Explaining Meiji Japan's Top-Down Revolution (1868) - Reshaped Foreign Policy and Centralized Military by Conscripting Soldiers from Across the Country, Asserting Regionally with Korea

This important December 2017 report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction.

Meiji Japanese leaders consisted of an oligarchy that strived to overcome Western imperialist pressures in Asia. They did so by overturning some deeply rooted Tokugawa-Era traditions in Japanese society and replaced them with Western ones. They understood that Western norms dictated world affairs, so they sought to make Japan strong along Western norms. Modeling the West provided enough traction for Japan to meet Western threats and maintain its sovereignty. Meiji leaders reshaped Japan's foreign policies by emphasizing foreign affairs, emulating Western boundary-making, revising the unequal trade treaties, and asserting themselves regionally with Korea. They simultaneously created a centralized military to support new foreign policies by conscripting soldiers from across the country; equipping, training, organizing them in a Western fashion; instilling self-discipline; and creating a symbiotic relationship between domestic industries and the military. Meiji Japan's foreign policy evolution and military reforms enabled Japan to not only maintain its sovereignty, but also challenge the regional hierarchy. This paper thus focuses on Meiji Japan's foreign policy and military.

I. INTRODUCTION * A. MAJOR RESEARCH QUESTION * B. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH QUESTION * C. LITERATURE REVIEW * 1. Western-Centered History * 2. Japan-Centered History * 3. International Competition and National Self Strengthening * 4. Meiji Japan as a Restoration or Revolution * D. POTENTIAL EXPLANATIONS AND HYPOTHESES * 1. Western Influences Facilitated a Top-Down Restoration * 2. Centralizing Power Was Key to the Meiji Regime's Top-Down Revolution * 3. The Meiji Oligarchy Reshaped Japan's Economy to Make Japan Stronger * 4. Japanese Society's Reactions to Meiji Reforms Shaped Japan's Rise * E. RESEARCH DESIGN * F. THESIS OVERVIEW * II. MEIJI JAPAN'S FOREIGN POLICY EXPANSION * A. INTRODUCTION * B. CONTEXT * 1. Tokugawa Foreign Policy * 2. Collapse of Tokugawa Foreign Policy under Foreign Pressures * C. FINDING NEW MODELS OF FOREIGN POLICY FROM ABROAD * 1. Establishing the Foreign Ministry * 2. Overseas Trips * 3. What Meiji Oligarchs Initially Learned * D. ALTERING JAPAN'S FOREIGN POLICIES * 1. Renegotiating Unequal Trade Treaties * 2. Remaking National and Regional Boundaries * E. TRIPLE INTERVENTION AND REGIONAL-CENTRIC THINKING * F. CONCLUSION * III. MEIJI JAPAN'S MILITARY REFORMS * A. INTRODUCTION * B. BACKGROUND * C. PERSONNEL * 1. Leaders * 2. Conscription * 3. Training * 4. Command & Control within the Battlespace * 5. Discipline Outside of the Battlespace * 6. Social Impacts * D. FUNDING AND EQUIPMENT * 1. Ideas * 2. How The Symbiotic Relationship Worked * E. ATTITUDE TOWARD THE WEST * 1. Open-Mindedness * 2. Technology * 3. Training * 4. Advisors * F. TURN TO EXTERNAL FOCUS * G. CONCLUSION * IV. CONCLUSION