in order to give the government a few months to consider its decision.

He returned in February 1854, & the Japanese, aware that they were outmatched by Perry’s warships, agreed to admit U.S. ships to the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate and to accept a U.S. consul at Shimoda.

To cement the American good will and friendly relations, Perry presented the Shogunate with gifts including a small working model of a steam locomotive, a barrel of whiskey, modern American farming tools, and a book by the naturalist, Birds and Quadrupeds of America.

The Treaty of Kanagawa was the first of the treaties signed between Japan and other Western countries in the 19th century. The treaty was signed between Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu of Japan and Matthew Perry.

It was signed on March 31, 1854. According to the terms of the treaty, Japan would protect stranded American seamen and open two ports Shimoda and Hakodate for refueling and provisioning American ships.

Japan opens up further
Harris Treaty
Situation in China

Subsequent delegations followed and by 1860, most of the Japanese ports were open to American and European trade.

In 1858, the Harris treaty was signed which furthered the Kanagawa treaty.

This Treaty established that the United States would appoint a diplomatic agent to reside in Edo, as well as a number of consuls to reside at and oversee activities at the treaty; in return, Japan was free to appoint a diplomatic agent to be resident at Washington, as well as to dispatch consuls to major American ports. Further, the diplomatic agents and consuls of both countries would enjoy freedom of movement within one another's countries; the treaty did not provide for freedom of movement for regular citizens.

The President of the United States would, if requested, serve as a mediator in discussions or disputes between Japan and any of the European powers, and Japanese ships would enjoy aid and assistance from American ships, or American consuls in foreign harbors

Essentially, the Japanese did not want to end up like China that was humiliated and imperially controlled after their defeats in the Opium wars. In 1862, Tokugawa Shogunate 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.

Banquet of Foreigners from the Five Countries 1861

Date: Meiji restoration period

1868-1912

End of the shogunate

The Restoration event itself consisted of a coup in the ancient imperial capital of Kyoto on Jan. 3rd 1868. The last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu who by late 1867 was no longer effectively in power was eventually ousted.
The young 14 year old emperor Mutsuhito - The Emperor Meiji- “The enlightened one” was now regarded as the official ruler of Japan.

BOSHIN WAR 1868 to 1869***officially marked The End of Shogun Rule in Japan

The Boshin War ("War of the Year of the Dragon")
❑ Civil war fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court ( Emperor)
❑ Leaders of the Restoration (Emperor) were historically hostile to the Shogunate. They were upset that the Shogun had signed treaties with the west without the Emperor’s consent. They were worried about foreign occupation of their country and believed that the Shogun was weak and selling the country out. They were mainly comprised of Samurai from the Choshu and Satsuma area of Japan. These samurai (in favour of the Emperor/ Imperial forces ) were also known as the Shi Shi.

Beliefs of the Shi Shi
❑ The Shi Shihi believed that Japan had to become a strong nation state that could stand up to the western powers. Again, the fear was that the Japanese would become completely overrun like China
❑ They adopted the slogan “Enrich the country, strengthen the army” (Fukoku kyōhei). It was believed that through modernization and a strong army the Japanese could fend off Imperial aggression and become a dominant country.

Summary of the War
❑ The Shi Shi were better armed and had an initial force of about 6000 that might have increased to 30 000 by the end of 1868 the however the Shogun’s forces numbered about 15 000
❑ Following the Shi Shi and Imperial forces take over of Osaka castle (stronghold of the Shogun’s forces) Shogun Yoshinobu retreated to Edo – foreign western governments recognized the Government of the Emperor
❑ Although The Shogun Yoshinobu surrendered May 1868- his forces continued to resist
❑ The Emperor's troops encircled Edo (Tokyo) and the shogun's capital city surrendered unconditionally in May 1869
❑ The Shogun’s forces continued to fight and even set up the short lived Ezo Republic on the northern island of Hokkaido-
However by November 1869 they surrendered
❑ More than 8,000 were dead by the time the fighting ended in 1869.
❑ The former shogunal capital at Edo was renamed Tokyo, meaning "eastern capital." and the Emperor and the Meiji
Restoration reigned supreme

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. The Shogun Stepped down.
Were furious at the Shogun for signing treaties with the West without the Emperor’s consent.
Their slogan : Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians! sonnō jōi
Embrace western technology

Beliefs of the Shi Shi
❑ The Shi Shihi believed that Japan had to become a strong nation state that could stand up to the western powers. Again, the fear was that the Japanese would become completely overrun like China
❑ They adopted the slogan “Enrich the country, strengthen the army” (Fukoku kyōhei). It was believed that through modernization and a strong army the Japanese could fend off Imperial aggression and become a dominant country.

Last shogun

Saigo Takamori of the very pro-Meiji Satsuma

"led the emperor's troops across Japan to encircle Edo in May of 1869 and the shogun's capital city surrendered unconditionally a short time later.”

❑ Shogunate's army, numbering over 15,000
❑ Choshu and Satsuma 5,000 troops- but increased
but they had modern weaponry including rifles, howitzers, and even Gatling guns.
❑ The Choshu and Satsuma won and restored the Emperor!

Sakamoto Ryōma

❑ One of the main leaders of The Shi Shi samurai coup that overthrew the Shogun and returned supreme power to the Emperor.
❑ He was fundamental in uniting Japan, bringing down the Shogun and modernizing Japan ending Feudalism and promoting the military.

The Meiji Restoration 1868- 1912

❑ During this period, Japan would transform from a feudal society to a modern industrialized and militaristic country- the old samurai culture was replaced with this new movement to a militarized country
❑ Although the economy still depended on agriculture, industrialization was the primary goal of the government, which directed the development of strategic industries, transportation, and communications.
❑ The first railroad was built in 1872, and by 1890 the country had more than 1,400 miles (2,250 km) of rail.
❑ Telegraph lines linked all major cities by 1880. Private firms were also encouraged by government financial support and aided by the institution of a European-style banking system in 1882.
❑ Modernization required Western science and technology, and under the banner of “Civilization and Enlightenment” (Bunmei kaika),
❑ All Western culture including intellectual trends to clothing and architecture was widely promoted through Japan.
Ie. Children received westernized education
❑ Shinto became the official state religion of Japan, and many shrines were supported by state funding. The adoption of Shinto as the national faith was more than a religious devotion, it was the indication of a strong will to centralize the powers of the State and to reinforce the Emperor’s "divine descent“- Buddhism tried to be eradicated

Meiji Restoration Policies

To survive Japan must modernize...
Become a Rich nation with a Strong Army: Fukoku Kyohei

Japan must learn from the West. Japan must Adapt to a Western-dominated world

❑ By learning and adapting, Japan can become modern
❑ By becoming modern they can become rich
❑ By becoming rich they can build a strong army
❑ With a strong army they can become truly independent

The Iwakura Mission 1871/73 –The Japanese in Europe & USA (Named after Iwakura Tomomi)
❑ the head of the Japanese government sends diplomatic mission to Western nations
San Francisco 􏰀 across the US
London 􏰀 Continental Europe
❑ The Goals: The Japanese delegation was interested in Western industry, in the Institutions of public life & educational establishments. The aim of this expedition was to modernize the Japanese economy & culture along Western lines and thus help it to catch up with the countries it was visiting. After the Iwakura Mission of 1873 the Japanese government did indeed succeed in forging links with the Western powers

The Iwakaura Missuion 1871-1873

❑ The members of the delegation experienced culture shock in the United States and Britain and were unable to unravel the intricacies of American and British law and had trouble with other things like the button flies of the Western-style trousers they wore for the first time!
❑ However, their visit to Germany, which had recently unified under Bismark, was more relatable. The Japanese saw Germany as a “new” country in a similar stage of development as their own country and were swayed by Bismark's argument to build a strong military first and put their faith in that rather than “a naive faith in the law of nations.”

During the Meiji Restoration German language and literature was also taught in elite schools not just English or French

Emperor Meiji dressed like a Prussian

Promotion of Western Knowledge