Paradox of Meiji Restoration and Modernization essays

Paradox of Meiji Restoration and Modernization essays Paradox of the Meiji Restoration and Modernization Japan is a society whose culture is steeped in the traditions and symbols of the past: Mount Fuji, the tea ceremony, and the sacred objects of nature revered in Shintoism. Two of the most important traditions and symbols in Japan- the Emperor and Confucianism have endured through Shogunates, restorations of imperial rule, and up to present day. It can be argued that the leaders of the Meiji Restoration used these traditions to gain control over Japan and further their goals of modernization. The Meiji leaders used the symbolism of the Emperor to add legitimacy to their government, claiming that they were ruling under Imperial Will. They also used Confucianism to maintain order and force the Japanese people to passively accept their rule. As a result, the use of Confucianism and the Emperor to bolster the Imperial restoration laid the foundation for a paradox of state affairs. The system that sought to strengthen Japan through the use of modern technology and modern organization met hods was using traditional values to further its goals. The Meiji leaders realized that they needed to harness the concept of the Imperial Will in order to govern effectively. The imperialist opposition claimed that the Tokugawa Shogunate had lost its imperial mandate to carry out the Imperial Will because it had capitulated to Western powers by allowing them to open up Japan to trade. The fact that the Tokugawas policy of opening up Japan to the western world ran counter to the beliefs of the Emperor and was unpopular with the public made the Tokugawa vulnerable to attack from the Imperialists. As a result, the great military regime of Edo, which until recently had been all powerful was floundering not because of military weakness, or because the machinery of government had broken, but because the Japanese public and the Shoguns supporters felt they had lost the Imperial Will The ...