15 Minutes to Study: Second Edition: Japan

==How did Japans location/geography affect its culture and history?
Japan was highly effected by its location. The main way being that Japan was successfully able to stay isolated for over a hundred years. This was easy sue to the fact that Japan was spaced from other countries due to the surrounding water. They avoided any wars with other countries and stopped Christianity from reaching any farther east. In fact, Christianity was virtually non-existent in Japan.
==How did the Tokugawa shogun change the climate of Japan?
The Tokugawa shoguns brought unification of the land in the 1600s and maintained power until 1868. The Tokugawas main aim was to stabilize Japan and prevent civil war, increase the power of the central government, and began a policy of isolation from foreign influence. With the extended period of peace caused by the Shoguns, the daimyo and samurai became administrators and government employees.
==Why did Japan end its period of isolation? (Or were they forced to?)
Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Japan in 1853, wanting places for food, fuel, and water. He gave Japan a year to seemingly, make a decision, but returned in 1854 with guns pointed. The Japanese were surprised with the steamboats and referred to them as giant dragons puffing smoke, as well as the size of the guns of which the Americans possessed. Perry demanded Japan open its doors to American trade, and since Japan did not want a war, or be known as being forced into American trade, they signed the Treaty of Kanagawa. This treaty was to be the first of many, and it ended Japans term of isolation forever.
==Why is the MEIJI RESTORATION significant in Japanese and world history?
The Meiji Restoration represented Japans official acceptance of their end to isolation and its want/need to modernize. The Charter Oath(1868) was introduced, which abolished feudalism, unites the people of the empire, and makes education more important. The Meiji Constitution(1889) was later introduced, which restored total power to the emperor and more rights to the people.
==How did Japan become a modern, industrialized nation in less than 45 years?
Japan was the last to modernize, so they were able to turn to the modern ways of other countries to stem ideas for their own modernization period. Japans main ways of modernization were to centralize government, abolish feudalism, create a new constitution, build up army and navy by way of drafting, if needed, obtain capital($) for programs by changing the tax system, and compulsory education.
==How did Japan reach its goals of prosperity and strength: rich country, strong army?
Japan reached its goals by supporting and producing new technology, sending students abroad, trading, and taxing the empire.
==Why is the annual fixed money tax beneficial to the Japanese government?
Before the annual fixed money tax, farmers only had to pay a fixed percentage of their crop money. This way, if they had a bad season, they didnt have to pay as much. With the fixed tax, you pay for the amount of land, so you paid the same price every year regardless of your crops. This allowed the government to know how much money they were to receive each year. Unfortunately, it also caused many farmers to sale pieces of their land or become workers for wealthy farmers when they could no longer pay the taxes.
==Who had power under the Meiji Constitutional Monarchy?
The emperor, although he was once just a figure head, now held total power over the economy, the army, and the rest of the empire.
==How did the remodeling of the Japanese economy affect industrialization?
The remodeling allowed Japan to industrialize faster, especially after Japan sold its enterprises to private investors who had ties with the government officials.
==Who were the Zaibatsu?
The Zaibatsu are small groups of men or financial cliques that held enormous economic power after the restructure of Japans economy.
==Who bore the costs of rapid industrialization? Why?
The peasants bore the costs because there were more peasants than any other class. By taxing them, the government would make the most money possible.
==How did the Japanese government treat its workers?
Workers were treated poorly and ultimately ignored by the government. In 1883 and 1884, there was a peasant uprising, but it was violently put down by military and police.
==How did rural workers live?
Rural workers lived poorly, since they did not make much and were ignored by the government. They also had difficulty paying the taxes.
==How were women treated under the Meiji Constitution?
Women were no longer bound to the three obediences and were now allowed to seek new jobs and an education.

Category:

Education

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• japan
• change
• industry
• commodore perry

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