In light of its repeated defeats and humiliations at the hands of imperial powers, the Qing Dynasty attempted to modernize its military, economy, and society through a series of reforms known as the “Self-Strengthening Movement.”
By the mid-1800s, the Joseon Kingdom had become an isolated polity which was famously hostile to unwelcome visitors. Nevertheless, imperial powers vied to force the nation to open to international trade, offer paths toward modernization, and jealously eyed the strategic and economic value of Korea’s many ports.
As pressure mounted from grass roots organizations like the Freedom Party, the Meiji government decided to finally draft a constitution. The process which brought it about, and the language which it employed, would determine the course of Japan’s political future.
The early years of the Meiji period saw an explosion of economic growth as Edo Period merchant houses transformed into conglomerates called Zaibatsu.
The Meiji Revolution very rapidly changed nearly every aspect of public life in Japan. Such rapid progress led, inevitably, to counter-revolutions among various groups who felt discarded by the march of modernization, including a large body of samurai in the land formerly known as Satsuma Domain.
The Buddhist temples throughout Japan had worked hand-in-hand with the Shogunate to help prevent the spread of Christianity in Japan. Now that the Shogunate was gone, anti-Buddhist sentiment in the country boiled over into a violent response.
As the new Meiji government continued to develop and expand, so did the participation of Japanese commoners in the political process. The 1870s witnessed the Iwakura Mission and the birth of Japan’s first newspapers which were quickly followed by censorship laws.
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