Introduction
The history of Japan is said to have begun at around 400 AD when family groups in Central and Western Japan were put under a single rule by the Yamato Clan of Kyoto, under the leadership of Yoritomo. From then on, there was influence from China for the next 300 years which led to the Japanese to the establishment of an imperial court in as in China as well as the rise of a distinct class of warriors, the samurai. While the imperial court only existed in relative shadows, the shogun (relative dictator) which was founded by the Minamoto Clan ruled for a period close to 700 years (Reischauer, 105-113).
The year 1542 saw the first time that the Japanese came in contact with the West. First were the Portuguese traders, missionaries, and Jesuits ships, which docked on the Japanese coastline. They were later followed by the Dutch, English, and Spanish traders. The Portuguese had an upper hand in Japan. Their strategy to keep on hold the introduction of any foreign religion to the people for the time being, and support a local Japanese revolt in 1603-1667 (The Tokugawa Period) won the locals’ confidence. This in turn led to the shunning of trade with the other foreigners except for the Dutch who were allowed to trade at Nagasaki (Henshall A., pp. 339-423).
The other countries (mostly the West) tried so many times to have access into the Japanese soil to no avail, the breakthrough came in the mid 19th Century. The terms to renew the trade with the West lasted until 1853 when Mathew P. Commodore entered the Tokyo bay and forced some trade terms on Japan…terms that were not at all favorable to the Japanese. Many people did not agree with the terms and the results brought about strife that led to the downfall of the feudal system in 1868, ushering in Emperor Meiji. Meiji abolished the shogun and introduced the constitution (Reischauer, p. 119).
The Meiji Restoration
A lot of things took place under Emperor Meiji, things that have altered Japanese history and shaped its future a great deal. There were numerous inversions and disputes that led to the expansion of borders as well as the creation of foes and allies from among the Japanese neighborhood. After Meiji had ascended into power, he quickly went down to alter the medieval system to modern power, establishing an imperial army with conscriptions and parliamentary government (the upper house). The emperor managed to form a very strong army and leadership such that none of their neighbors was a threat to them. The Meiji Restoration managed to transform Japan into a world power of Industry (Sugimoto et al, pp. 50-62).
In the long run, power got into the leader’s heads prompting a number of military conflicts that were mainly geared to expand the nation’s sphere of influence. And by 1910 they had conquered Taiwan (formally known as Formosa), Southern Manchuria, and Pescadores Island. Another war that lasted for a period of one year and ended in 1904 saw Russia go down; hence Japan expanded its territories into Karafuto and Russia’s Port. The series of inversions continued till the time they attacked the US on 7th December 2008 (The Pearl Harbor Attack). The offended countries decided to retaliate, with the United States at the forefront. During World War II in 1942, the Japanese were forced to retreat into their own land. The final blow was in 1945 when the US dropped an atomic in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Michael Green, pp. 237-239).
The American Occupation
The first time America gained ground in Japan was in the year1884, stating that their sole intention was to do business. The United States’ firm contact with the Japanese was strictly on business grounds. But their terms as earlier reported were not fair to the Japanese at all. Their relationship flourished a lot and the two countries gained much from each other. Commodore Perry Matthew and the “Black Ships” of the US Navy upon forcing themselves into the Japanese Ports in March 1884 did not stop at Kanagawa Convention (Rules Regulating Trade) alone, but also the interference with the political system in Japan. The treaties that the US signed with the Japanese finally brought Japan into economic and political crises. These interferences later gave birth to the creation of a centralized state under Emperor Meiji. But upon a strong establishment of the Meiji Kingdom through the exposure and the change of government structure, complications to the once peaceful relationship between the two countries moved to its edge (Ogawa, Naohiro, pp. 231-241).
Meiji adopted the Western Style of leadership; with judicial and military institutions. He had a cabinet that was charged with the responsibility of organizing the Privy Council. Finally, he resorted to imposing “The Meiji Constitution” and he also got to the Imperial Diet assembled. [The diet consisted of the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors]. The US relationship (partners in development) with Emperor Meiji began to soar when Japan began to get involved in inversions on her neighbors (Conrad Totman, pp. 122-123). These inversions were what to later culminate into the Second World War.
The US attacked Japan in WW II and literally brought it to its knees. Acting on humanitarian grounds, the US government decided to revive the once good tie that they had with Japan and offered to help them rebuild their economy which had been destabilized by the War. In the final months of 1945, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was appointed to take the position of supreme commander of the US occupation of post-war Japan. Gen Douglas was to serve in that position for seven years (until 1952). A new constitution came into effect in Japan in the year 1947. The constitution rendered the position of the emperor symbolic/ceremonial. In 1951 the Japanese and the US governments signed a security treaty that allowed the US to station a base in Japan for her troops. Twenty years down the lane, Japan has so far regained complete self-governance (sovereignty) and even the Okinawa and Ryuku Islands that were taken away by the US.
The Historical Significance of the two events on the Japanese Society
The biggest of all the challenges that the Japanese faced was regaining their economic status after the devastating impacts of the war. The economy was brought to its very roots by the war, and Japan’s political stability was shaken to its core. It is said that were it not for the US and the willingness of the post-war Japanese leaders to help, very little would have been achieved and Japan could have never even achieved half of what they reached this far. The leaders through the help of the government of the United States took it upon themselves to revive the economy. Several factors played to their advantage, for instance; their abilities to pay attention to the finer details made them excel so much in developing new technologies and in manufacturing processes. They gained a shrewd trade policy that gave them an upper hand in the ownership of shares in most of the Western markets… which almost ruined their already resumed tie with the US. Japan’s economy continued to grow for three consecutive decades (the 1960s up to 1980s) eventually this made it the second-largest economy in the world after United States
Blinded by this remarkable growth, some of the political leaders, businessmen as well as government officials took advantage of the bloom and got involved in some illegal scam to enrich themselves. Their schemes were unearthed and resulted in the country, Japan, suffering an economic downturn. In 1998, Japan eventually succumbed to the Asian economic crisis, leading to a major recession since World War Two.
Research findings reveal that up to date, Japan has never found lasting peace. The atrocities done on their neighbors in the past have come back to haunt and bother them. Japan has been in constant border disputes with South Korea, Russia, China, and PRC on the lands that they had earlier invaded and taken by might. The case is more serious with Russia since they have never signed any peace pack with them to settle the disagreements…this is to literally say that Japan is practically still at war with Russia (Jansen, 2000).
Conclusion
This essay, therefore, highlights those areas that the two events have in the history of Japan as well as their far-reaching effects in modern Japan. The significance that the two events had to modern Japan is still haunting the country up to date. This is evident in the recent reports of the troubles that have just refused to clear off and leave Japan alone. After the revelations of the scandals that led to recession, the then Prime minister, Ryutaro Hashimoto resigned in July 1998 to pave way for investigation on the acts, but his replacement Keizo Obuchi who seemed to have made some slight progress did not live for long. He died of a stroke in May 2000. Yoshiro Mori took over, but his administration was worst…it was dodged with scandal after scandal and economic blunders right from the outset. In 2001 the embattled Mori resigned and Junichiro Koizumi became the 11th Japanese Prime in only 13 years. Koizumi’s efforts to reform the economy were thwarted by the upper house parliament and two years in his term, he literally had achieved nothing…the economy remained in a slump (Henshall A., 400)
This summary shows how the previous practices of the political class have so far affected the modern Japan that we now see. Most of the previous acts that were committed centuries ago are still haunting the country up to this very day. But on the other hand, some of the steps taken to revive the economy by Japanese patriotic leaders together with the help from the US government have helped a lot to bring Japan to its current economic status…the Japanese economy is the highest in the world after the US, it is one of the G8 countries whose economy and influence matter in the globe. They have managed to rise against all odds to reach their present status (Michael Green, 240-241).
Work Cited
Henshall A. “History of Japan”: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001: 339-423.
Jansen. “The Making of Modern Japan”: Belknap, 2000.
Michael Green. “Japan Is Back: Why Tokyo’s New Assertiveness Is Good for Washington”: 2007, 239-245.
Ogawa, Naohiro. “Demographic Trends and Their Implications for Japan’s Future”: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Transcript of speech delivered on (1997): 231-241 Conrad Totman. “A History of Japan”: Blackwell. 2002; Pg.122–123.
Reischauer, “Japan: The Story of a Nation”: McGraw-Hill, 1989: 97-120.
Sugimoto et al., “An Introduction to Japanese Society”: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Pg. 58-77
Reischauer, “Japan: The Story of a Nation”, McGraw-Hill, 1989: Pg. 124-305