Westernization And Modernization example essay topic

Are Westernization and modernization interrelated in Japan from the meiji period to the 1930's? Is it possible for modernization to occur without modernity being present in Japan? The derivation of the latter pair of words suggests a close relationship, and for much of the twentieth century Westernization has been treated as an implicit factor in any modernization. It has often been said that Japan, unlike the West, is not a country of immigrants, and that for all practical purposes it has a single religion and a single language.

What's more, since their country emerged from isolation in the Meiji Period the Japanese have had one overwhelming national aim: modernization. I would argue that Japan's modernity is a construct which has certain attributes that are associated with Western culture and is necessary for modernization during the meiji period. Japan, in particular, from the time of Meiji Restoration in 1868, consciously chose this path, on which modernization equals Westernization. Japan's quest for modernization could be trace all the way back to the nineteenth century, when the black ships of Western powers repeatedly began to show their presence off the coast of Japan. And to demand that Japan open its ports for trading, thus initiating the taking of Japan by the Western powers. Although in the end, Japan had escaped being colonized by Western powers.

The shame of this near 'rape' was too much for the Japanese. To come to terms with the military and technological gap experienced with the West, Japan entered a frenzied period of catch up through borrowing and adaptation of Western technology, institutions, and culture in an effort to make its military strength and its political, economic, education, and other institutions comparable to those of the West. Meiji leaders have accepted the above factors and Westernization were reciprocal and that both were necessary for development. Japan began actively promoting telegraph, lighthouse, and railroad construction, for example, the government also used Western buildings and institutions to advance its modernization program.

Japan employed Western engineers to build the nation's infrastructure and Western architects to design offices, banks, universities, and schools The use of new forms of architecture in support of introduced institutions was widespread. In the period between 1869 and 1882, Japan established navy, telegraph, and postal systems based on the British forms of these institutions; an army, private schools, and police and judicial systems based on the French Systems; and banking and agricultural college systems based on those found in the United States. These new civic and cultural institutions naturally required that they be housed in compatible structures and such building types slowly evolved with the institutions. The foreign architects and engineers also produced barns, vocational classrooms, post offices, and railroad stations.

With the integration of Westernization, the year 1871, witness the change of Japan's political system. Its administration was centralized, with the domain governments being abolished and its powers being concentrated in the hands of council of ministers. These changes saw the change in which japan became the core of a new Western-style aristocracy with titles approximated to the Western terms 'viscount', 'Baron', etc. Taxes were at a fixed rate and ownership of land was introduced. With regards to Japan's Education system, Japan's once adopted the French and American principles of education: the purpose of education was the material and intellectual advancement of the individual.

In many schools, European rather than Japanese history was taught. When it comes to defining modernity in Japan using Structures, the Ginza is an example. It was regarded as a major symbol of this belief in modernization through Westernization. Ginza had represented the modern since its reconstruction in the Meiji period. During the Tokugawa period, Ginza was not known to be a busy commercial center. However, after a fire in 1872, Ginza was rebuilt in brick so as to act as a model for fireproofing for the rest of the city.

Years later, Ginza was rebuilt in a Gregorian style by a English architect Thomas Waters which had failed to inspired any fireproof construction. Ginza then began to transformed into a symbol of modernity for all Japanese. Not only that its architecture and interior d'ecor continued to be a inspiration of Westerners, its department store dining rooms also wiped out the necessity of Japanese tradition to sit on floors to eat. Another symbol of modernity was ' The Caf'e'. According to a contemporary writer's eye, the caf'e was not simply one symbol of modernity, but in fact the symbol of modernity. The Caf'e also show us the how the status of women have changed throughout the years.

According to Muro bushi Kosh in, ' The modern city meant liberation, not only liberation of the townspeople (chon in) from their low status in the feudal hierarchy of classes or liberation for women, for relations between men and women, and for drinking'. The Caf'e symbolized this modern westernized liberated spirit and, as a symbol of the process of modernization. For women, the caf'e open up opportunities in the liberation of their status. Through modernization and Westernization, more and more young women without particular education are being offered work in the caf'e, additionally opportunities for free love evolved. The shift into modernization, had affected every community in the country, fostering major cultural shifts.

With the Japanese - members of the elite in particular, being schooled in Western-style buildings, visiting or working from Western-style governmental offices, and attending formal events in Western clubs and reception rooms soon realized that the architecture demanded they use Western furniture and dress in Western clothes and shoes. In fact, the government went so far as to pass an edit which required that all public servants wear Western clothing and children in schools wear uniforms styled in a Western manner. Furthermore, as part of Japan's "modernization" drive, Western customs such as eating meat was introduced as it was perceived that beef eating was also a symbol of modernity. With the emergence of several newly established newspapers and journals, like the Meiroku Zasshi, carried articles discussing issues such as Western education and even the possibility of writing Japanese in the Roman alphabet. Academics such as Fukuzawa Yuki chi seriously advocated the abandonment of the Japanese writing system in favor of the alphabet. In fact, Ishikawa Takuboku wrote a diary in Roman letters instead of the mixture of kanji, hiragana and katakana.

He expresses that because no one would be able to read his words, thus permitting him to be able to set down his feelings and write freely. From the diary, it could be seen that Western ideology had penetrated into Japanese like Ishikawa, the idea of individualism and being able to write freely. For all the uncertainties there are in the modern environment in Japan, clear trends shows that the West are pushing Japan to Westernize along definable lines. Japan has very clearly incorporated many of the trappings of Western society, the continuing differences in Japanese forms are worth noting.

Even if modernization is necessary to improve human life, it will be indispensable for Japan to maintain its traditional cultures too. Traditional cultures need neither to reject Modernization or Westernization nor to be absorbed in the streams of modernization. These two must harmonize and complement each other. Braised, William (trans. and intro), Meiroku zasshi, Journal of the Japanese Enlight ment, ' Introduction ' Colin Mackerras (ed.) Eastern Asia: An introductory History, Melbourne: Longman Cheshire, 1992, pp 183-185, 'Japanese Nationalism from meiji to 1937' Harumi Befu, 'Nationalism and Nihonjinron; in Harumi Befu (ed. ), Cultural Nationalism in East Asia: Representation and Identity.

Berkeley: Institute of East Asia Studies, University of California, 1993, pp 120-122 Keene, Donald, Modern Japanese Literature, 'Romani Diary' (pp 211-231) Tipton, Elise K., 'The Caf'e': Contested space of modernity in Interwar Japan' in Elise K. Tipton and John Clark (eds), Being Modern In Japan: Culture and society from the 1910's to the 1930's. pp 119-128.