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Japanese Feudal Period & Meiji Restoration

78 cards · 🇺🇸 English

Shoguns, samurai and Japan's rapid modernization after 1868.

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When did the Meiji Restoration begin?

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  1. 1When did the Meiji Restoration begin?
    3 January 1868, when Emperor Meiji declared political power restored to the Imperial House
  2. 2What was the Meiji Restoration?
    A political event that restored imperial rule to Japan and led to westernization, ending the Tokugawa shogunate
  3. 3Who was the emperor during the Meiji Restoration?
    Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito)
  4. 4What was sakoku?
    A system of national isolation imposed by the Tokugawa shogunate from 1633 onwards, forbidding entry or exit without permission
  5. 5What was the Perry Expedition?
    Commodore Matthew C. Perry's American naval expedition to Japan in 1853-1854 to force Japan to open to Western trade
  6. 6When did Perry first arrive in Japan?
    July 1853, entering Tokyo Bay at Uraga
  7. 7What treaty did Perry negotiate in 1854?
    The Convention of Kanagawa, opening two treaty ports (Shimoda and Hakodate) and ensuring American seamen's safety
  8. 8What were the 'unequal treaties'?
    Treaties forced on Japan by Western powers that included extraterritoriality, Christian toleration, and free trade in opened ports
  9. 9What was the Edo period's social hierarchy?
    Emperor and Court at top; shōgun, rōjū, and daimyō next; then samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants in descending order
  10. 10What percentage of Japan's population were samurai families?
    Around 5-6% of the 30 million population (1.5-1.8 million people)
  11. 11What was the han system?
    The domain system where daimyō controlled their own jurisdictions while paying homage to the shōgun through taxation and obligations
  12. 12What was sankin-kōtai?
    The alternate attendance system requiring daimyō to spend alternate years in Edo and their domains
  13. 13What is a koku?
    A unit measuring the amount of rice a given area of land could produce per annum, used to measure domain wealth
  14. 14What were tozama daimyō?
    Descendants of lords who fought against the Tokugawa at Sekigahara, often controlling domains in western Japan
  15. 15What were fudai daimyō?
    Vassals of the Tokugawa who often controlled government offices but had smaller provinces
  16. 16What was bushidō?
    The samurai code of conduct emphasizing loyalty, honor, and descending subordinations based on Neo-Confucian principles
  17. 17What was the Charter Oath?
    A proclamation by Emperor Meiji expressing the goals of the restored government in 1868
  18. 18What was the Boshin War?
    The civil war from 1868-1869 between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa forces following the Meiji Restoration
  19. 19What was sonnō jōi?
    'Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarian' - an ideology advocating imperial loyalty and resistance to foreign powers
  20. 20What was fukoku kyōhei?
    'Rich nation, strong army' - a policy slogan for modernization through economic and military strength
  21. 21Who were the shishi?
    'Men of spirit' - low and middle-ranking samurai committed to the Emperor and expelling foreigners
  22. 22What was the Mito School?
    A school of nationalist learning that developed concepts connecting the Emperor to national identity through kokugaku
  23. 23What was kokugaku?
    National learning - a nativist intellectual movement emphasizing Shintō and Japanese traditions over Chinese influence
  24. 24Who was Sakuma Shōzan?
    A mid-ranking samurai scholar who coined 'Eastern ethics, Western science' and promoted Western technology adoption
  25. 25Who was Yoshida Shōin?
    A shishi intellectual and pupil of Sakuma Shōzan, executed in 1859 for plotting to assassinate a bakufu official
  26. 26Who taught at the Shōka Sonjuku academy?
    Yoshida Shōin, who taught over 90 students including many future Meiji leaders
  27. 27What were the Tenpō Reforms?
    Government reforms from 1841-1843 attempting to address economic and political problems, revealing divisions between shōgun and daimyō
  28. 28Who was Ii Naosuke?
    A fudai daimyō appointed tairō (great elder) in 1858 who approved treaties despite imperial opposition and enacted the Ansei Purge
  29. 29What was the Ansei Purge?
    Ii Naosuke's 1858-1859 crackdown on over 100 political enemies, with 8 killed and many placed under house arrest
  30. 30When was Ii Naosuke assassinated?
    1860, by loyalist samurai in the Sakuradamon Incident

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