Essay On Meiji Restoration

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EFFECTS OF THE MEIJI RESTORATION ON THE SAMURAI
The Meiji restoration, also known as the Reign of the Meiji Emperor, took place in 1868. The movement began when the Tokugawa Shogun (“great general”), who ruled japan, lost his power and the emperor was restored to the supreme position. The emperor chose “Meiji” as his rule name as it referred to the “Enlightened Rule”. As the nation was restored, with the introduction of the Meiji who was made the head of the Japanese government in 1868, the nation was militarily weak, it was primarily an agriculturalist society and had little technological developments. It was controlled by hundreds of semi-independent feudal lords. The end of the Meiji period in 1912, was brought about due to the death of the emperor, but Japan as a nation had completely changed its economic and social workings, and was moving towards industrialization, a development that was expected of Japan by Western powers. By 1912, Japan had a highly centralized, bureaucratic government; a constitution establishing an elected government; a well-developed transport and communications system; a highly-educated population free of feudal class restrictions; an established industrial sector which relied on the latest technologies; and a powerful army and navy.

The Meiji Restoration resulted in a political revolution that …show more content…

Working solely with a forge, Japanese sword smiths were able to craft steel into some of the finest blades the world has ever known. The process starts with a lump of crude iron. It is purified by hammer blows and by pouring a liquid made from ash over it. The art in making a Japanese sword lies in the folding of the metal. They would hammer and fold the steel thousands of times until they had created a blade composed of numerous laminations of steel. Out of this process comes the lightness and strength of the blade. After the folding the lump is beaten into its final