skip to main content

The Rise of The Rising Sun: The Roots of Japanese Imperialism in Mutsuhito Era (1868-1912)

Department of History, Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia

Received: 20 Feb 2021; Revised: 24 Apr 2021; Accepted: 26 Apr 2021; Available online: 26 Apr 2021; Published: 1 Jun 2021.
Open Access Copyright (c) 2021 IZUMI under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.

Citation Format:
Abstract
This article aims to discuss the Japanese modernisation of the Mutsuhito Emperor Era, which focused on the developments that triggered Japan to become an imperialist country. The Bakufu government, which had been in power for more than 250 years, must finally end. After being deemed unable to handle the country's condition, the Bakufu government returned the Japanese government ultimately to Emperor Mutsuhito. During the occupation of the Empire's seat, Emperor Mutsuhito was assisted by his advisers to make changes in all fields. The main fields were built by them, such as reorganise the political bureaucracy, developing industrial-economic, and developing military technology. Supported by the progressive developments in the country, Japan was transforming into a large industrial nation. To meet its industrial needs, Japan became an imperialist country and defeated China and Russia during the Mutsuhito period of government. The method used in this research is historical and has five steps, among others determining the topic, sources collection, sources criticism, interpretation, and writing. The results showed that the aggressive development and strengthening in political bureaucracy, industrial economics, and military technology in the Meiji era were the roots of the spirit of imperialism of new Japan. Political, economic, and military are the reasons to undertake imperialism besides cultural and religious reasons
Fulltext View|Download
Keywords: aggression; destructive; literature; psychology; ronin

Article Metrics:

  1. Anderson, C. (2002). A Short History of Japan from Samurai to Sony. Australia: First Published
  2. Beasley W. G. (1957). Councillors of Samurai Origin in the Early Meiji Government, 1868-9. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 20(1/3), 89-103. http://www.jstor.org/stable/610366
  3. Beasley W. G. (1972). The Meiji Restoration. California: Standford University Press
  4. Bellah, R.N. (1992). Religi Tokugawa Akar-Akar Budaya Jepang (Wardah Hafidz dan Wiladi Budiharga. Trans.). Jakarta: Karti Sarana dan Gramedia Pustaka Utama
  5. Breen, J. (1996). The Imperial Oath of April 1868: Ritual, Politics, and Power in the Restoration. Monumenta Nipponica, 51(4), 407-429. doi: 10.2307/2385417
  6. Broadbridge, S. (1977). Shipbuilding and the State in Japan since the 1850s. Modern Asian Studies, 11(4), 601-613. doi: 10.1017/S0026749X00000585
  7. Chang R. T. (1966). Yokoi Shōnan's View of Christianity. Monumenta Nipponica, 21(3/4), 266-272. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2383373
  8. Crawcour, S. (1997). Kogyo Iken: Maeda Masana and His View of Meiji Economic Development. The Journal of Japanese Studies, 23(1), 69-104. doi: 10.2307/133124
  9. Colegrove, K. (1937). The Japanese Constitution. American Political Science Review, 31(06), 1027–1049. doi: 10.2307/1948956
  10. De Bary, W.T et al. (2005). Sources of Japanese Tradition 2nd edition Volume Two: 1600 to 2000. New York: Columbia University Press
  11. Dean, M. (2002). Japanese Legal System 2nd Edition. London: Cavendish Publishing Limited
  12. Devine, R. (1979). The Way of the King. An Early Meiji Essay on Government. Monumenta Nipponica, 34(1), 49-72. doi: 10.2307/2384281
  13. Dobrovolskaia, A. (2017). The Development of Jury Service in Japan: A square block in a round hole?. New York: Routledge
  14. Ebenstein, W. (2006). Isme-isme yang Mengguncang Dunia: Komunisme, Fasisme, Kapitalisme, Sosialisme (Floriberta Aning. Penyunting.). Yogyakarta: Narasi
  15. Ericson, S.J. (1998). Importing Locomotives in Meiji Japan: International Business and Technology Transfer in the Railroad Industry. Osiris, 13, 129-153. http://www.jstor.org/stable/301881
  16. Fletcher, W. M. (1996). The Japan Spinners Association: Creating Industrial Policy in Meiji Japan. The Journal of Japanese Studies, 22(1), 49-75. doi: 10.2307/133046
  17. Hein, P. (2009). How the Japanese Became Foreign to Themselves: The Impact of Globalisation on the Private and Public Spheres in Japan. Berlin: Lit Verlag
  18. Horie, H. (1952). Revolution and Reform in Meiji Restoration. Kyoto University Economic Review, 22(1), 23-34. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43216962
  19. Ike, N. (1948). Western Influences on the Meiji Restoration. Pacific Historical Review, 17(1), 1-10. doi: 10.2307/3634763
  20. Ishii, R. (1989). Sejarah Institusi Politik Jepang (J.R. Sunaryo. Trans.). Jakarta: Gramedia
  21. Iwata, M. (1964). Okubo Toshimichi The Bismarck of Japan. California: University of California Press
  22. Handayani, S., & Budiarto, G. (2014). Dinamika Kepemimpinan Jepang Tahun 1569-1945. Yogyakarta: LaksBang
  23. Jansen, M.B. (2002). The Making of Modern Japan. London, Harvard University Press
  24. “Japan.” The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday March 23 1868, Page 3
  25. “Japan.” The South Australian Advertiser, Tuesday September 29 1868, Page 3
  26. “Japan.” The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday March 5 1877, Page 3
  27. Kobayashi, T. (1965). Tokugawa Education as a Foundation of Modern Education in Japan. Comparative Education Review, 9(3), 288-302. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1186062
  28. Koizumi, K. (2002). In Search of “Wakon”: The Cultural Dynamics of the Rise of Manufacturing Technology in Postwar Japan. Technology and Culture, 43(1), 29-49. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25147853
  29. Komura, J., et al. (1907). The Peace of Portsmouth, September 5, 1905 (Official Documents). The American Journal of International Law, 1(1), 17-22. doi: 10.2307/2212335
  30. Kramer, I.I. (1953). Land Reform and Industrial Development in Meiji Japan. Land Economics, 29(4), 314-322. doi: 10.2307/3144680
  31. Kuntowijoyo. (2013). Pengantar Ilmu Sejarah. Yogyakarta: Tiara Wacana
  32. Mahmud, S.S. (1996). State, Class and Underdevelopment in Nigeria and Early Meiji Japan. New York: ST. Martin’s Press, INC
  33. Mangandaralam, S. (1993). Jepang Negara Matahari Tetbit. Bandung: PT Rosda Karya
  34. Mattulada. (1979). Pedang dan Sempoa (Suatu Analisa Kultural “Perasaan Kepribadian” Orang Jepang). Jakarta: Depdikbud
  35. Miyauchi, D. Y. (1969). Yokoi Shōnan (1809-1869), A National Political Adviser from Kumamoto Han in Late Tokugawa Japan. Journal of Asian History, 3(1), 23-33. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41929937
  36. Morette, C. (2013). Technological Diffusion in Early-Meiji Naval Development, 1880-1895 in The Age of Gunpowder an Era of Technological, Tactical, Strategic, and Leadership Innovations Volume 5. Emory Endeavors in History
  37. Nakamura, N. (2000). Meiji-Era Industrialization and Provincial Vitality: The Significance of the First Enterprise Boom of the 1880s. Social Science Japan Journal, 3(2), 187-205. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30209298
  38. Nio Joe Lan. (1962). Djepang Sepandjang Masa. Jakarta: PT Kinta
  39. Nishioka, M. (2015). Bakumatsu no keizai shisō to [fukokuron] no seiji keizai shisutemu: Yokoi shōnan no [kōgo tame-sei] to [sekai bankoku no kōkyō no michi] ni okeru [bankoku kōeki no ri] (Economic Thought at the End of Shogunate and the System of Political Economy for ‘Enriching the country’: Yokoi Shonan’s ‘Reciprocal Living’ and ‘the Reason for International Trade’ in ‘the Public Way of the World’). Keizai-gaku ronkyū, 69(2), 91-131
  40. Norman, E. H. (1940). Japan’s Emergence as a Modern State Political and Economic Problems of the Meiji Period. New York: International Secretariat Institute of Pacific Relations
  41. Obispo, J. L. (2017). Japan’s Fukoku Kyohei: A Continuous Pursuit of Economic and Military Powers. Ugong: International Studies Edition, Vol 9, 56-80
  42. Ohno, K. (2000). Tojoku no Globalisation: Jiritsuteki Hatten wa Kanoka? (Globalisation of Developing Countries: Is Autonomous Development Possible?). Tokyo: Toyo Keizai Shimposha
  43. Perry, J. C. (1966). Great Britain and Emergence of Japan as a Naval Power. Monumenta Nipponica, 21(3/4), 305-321. doi: 10.2307/2383375
  44. Pyle, K. B. (1988). Generasi Baru Zaman Meiji “Pergolakan Mencari Identitas Nasional (1885-1895). Jakarta: Gramedia
  45. Sakata, Y & Hall, J. W. (1956). The Motivation of Political Leadership in the Meiji Restoration. The Journal of Asian Studies, 16(1), 31-50. doi: 10.2307/2941545
  46. Samuels, R. J. (1991). Reinventing Security: Japan since Meiji. Daedalus, 120(4), 47-68. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20025403
  47. Samuels, R. J. (1994). Rich Nation Strong Army National Security and the Technological Transformation of Japan. New York: Cornell University Press
  48. Shigenobu, O. (1900). The Industrial Revolution in Japan. The North American Review, 171(528), 677- 691. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25105079
  49. Spaulding, R. M. Jr. (1967). Imperial Japan’s Higher Civil Service Examinations. New Jersey: Princeton University Press
  50. Subakti, Y.R. (2011). Nasionalisme Jepang Pada Era Tokugawa dan Meiji. Historia Vitae Humaniora, 25(1), 13-36
  51. Suradjaja, I Ketut. (1984). Pergerakan Demokrasi Jepang. Jakarta: Karya Unipress
  52. Suryohadiprojo, S. (1987). Belajar dari Jepang (Manusia dan Masyarakat Jepang dalam Perjuangan Hidup). Jakarta: UI-Press
  53. Takahashi, K. (1933). The Rise of Capitalism in Japan (The Open Court, Vol. 1933, Issue 3, Article 3. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ocj/vol1933/iss3/3
  54. Teters, B.J. (1969). Kuga's Commentaries on the Constitution of the Empire of Japan. The Journal of Asian Studies, 28(2), 321-337. doi: 10.2307/2943006
  55. The Constitution of Japan: With the laws appertaining thereto and the Imperial Oath and Speech [official translation]. (1889). Yokohama: The Japan Gazette Office
  56. “The Japan Agricultural College.” The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, Saturday 20 July 1878, Page 95
  57. Tipps, D. C. (1973). Modernisation Theory and the Comparative Study of Societies: A Critical Perspective. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 15(2), 199-226. http://www.jstor.org/stable/178351
  58. Wara T, S., & Hymore, F, K. (2004). Raw Material Development For Industrial Applications
  59. Waterhouse, D. B. (1963). Firearms in Japanese History: With Notes on a Japanese Wall Gun. The British Museum Quarterly, 27(3/4), 94-99
  60. Wilson, R. A. (1952). The Seitaisho: A Constitutional Experiment. The Far Eastern Quarterly, 11(3), 297-304. doi: 10.2307/2049570
  61. Yates, C. L. (1995). Saigo Takamori The Man Behind The Myth. New York: Routledge

Last update:

  1. Historical geographies of Japanese colonial urbanism

    Yiming Xu. Geography Compass, 17 (8), 2023. doi: 10.1111/gec3.12717

Last update: 2024-11-10 01:03:52

No citation recorded.