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Modern East Asia exam 2

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Terms

undefined, object
copy deck
Syntax and Scripts
Syntax: different from English or Chinese. For example,
I love you (English and Chinese)
I you love (Japanese)
Scripts
Japanese do not use Roman alphabets
Mixes three systems of scripts: Hiragana, katakana, and kanji (Chinese characters).
Name Order
In general, surnames precede given names.
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Ito Hirobumi
Murakami Haruki (Underlined are the surnames.)
However, modern Japanese who, writing for a Western audience, have adopted the Western name sequence. Or Japanese citizens living in the US.
Reiko Shinno
Ichiro Suzuki / Kazuhiro Sasaki
Position
Pacific coast of the Asian mainland
Closest point 120 miles
(The Great Britain is only 21 miles from Europe, at the narrowest point of the English channel.)
Geography: Topography
Covered by mountains.
short, swift rivers. usually not navigable.
only 15 % is suited for agriculture and living.
Concentration of agriculture and population on the 15 %
Topography (2)
Earthquakes are common
noticeable earthquakes once every three days in Tokyo
Serious damage: Kobe earthquake in 1995. Killed more than 6,000 people.
The Tokyo Earthquake in 1923 contributed to the rise of militarism in Japan.
10% of the world’s most active volcanoes are in Japan. Mt. Fuji is a dormant volcano. (Last eruption in 1707.)
Climate: Latitudes
Stretching from north to south.
North: 45 degrees (= ? in the US)
South: 25 degrees (= ? in the US)
Tokyo: 35 degrees (= ? in the US)
Climate
Cold Kurile current (Oyashio)
Interplay between the ocean currents and the high mountains, plus wind coming from Siberia in winter and from the Pacific in summer, creates complex climate zones.
snow in the northern and western parts in winter.
rain in southern and eastern parts in summer.
clear four seasons
Conclusion
Japan went through major political and social changes in the late 19th century.
The changes occurred in foreign policies, domestic political/social structures, economy, education, military, etc.
Women’s lives changed, too. But these changes were not simply improvement.
Main Points 1
Japan went through four different forms of government: tribal, imperial, samurai, and modern government.
Main Points 2
However, despite the changes in the forms of government and changes in the people who actually held power, the same imperial family remained on the throne since the 6th century to the present. This point distinguishes Japan from China.
Main Points 3
During the period 1600-1867, the Tokugawa family, a samurai family, ruled Japan. The ways they ruled Japan were different from China, but was successful in maintaining peace and order for over 250 years.
I. Tribal Rule
People started to live in Japan since 130, 000 years ago.

About 2,500 years ago, people started agriculture.

They migrated to Japan from various surrounding areas: present-day Korea, China, and southeast Asia.
2. Tribal Rule
At this time, Japan was not unified yet.

Gradual differentiation of the rich and the poor, and emergence of tribal chieftains.

Hime-hiko system (Queen-King co-rulership.)
Imperial Rule
Emergence of powerful families in the Kinki region.
II. Imperial Rule
By the early 6th century, the family ruled large parts of Honshū, Kyūshū, and Shikoku.

By the early 8th century, they adopted Chinese bureaucratic systems to fashion their leader as “emperor” in Chinese sense.
3. Imperial Rule
In particular, they
adopted legal codes
made all the land belong to the emperor, and in return protected the people
settled down in permanent capitals: Nara and then Kyoto
organized bureaucracy
4. Imperial Rule
But note the following difference from China.
No civil service examination. Civil servants were chosen from aristocratic families.

The Japanese imperial family was never totally abandoned, although they were not always politically powerful.
social structure
(high to low)
1. emperor
2.shogun
3.samurai
4.commoners
The Tokugawa Bakufu
Civil wars in the 16th century.

the Ashikaga family took over shogunate in the 14th century but they lost control by the 15th century. produce the shōgun.

Samurai started to fight for new land and power.
2. The Tokugawa Bakufu
Reunification of Japan

Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Yideyoshi began unifying the country.

In 1600, Tokugawa Iyeyasu defeated his main rivals in the Battle of Sekigahara reunified Japan, and became shōgun.

Edo: a new capital (present-day where?)

Edo period, or Tokugawa period
3. The Tokugawa Bakufu
The Battle of Sekigahara in 1600
4. The Tokugawa Bakufu
The Methods of Rule.
Strict class system

Rigid supervision of daimyō

Closed border to almost all foreign contact and trade
5. The Tokugawa Bakufu
Strict Class System
Emperor
Samurai (Shogun, Daimyo, and ordinary samurai)
Farmers
Artisans
Merchants
Others: Entertainers, beggars, etc.
Again compare with China in 1600⬦
6. The Tokugawa Bakufu
Rigid supervision of the daimyo
Categorizing various daimyo and placing them in “right” places.
Shinpan: the Tokugawa relatives
Fudai: close to Edo, but smaller domains
Tozama: far from Edo, but larger
Rigid supervision of the daimyo
The system of alternate residence (sankin kotai)
Sekisho (post)
Japan’s Foreign Relations :From the Ancient Period to
the 18th Century
Intro
Last class—political history of Japan. Domestic history. But how about its foreign relations?
Important to know Japan’s pre-19th century relations with foreign countries because there was a dramatic change in Japan’s foreign relations in mid-19th century.
I. Japan’s Relationship with China and Korea
The Diverse Origins of the “Japanese”
Some from Southeast Asia
Some others from Siberia
Many of them came from China and Korea.
2) Chinese and Korean Influence on Japan
From China and Korea, Japanese learned:
The Imperial system, which was a dominant political system until the samurai came into power.
Buddhism
Confucianism
Chinese characters
Medicine, etc.
3) Japan’s Relative Autonomy
Prince Shōtoku (574-622): “From the country of the rising sun (Japan) to the country of the setting sun (China)”
Feudalism
Japanese invented kana
Shintoism
The Jesuits in Japan
1) The Jesuits
Founded in 1540
Catholic Counter-Reformation, “Cavalry of the church,” prepared to fight with Protestant heretics in Europe or heathen in the world beyond.
St. Francis Xavier (1506-52) landed Kyūshū in 1549.
2) The Relative Success of the Jesuits in the 16th-Century Japan
The Jesuits were reasonably well-received and successful particularly in Kyūshū.
By 1614, there were over 300,000 converts in Japan.
They also became quite close with the samurai leaders of this time, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
VI. Japan and the Outside World During the Tokugawa Period:The Closure Policy
1) Banning of Christianity
Christianity was banned during the Tokugawa Period.
1606: Christianity was declared illegal.
1614: A serious campaign to expel missionaries took place.
Also, being afraid that Japanese might be converted outside of the country, they were no longer allowed to travel abroad without the government’s permission
2) Methods of Suppression
Methods used to distinguish Christians from non-Christians: fumie (Treading pictures)
The government used both torture and persuasion to make Christians renounce their faith.
37, 000 people died during the popular protest in Shimabara, Kyūshū and resultant suppression (1637-38).
3) Reasons for the Purge (cont.)
Changes in the kinds of Christians who came to Japan. (Franciscans/protestants)
Increasing competition among Europeans (English and Dutch)
The Tokugawa Bakufu’s sense of insecurity as the new government. They were afraid that some converted daimyo might be more loyal to the pope in Rome than to shogun.
3) Reasons for the Purge
Spanish conquest of Philippines
Ferdinand Magellan “discovered” the Philippine archipelago in 1521 and it was gradually made a colony of Spain.
4) But Japan Remained Opened to China, Korea, and Holland economically
The Chinese and the Dutch (who promised not to bring in Christianity): Deshima, an artificial land off Nagasaki
Koreans: via Tsushima domains
Through them, Japan was linked commercially to a wider regional market in Southeast Asia.
Women and Family in Pre-19th Century Japan
Main Points
Women’s status and family system went through a rather drastic change in premodern Japan.
Women enjoyed a higher social status and some economic freedom in the ancient period, but their status declined in the 13th century.
Women’s status and family system in the Tokugawa period was similar to those in Ming-Ch’ing China, but there were some differences.
I. Women’s Status and Family in Early Japan
1. Women’s Political Power in Early Japan
Hime-hiko system (Queen-King Co-rulership), mostly in prehistoric time recorded in mythology and legends.
Amaterasu no oomino kami: the Sun Goddess
Himiko in Yamatai Kingdom
Local chieftains recorded in Fudoki.
1. Women’s Political Power in Early Japan con'td
Female emperors early in period of the Imperial Rule, particularly 6th and 7th century AD.
2. Women’s Property Rights in Early Japan
In early Japan, property rights of elite women were customary and unquestioned. Their property took forms of land, residences, and movables.
They gained property through inheritance. One-half of testators and recipients of land grants were women in the 13th century.
Daughters’ chance of getting inheritance was as large as sons. Marital status did not matter.
2. Women’s Property Rights in Early Japan cont'd
Women did not inherit their husbands’ property as often as their fathers’.
Men very rarely inherited women’s property.
3. Marriage
Focus on a man’s and a woman’s feelings.
Marriage as extension of a rather casual relationship.
Women often stayed with their natal families after their marriages. A wife’s family often participated in child-raising more than her husband.
4. Female Literary Giants in Early Japan
Women’s economic independence allowed them to express themselves freely.
Court ladies wrote diaries, poems, essays, and novels that still attract not just Japanese readers but also American and European readers.
Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji.
Sei Shōnagon, The Pillow Book
II. Transition in the Late 13th to the 14th Century
1. Reasons for the change
Establishment of the first bakufu in 1185.
Mongol attacks and resultant social instability in the late 13th century.
Men started to flock together: emphasis on male line of the family.
Also, the concept of land-holding and military service became closely linked.
2. Results of the Change
Women lost a right to inherit their fathers’ or husbands’ property.
Women more frequently moved into their husbands’ household.
To make sure a son is indeed a specific man’s son, wives lost freedom of movement.
Marriage became “family business.”
3. Comparison Between Tokugawa Japan and Late Imperial China
Family
Similarities: patrilocal and patrilineal families.
Differences: Equal inheritance among sons (China) vs. primogeniture (the eldest son inherits all the property, Japan)
3. Comparison Between Tokugawa Japan and Late Imperial China cont’d
Women’s Power and Lives
Similarity 2. Elite women were able to read and write.
Similarity 3. Weaving and sewing was considered an important job for women.
Similarity 4. 19th- and 20th -century China and Japan were based on all these skills that women had in pre-19th century societies. Educational reform movements and industrialization of the two countries.
3. Comparison Between Tokugawa Japan and Late Imperial China
Difference. clothes. languages. literature.
China’s Foreign Relations Through the 18th Century
Main Questions
What was China’s foreign relationship like before they encountered Europeans?
What were Chinese emperors’ attitudes toward foreigners until the 18th century?
When and why did Europeans start visiting China? How did they relate to Chinese emperors until the end of the 18th century?
I. China’s Foreign Relations Before the 15th Century
Chinese perceived foreigners as “barbarians.” Why?
China as one of the four earliest civilizations
Shang Dynasty (16th-11th century BCE)
Egypt, Mesopotamia and India, about 2000 BCE
1. China’s Foreigners
The other civilizations all located so far away.
Nomads in northern and western Asia—very different way of life.
Frequent wars. The Great Wall.
2. Conquest Dynasties
Liao dynasty (916-1125): Khitans conquered north China
Jin dynasty (1115-1234): Jurchens conquered north China
2. Conquest Dynasties cont'd
Yuan dynasty (13th-14th centuries): Mongols
Ch’ing dynasty (17th-20th centuries): Manchus
Even when a non-Chinese man became an emperor of China, he accepted the notion that the emperor of China was the “son of Heaven.” They used Chinese-style bureaucracy to rule China.
3. Tributary System
Hierarchal relationship with neighboring countries. The kings of other countries were considered the “subjects” of the Chinese emperor.
Periodic envoys sent to the Chinese emperor. Elaborate rituals showing respect to each other yet clarifying who’s above whom. “kowtow”
Lavish gift exchange.
II. Early Contact with Europeans: Traders and Missionaries
1. Early Cases
Marco Polo (13th-14th century)
2. Ming China’s Naval Expeditions
Zheng He sailed as far as African shore in the early 15th century.
3. Portuguese
The Age of “Discovery” in 15th –century Europe.
Portuguese reached India in 1498, China in 1514, and Japan in 1543.
They wanted spices. Add flavors to Europeans’ food. Also, medicinal values.
Chinese were not particularly enthusiastic about Europeans (Portuguese did not have much to sell anyway), but they managed to gain Macao as their trade basis.
4. Jesuits
Some Chinese converts, such as Hsü Kuang-ch’i (1562-1633)
By 1700, there were about 300,000 Christians in China
Jesuits: Accepted Confucianism and tried to present Christianity as the most proper way of understanding Confucius.
Studying Confucian texts is o.k.
Worshipping ancestors is o.k.
3. Jesuits
Matteo Ricci (1551-1610) mastered the language and Chinese classics. Knew the Western cartography and astronomy. 18 years after he came to China, he was granted an imperial audience and permission to live in the capital.
5. Arrival of Dominicans and the Rites Controversy
Newly arrived Dominicans in the 18th century: vigorously opposed to Jesuits’ strategies and convinced the pope to condemn them. “Why should a church that condemned Protestant Christianity condone Confucian Christianity?”
Pope agreed with Dominicans, but Kang-hsi Emperor did not. Gradual diminishing influence of Christianity
The Opium War
Today’s Main Points
China stayed in control through the 18th century.
But dramatic change occurred in the mid-19th century.
↓
The Opium War (1840-42) was a watershed event in Chinese history. How and why did it happen?
1. Canton System
Europeans (English by this time) became even more interested in trade with China in the 18th century.
But the Chinese emperor did not see much benefit in trading with Europeans because of Christian disturbances to their order.
1. Canton System cont'd
European merchants were confined in Canton.
They could not directly trade in Chinese market. Each European ship was placed under the supervision of a hong, Chinese firm specialized in the Sino-European trade.
2. Lord Macartney’s Commission
The English did not like the Canton system.
Home Minister, Sir Henry Dundas, sent Lord Macartney to China to change the system.
Chien-lung Emperor rejected it.
3. China-Britain Trade Relationship
The English started to drink tea regularly and imported it from China.
Overflow of silver from England to China.
1760s 3.0 million tael of silver overflow
1780s 16.0 million tael.
3. China-Britain Trade Relationship cont'd
The English sold opium, not directly, but indirectly to balance out their import and export.
4. Opium Problems in China
Public health problem (addiction)
Economic problem: silver deficiency.
The emperor sent out edicts banning the opium. (In 1729 & 1796?) But not effective.
4. Opium Problems in China cont'd
BRITISH SALES OF OPIUM TO CHINA

Year Number of chests
1729 200
1750 600 (est.)
1773 1,000
1790 4,054
1800 4,570
1810 4,968
1816 5,106
1823 7,082
1828 13,131
1832 23,570
5. Debates in the Ch’ing Government
Xu Naiji
Zhu Zun
→writing assignment.
Emperor Daoguang decided to….
6. Chinese Confiscation of Opium
Lin Tse-hsü, the Chinese imperial commissioner, conducted a campaign against opium dealers and smokers.
He ordered each foreign ship to surrender all the opium
6. Chinese Confiscation of Opium cont'd
Captains of British ships were not happy, but were given no choice.
Lin confiscated 3 million pounds of raw opium.
7. Britain’s Military Response
Charles Elliot (the British Superintendent of Trade) ordered the British merchants to hand in their opium to him and sent it to Lin Tse-hsü.
The British merchants used it as an excuse/basis to ask the British government for compensation.
7. Britain’s Military Response cont'd
So now the issue involved the government of Great Britain itself.
Dispatch of a fleet and further mobilization of troops stationed in India.
Queen Victoria (1819-1901, r. 1837-1901)
8. The Opium War (date)
1840-42
9. Britain’s Victory
New war technology in the West. The steam engine was invented in the 18th century. Steam vessels made in the early 19th century. (Industrial Revolution)
China wasn’t technologically behind until the 18th century. And they also tried to catch up with the British during the Opium War.
10. The Treaty of Nanking (1842) & Supplementary Treaty (1843)
Indemnity: 21 million dollars.
Tariff: The percentage was higher than the Chinese gov’t had set before, but they lost their right to set their own tariff.
Most-favored-nation treatment. Whatever privilege China would give to other nations, it had to be given to the English also.
Equal status: Britain no longer need to use words such as “petition” and “beg,” but could use “communication,” “statement,” and “declaration.”
11. Other Western Countries’ Responses
US and France negotiated similar deals with China in 1844.
US obtained extraterritoriality privilege from China.
Britain and France automatically gained it because they were “most-favored-nations.”
China’s Internal Crisis and the Taiping Rebellion
Introduction (Main Points)
The 19th century as the beginning of China’s challenging moment.
The Opium War & the Treaty of Nanking: a case where an European nation played an active role in shaping Chinese history in a violent way.
However, the West influenced China in a peaceful way, too. Also, there were also internal hardships.
The Taiping Rebellion was one way Chinese people responded to the foreign influence and internal problems.
I. China’s Internal Crisis
1. Economic Instability
Overflow of silver because of the opium trade
Population pressure
Year Population
1573 150 million
1685 100 million
1749 177 million
1767 210 million
1776 248 million
1790 301 million
2. Inadequate Gov’t Leadership
Bribery and cheating in the civil service examination.
Failure in the Grand Canal and the Yellow River management.
II. The Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864)
1. Hung Hsiu-chuan (1814-64)
Another young man studying hard for the civil service examination.
But no success.
1. Hung Hsiu-chuan (1814-64) cont'd
Met an American protestant missionary in 1836 in Canton.
Was given a collection of translated passages from the Bible. “Good Words for Exhorting the Age.”
A strange dream in 1837.
Six years later (1843), when he discovered the above-mentioned passages, he “realized” that the two men were the God and Jesus.
2. Hung’s Efforts to Convert Others
His charismatic manner and strong religious belief.
public speech (rather than through a network of secret religious societies) and open destruction of Confucian and ancestral shrines.
In 1847, he went back to Canton and studied the Bible, now fully translated into Chinese.
3. Hung’s Beliefs
Creation of a new Christian community. The God existed in China until Confucianism swayed the Chinese away from the true path of righteousness. (“Ten Commandments”)
3. Hung’s Beliefs cont'd
Destruction of the Manchu rule and “evil” Ch’ing customs.
military.
rigorous instructions against corruption.
central treasury.
abandon men’s queues
4. The Movement as Anti-gov’t “Rebellion.”
1849: 10, 000 followers.
1850: 20, 000 followers
Jan., 1851. Hung declared that his community is “the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace” (Tai-p’ing T’ien-kuo) and he’s the Heavenly King.
Mar., 1853: Nanking
5. The Kingdom’s Policy (1): Land System
Utopian land system based on the Rites of Chou and other Confucian classics.
Distributed men and women equally.
After a family took what they need from their agricultural products, they were supposed to put the rest in the common granary.
Closely supervised by sergeants. Each sergeant was responsible for 25 families.
5. The Kingdom’s Policy (2): New Gender Relationship?
Marriage regulation: strict monogamy
Repudiation of eros.
Women officials
Female hall. Women’s stronger ties with other women.
6. Ch’ing Gov’t’s Reaction
Initially, no response.
In late 1840s, they sent Lin Tse-hsü, but he died on the way..
Tseng Kuo-fan (1811-1872) defeated the Taipings in 1864.
7. Reasons for Taiping’s Defeat
Taipings’ strategic failures.
Problems in leadership
Not able to command sympathy from residents in Nanking or foreigners. Westerners eventually supported the Ch’ing government. “Ever-Victorious Army.”
“Loyalty, tenacity, and courage of senior Chinese officials” (Spence, p. 177)
Development of local militia.
The Restoration Through Reform
Introduction
China had various challenges in the 19th century.
Population pressure, government corruption
Opium trade and opium smoking. Trade imbalance.
The unequal treaties with Western countries as the result of the Opium War.
The Taiping rebellion.
Introduction
Today’s Questions:
What other problems did China have in the 19th century?
How did the Ch’ing government cope with all the challenges?
What changes did the Ch’ing government’s new relations with the West bring to Chinese people?
I. China’s Mounting Problems
1. Increasing Demands from the Western Countries
The British demand renegotiation of the terms of the Treaty of Nanking.
1856. “Arrow War”: The British opposed to a supposedly illegal Ch’ing search of a ship.
The Treaty of Tien-chin in 1858. British ambassador in Peking. Right to travel with passports. More ports were opened.
2. Rebellion
The Nian Rebellion
Started in late 18th century.
Poor mobile population from North China eventually to Lower Yangtze Region.
Serious floods in 1851.
Tseng Kuo-fan and Li Hung-chang suppressed the rebellion in late 1860s.
Muslim revolts in northwest China and Yunnan.
II. The Reform Movement
1. Leadership
Emperor Tung-chi was young.
So Empress-Dowager Tzu Hsi and Prince Kung took the leadership in the palace.
Tseng Kuo-fan
(1811-72)→
←Li Hung-chang (1823-1901)
2. The Central Idea of the Reform During This Period
“Self-Strengthening”
Chung-t’i Hsi-yung (or simply the ti-yong idea)
“Chinese learning should remain the essence, but Western learning be used for practical development.” “Western means for Chinese ends.”
Different from later generations who called for more substantial Westernization, and sometimes total rejection of Chinese culture.
3. Military Technology
Created gun factories and arsenals
Created shipyards to build naval ships
4. Foreign Affairs
Established Tsungli Yamen (The Office of General Management).
Translated Henry Weaton’s Elements of International Law. Prince Gong, “did not feel free to consult foreign books,” but made use of the new knowledge of international law dealing with territorial issues with European nations.
5. Education
An interpreter’s school in Beijing. Originally for the Manchu children, but expanded beyond that soon afterwards.
A full-fledged college, teaching mathematics, chemistry, geology, mechanics, etc. (Metropolitan University in 1898. Later renamed as Peking University.)
Hired foreign instructors.
Study abroad programs for Chinese students.
6. Imperial Marine Customs
Headed by Robert Hart, born in northern Ireland and had served in the British consulates at Ningpo and Canton.
Collected a large sum of tariff that supported the modernizing projects.
Also, accumulated statistics on trade patterns and local conditions all over China.
7. Economic Reforms
Created “government operated merchant enterprises” (kuan-tu shang-pan). i.e., China Merchant Steam Navigation Company.
Grants-in-aids to new settlers in farm lands and extensive tax reduction. A rapid recovery of the agricultural economy.
8. Limits of Success
The civil service examination remained as the way the government officials were recruited. Lack of middle-level officers and managers who were learned in the western studies.
Corruption in the gov’t. Not necessarily only Chinese but corrupt foreign advisers.
The gov’t did not build railways or modern mines.
Relative lack of respect to merchants and interest in promoting commercial activities.
III. Christian Missionaries and Overseas Chinese
1. Christian Missionaries
Increasing numbers of missionaries to China
Education
Attracted students by offering free food, housing, medical care, even clothing and cash subsidies.
Translation of scientific and technical texts.
1. Christian Missionaries cont'd
Introducing Western-style medicine and building hospitals
2. Overseas Chinese
Immigration inside of the country and outside of it.
Three regions that Chinese emigrated to:
Southeast Asia and Indochina
The Caribbean and northern Latin America
(100, 000 immigrants to Peru, for example.)
The United States
2. Overseas Chinese cont'd
1848-49 The Gold Rush in California.
“San Francisco”=Jinshan ([The City of] Gold Mountain)
They gradually went eastward during the period when white Americans moved westward. Conflicts.
From 1880s on, laws to prohibit the Chinese from immigrating to the United States were approved in the Congress and by the presidents
The Black Ships and the Fall of the Old Order in Japan
Introduction
Japan in 1800:
Ruled by the Tokugawa Bakufu (warrior government)
Nominally headed by the emperor in Kyoto, actually led by the shōgun in Edo.
Peace and order under strict class system.
“Closed” to foreign countries with a few exceptions.
Introduction cont'd
In 1853, the US knocked on Japan’s door.
No major wars with the West, but the West used military threat to force Japan to open its ports.
Also, in 1868, a new government was established. Under the new regime, Japan went through dramatic political, social and diplomatic changes.
Today’s class is about the arrival of the Westerners and how that led to the fall of Tokugawa Bakufu.
I. The Westerners’ Interest in Japan
1. Through the 18th Century
The Bakufu’s closure policy
Banning of Christianity
Only the Dutch, Chinese, and Koreans were allowed to trade with Japanese.
But the Westerners were not particularly interested in Japan.
Japanese were probably more interested in the West. →“Dutch learning”
2. In the Late 18th to the 19th Century
The increasing Western interest and visits to Japan
1792: the Russian mission to Hokkaido
1807: another Russian mission
1808: the British frigate entered Nagasaki (in pursuit of Dutch merchant ships)
1825: sailors from an English whaling vessel landed on a village north of Edo
3. The Reasons for the Westerners’ Interest
Industrialization in Europe, especially in Britain, and they were looking for overseas market for their products
The idea of “free trade” was becoming more and more well-received in the West. →Adam Smith (1723 – 1790)
↓
Europe’s intentions were more commercial than political. No intention to make Japan into their colony.
II. Japan in 1850
1. Problems
Development of a money economy and fluctuations of the value of samurai’s stipend.
Fiscal deficits in Bakufu and many daimyo domains
Inability of the Bakufu and the majority of domains to recruit young talented men from lower-class samurai households.
→ Increasing dissatisfaction
2. Reform Programs
The Bakufu reform in 1841-3, led by Mizuno Tadakuni
Recoinage, forced loans, dismissal of officials, sumptuary laws
Proved ineffective and provoked resentments
Reforms in daimyo domains
Successes in Satsuma and Chōshū domains
Land tax, monopolies
3. Japanese Fear Toward the West
Skirmishes occurred in Japan before Perry’s arrival
1807: Russian mission’s attack of Japanese settlements in islands north of Hokkaido.
1808: A young British man threatened that he would burn all the Chinese and Dutch ships in the harbor.

The Opium War in China
III. Commodore Perry’s Arrival
1. The US Involvement in Asia in 1840s
The opening of treaty ports in China
The acquisition of California in 1848
American ambition to become a commercial power in the Pacific.
↓
President Millard Fillmore
sent Commodore Matthew
Calbraith Perry to Japan
2. Commodore Perry’s Display of Power, or Threat
Perry arrival in Japan in July 1853 with four American gunboats, “kurofune (Black Ships).”
While leaving after his first landing, he cheerfully steamed those “Black Ships.”
The message was clear…
IV. Japan’s Response
1. The Bakufu’s Response
1854: an initial treaty between the Bakufu and Perry. The opening of Shimoda and Hakodate to ships seeking provisions.
1855: A similar treaty with Britain
1857: …with Holland and Russia
1858: Townsend Harris, the first American consul in Japan, signed another treaty with the Bakufu.
↓
No tariff autonomy for Japan, and……
2. Two Consequences of the Treaty
“Gold rush” by the Westerners.
→Serious inflation in Japan
→Even more dissatisfaction toward the government.
The process of the bakufu’s decision to sign the treaty undermined its political authority.
3. Two Factions Among Samurai
A period of civil wars, with both the sides partially supported by the Western countries.
Not a safe situation for Japan.
Katsu Kaishū (the Bakufu representative) and Saigō Takamori (the reformist) negotiated the Bakufu’s surrender.
“Meiji Restoration”: Restoration of the emperor’s power and authority.
Katsu Kaishū→
←Saigō Takamori
3. Two Factions Among Samurai cont'd
Ii Naosuke in the conservative group filled the office of “Great Elder.” He ignored the court’s disapproval and signed the treaty.
Ii was assassinated in 1860. The slogan by the assassins were “Revere the Emperor and Expel the Barbarians” (sonō jōi)
Meiji Restoration and the Emergence of Modern Japan
Introduction
1853: Arrival of Commodore Perry. How should they handle the foreign threat?
Also, shogunal sucession issue.
The country was split.
1868: Satsuma’s and Chōshū’s capture of the Edo palace.
Meiji Restoration, 1868.
Changes in political and social history of Japan.
1. Changes in Foreign Policies
Tokugawa Period:
“seclusion” policy at least to the West
“deshima” “treading pictures.”
(Toward the end) sonnō jōi (Revere the Emperor and expel barbarians)
1. Changes in Foreign Policies (cont.)
Meiji Period:
The 5th article of the Charter Oath (1868):
“Knowledge shall be sought throughout the world and thus shall be strengthening the foundation of the Imperial Polity.”
Opened the gate, sent missions and students to Europe and the United States so that they could study the Western political system, technology, etc.
Goals: Change the unequal treaty. Catch up with the West
2. Changes in Political/Social Structure
see pyramid in notes
3. Development of the New Political Structure
Unhappy lower-samurai. The Crisis of 1873. Issue: war with Korea?
Pro-War. Itagaki Taisuke and Saigo Takamori. It’s dangerous to have a weak neighbor. Also a war gives employment and honor to samurai.
Anti-War. Okubo Toshimitsu and Kido Koin. It’s time to catch up with the West.
Anti-War faction remained in the government.
Pro-war faction left the government.
Some led Satsuma Rebellion.
Some led popular rights movement. Advocated against authoritarian government. Fukuda Hideko.
3. Development of the New Political Structure (cont.)
The Meiji Constitution
1881: Announcement that the gov’t will promulgate it in a decade and hold an election.
In 1880s: Formation of political parties.
In 1880s: Ito Hirobumi went to Germany to learn more about their conservative constitution.
1890: Promulgation. It remained effective until…..
The Emperor gained strong power.
The Diet, composed of two houses, were set.
Limited election. (1/2 million out of 40 million)
4. Modernization of Economy
The Meiji government took initiative in modernizing economy.
economic infrastructure, such as education, transportation (railroad), communication, etc.
4. Modernization of Economy (cont.)
Zaibatsu
private industrial-financial combines. (combination of a bank, factory, real estate agent, etc. etc.)
Mitsui, Mitsubishi.
Former samurais.
5. Changes in Education
Higher education
Study abroad scholarships—1/8 of Ministry of Education’s first budget (1873)
But the government focused more on creating universities to educate students themselves
1887: Establishment of Tokyo Imperial University.
5. Changes in Education (cont.)
Elementary education
Tokugawa—any compulsory education?
1872: compulsory 4-year education
By 1900, great majority of children were in fact in school for at least 4 years.
1907, compulsory education was extended to 6 years.
6. Development of Modern Military
1873: Conscription law
1878: A major reorganization
Army: German style
Navy: English style
1894-5: Japan’s victory in the Sino-Japanese War.
7. Changes in Women’s Lives
Did the modernization / westernization of the society improve women’s lives?
Their lives certainly changed, but we cannot simplistically say improvement.
Emergence of highly educated women
Tsuda Umeko. One of the few women students who were sent for study abroad in the US.
Women from lower samurai class. primary school teachers.
7. Changes in Women’s Lives (cont.)
1890: revision of the Meiji civil code. “convert all of Japan into a single Tokugawa samurai model.”
No votes for women.
Emergence of factory women. poor working conditions.
Socialist-feminists: Fukuda Hideko, Kanno Suga, etc.
The Sino-Japanese War: A Shift in East Asian Order of Power
Introduction
Sino-Japanese War: the war between China and Japan. Took place in Korea from 1894 to 1895.
Important because it caused an unprecedented shift of power in East Asia. China used to be a super-power. After the war, it was Japan.
I. East Asia and the World Order in 1870s
1. Europe and the United States in 1870s
Increasing aggressiveness
New order and stability in Europe
Developing industrial revolution, need for more overseas market
“New Imperialism”: Sense of fierce competition to control Asian and African countries
2. China
1840s: Western pressure to open its gate
1870s: Encroachment of the West on its peripheral areas
Central Asia: Russia
Vietnam: France
3. Japan
Conflicting impulses
The Meiji leaders knew the power of the West, wanted least confrontation
the Iwakura mission and the Crisis of 1873
But they were also “Sonnō jōi” activists toward the end of the Bakufu rule.
Also the influence of “Social Darwinism”
3. Japan cont.
Steady Strengthening of Japan’s Military and Naval Forces
1880: 19 % gov’t budget
1890: 31 %
More assertive foreign policy (Especially 1880s-)
Hokkaidō
Ryūkyū islands
4. Korea
Korea’s relative autonomy but close relationship with China
The Yi Dynasty (1392-1910) in power but in a serious decline, despite reform efforts.
4. Korea cont.
Yamagata Aritomo’s Idea of National Defense
“a line of sovereignty”
“a line of interest”
“A Dagger Pointed at the Heart of Japan”
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