Departments
Intermediate Japanese - Free Online Course
BUNMEI KAIKA
文明開化
civilization and enlightenment
In Japan, liberalization and Westernization have often been accompanied by backlashes. This was certainly the case in the early 1600s, when the shogun abruptly banned all Europeans from Japanese soil. Similarly, the liberal society of the Taisho Democracy was followed by the reactionary, militaristic tide of the 1930s.
In 1853, an American flotilla of ships landed in Tokyo Bay, and pressured Japan’s feudal government, the bakufu, to open the country to external trade and visitors. The Tokugawa shoguns had kept the country closed to foreign contacts for the past 250 years (with few exceptions). After the Japanese government signed a treaty with the United States, treaties with other Western governments soon followed. Japan was now “open,” and there was a sudden infusion of Western influences into the country.
Bunmei Kaika follows the Opening of Japan
The late 1800s became known as the period of “Civilization and Enlightenment” in Japan The 1880s—a mere generation after Japan had opened its doors to the West—is recognized as the peak of the era. Although westernization is not necessarily synonymous with “civilization and enlightenment,” in practice bunmei kaika often meant imitation of the West.
Some of the trends of this period were purely superficial movements toward westernization. For example, cheese and beef became popular foodstuffs among the sophisticated elements of society. (The latter was referred to as “land whale meat.”) Women began adopting Western fashions. And in deference to Western mores, Tokyo’s municipal authorities banned public nudity. The government also built the Rokumeikan, a plush, Western-style building used for entertaining VIPs from Europe and the United States.
But some of the changes were more substantial. In 1885 the Western-style system of government cabinets was adopted. A bewildering array of political parties coalesced, and some of these agitated openly for broad-based democratic reforms. The aptly named “Liberal Party” was among the most outspoken. It called for the implementation of “people’s rights,” and championed a vaguely socialist economic agenda.
The Backlash
The authorities became concerned that all this unfettered political activity could lead to the destabilization of Japan’s careful march toward modernity. Laws were passed to curtail the agitators. The 1887 Peace Preservation Law gave police wide authority to clamp down on fringe political groups. Teachers and students were forbidden to attend political meetings at all.
In 1889 Japan drafted a Western style constitution. The constitution’s primary author was Ito Hirobumi. Ito was a confidant of the Emperor, and an admirer of Germany’s autocratic leader, Bismarck. Japan’s constitution therefore followed German lines. It allowed for a strong executive, a weak parliament, and minimal grass-roots participation in government. (About 2% of Japanese citizens were eligible to vote.) The constitution also created wiggle room for the military to interfere in the civilian government.
The Imperial Rescript on Education (1890) enshrined Confucian values into Japan’s educational system. It emphasized strong nationalist ideals, respect for official authorities, and the need for individual sacrifice for the sake of the nation. This decree was abolished in 1945.