Societies+at+Crossroads;+The+Chinese+Under+Pressure+and+The+Transformation+of+Japan

=Societies at Crossroads; The Chinese Under Pressure and The Transformation of Japan=

The Transformation of Japan(WN)

 * 1853, fleet of U.S. warships steamed into Tokyo Bay with heavily armed foreign powers
 * the powers forced the Tokugawa shogun and his government, the bakufu, into signing the unequal treaties providing political and economic privileges similar to those obtained earlier from the Qing Dynasty in China
 * after restoring the emperor to power in 1868, Japan's new rulers worked for the transformation of Japanese society

From Tokugawa to Meiji(WN)

 * early 19th century, Japanese society was in turmoil
 * regarding agricultural productivity, periodic crop failures and famines, and harsh taxation contributed to economic hardship and sometimes even led to starvation among the rural population
 * the shogun's chief advisor, Mizuno Todakuni, canceled debts that samurai and daimyo owed to merchants, abolished several merchant guilds, and compelled peasants residing in cities to return to the land and cultivate rice
 * the insistence on the establishment of diplomatic and commercial relations by foreign lands was another problem facing with Tokugawa bakufu
 * starting in 1844, British, French, and U.S. ships visited Japan seeking to establish relations
 * the unexpected intrusion of foreign powers precipitated a domestic crisis in Japn that resulted in the collapsed of the Tokugawa bakufu and the restoration of imperial rule
 * Tokugawa vigorously responded to their opponents by forcibly retiring dissident daimyo and eliminate or jailed samurai critics
 * in a short civil war, however, bakufu armies experienced repeated defeats by dissident militia units trained by foreign experts and armed with imported weapons
 * Tokugawa caused doomed, resulting the shogun to resigned his office
 * but then on January 3, 1868 the boy emperor Mutsuhito - subsequently known by his regnal name, Meiji(ruled from 1852-1912 & "Enlightment Rule") - took the reigns of power and rule during a most eventful period in Japan's history

Meiji Reforms
1. Foreign Influences(SK) -Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901) studied English, in 1860 he was a member of the first Japanese mission to the U.S. Later he traveled to Europe and reported observations in a few popular publications, he argued for equality before the law and liked the educational system and constitutional government in U.S. and Western Europe -Ito Hirobumi (1841-1909) traveled abroad on four occassions: during 1882 and 1883 he traveled to Europe to study foreign constitutions and administrative systems, was especially impressed with recently united Germany and drew his inspiration from them, helped draft the Japanese constitution 2. Abolition of the Social Order (SK) -emperor convinced daimyo to give up land and used it for prefecture and metropolitan districs controlled by the cnetral government -abolished samaurai class and their rights -many were angry and rebelled, but new national army crushed the samaurai rebellion and the national government no longer feared military challenges 3. Revamping the Tax System (SK) -established fixed taxes on grain, and also on potential productivity of land, and left peasants to deal with fluxuation of grain prices -only the max producing cultivators could afford to hold their land; others sold it to more effieicent producers