Meiji era reforms: The human dimension

The reforms of the Meiji period should be recognized as extremely successful. Their program was promulgated at the very beginning of the Meiji reign and was recorded in the “Five charter oath” (1868). Meiji promised Shinto gods to make decisions based on “public gatherings” - and a parliament was created in the country (1889). Meiji promised that the ruling and the ruled should become closer to each other - and the medieval gap between the authorities and the subjects really narrowed, and the Japanese nation was formed from scattered territorial, class, confessional and professional groups. The third point about the development of personal initiative was also implemented. First of all, it refers to entrepreneurship in all its manifestations. It is precisely because of this that Japan has managed to accelerate industrialization. The fourth paragraph was about reforming the “bad habits of the past” and introducing governance in accordance with the principles of Heaven and Earth, which is usually understood as fair governance in accordance with the laws. The estate right was abolished, the law became one for all. The fifth paragraph talked about Japan’s greater openness to the world and about the development of education. This goal was certainly also achieved. As a result of the reforms, the Japanese nation was formed, a new Japanese was revealed to the world, characterized by selfless devotion to the emperor and homeland, sacrifice, activity, a relatively high level of education. During the Meiji period, there were rather pragmatic people in power who did not set unrealistic goals for the country and the Japanese. That is why the war with China and Russia was won. At the same time, patriotism tended to grow into chauvinism, the Japanese demonstrated such a high degree of loyalty to the emperor, which deprived him of critical attitude to government. It was under Meiji that the state acquired military hyperfunction. Meiji himself was lappointed commander in chief; as a result of the implementation of universal primary education and universal military service, military values were spread to the whole society. The discourse of early Meiji government condemned samurai morality, but by the end of his reign the word “bushido” had regained signs of respectability. Meiji died in a society that was much more militarized than in the year he was born. The power component of this society has increased many times. And its vector was directed outwards. Strategically, this meant that the values of military outweighed the values of a peace. The emperor, on whose behalf all the most important projects were carried out, had the status of a deity, he was outside the operation of ethical norms, and outside the zone of criticism. The excessive unity of the people and the authorities turned out to be sideways in perspective. The lack of different opinions and any strong opposition deprived Japanese society of immunity against government policy in the 30s. The twentieth century, when the incompetent leaders who were inspired by the utopian ideas of pan-asiaticism came to power, the Japanese obediently followed them. Attempts to create a colossal colonial empire were not supported by any well-thought strategy or resources. The result turned out to be exactly the opposite of what the Meiji leaders dreamed of: the country for the first time in its history was occupied by a foreign (American) army, lost part of its sovereignty, and the American army carried out its activities in the exterritoriality, the struggle against which was one of the main goals of the Meiji government.

Japan, Meiji period, reforms, Japanese nation

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