"Meiji and Taishô Japan" Topic

"Japan underwent amazing transformations from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century. In the 1850s, Japan was politically divided into many competing warlord domains. The people were socially divided into hierarchical classes. The most powerful warlord, the shogun, ruled almost as a dictator. He did not allow popular participation in government. Leaders severely limited contacts with the outside world. Japan was seen as a "closed country" that engaged in diplomacy with few of its neighbors.

By the 1920s, things had changed. Japan had become a constitutional monarchy with a democratically elected parliament. It had a modern military that had won two major wars overseas. Japan was an active member of the international community. It participated in the League of Nations and ruled colonies of its own. Despite these successes, Japanese leaders were frustrated. They saw signs that other world powers did not regard them as equals. They were also concerned about rising nationalism in the colonies and popular protests at home. All these factors led officials to move toward militarism and fascism in the 1930s.

Along with political transformations, the Japanese experienced many changes in daily life. People began wearing Western style clothing and eating new foods. Trains, cars, and electricity came to Japan's cities. Women became active participants in public life as workers, consumers, writers, and intellectuals. Interactions with Europeans and Americans inspired many of these changes. Some Japanese thought such moves were necessary for Japan to become part of the modern world. Others were concerned they would lose their own traditions. How could the Japanese create a shared sense of national identity? Did "modern" mean "Western"? Could Japan modernize and industrialize without losing its sense of self? These were questions Japanese of the time asked themselves. We might ask the same questions today as we think back on these decades of Japan's history…."
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