Japan

Japan has a particularly homogeneous culture. In fact, both racially and culturally, Japan is the most homogeneous of the world’s major nations. This situation has allowed Japan to Westernize its economy and yet maintain a unique sense of identity. It began in 1639, when Japan’s rulers begin to notice the conversion of thousands of Japanese to Catholicism by Portuguese missionaries and by the potential for dissidents to form military alliances with foreign nations that suppressed Christianity and Japan sealed the island form the rest of the world. It was not until 1853 with the arrival of an American naval squadron under Commander Matthew Perry that Japan was opened to the outside world. The Japanese had developed a strong sense of national consciousness and pride in their own culture. The Japanese realized in the 1860's that they had to adopt Western technology, to modernize their society if they were to avoid Western domination. Their culture was able to absorb foreign influences without losing its uniqueness. Thus, the Japanese proved themselves extremely flexible in borrowing from other cultures while maintaining their own.

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This event triggered the Meiji Restoration, which was intended as a restoration of imperial power through modernization. By doing this they gained the opportunity to control the markets and ports of these regions. Japan’s first test was to colonize on Korea. Japanese think of themselves as belonging to a relatively classless society, even though they are mainly a middle class society. Those at the bottom of the social scale are either foreigners, Koreans, or native Japanese. Japanese women have the strongest role in the home and men have a dominant role outside of the home . All of these things helped to modernize the Japanese, however they paid a price for it. The first thing was to switch the economy from agricultural to industrial. The middle class accounts for an estimated thirty-five percent of the Japanese class structure. Samurai became officers in the reformed army, while others entered industry and help expand the Japanese economy quickly. The eldest son and his wife were expected to remain with the parents and take over the family farm or business. The Japanese proceeded to colonize the Chinese with the island of Taiwan. The ie system fostered sexual discrimination and status distinctions both within and between families. Thus their sense of well-being inflated their self assessment of class position. Half way through the beginning of the nineteenth century Japan had become an industrial nation with a strong military whose eventual defeat in World War II accelerated social change.

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Approximate Word count = 1522
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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