The Modernization of Japan

Paper Summary:

This paper details the modernization of Japan's society through an examination of both the nation's factual history and the memoirs of a Japanese reformist. The writer mentions the struggles faced by the lower classes of Japan, with particular emphasis on the peasant class, as the country slowly struggles to overcome the strict hierarchical structure of the feudal period. As Western ways become more accepted in Japanese culture and the country becomes more industrialized, the traditional feudal order is abolished. However, the concept of "knowing one's place" remains instilled in the Japanese peasants, who had for centuries been conditioned to accept the hierarchy. In this article the writer demonstrates the lingering effects of a hierarchical structure on a modern Japan.

From the Paper:

"By detailing the plights of the underprivileged classes in "Peasants, Rebels, Women, and Outcastes", Mikiso Hane presents a very clear picture of the effects of the modernization of Japan. The acceptance of Western culture in the "modern century" left an incredible weight that was borne primarily by the lower classes, and although Japan was rapidly becoming an industrialized country, "starvation, infanticide, abortion, and selling daughters into prostitution did not cease". Hane's book closely examines the struggles faced by the lower classes of Japan, with particular emphasis on the peasant class, as the country slowly struggled to overcome the strict hierarchical structure of the feudal period."

More papers on The Modernization of Japan:

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• Comparison Essay # 1912 : "The Role of Women in Japan's Development"

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