Paths to Modernisation

Before the Meiji Restoration, several developments in Tokugawa Japan made rapid modernisation possible:

- The peasantry was disarmed and only the samurai could carry swords, which ensured peace and order.
- The daimyo were ordered to live in the capitals of their domains, giving them a degree of autonomy but also making control easier.
- Land surveys identified owners and taxpayers and assessed land productivity, creating a stable revenue base.
- Large castle-towns and cities such as Edo, Osaka and Kyoto grew, promoting a commercial economy.
- Financial and credit systems developed, and merit began to be valued more than status.
- A vibrant urban culture grew, supported by merchants, theatre, arts and printing.
- Economic changes such as the increased use of money, a rice stock market, and the growth of the silk industry also showed a changing economy.

These developments created peace, urban growth, commerce and a stronger economic base, all of which helped Japan modernise rapidly after 1868.

Japan’s daily life changed in many ways as it developed into a modern society:

- The old patriarchal household of many generations gradually gave way, among affluent people, to the nuclear family.
- The new home or homu became centered on husband as breadwinner and wife as homemaker.
- This created demand for new domestic goods, new forms of entertainment, and new types of housing.
- Cheap housing was made available in the 1920s through instalment payments.
- New electric goods such as rice-cookers, grills and toasters became common.
- Urban transport improved with electric trams, and public parks and department stores appeared.
- In Tokyo, the Ginza became a fashionable place for strolling.
- Radio stations opened, movies were produced, and actresses such as Matsui Sumako became stars.
- The period also saw the rise of the modern girl (moga) and new ideas of gender equality and cosmopolitan culture.

So, everyday life became more urban, consumer-oriented and modern, though old family values still remained influential.

The Qing dynasty tried to meet the Western challenge through reform. Qing reformers such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao realised that China needed to strengthen itself and they initiated measures to:

- build a modern administrative system,
- create a new army,
- reform the educational system,
- and set up local assemblies to move towards constitutional government.

They wanted to protect China from colonisation and make the country stronger. Later, many Chinese also sent students abroad, especially to Japan, Britain and France, to learn modern ideas.

Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles were:

1. Nationalism — overthrowing the Manchu dynasty and foreign imperialists.
2. Democracy — establishing a democratic government.
3. Socialism — regulating capital and equalising landholdings.