ipl-logo

Western Influence On Japan Essay

1763 Words8 Pages

In 1868, the Tokugawa shogun lost his power and status, leading to the beginning of the Meiji Restoration by the Meiji emperor. To restore the emperor’s power, the capital was moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. This was also the period Japan exposed itself to Western influences, following Commodore Perry’s demands for Japan to open up to trade in 1853. The development of modern Japan saw changes in the kimono that reflected this Western influence and the subsequent social, political and economic changes in Japan. Firstly, in the social aspect, the Western influence on Japan lead to an increased sense of national identity amongst the Japanese. This was evident through the appearance and structure of the kimono. There was a rise in popularity of Western clothing such as the swallow tail coat which even spread to court officials. Men wore Westernised suits and the kimono started to become a clothing only for women (Dalby 1995, pg 57). The act of wearing the kimono for women was more of an establishment of tradition rather than for fashion purposes (Dalby 1995, pg 65). Due to Western influence, the word kimono then signified the national dress of Japan(Dalby 1995, pg 63). Transformations in the Meiji clothing customs could then be both the declaration of and contribution to a new national culture (Dalby 1995, pg 64). The kimono was an important tool in helping the Japanese find their sense of “Japaneseness” as it displayed social cohesiveness and could be worn by anyone. The kimono was established as Japan’s national dress as the people began to generate an identity for themselves as Japanese. The …show more content…

From Meiji onwards, there were two categories of clothes that people could wear - Western clothes or kimono (Dalby 1995, pg 10). This highlights the political divide between the mindsets of people who are torn between Westernisation and traditional

Show More
Related

  • Japanese Feudalism Dbq Essay

    1412 Words  | 6 Pages

    Feudalism was a key component of life for those in both Western Europe and Japan. The two systems developed independently from each other yet still held a multitude of similarities. However, their many differences out shadow the unique parallels they shared. The major discrepancies between the two are found in each’s code, structure and regulations. Documents nine and ten, break down the feudal structures of Western Europe and Japan.

    Read More

  • Japanese Americans During Ww2 Essay

    712 Words  | 3 Pages

    Japanese-American Relocation in the U.S. During World War II During World War II, many Japanese Americans were relocated by the orders of President Roosevelt. The launch of this war was due to the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941 as the national security was feared mainly on the west coast. The order was made to relocate all persons inland, citizens and noncitizens, who are part of a Japanese descent, mainly to prevent any infiltration and protection from those Americans who would want to take anger out on the Japanese. Since this order, 117,000 Japanese- Americans were affected, and about 66% were native-born citizens to the U.S.

    Read More

  • The Transformation Of Musui's Story Of The Samurai

    1403 Words  | 6 Pages

    Japan’s rich history of power, wealth, and influence had many remarkable eras. One of the more notable periods in Japanese history was that of the Tokugawa Period (1600-1868). The Tokugawa Period was talked about in Musui’s Story, an autobiographical book, written by Kokichi Katsu. (Katsu ix) Katsu wrote Musui’s Story for three main reasons: to share how he had transformed from a low-ranking samurai to a well-known hero, to show his sense of self, and to serve as a cautionary tale for his descendants.

    Read More

  • Japanese Americans During World War 2 Essay

    1129 Words  | 5 Pages

    During World war 2, Japanese Americans were viewed as a threat to national security. To ensure the safety of all Americans, thousands of Japanese Americans were forcefully placed in internment camps. Numerous people lost their lives, separated from their families, and lost their homes and other valuable family possessions. Though safety was the top priority, individual freedom should not have been offered as a sacrifice. With the allocation of Executive Administrative Order 9066, President Roosevelt violated individual rights, created mistrust between citizens, and misused government powers.

    Read More

  • Meiji Period Dbq Essay

    327 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Meiji period played a important role in Japan. The Meiji period was an important part of Japan’s changing western ways. According to the book The Meiji Restoration was a period of pollical and social revolution in Japan. Japan chose to remake themselves through

    Read More

  • Russia And Japan Industrialization Analysis

    796 Words  | 4 Pages

    Before this industrialization in 1968, was the Boshin war, which was directly responsible for the Meiji Restoration, due to the fact that after the war, Japan wanted to have one central power, which resulted in Japan’s government wanting to become like an already successful government with one central power, America, however they did not want America’s culture, but merely the style of government, which resulted in Japan becoming much more western. Then after the war, the Meiji Restoration started, which was the new government taking over Japan, this started a westernization movement in Japan, and during this westernization, industrialization started, and then it settled all throughout Japan, building factories, and machines. Similar to this, Russia experienced the Crimean war, which was essentially a wake-up call for Russia to industrialize after it’s terrible loss to both Britain and France, to add to the losses, after that, Japan and Russia fought, and Russia lost horribly, which shocked the entire

    Read More

  • The Samurai's Influence On Culture And Culture In Japan

    932 Words  | 4 Pages

    From the Kamakura Period of the late twelfth century to the Meiji Restoration in the nineteenth century, the samurai have held prominent positions as noble warriors in Japanese society. They have come to be famous in modern, Western pop culture as the fierce, stoic guards of feudal Japan, but their practices and rituals extended beyond wielding katanas and donning impressive armor. Samurai practices were rich and complex, with strict codes, ritual suicide, and a history of influencing culture and politics (“Samurai”). Samurai code was influenced by traditional Japanese culture, Zen Buddhism, and Confucianism. Bushido, or “Way of the Warrior,” was the code of conduct the samurai class were expected to uphold.

    Read More

  • Dbq Essay On Japan

    947 Words  | 4 Pages

    Japan’s economic development had been shaped in various ways, including Japanese internal forces, and external forces from other countries. Although during the Tokugawa era, the Japanese were very closed off from the world for 250 years, once Commodore Perry and the rest of America threatened Japan with war Japan was forced to open ports for trade. Due to the Japanese lack of weapons the trading environment was very biased on the side of America with unequal trade. The shogun was once a Samurai and is now almost in control of Japan.

    Read More

  • Tokugawa Shogunate: The Role Of Imperialism In Japan

    1403 Words  | 6 Pages

    (Carrol) Japan was very traditional during the Tokugawa Shogunate; there were a number of changes under the shogun rule in Japan which were very similar to those seen in the industrial revolution in England. The shogun also tried to close japan to western influence, by prohibiting things such as Christianity

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Japanese And European Feudal System

    788 Words  | 4 Pages

    The societies of Tokugawa Japan (c.1603-1867C.E.) and medieval Europe (c.1000-1500C.E.) had two things in common; a feudal system. A feudal system is something that features hierarchies or social structures. The feudal system normally starts with a religion, which is at the very top of the social pyramid, then it’s the King or monarch for Europe and the shogun for Japan, then there are the nobles for Europe and the daimyos for Japan. As we go down the pyramid there are the warriors, like the knight in Europe and the samurai in Japan, then there are the peasants. The peasants were included in both eras and are at the lowest part of the pyramid.

    Read More

  • The Samurai's Influence On Japanese Culture

    995 Words  | 4 Pages

    what really fascinates me is that the samurai weren’t a rare elite force; however, they were an entire social class and they were about 10 percent of Japan’s population at that time. What really grabbed my attention is the way the dress up, they were stylish and at their time they were rock stars in their style of clothing. The samurai dressed up to move with speed, to have freedom of movement and travel. The weapons were unique

    Read More

  • How Did The Samurai's Impact On Japanese Culture

    532 Words  | 3 Pages

    Samurai were warrior class who lived by an unwritten code called “Bushido.” They fought for the large landowners called Daimyo, they worked for the Daimyo’s protection and against other powerful landowners. The Samurai was taught the values and traditions, and had to be educated in literature and writing. Therefor samurai were also trained in meditation and fighting techniques such as archery, swordsmanship, and martial arts.

    Read More

  • Alice Walker Identity

    1936 Words  | 8 Pages

    Nguyen and Brown explain the importance of clothing for identity, “Clothing and other forms of style are also reported to signify ethnic and cultural identity and used to differentiate among types of

    Read More

  • Essay On Japanese Imperialism

    712 Words  | 3 Pages

    But also change within the military occurred with the replacement of Samurai authority. Trying to be equal competitors in world power as their Western neighbors. Japan had gotten imperialist ideas from 1853 when the U.S. black ships steamed

    Read More

  • Japanese Working Culture Essay

    874 Words  | 4 Pages

    In some ways Japan looks like other western countries, also when it comes to their working style. If one looks at the official working hours for an office man, it is set for eight hours a day, and if one needs to work overtime, the company will pay for it. This sounds familiar with the working standards in the west, but unlike it, these hours mainly apply to women, because they leave the office at 6 pm, where the buildings close for air-conditioning and heating. The fact remains that the men stay and work a lot more, and later in the evening they finally go home, resulting that the trains can be more crowded around midnight than during the rush hour, since it is seen as dishonorable to leave the office before the boss goes home (Murphy, 2014).

    Read More

More about Western Influence On Japan Essay

Open Document