The Influence Of Chinese Culture On Japanese Culture

by Char4U.com

The Chinese civilization was a much older civilization than the Japanese civilization. The
Chinese and the Japanese had cultural and commercial relations that date back to 200 A.D.
Chinese culture flowed out of China and into Japan to influence Japanese culture in several
waves. The degree to which the Japanese adopted Chinese cultural influences depended on
the receptivity of the latter at that particular historical juncture. Chinese influence on Japanese
culture is readily apparent.

Some of these influences are:

• Language. The Japanese had no written language at the time of their first contact
with the Chinese and their use of Chinese proved important for the purpose of political
unification under the Japanese Emperor.
• Religion. Buddhism and Confucianism are important features of Chinese culture. As a
systematic belief system, Buddhism forced the local Japanese religions, which were less
coherent systems, to define themselves in relation to Buddhism. Confucianism, a
systematic religious belief system, had a lot to say about governance and society and
proved attractive for the Japanese. Consequently it had an important influence on Japanese
culture.
• System of government. The method of organization of the Imperial Court, a
significant element of ancient Chinese culture, was also adopted by the Japanese. The
Japanese Imperial Court as well as its bureaucracy, including titles, ranks and functions,
soon came to be modeled after Confucian principles. City-planning is also an aspect of
Chinese culture borrowed by the Japanese. Kyoto and Nara, capital cities constructed along
these lines, are examples. Several localities around these old capital cities reveal a system
of fields and irrigation systems divided into even rectangles based on the ancient Chinese
model of city planning. The use of a road system to hasten communication and control
rebelling localities are also important features of this system of planning.

In 108 B.C, North Western Korea was colonized by the Han dynasty in China, which set up military posts.
Trade flourished between the two cultures. Buddhism spread to south from China to Korea. They Began
sending Buddhist scholars and priests to Japan.

Buddhist priests brought Chinese language, arts, mathematics, and agricultural techniques to Japan. The
calligraphic writing system "Kanji" in Japan bears a clear resemblance to Mandarin.

Buddhism was accepted, because it met spiritual needs promising rewards to the faithful and good.

Japan’s Shinto religion was influenced by China’s Taoism. Japanese government imposed Chinese-style
changes called Taika Reforms.

Samurai

The samurai (or bushi) were the members of the military class, the Japanesewarriors.

Samurai employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns; but their
most famous weapon and their symbol was the sword.

Samurai were supposed to lead their lives according to the ethic code of bushido ("the way of the
warrior"). Strongly Confucian in nature, Bushido stressed concepts such as loyalty to one's
master, self discipline and respectful, ethical behavior.
After a defeat, some samurai chose to commit ritual suicide (seppuku) by cutting their abdomen
rather than being captured or dying a dishonorable death.

In Japanese history, a Shōgun (将軍) was the practical ruler of Japan for most of the time from 1192 to

the Meiji Era beginning in 1868.Bakufu (幕府) is a Japanese word for the administration of a Shogun;

the English term is shogunate.

The Japanese term shōgun means "general," and the longer title Seii Taishōgun (征夷大将軍) means

"generalissimo who overcomes the barbarians". In Japanese, the short title is still in use as a military rank,

as well as a contraction of the long title for the historical rank.

At the launch of the Kamakura shogunate, the shogun seized power from the Imperial Court in Kyoto,

becoming the practical ruler of Japan until the Meiji Restoration.

Shogun (将軍 shōgun?) (literally, "a commander of a force") is a military rank and historical title for (in most cases) hereditary

military dictator of Japan.[1] The modern rank is equivalent to a Generalissimo. Although the original meaning of "shogun" is simply

"a general", as a title, it is used as the short form of seii taishōgun 征夷大将軍 , the governing individual at various times in

the history of Japan, ending when Tokugawa Yoshinobu relinquished the office to the Meiji Emperor in 1867.[2]

A shogun's office or administration is known in English as a "shogunate". In Japanese it was known as bakufu (幕府?) which

literally means "tent office", and originally meant "house of the general", and later also suggested a private government. Bakufu

could also mean "tent government" and was the way the government was run under a shogun.[3] The tent symbolized the field

commander but also denoted that such an office was meant to be temporary. The shogun's officials were as a collective

the bakufu, and were those who carried out the actual duties of administration while the Imperial court retained only nominal

authority.[4]

Meiji Restoration (明治維新 Meiji Ishin?), also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution or Renewal, was a chain of events that
restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868. The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure, and
spanned both the late Edo period (often called Late Tokugawa shogunate) and the beginning of the Meiji Era.

The Meiji Restoration (明治維新), also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, or Renewal, was a chain of
events that led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure. It occurred during a three-year
period from 1866 to 1869 that traversed the end of the Edo period (often called Late Tokugawa shogunate)
and beginning of the Meiji Era. Probably the most important foreign account of the events of 1862-1869 is
contained in A Diplomat in Japan by Sir Ernest Satow. The restoration was a direct response to the opening
of Japan by the arrival of the Black Ships of United States Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry. There are
several opinions concerning the event and the year that marked the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. On
October 23, 1868 the era was changed to “Meiji,” but in general the term “Meiji Restoration” refers to the
series of reformations that took place after the return of political power to the Emperor by the Tokugawa
Shogunate in 1867 and the restoration of Imperial rule. Several events have been designated as the end of
the Meiji Restoration, including the Satsuma Rebellion (Seinan Sensō) in 1877, the opening of the Diet in
1885, or the official promulgation of the constitution in 1889.
Effects of the Meiji Restoration

The Meiji Restoration was a catalyst for the industrialization of Japan that led to the rise of the island nation
as a military power by 1905, under the slogan of "National Wealth and Military Strength" (fukoku kyohei], 富

国強兵) and “Flourishing Industries and Start Up Businesses”(殖産興業)。

The Meiji oligarchy that formed the government under the rule of the Emperor first introduced measures to

consolidate their power against the remnants of the Edo period government, the shogunate, daimyo and

the samuraiclass. In 1868, the Emperor took all land from the Tokugawa and put it under his own control. In

1869, the daimyo of the Tosa Han, Hizen Han, Satsuma Han and Choshu Han domains, who were most

fiercely opposing the shogunate, were persuaded to return their domains to the Emperor.

Other daimyo were subsequently persuaded to do so. Finally, in 1871, the daimyo, past and present, were

summoned before the Emperor, where it was declared that all domains were now to be returned to the

Emperor. The roughly three hundred domains (han) were turned into prefectures, each under the control of

a state-appointed governor. Until 1888, numerous prefectures were merged in several steps to reduce their

number to 75. The daimyo were promised 1/10 of their fiefs' income as private income. Furthermore, their

debts and payments of samurai stipends were to be taken over by the state.

The oligarchs also endeavored to abolish the four divisions of society. Throughout Japan at the time, the

samurai numbered 1.9 million. (For comparison, this was more than 10 times the size of the French

privileged class before the 1789 French Revolution; although the samurai in Japan included not merely the

lords, but also the higher retainers, who actually performed labor). The fixed stipends paid to each samurai

presented a tremendous financial burden on the government, which may have prompted the oligarchs to

action. Whatever their true intentions, the oligarchs embarked on another slow and deliberate process to

abolish the samurai class. First, in 1873, it was announced that the samurai stipends were to be taxed on a

rolling basis. Later, in 1874, the samurai were given the option to convert their stipends into government

bonds. Finally, in 1876, this commutation was made compulsory.

To reform the military, the government instituted nation-wide conscription in 1873, mandating that every

male serve in the armed forces for three years upon turning 21. One of the primary differences between the

samurai and peasant class was the right to bear arms; this ancient privilege was suddenly extended to every

male in the nation. This led to a series of riots by disgruntled samurai. One of the major riots was the one led

by Saigo Takamori, the Satsuma rebellion, which eventually turned into a civil war. This rebellion was,

however, put down swiftly by the newly formed imperial army, trained in Western tactics and weapons. The

core of the new army was the TokyoPolice force, which was formed largely of former samurai. This sent a
strong message to the dissenting samurai. There were fewer subsequent samurai uprisings and the

distinction became all but a name as the samurai joined the new society. The ideal of samurai military spirit

lived on in a romanticized form and was often used as propaganda for Imperial Japan's wars during the

early twentieth century.

The majority of samurai were content despite having their status abolished. Many found employment in the

government bureaucracy, which resembled an elite class in its own right. The samurai, being better

educated than most of the population, became teachers, government officials or military officers. The formal

title of samurai was abolished, but the elitist spirit which characterized the samurai class lived on even

beyond the 1870s.

The oligarchs also embarked on a series of land reforms. In particular, they legitimized the tenancy system

which had been established during the Tokugawa period. Despite the bakufu's efforts to cement the four

classes of society in place, during their rule villagers had begun to lease land out to other farmers, becoming

rich in the process. This disrupted the clearly defined class system which the bakufu had envisaged, and

became a partial cause of their eventual downfall.

Political Reformation
The Central Administration

The Meiji Restoration was perfunctorily the revival of a system of centralized government based on the

“ritsuryo” legal code of the Nara (710-794) and Heian (794-1185) periods. As the Tokugawa shogunate

collapsed, the new Meiji government urgently needed to centralize administrative power. Although some

official terms were adopted from the “ritsuryo” legal code, the actual form of the new government was

different.

After the declaration of the Restoration of Imperial Reign, the abolitions of the shogunate, kampaku and

regency took place. Upper (Gitei and Sanyo) and lower (Sanji and Koshi) legislative bodies were created

under the Emperor, but because Emperor Meiji was still very young, a political system was needed to assist

him. The new Meiji government experimented with several reforms and finally, in 1885, adopted a cabinet

system of government.

Kido Takayoshi had been insistent on setting up a legislative branch of the government from the first year of

Meiji, but opposition made it necessary to wait until the system of public government offices had been

reformed, and until a certain level of national education and cultural understanding had been achieved.

Okubo Toshimichi maintained a system of political reform centered upon the bureaucrats of the former

Satsuma – Chosu domains. As the reformations matured and the Movement for Civic Rights and Freedom

rose during the 1880s, several steps such as “the order of setting up an assembly by Emperor Meiji” in

1881, were taken by Ito Hirubumi and others, to enact the constitution in earnest. A privy council (a body
that advises a nation’s head of state) was established for deliberation of the constitution. Finally, in 1889 the

Meiji Constitution was promulgated, and the next year the Diet was opened. Okubo Toshimichi and others

wanted to move the capital to Osaka, but as Emperor Meiji Edo several times, eventually Edo was changed

to Tokyo and became the new capital.

Local Administration

The new Meiji government had been maintaining in principle the former feudal domain systems until the first

year of Meiji, but the new centralized government needed strong control over local administrations in order

to advance the construction of the modern nation and advance the goal of "National Wealth and Military

Strength." In the second year of Meiji (1869), the daimyo (feudal lords) returned their domains and the

people living in them to the Emperor. In the fourth year of Meiji (1871), clans (domains) were abolished and

prefectures established. A political system in which the central government dispatched governors to each
prefectures, was established. Resistance among the formal feudal lords was tempered by treating them

as kazoku (special class), which guaranteed their status and their possessions.

Economic, Social and Diplomatic Changes

The political transformations of the Meiji period were mirrored by economic and social changes. The

economy remained dependent on agriculture, but the government directed the development of strategic

industries, transportation and communication. The first railroad was completed in 1872, and by 1890 there

were more than 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometers) of railroad. All major cities were linked by telegraph by 1880.

The government gave financial support to private companies and instituted a European-style banking

system in 1882. Western science and technology were imported, and a program of “Civilization and

Enlightenment” (bunmei kaika) promoted Western culture, clothing, architecture and intellectual trends. In

the 1880s, a renewed appreciation of traditional Japanese values slowed this trend. An educational system

was developed which, though it made use of Western theory and practice, stressed traditional samurai

loyalty and social harmony. Art and literature turned from outright imitation of the West to a synthesis of

Japanese and Western influences.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the goals of the Meiji Restoration had been largely accomplished,

and Japan was becoming a modern, industrial nation. Unequal treaties that had granted foreign powers

extraterritoriality and judicial privileges were revised in 1894. The Anglo-Japanese alliance of 1902, and

Japan’s victory in the Sino-Japanese War (1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1905) gave Japan new

international status as a major world power.