A Brief History of Japan

             "From Feudalism to Military dominance to Constitutional Democracy", Japan's history is an insightful roadmap of how she developed into the Japanese modern state that is apparent today. Examining Japan's past experiences as a nation, five of the most crucial events of history are the Tokugawa Shogunate of 1603, the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Japanese defeat in WWII, and MacArthur's drafting of the new Japanese Constitution in 1946. These could be argued to be the major turning points in Japan's history, completely altering the country's values, attitudes, and orientation. The first turning point for Japan is seen in the Tokugawa Shogunate Period. I see it as the calm before the storm. It was a period of time of relative peace and stability, characterized by its strong centralized rule. This was a feudalistic era living in an isolated world. The Tokugawa Ieyasu establishes 14 generations of Tokugawa Shoguns. One of the largest landmark alterations is found in the moving of the capital to Edo, otherwise known as Tokyo. This period is not as popular as the other listed turning points, but it too is very important because it illustrates Japan's paradigm of society and what it took to shift it from its imbedded ways. It was the starting point of Japan's road to modernism.
             The Meiji Restoration of 1898 is a huge turning point for Japan. It was Japan's birth into a "modern state." The US first made its presence with Perry's introduction leading to the forced treaty of trade. In addition to the end of Japan's 200 years of isolation, the population growth and the mismanagement of public finance created a disordered economy, weakening legitimacy of the people. Because of the Shogun's luxurious lifestyles, the deficit rose thus causing inflation. This lead to the attempted rectification through heavy taxation, but it in...

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A Brief History of Japan. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 16:21, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/100049.html