Historiography of japanese modernization pdf

The hegemonic view in early postwar japanese historiography had held that the period of fascism and war was merely the culmination of a long history of antagonisms and distortions that marred japans modern past. Meiji modernization, scientific agriculture, and the. The historiography of japan is the study of methods and hypotheses formulated in the study. Available formats pdf please select a format to send. Both article 9 of the japanese constitution pdf, which prohibits japan from maintaining military forces for settlement of international disputes, and the u. Unit 15 colonialism and imperialism in china with special reference to the first and second opuim wars, the first sino japanese war, taiping rebellion. In this paper i shall make a small suggestion concerning the usage of this notion in mingqing history.

So westernization served not only to modernize japa nese society by appropriating western ways, but at the same time to westernize. A comprehensive study of mazruis works reveals that his panafrican and anticolonial stance which were emphasized in his first book became strongly expressed in. Modernization is not a universal category, so it demands careful attention to its specific conditions in different settings. Between the years 1956 and 1958 the school of oriental and african studies, university of london, held a series of study conferences to survey and evaluate the course and character of historical writing on the peoples of asia. Japanese imperialism had been soundly defeated and could be considered an unfortunate past.

Modernization theory and modernist versions of historiography sought to champion the idea that postwar japan could become a model case for developing nations. Chinese history and the concept of early modernities kishimoto mio tokyo university many historians have already discussed the propriety of using the words early modern in the periodization of noneuropean history1. English or japanese, might have influenced a more sympathetic view toward koreas predicament over this rather difficult period. The meiji restoration when the japanese heard what the british did to china in the opium war and how china was forced to endure unequal treaties, japan knew the west would soon come. Many educated chinese saw japan as a model that china should emulate. Economic historians have noted that certain areas of europe, such as flanders in. Society for comparative studies in society and history. Achieving equality with the west was one of the primary goals of the meiji leaders. For more than 1500 years, confucianism has played a major role in shaping japans history from the formation of the first japanese states during the first millennium ad, to japans. Comparison of japans modernization process with that of other countries over. This civil war is considered by historians as japanese revolution as. American president millard fillmore wanted to open ports of trade, wanted better treatment of shipwrecked sailors, and.

The possibility of choosing from a wide diversity of models because japan maintained its independence and did not have the experience of being colonized by the. Many of the scholars who attempted to historicize modernization theory were themselves scholars with their own theories of development, taking part in the debate, initiated by modernization theorists. As japan s sense of power grew, the nation also became more imperialistic. Choose from 500 different sets of japan chapter 28 history modernization flashcards on quizlet. Japan introduced its first constitution in 1889, based the european. Under the banner of modernization theory, imperialist aggression was turned into economic success. The modernization of japan during the meiji restoration 971 words 4 pages. Historiography of modern japan updated 920 with discussion leaders week one 96 introductory discussion week two 9 perspectives on modernization and modernity john whitney hall, changing conceptions of the modernization of japan, in marius jansen, ed.

Enormous changes were made to japans system of government and armed forces and the country embarked on a programme of industrialization. For the samurai warrior class, these were public education institutions fief schools for study of the chinese classics confucian doctrine, chinese literature and chinese history. The history of japan s educational development advent of a society in which academic credentials formed the determining criterion for a persons employment and social status. An outline of the periods asia for educators divides japanese history from 1600 to the present into four periods, providing teachers with a synopsis of major events placed in the context of overall historical developments. Korean historiography as the traitorous sect that sought an alliance with the japanese soto zen sect in 1910, after japans formal annexation of korea. With this knowledge from japan, japan library hopes to contribute towards the creation of a universal, global. Modernization theory and modernist versions of historiography sought to champion the idea that postwar japan could become a model case for. Japanese modernization, postmeiji era, domestic conditions, external. The line of argument is that modernization was not a single simple trajectory toward social economic and political progress, but it also could have authoritarian. The foundations of japans modernization a comparison. Japanese fears were realized in the summer of 1853. A history of japanese buddhism xii japanese calendar since the 1 january 1873, japan has used the gregorian calendar.

Also includes a timeline activity for students to be completed with information from the. The japanese realized they were too weak to defend themselves then and had to agree to the terms. Surprised by their demands and outgunned by their military, within one year, the japanese agreed to perrys terms. Manual for the study of japanese history published in i884.

The contributions of ali mazrui to african historical. As in europe, national pride played a large part in japan s imperial plans. By choosing topics that suggested the importance of popular energies in the development of modern japan, they endeavored to enlarge the canvas of social history. What followed was a period of western influence that would forever change japan. The recording of chinese history dates back to the shang dynasty c. The historiography of modernization theory is a difficult subject because the line differentiating primary from secondary sources is imprecise. Paper i historiography, concept, methods and toois block i. Two years earlier, japanese newspapers and magazines had celebrated the annexation of korea, congratulating. Literary historians habitually characterize shosetsu shinzui as the first work to call for the modernization. They rejected marxism and modernization theory as alien and limiting and sought instead an indigenous methodology that might better fit the japanese case because it was derived from it. Kim states that the dominant nationalist historiography of korea views japanese buddhist missionary activities in korea strictly as imperialist aggression. Watanabes chosen kaikoku to nisshin senso is important reading, as it provides a fine example of japanese national historiographythat is, history aimed at providing. In 1868, that city changes its name to tokyo, which is modernday japan.

Why was 19thcentury japan able to modernize and not china. The second part of the class focuses on key concepts in recent historiographygender, culture, and class, exploring ways these concepts are theorized and deployed for historical analysis in new scholarship. The meiji restoration was a revolution from the top of society typified by the genro the elite group of exdaimyo who ran meiji japan this led to peasants, females and urban laborers wanting more freedoms than the repressive regime was willing to grant. Pdf an insight in japan before meiji restoration 1868 to analyze. Changing conceptions of the modernization of japan. The earliest work of japanese history is attributed to prince shotoku, who is said to have written the tennoki and the kokki in 620 ce. Japan is a perfect example of a country which is product of modernization. Historians of china and japan, 1961 online research. Here i focus on the contribution made to the japanese modernization project by translators and translations in the setting of government institutions in early to midmeiji japan after the break with its feudal past.

Japan s tokugawa or edo period, which lasted from 1603 to 1867, would be the final era of traditional japanese government, culture and society before the meiji restoration of 1868 toppled the longreigning tokugawa shoguns and propelled the country into the modern era. Chinese history and the concept of early modernities. Lesson plan the nature of sovereignty in japan, 1870s1920s program on teaching east asia from the 1870s through the 1920s, japan underwent rapid and widespread modernization and nationbuilding. Historiography of modern japan introductory discussion. They turned to japans young emperor, mutsuhito mootsooheetoh, who seemed to symbolize the countrys sense of modernization in japan analyzing causes list the steps that japan took toward mo dernization an the. They criticized the master narrative of the postmeiji past, centered on the tenno emperor, and. Foreign influence and the transformation of early modern japan. Treaty reform, designed to end the foreigners judicial and economic privileges provided by extraterritoriality and fixed customs duties was sought as early as 1871 when the iwakura mission went to the united states and europe. Primary sources with documentbased questions asia for.

Japanese history textbooks, historian david howell implores scholars of japan. An event unique to japan, it was the meiji restoration that set japan apart developmentally from its asian neighbors. We open with a series of discussions about the ways american academic institutions and scholarship has constituted japan as a field of studies. At the start of the 19th century, asian countries had militaries less effective than western nations. Foreign influence and the transformation of early modern japan yayori takano the meiji restoration of 1868 is known as one of the great turning points in japanese history. Paper i historiography, concept, methods and toois. Meiji restoration, in japanese history, the political revolution in 1868 that brought about the final demise of the tokugawa shogunate military governmentthus ending the edo tokugawa period 16031867and, at least nominally, returned control of the country to direct imperial rule under mutsuhito the emperor meiji.

Japanese companies, too, which appeared unstoppable in the 1980s, are suddenly looking for international partners to help them out of their dire financial straits, hence the recent linkup between nissan and the french automobile company renault, preceded by the american company fords massive a short history of japan 2. The importance of analyzing shosetsu shinzui lies in its status as the purported origin of modern japanese literary history. Japan attacks chinathe japanese first turned their sights to their neighbor, korea. Historiography of modern japan spring 2007 louise young friday 35 office hours. Meiji reform and modernization the japanese were angry that the shogun had given in to the foreigners demands. The japanese were determined to show the world that they were a powerful nation. The era of modernization in japan facing history and. Historiography of modern japan week one 96 introductory discussion week two 9 perspectives on modernization and modernity john dower, e. To a greater or lesser degree, the western historiography read by the. The industrialization and global integration of meiji japan. Prior to that a lunisolar calendar was in use, similar to that used in china. Since the adoption of the gregorian calendar, three different systems for. Japanese and western scholars are desperately arguing on the overall definition of modernization. This chapter shows how in japan, the year 1945 represented a change of a very different kind.

A focus on statesociety relations volume 53 issue 2 sheldon garon. The historiography of japan nihon shigakushi is the study of methods and hypotheses formulated in the study and literature of the history of japan. Japan and britain, for example, were two imperial systems that countered each other in many facets but also had strikingly similar qualities that had helped them become strong imperial powers during the twentieth century that were a threat to one another. Primary source wdbqs the charter oath of the meiji restoration, 1868 pdf asia for educators. Thereafter, the japanese started to modernize themselves and became. Historiography of japans meiji restoration flashcards. T here was a time, not so long ago, when the primary fault line in american studies of japan lay not between japan bashers and japanapologists, but between those who presented the history of japan in terms of an ongoing process of modernization and those who did not. Taking japanese studies seriously, in helen hardacre ed. In particular we will look at the dominance of the paradigm of modernization. Learn japan chapter 28 history modernization with free interactive flashcards. In 1853, the us navy forced japan to enter into trade with the united states. Japan library is, by publishing specially selected japanese works in english, here to introduce to the world the diverse and multilayered aspects of japan and japanese thought and the rich and colorful world of japan. Chinese historiography is the study of the techniques and sources used by historians to develop the recorded history of china. This article delineates the history of modernisation theory.

Modernisation refers to a model of a progressive transition from a premodern or traditional to a modern society. History of economic and social history in japan ver3. Changing japanese attitudes toward modernization, princeton. The end of the cold war, rise of the comfort women issue, and fiftieth anniversary of the end of wwii, helped create conditions favorable for a new wave of historical revisionism. From the perspective of the united states after 1945, japan, like germany, had experienced a sonderweg, or straying from the path of normal modernization. From a rural setting to an industrialized one, that is how modernization occurs.

Primary source wdbqs the meiji constitution of 1889 pdf asia for educators. And on march 31, 1854, the convention of kanagawa was signed. Colonialism and the korea problem in the historiography of modern japan. The world of modern japanese historiography a companion to. The theory looks at the internal factors of a country while assuming that, with assistance, traditional countries can be brought to development in the same manner more developed countries have. A criticism of the argument that japanese colonial rule modernized korea. As seen in uchidas case, the historical origins of economic and social history in japan are found in two separate disciplines. Akira hara, an economic historian, summarizes the industrialization of the. The world of modern japanese historiography a companion.

All those interested in modern japanese, chinese and asian history in general, the history of modernization, political, economic and institutional history of east asia, the history of ideas, western historiography as against east asian historiography. Rethinking modernization and modernity in japanese history. German influence on historical scholarship in meiji japan pdf. Until 1868, which is a very important year in japanese history, the basic structure of the feudal governmentit was the shogunate, is the term we use, meaning the government of a shogunthe military governmentand it was placed in the city of edo. Meiji, and the beginning of japanese modernization. Although they are not literature as such, many written examples survive of ceremonial inscriptions, divinations and records of. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Japanese historians now repudiated the ultranationalist historiography of the 1930s and early 1940s, and turned in significant numbers towards marxism, which rapidly achieved a kind of hegemony. During the 1970s, younger scholars of japan attacked modernization theory with considerable passion see dower 1975.