The Modernization Political Thoughts In Early Meiji Era In Japan

In recent centuries, most of the Asia became colony or pseudo-colony of European and American powers. The only exception is a small feudalist country, Japan. Through the Meiji Reformation, Japan changed itself into the most powerful capitalist country in Asia, and took the policy of attacking, invasion, and expansion toward its Asian neighbors. The development and advocate of the modernization political thoughts in early Meiji era was a significant factor that resulted in the rise of the modern Japan, in addition to other reasons in economy, politics, diplomacy, and military.It is not accidental that the modernization thoughts were generated and developed in Japan. The generation of the thought had its deep social and historical background. In the era of Toku Gawa, the entire society was under the dictatorship of Bakufu. People lived in strict feudal hierarchy. On the other hand, the economy developed rapidly. The commodity economy grew gradually, while the natural economy collapsed. The economical changes resulted in the corresponsive movement in social relationship. The Bakufu government executed the warrior-farmer separation policy. The bushi (warriors) lived in cities as the ruling class. They were away from the routine economical activities and lived with salary or fief. As the economy grew, the warriors became poorer with limited salary. In contrary, as low classes, business people and rich farmers owned more and more property. They expanded their businesses, loaned money to warriors, and opened banks. Some of them started to practice the capitalist business model in textile industry and construction industry. Furthermore, some of the business people bought themselves surnames that they could not own as a low class member. The poorer and poorer low-rank warriors became more and more hostile to the high-rank warriors who could not pay them enough salary. Meanwhile, the low-rank warriors started to enter industry and businesses, and were close to the newly rising bourgeois. Later on they became the representative of the new class. At the same time, common farmers became mostly poorer, too. They continuously took part in rebellious campaigns of "modifying the world". It made the social conflicts more and more serious.After Japan was forced to open the custom by the United States in 1853, the Bakufu signed a series of unfair treaties with western countries. The treaties worsen the national crisis.At the same time, the ideology was undergoing complicated changes. The Zhuzi theory, which propagandized the royalty to the Bakufu and the support to the feudalism, started to be unpopular. The theory that "human made politics" spread rapidly. Also popular were theories that denied the Bakufu and called for the administration of the Emperor, who was expected to unit the common people to resist the foreign invasion. In 19th century, the modernization ideas from the advanced western countries started to be introduced into Japan. The western arts works of political systems and legal systems were translated and advocated in the country. The anti-Feudalism thought representing the interest of common farmers was generated.All of the factors called for a new political system. However, the establishment of a new political system needed the guidance from new political thoughts. At the dawn of Meiji Era, there appeared the sign of the political thoughts of revolving the social status to face the challenges of the social crisis.In early Meiji era, because the media environment was comparative favorable, the mind of Japanese people was fast opened. The attempt of catching up and surpassing western countries became more and more impelling. People from different classes in Japanese society learned in groups, studied in Europe, visited European and American countries, and translated western theories. The advanced western political ideas poured into Japan. In order to improve the motherland and catch up with the western countries, the intellects grown from low-class warriors started to distribute the western political theories. Before long the whole society was enthusiastic in learning and broadcasting western political thoughts. In addition, these intellects quickly turned the western thoughts into their own ideas, and formed a variety of proposals on how to reform the Japanese political reality. As the result, the political thoughts of modernization were gradually implemented.The political thoughts of modernization consisted of two major contents—explain the modernization of the social relationship; and propose the new concept of modern state and modern political system.The ideologists in early Meiji era denied the long time feudalist classified system and criticized the conception of social classes rooted in the nation. Based on the western theory of equal rights, they advocated the modern idea that people own proper rights. They defined the characteristics of the rights as private rights and public rights. On the private rights, the ideologists emphasized people's fundamental rights in living, property ownership, residency, working, traveling, sociality, thinking, speaking, publishing, and etc. On public rights, they claimed that people ought to own the right of participating the political work and the right of resisting the dictatorship. The ideologists absorbed the western concept of freedom and equality, and make it as their own idea in their avocations. They explained the correctness and importance of the human freedom and human equality. In details they studied the origination of the right of freedom, the categorization of the right of freedom, the definition of freedom, the content and character of the right of freedom, and the approaches of acquiring the freedom. They explained the reasoning that every human being owns the equal right naturally and that people should have equal mutual relationship. They claimed that people must have the spirit of freedom and equality.The inevitable end of the ideology exploration is the understanding of the essence of the state and the conception of the new modern political system. The ideologists in early Meiji era succeeded the Japanese traditional theory that "human made politics" and the western concept of modern states. They researched a variety of theories on the origination of states and politics, and renounced the traditional thought that the god awards power of a state. They did in depth studies on the origination of a state, the essence of a state, the essence of a government, and separated the politics from the religion, the politics from ethnics.On the base of their work, the ideologists gave out the modern explanations on the mission of a state and a government. They proved that the government and people should have modern political relationship. They proposed the right and obligation of people to the state and the government, and designed various ways of coordinating the relation between the government and people.The ideologists studied the theory of modern constitution and polity, condemned the autarchic system, and suggested various ideas in reforming the unreasonable political system. The ideas included political reformation approaches and political structure reformation directions. These studies led to the comparisons among political structures. The ideologists compared and analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of monarchy, constitutional monarchy, and democratic republics, and proposed the conception of the political structure that they thought fitted to Japan. During their analysis, they accepted and developed the theory of power decentralization and mutual constraint in the modern western politics. According to such theory, Japan ideologists proposed the concept of modern constitutional government and the concept of the parliamentary system. They distinguished the ancient "constitution" from the modern constitution in their respective character and usage. They analyzed the relation between the constitution and the laws. Meanwhile, in their papers and constitution drafts, they raised the important issue that the constitution must have the guarantee of human rights and constraint to the abuse of executive authority. As the result, the politicians made the proposal of the parliamentary system, and emphasized the importance of the parliamentarism. They also analyzed the legislation function and how to constrain the executive power and judicatory power.The political thoughts of modernization in early Meiji era were developed and advocated along with the arguments with various traditional, conservative thoughts. When such kind of arguments reached a balance, there generated the most advanced modern constitution in Asian 19th century history, the Meiji Constitution. The birth of the Meiji Constitution enabled the Japan political structure to lead the whole Asia into the modernization, and pushed the rapid growth of Japanese economy and military. Furthermore, the popularity of the modernization thoughts has made significant impact on the smooth democratic reformation in Japan after the World War II.