This image is called "Meiji Restoration". Can you explain why?
This week, because of the Anzac Day Holiday, we are having a virtual tutorial rather than meeting face to face. The topic is The Rise of Japan and you have already had the lecture on this by Adam Clulow in Week 7. The readings for this week are on pp.107-115 of the unit reader and are very accessible. You might also like to check out two youtube clips located on the right under Useful (and interesting) links:
First Sino-Japanese War
Meiji Restoration
The question that you should respond to by comment is:
"What role did war, and preparations for war, play in the cementing of Japanese national identity in the Meiji period (1868-1912)?"
The ways in which war facilitates the uniting of a nation, and the ultimate consolidation of a national identity is clearly seen in the case of Japan. The Japanese couched their victory in the Sino-Japanese War in terms of an inevitable and unavoidable overcoming of an old retrogressive system by a new and progressive one. Leading up to, and throughout the war, Japanese citizens were encouraged to think of their Japanese national identity as superior, and to see themselves as the righteous harbingers of the new order in the East. Military victory over Russia in 1905 consolidated and enhanced Japanese national pride and national identity. The immense production and popularity of war paraphernalia (e.g. woodblocks) and pro-war media coverage in the period between 1897 and 1911 reflects the general public’s enthusiasm for the nations’ successes. The many military processions and parades conducted, and national war monuments built, in this period provides further examples of public expressions of national pride and unity.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on this issue are very similar to the great man himself, Ariel. Wars are checkpoints in the history of a nation. In my opinion wars serve to either solidify and unite a nation, or weaken and divide a nation. The Japanese won two successive wars guaranteeing their national interests, and identity, whilst also establishing themselves as a player on the global stage. On the flipside, the loss of the Russo-Japanese War arguably was one of the major contributing factors to the 1905 revolution and the February 1917 revolution in Russia. These wars were beneficial to Japan as the national identity was created and backed by the people of Japan and their identity was now recognised by the world. Peter J Rozanitis (ps I made my blog name when I was 12 please no haters!)
ReplyDeleteWar cemented the Japanese identity as it validated their progression to a modernised nations subsequent to the Meiji Restoration; initiated in 1868. Previously Japan had maintained a foreign policy of self-isolation for over 250 years, and was considered a 'hermit' nation. Nor could Japan be even said to be culturally autonomous, in that they drew greatly from the Chinese, as also did the Koreans. The Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) is arguably the first palpable action taken by the Japanese to affirm their status as as a modernised power. The overwhelming Japanese victory played greatly into the psyche of nation; Japan had toppled a former great nation (then in decline encroachment from foreign powers), that they had once idolised and sought to emulate. (Adam Harrison)
ReplyDeletePreparing for wars, and the wars themselves, allowed Japan to create and project their new national identity in the later years of the Meiji period. Their success in the Sino Japanese war showed the world and themselves that they had moved beyond the barbarism and backwardness of the East (namely their defeated neighbour China) and that they were now modernising and presenting themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the West. The nationalistic fervour that was created at this time was unprecedented in Japanese history. They united as one nation, created monuments and celebrated what this new Japan brought them. This war, and their war with Russia, allowed Japan to evolve and modernise into the nation that it is today. Ellen Wachter
ReplyDeleteI think the wars unified the Japanese and helped solidify their identity as a nation. Meiji leaders unified the previously individually governed states, meaning that, for the first time, citizens saw themselves as part of one people and one nation, thereby simplifying war preparations. The Sino-Japanese War significantly altered Japanese attitudes towards China, traditionally seen as an ‘elder brother’, and Japanese foreign policy because, instead of adhering to their traditional isolationist policy, the Japanese justified their attack on China with the idea that China's old, savage civilisation threatened the superior, modern Japanese one. Through this and the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese perceived themselves as a worthy opponent, having defeated traditionally undefeatable foes and, internationally, they were seen as threatening. Additionally, preparations for these wars instilled a belief that the Japanese way of life, with its unique mix of Japanese culture and Western features, was superior and should be celebrated, thus almost everything associated with the wars was publicised in song, newspapers, coloured wood block prints or monuments, simultaneously evoking and reinforcing nationalistic ideas about what it meant to be Japanese. Cassandra Tonkin.
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