IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : History Of China and Japan (1840-1949) - Decline of Feudalism and the Meiji Restoration

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

History Of China and Japan (1840-1949)

Decline of Feudalism and the Meiji Restoration

Structure

9.0 Objectives
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Tokugawa Decline
9.2.1 Feudalism
9 2.2 Economic Changes
9.2.3 Tensions and Conflicts
9.2.4 Education, Scholars and Ideas
9.3 The External Crisis
9.4 The Meiji Restoration
9.4.1 The Debate
9.4.2 The Marxist View
9.4.3 The Post-War Debate
9.5 Let Us Sum Up
9.6 Key Words
9.7 Answers To Check Your Progress Exercises

9.0 OBJECTIVES

After reading this Unit you will be able to:

explain the tensions which were created in the Tokugawa Structure and the inability of the rulers to deal with these problems,
know about the new social forces which were generated by economic development,
understand the intellectual currents which undermined the ideological support of the social order.
know about the intrusion of Western imperialist powers and the crisis it created in Japan, and
discuss the nature and meaning of the Meiji Restoration.

9.1 INTRODUCTION

This Unit discusses the transition from the Tokugawa period to the Meiji Period.
This transition marks the emergence of Japan as a modem nation-state and it
was a complex and contentious process.
The decline of the Tokugawa Bakufu was a long and gradual process. Scholars
have examined it in a variety of ways. A major concern has been to explain the
sources of Japan's strength for it alone among countries in Asia was successfully
able to make the transition to a modern nation-state and compete with the
Western powers on terms of equality, if not acceptance. This concern has led
historians to look at Tokugawa society as having undergone experiences similar
to Western Europe. This is in stark contrast to the earlier views which dismissed
the Tokugawa period as feudal and traditional during which the majority of the
peo~k, who were agriculturalists, were living at a bare, subsistence level. Such a
view arose in part because in the first flush of modernization everything
Japanese was associated with outmoded tradition and consequently to be
discarded. Today scholars have built a much more complex picture of the
Tokugawa period and what is clear from this is that, in spite of problems it was a
period of dynamic growth and development. The nature and manner of this
development also led to tensions and troubles, such as peasant rebellions. But
even during the period of Tokugawa's decline there were areas of creative
growth. In fact, it was the long experience which enabled the Meiji state to build
within a short span of time a modern state structure, industrialize the country
and deal with the threat of colonization effectively. It also conditioned the
nature of Meiji development emphasising the absolutist and expansionist
character of the regime.