Modern Japan
“The Rise of the Rising Sun”
Divinity of Japanese Emperor
•Emperor Jimmufounded theJapanese imperialstate in 660 B.C.
•Emperor embodiesthe native religionof Shinto and rulesthe state by devinepurpose.
Japan’s Dual Government
•In 1192, the Emperor appoints aShogun to stop warfare withneighboring states.
•Shogun ruled with lesser military lords.
•Samurai (warrior class) were expectedto protect him and Japan at all cost.
The Tokugawa Shogunate
•Est. by 1600, got rid of Christianmissionaries and closed Japan’sborders to foreigners for the next 250yrs!
•The Japanese economy flourishedwithout the competition and the culturegrew strong.
The Fall of the Shogunate
•Conflict between traditional Samuraiand growing wealthy merchant classes.
•American Matthew Perry, forces Japanto open to international trade.
•1858 the Shogun dies without a heir.
•1866 the Shogunates are overthrown byJapanese who want to restore theEmperor to power.
•Ending 700 years of Shogunate rule.
The Meiji Restoration (1868-1912)
•Restore 16 yearold Emperor andgive him alongwith the Diet,supreme power.
•Diet: Japaneseversion of aparliament.
•The Meiji aggressively pursued westernideas.
–Leaders traveled to the west
–Quickly decided they should imitatewestern success.
–Everything from technology, military,baseball, and golf.
The Rise of Japanese Empire
•Copied western powers and looked tograb land in Asia.
•“Enrich the country, strengthen themilitary”
•Prior to WWII they defeated China andRussia gaining territory in Korea,Taiwan, and Manchuria.
Japanese and WWII
•Leaders believed that Japan’sdependence on other countries forresources made them vulnerable.
•Attack U.S. at Pearl Harbor and join theaxis powers.
•The Japanese fought to the death onlysurrendering after the dropping ofatomic bombs on Nagasaki andHiroshima.
•U.S. bombing destroyed about 25% ofall factories and 20% of all houses.
•Japanese also forced to give up allcolonies!
Japan’s New Constitution
U.S. Forces occupied Japan, removed itsmilitary, and set up a democracy.
Created a Constitution which the Diet agreedon, denounced war as a foreign policy!
“No other conquered people in history haveever been treated more humanely andbenefited more at the hands of itsconquerors.”
•Emperor no longer anabsolute divine rulerdescendent from thegods, but a symbol ofthe state and unity ofthe people.”
•Forced to publiclydenounce divinity.
Economic Success (1950 -60s)
•Lots of research
•Quality control
•Korean war = more demand for goods
•Increase in exports
•Increased consumption, helps economy
–In 1950 only 48,000 private cars.
–In 1969 there were 6.9 million!
The Economic Miracle
•Exports raised from $19 billion in 1970to $270 billion by 1989!
•Produced ¼ of all cars.
•#1 producer of electronics.
•By 1991 Japan had the worlds highestper capita Gross National Product.
•Consumers willingly pay high prices toprotect Japanese businesses.
Cartoon Activity
•In pairs or individually create a cartoonthat demonstrates the journey of Japaninto the economic powerhouse that it istoday.
•TIPS:
–Use your notes
–Make it a multiple stage cartoon
–Use the funny pages as an example