Peace and Stability, the Tokugawa Family Lost

¶ … peace and stability, the Tokugawa Family lost political power. Explain both the internal factors as well as the external factors that led to destabilized society. How did Western powers (including the United States) play a role in destabilizing Japan? Do you think the revolution that followed would have happened without Western involvement? Support your answer with evidence and concrete examples.

The Tokugawa family ruled Japan during a time of decisive peace and stability; however, the fall of this family was connected strongly to a range of internal and external factors. One external factor was the abrupt push of foreigners, foreign ideas and currency which was quite raucous to the traditional Japanese way of life and economic system. This factor was the impetus for why Emperor Komei engaged in the order to "Expel Barbarians." At this point western forces, including the United States, were a permanent issue that Japan had to deal with, and engaging in isolative tactics was something that was just no longer an option. The Tokugawa family was deemed as ineffective in protecting the country against this influx of foreign invaders. Other external factors were that Japan thus had to become more westernized in order to engage in combat with these forces: this meant adopting western military tactics and modernized forms of combat.

Fundamentally, the rest of the world was embracing modernization and it was next to impossible for Japan to not be affected by it. To still be governed by these ancient feudal constructs and divisions of power were just too antiquated for the rest of the world, and Japan was going to be pulled along into modernity whether it liked it or not.

An internal factor which contributed to the demise of this family was that Tokugawa Yoshinobu had to take power, which he didn't want to do, and, eventually relinquishing some of his power and then resigning all together. The Boshin War was thus launched, as a means of determining that the power would stay with the emperor. The Meiji Restoration then occurred, asserting that the Meiji Emperor would be reinstated. These internal factors also had an impact on the fall of this family which had rule for so long.

2. Describe the "Reverse Course." When did it happen? What were its main features? Why were these policies put in place?

The Reverse Course refers to America' change in their viewpoint and treatment of Japan in the late 1940s: thus, America stopped expressing a strong desire to reform Japan but to turn the country in to a strong and solid ally. Thus, one can summarize the "reverse course" as simply a change in occupation policy. Hence, the late 1940s marked a time when the U.S. government was trying to actively push for the recovery of Japan's economy, which had been demolished by World War Two. Thus, the American foreign policy stopped its tendency to break up big business concerns and worked to encourage the Japanese government to foster anti-inflation policies so that businesses could reach a certain level of steadiness and constancy. All the objectives of these policies were to help Japan stabilize. Thus, Japan partnered with the U.S. And worked to dismantle communist groups, start unions and to thwart the activities of radical labor union collectives. Part of the reason that this occurred was because the U.S. recognized that the world economy needed Japan as a pillar of strength and because the U.S. was already involved in contentious cold war policies with the Soviet Union.

4. Toyotomi Hideyoshi has often been described as "the greatest man in Japanese history." Why is this? What policies of social engineering did he pursue that re-made Japan?

Part of the reason that Toyotomi Hideyoshi is described with such esteem is his own personal story: he started out a peasant and rose to the status of daimyo, warrior, general and politician. It appears as though the fact that Hideyoshi was able to transcend his class was part of the reason why Japanese people treat him with such warmth and honor.

Hideyoshi aside from his strength as a warrior and his own personal gains was also revered in such a manner as a result of the intensely positive impact that he had on Japanese society, culture and lifestyle. He was the one who instated the class system, all restrictions on travel, along with disarming the peasant class and forcing the samurai to live in castle towns. Hideyoshi was also the one who was responsible for the development of the Osaka Castle and was also the one who banned slavery, a move which helped Japan take further steps into modern times.

Another reason that Hideyoshi is so acutely revered is that he also left a large imprint on the material culture of Japan, an imprint which can still be seen and felt today. He invested money on the tea ceremony, gathered implements, endorsed social occasions, and elevated the importance of ceramics. Hideyoshi's touch was all-pervasive. He arranged for a governmental system that was a balance of Japanese warlords vs. A council of other powerful lords. He established the council of five elders. To this day, a range of cultural shrines all over Japan still stand to commemorate this man and the indelible touch he had on the history, evolution and unfolding of Japan.

5. What factors led to the war between the United States and Japan? Why did the Japanese leadership decide to attack U.S. forces in Hawai'i?

The war between the United States and Japan was the result of constrained relations over hundreds of years. Japan had long believed that powers in the west were a hostile force and felt that America viewed them as an inferior nation. Further stress was placed on their relationship as a result of the fact that the U.S. was not supportive of the expansion of Japan and that the country's stipulations and list of demands were not going to be met via diplomacy. Japan's notion that the U.S. felt superior was a major factor in the two nation's inability to reach a level of harmony or peace.