Westernization of Japan

Caroline Lee
IB English III- 1st Period

http://www.hcteurope.com/japan/Travel_files/Japan_map.jpg

Meiji Restoration vs. Sakoku

Diplomacy
Sakoku translates to locked country
No Japanese were allowed to exit the country during
this period (isolationism)

Meiji translates to enlightened rule

Goal of restoration period was to combine Western
advances with Eastern values (imperial rule with
industrialization and a massive increase in production
and infrastructure.

Sparked by Commodore Matthew Perrys trip to

Japan; influenced Japan to open ports up to
trade.

Post-WWII Reform
New Japanese constitution adopted in
1947, promoting liberal and democratic
policies. (restructured shogunate of almost
one century before)
Economic growth between the 1950s and
the 1970s was extremely rapid, due to
motivation of rebuilding country
Japanese economy rose to second-largest in
the world

Changes to Japanese Culture

Stability of nation (and national pride)
after WWII
Efficiency
Deterioration of family bonds/ties
Upsurge of womens roles in society
Conglomerating new aesthetic ideals with
tradition (katachi)

National Pride after WWII

When WWII ended, Japans geography and was
devastated (all cities except Kyoto were
industrially and infrastructurally damaged, all
territory acquired after 1894 was taken)
Defeat, as well as geographical destruction,
severely reduced Japanese morale
Kamikaze during war, imperialist/expansionist
movement that fueled Japans involvement in WWII

Efficiency
During WWII, Japanese economic standards
were leveled due to need for labor
Geisha reform (also tied to aesthetic change)

After WWII ended, Japan recognized their need

to restructure the country and went on to create
a rapid influx in production
- Japanese post-war economic miracle (US investment,
among econ. restructure)

Deterioriation of Family
Bonds/Ties
Deaths/destruction from the war
Individualized labor movement (factories;
efficiency)
Desensitization of familial loss (ancestors,
traditional values held in shogunate)
Lowered expectations of being cared for in
old age by children

Role of Japanese Women in

Society
Demand for Japanese women to hold jobs,
rather than pose as homemakers
Employment rate for women shot up in the late 20th
century (Japanese workforce up to 40% in 1987)
Longer life expectancies along with smaller families
and a spike in births led women to participate more
fully in the labor force.
Service job opportunities in the postindustrial
economy expanded as well, and fewer new male
graduates were available to fill them

Conglomerating Aesthetics
Katachi: "form and design," implying that
art is synonymous with living, functional
purpose, and spiritual simplicity.
Japanese made no distinction between
fine arts and crafts prior to the introduction
of such ideas by Europeans in the 1870s.
New ideal of Barbie phenomenon,
Western beauty concepts began to take
hold

Considering Westernization in
the Arena of Kitchen
Are the character of Mikage and the struggles
she encounters in Yoshimotos Kitchen a
metaphor for the state of Japan during the late
20th century?
What parallels can we draw between Kitchen and
the culture of the United States, and are these
parallels universal, or was the establishment in
Japanese culture prompted by something
externally, such as World War II?

Works Cited

Tashiro, Kazui. "Foreign Relations During the Edo

Period:Sakoku Reexamined." Journal of Japanese Studies. Vol. 8, No. 2, Summer
1982.
Nussbaum, Louis-Frdric. (2005). "Meiji" in Japan encyclopedia, p. 624 at Google
Books
Lee, Eunjeong. "Transforming JapanBanana Yoshimotos Amrita." Lubbock, TX:
Texas Tech University, 2010. Print.
Koren, Leonard (1994). Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers.
Stone Bridge Press
Rhodes, G. (2006). "The evolutionary psychology of facial beauty".Annual Review
of Psychology 57: 199226.
Japanese Aesthetics, Wabi-Sabi, and the Tea Ceremony." College of Visual Arts
and Design. University of Northern Texas, 2007. Web. 14 Mar 2011.
<http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2124.html>.
Goldstein-Gidoni, Ofra (Fall 1999). Kimono And The Construction of Gendered and
Cultural Identities. 38. The University of Pittsburgh. 351370.
Martin, Richard (1995). Our Kimono Mind: Reflections on 'Japanese Design: A
Survey since 1950'. 8. The Design History Society. 215223.