In this book social scientists scrutinize the middle decades of the nineteenth century in Japan. That scrutiny is important and overdue, for the period from the 1850s to the 1880s has usually been treated in terms of politics and foreign relations. Yet those decades were also of pivotal importance in Japan's institutional modernization. As the Japa
In this book social scientists scrutinize the middle decades of the nineteenth century in Japan. That scrutiny is important and overdue, for the period from the 1850s to the 1880s has usually been treated in terms of politics and foreign relations. Yet those decades were also of pivotal importance in Japan's institutional modernization. As the Japanese entered the world order, they experienced a massive introduction of Western-style organizations. Sweeping reforms, without the class violence or the Utopian appeal of revolution, created the foundation for a modern society. The Meiji Restoration introduced a political transformation, but these chapters address the more gradual social transition.
Originally published in 1986.
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"In this collection of seventeen essays, leading scholars address the question of what kind and what degree of change accompanied the political events known as the Meiji Restoration. The authors make use of quantitative data and recent Japanese scholarship to add substantially to the understanding of this major historical transition. This volume, with its essays of uniformly high quality, is essential reading for anyone with a scholarly interest in the Meiji Period."
