Japanese History Review

Ex. One constant from 1600-present has been loyalty to emperor: T/F? False!!!
Shogunate
Ex. Possible chronology question: order them?
1. Meiji Restoration (1868)
2. 1st Official mission to US (1860)
3. Aizawas new proposals (1825)- he was founder of Mito school and Sonnozoi
4.
Exam format: will have enough time, 40 min objective, 40 min essay, but you
should finish objective faster if you know the material.

Preparing for Exam:

1. Start with term sheets: important names, dates ,etc.
2. Look at Ppts
3. Bulkpack: some are quoted on term sheets- usually use text quoted on term
sheets or ppts but cant guarantee. Know who said each quote. Actual
readingsmaybe just read the subtitle headers?
4. Gordon- more background info but skim since its a textbook
5. Moriyogai and katsukokichi- may be questions or quotes from these books
Katsukokischi = lower lever samurai, just had fun,
Moriyogai: Wild Geese - woman became mistress, wants to be rescued by
college student, elements of nostalgia
But should be obvious- you will be able to identify them, wont be given
quotes
Geography: Just know 4 main islands (Hokkaido, etc.) and 3 important domains
Satsuma, Choshu, and maybe Toosa (where Taisuke was born?) may appear on
exam. Also know Japanese colonialism area like Korea and Manchuria. Japans
colonial territory. Will be given a map and A,B,C,D,E,F.
Essay: like SAT: intro and thesis, around 3 body paragraphs, conclusion. 20 pts.
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Prof. Dickinson has very picky ideas vs. Gordon so acknowledge his views in
essay!
o Prof hates the word Westernization, Japanese particularism (i.e.
Japan has always been this way), before 1950 the Westerners had
racial tendencies to say japanese were inferior, etc., then change as
people referred to Japan as culturally embedded.
o Prof. is a revisionist- challenge orthodox vision of Japan as unique or
particular

Also he believes nothing is predetermined. He likes contingencies (i.e.

if A doesnt happen, B would not happen) Example. Was Meiji
Restoration inevitable? War participation in war inevitable? NO!
Nothing is inevitable. If you say strong forces of change towards Meiji,
must acknowledge other possible outcomes, but I still think X is the
driving force.
o Likes Taisho emperor, social movements in Japan that have ties to the
West- Japan is connected to the global stage, not just influenced but
actively participating
If you can refer to bulkpack or readings, you will get more pts, but doesnt
mean the more the better: use 2-3 textual examples is good.
Most important- make convincing argument.
Examples: Get 3 questions, choose 1 to respond to
o Was Tokugawa Japan closed or open? Do you agree with this opinion?
o Why did the Meiji Restoration succeed?
External: catalyst was westerners, crisis
Internal: developing issues:
Economic (famines, discontent, peasant riots)
Social: towards end of tokugawa, samurai poorer, merchants
rising, rise of the shishi class of low level samurai
political (outer domain daimyo, corruption)
intellectual forces (sonno joi,
Satcho alliance
o To what extent did the men who promoted change during this time
deserve the name revolutionaries?
o What did the Meiji emperor symbolize for Japanese contemporaries
o

Why did the Meiji Restoration succeed?

Driving socioeconomic
Satcho alliance

Sengoku Period:
Just know overview, know Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (cunning lower
samurai helping Nobunaga), Nobunaga was killed by a vassal, so Hideyoshi was his
successor but died, so Tokugawa Ieyasu took power. Bird in a cage joke.
Try to focus more on post-Bakumatsu Period:
Tokugawa Period
1. Era of Peace following Warring Period: allowed culture and development
2. Hierarchy of daimyos:
a. Fudai (Tokugawas vassals)

b. Shinfan(relatives of Tokugawas family)

c. Toozawa (outer domains like Satsuma and Choshu)
d. See map of Daimyos: the closer to Edo, the more power. Toozawa
domains were left out
3. Samurai classes had 2 tiers
a. Upper level
b. Lower level- poor samurai had to respect uppers, not paid well towards
end of Tokugawa period, they became drivers of change
4. Reforms: just know there were reforms, specific ones not impt
Late Tokugawa Period: Bakumatsu Period
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Marked by foreigners arrival: Bakumatsu starts with Perrys arrival (18531867)

Social discontent: merchants got richer but lower level samurai were
poorer and losing prestige and abused by upper level samurai
Political power struggle between Fudai and Toozawa. Upper samurai got rich
from foreign trade
Treaty of Kanagawa (1859)- gave USA trading rights with Japan:
opened ports
o Prior, trade was limited to few ports like Nagasaki so historians said
Tokugawa was a period of Sakoku periodDickinson would not agree
(in fact trade flourished)
o Sonnozoi = revere the emperor and expel the barbarians
Pro-emperor faction, using this as excuse to rebel against
Shogunate
Why did we sign treaty with Americans? We should fight
Bakufu tried to get rid of this group
Aizawa was founder of Mito school and Sonnozai ideal= radical,
anti-foreigner
Yoshida actually believed western science was important to learn
Japanese are learning Western science, gifted the first steamship by Dutch
and used to send ppl abroad to USA in 1860s
1858
1866- Satsuma and Chosu disliked Shogunate but also each other. Their
motive was Sonnozai (expel barbarians) not to establish new nation, until
mediator guy Sakamoto Ryoma of Tosa Domain helps make the Satcho
alliance which overthrows the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Meiji restoration was NOT inevitable, without Furiyoma, maybe no alliance
No, they were trying to restablish social order, not create a modern nation.
Satsuma/Choshu werent interested in creating the modern nation, just
overthrowing Shogunate

Continuity: trends that remained. See Lecture 6 slides

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Tradition of renovation

Political dilemmas for economic growth: merchants richer, samurai poorer

and losing prestige, economics instability, what should we do?
Political dilemmas for old rivalries- Toozama domains were disgruntled, less
access to power, while upper samurai

Change:
1. National Unification: education, national land taxes, conscription
a. No national tax under Tokugawa: daimyo lords had to pay to
shogunate, but the common people were paying taxes to their lords for
protection
1868- 1889 (Constitution)

Satsuma Rebellion/Southeast War

o Why did it happen?
o Political debate of seikanon- now that we unified Japan, we should
invade Korea
o Saiko Takamori decided to, but court vetod so he left
o Samurai were more disgruntled in Meiji period (lost privilege of
carrying sword, nation was getting rid of traditions like the hairstyle)
o Meiji Government quenched rebellion, but this was one of the events
that marked the Early Meiji period

1875-1889 (Constitution)
o

Freedom and Peoples Rights movement

Most important movement/campaign
Wanted civil rights (vote, representative gov)
Were not very successful, Meiji oligarchs thought parliamentary
gov was premature but inspired to write the Constitution
Before Constitution, they only had 5 Chartered oath, did not
2 people you need to know are the leader of the People
Hagaki Taisuke
Okuma Shigenobu- founder of rinken shidenobu (sp?)
Supported British cabinet system, Left and lose power,
but came back
Ito Hirobumi = father of the Constitution, father of modern Japan
See excerpt of Constitution in Lecture 10 term sheet
Emphasis on the emperoris this because Japanese
Dickinsons POV: global and domestic context
Globally, Americans were fighting against the monarchy, King
George
Japanese were fighting for the emperor as a symbol of national
politics/unification

Sino-Japanese War:

War began over Korea, dont need to know details but Korea as struggling and
asked for Chinas help to step in, but Japan believed that would be bad
Domestic effect: united Parliament consensus in providing military funding
and gave ordinary people unification
Okugo/Shibuzawa reading in coursepack to know economic effect: state was
sponsoring heavy industries to develop exports, etc.
Treaty of Shimonoseki- signed between Japan and China ended Sino-Japanese
War
o Japan won: China forced to leave Korea and recognize Korean
independence
o Japan gained some territories
o Triple Intervention (French, Russia, Germany) over the treaty terms
(Japan gained Liaodong peninsula and Port Arthur which encroached on
Russias sphere on influence in China- Russia wanted Japan to give
back the territory for more indemnity money and enlisted help of
partners.
o Result: huge effect on Japanese foreign relations, Japan sought to avoid
another event of European Powers used against Japan. Led directly to
the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902 which was explicitly intended to
shield Japan from interference from other European Great Powers,
especially Russia

1905 Anglo-Japanese Alliance

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Now that Chinese were out, Russians came to KoreaRusso-Japanese War

Alliance quickly kicked Russia out and Japan established right as protectorate
to Korea, Qingdao, and Manchurian Railroad
Again, domestic unification and victory on the world stage over Russia
Why were there more people against the Russo-Japanese war than SinoJapanese War? More people and organizations and movements that voiced
opposition to the government in the 1900s.

1912: Meiji died- was this sad?

Spirit of Meiji: 3 major points
1. Territory expansion
2. Military victories

3. Birth of nation-state
1914: WWI breaks out

Japan declares war on Germany because of Anglo-Japanese Alliance, British

requested Japan
Quick and decisive victory against Germany, Japan gained Qingdao from
Germany in China
Dickinson POV: Japanese victory in WWI marked Japans political and
economic rise on the international stage
o Domestic: WWI economic boom, beginning of Japans true party
cabinet and party politics (theres a reason why he ended on this
before midterm- when writing, END ON A HOPEFUL note!)
o International: Japan acknowledge as a WORLD POWER- invited to treaty
of paris in Versailles, Council seat for peace talks

WWI victory assured Japanese confidence, even people like Hirobumi thought
party politics were premature, but maybe now the timing is right as Japan
doing well on the world stage, conservatives may be more open to giving
people political rights