A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower (40 page)

The emperor who now found himself ‘restored to power’ was a 15-year-old boy by the name of Mutsuhito (1852–1912), posthumously to be known as Meiji (‘enlightened rule’). He had acceded to the throne just a year earlier, in January 1867, following the death of his father K
mei (1831–67, r.1846–67). K
mei’s death is surrounded by controversy, and he may well have been poisoned.
⁵⁶
He had been less than fully supportive of the imperial restoration movement, preferring a union of court and sh
gunate. His death was certainly convenient, for it enabled the all-important imperial rescript of authorisation to be obtained. It also removed the possibility of having a reluctant and difficult adult emperor and left instead a potentially manipulable boy as the head of state.

In any event, the rule of the sh
guns, which had lasted for almost 700 years, was at an end. The foreign devils were back, and did not look like leaving. When these devils had first appeared, a popular cartoon, based on the Japanese tradition of ‘farting contests’ (
he-gassen
), had shown westerners being blasted away by Japanese farts.
⁵⁷
But such a scenario was, so to speak, just so much hot air. The foreign devils were not blown away. On the contrary, it was the foreigners who, metaphorically speaking, had finally blown open the doors of the closed country. Western fart power had prevailed.

Review of Part Three

The warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu and his immediate successors were able to consolidate the unification process started during the latter half of the sixteenth century. Building on the success and in many cases the actual policies of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, they were able to revitalise the sh
gunate. It was occupied by the Tokugawa family for two-and-a-half centuries. The main thrust of Tokugawa policy was to keep Japan as far as possible in a stable state of controlled orthodoxy. This included removing the western threat, symbolised by the political threat to sh
gunal authority presented by Christianity, and effectively closing Japan off from the rest of the world. Other mechanisms of control included the enforced alternate attendance of
daimy
at the sh
gunate’s base in Edo, strategic redistribution of domains, hierarchical separation of the classes, restrictions on travel and transport, curfews, monitoring, collective responsibility, and minute prescriptions even for everyday living. Breach of regulation usually meant harsh punishment.

However, over time significant internal changes took place despite the ideal of maintaining the status quo. In particular there were changes to the actual social order brought about by socio-economic developments. These saw the emergence of a powerful merchant class, and the general weakening of the now redundant samurai, who became bureaucrats in practice but also ironically became idealised. A new, vibrant, bourgeois culture emerged, centred on these merchants. Furthermore, the promotion of Confucianism, intended to support orthodoxy and order, also ironically improved educational levels and critical thinking. Through its emphasis on the emperor as supreme ruler it also raised questions as to the legitimacy of the sh
gunate. Partly as a reaction against what was seen as too much Chinese influence, a nationalist spirit also emerged, one that looked to the past and centred on Shint
and the emperor. These developments were by no means helpful to the sh
gunate, which was also plagued by corruption and incompetence.