Why Did Japan Become A Great Empire

840 Words4 Pages
Modern Japan is one of the most powerful countries in the world. They play an important role in modern economy. Their automobile, electronic devices or manga are widely accepted by people from different culture. There is no doubt that generations of Japanese tried their best to make Japan become a great empire. The reasons why Japan became a strong empire are the series positive revolution and the sacrifices of ruling classes for their personal interests. Not like the most of the empire resist the impact of modernization. Japanese was willing to accept the modern civilization and learn from the modern Western World. But before US Commodore Perry went across the Pacific Ocean and arrived in Japan, Japan was just a feudal empire. The government…show more content…
According to the book Modern Japan, “When Commodore Perry’s arrived, Japan was a complicated and conflict-ridden society. It had many of the features of a modern nation, with a nation-wide states apparatus under the secular control of the bakuju in Edo, which in turn relied on the religious authority of the imperial house in Kyoto for part of its legitimacy.” Perry’s arrival directly led the civil war in Japan, and as the result the bakufu was overthrown. The emperor took charge of the empire. And the real revolution started. Emperor Meiji supported his government to accept many modern political principles. Meanwhile, people have the strong motivation to build a powerful empire. And that is the most famous revolution in Japanese history Meiji restoration. In 1860s, the emperor made many demands for the new policy. And the most important one is seeking knowledge from around the world in order to modernize and strengthen Japan. During 1871-1873, Meiji sent diplomatic corps to America and Europe to learn the knowledge about science, technology, medicine and modern economic, political and legal system to help Japan catch up the modern western countries. In the early 1870s, Japan published the first modern newspaper. Meanwhile, publish began to sell western books, essays and translations. It provided a chance for Japanese to learn western philosophy and literature. And then, some college was built in order to meet in the…show more content…
Ironically, most of the revolutionaries were Samurai. But their primary task was to abolish the privileges of their class. In 1869, in order to set an example, the nobilities and leaders of revolution turned over their own land to the emperor. And then, these leaders were appointed by the emperor to be salaried managers to control the land. The move resulted in a significant side effect – a national of the imperial army can be unified under the unique leader, which was the first time in Japanese history. Meiji emperor invited European and American military experts to train their new army to use modern weapon. Military forces of the national army originally composed by a thousand samurai, and then became conscription army in 1873. During that year, the government extensive recruited all men over the age of 20 to serve a three-year-system. Along with other reforms in 1870, the Japanese samurai considered the establishment of military as the final fatal blow. Their privileges and obligations seemed to be

More about Why Did Japan Become A Great Empire

Open Document