Meiji Revolution in Japan. Meiji period (1868–1912)

Chapter 1

The accepted date for the beginning of the Meiji revolution, 1868, is very arbitrary. This year can be limited only if we accept the version of official Japanese historiography about the events of Meiji Isin, the essence of which boils down to the restoration of the emperor's power. The true content of these events can only be assessed by taking into account the entire complex of major events, the implementation of which took several years and which are an integral part of the concept of the revolution of 1868.

The coup d'etat on January 3, 1868, which resulted in the liquidation of the shogunate, brought to power people from the low-ranking samurai, who expressed the interests of the new class of landowners and the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie. The Meiji Revolution is a series of events that led to significant changes in the Japanese political and social structure. The four-year period from 1866 to 1869, which includes last years the Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji period. The Meiji Restoration was a direct consequence of the opening of Japan to Western countries following the arrival of Commander Matthew Perry's Black Ships.

In 1853, an American squadron appeared off the coast of Japan. Its commander, Admiral Parry, demanded in an ultimatum the conclusion of a trade agreement on American terms, which effectively deprived Japan of customs autonomy. Under the threat of the use of force, the Japanese government was forced to submit. In 1858, an unequal treaty was signed, according to which Japan could not set duties on goods imported from the United States above a certain percentage (from 5 to 35), had to recognize the extraterritoriality of Americans in Japan (that is, their lack of jurisdiction over Japanese courts), etc. Soon, almost similar treaties were signed with the European powers (England, Holland, France, etc.). "Not satisfied with the possibility of open robbery of Japan, foreign powers sought to turn it into a colony." In 1862, the British fleet bombarded the city of Kagoshima in order to force the Japanese authorities to pay a huge indemnity for the murder of an English citizen. In 1864, the combined fleet of the United States, England, France and Holland - the main colonial powers of that time - fired on the fortified city of Shimonoseki, forcing the Japanese authorities to satisfy the requirements for the unhindered passage of ships through the Shimonoseki Strait. The danger of colonial enslavement of Japan was obvious. This led to the merging of the anti-feudal struggle and the national liberation movement.

During this period, the emperor was nominally considered the head of state, but the real power was in the hands of the shogun, the highest official who was the commander in chief and head of the entire state administration apparatus, who uncontrollably carried out executive, administrative, fiscal and legislative functions. Starting from the 17th century. the post of shogun was occupied by representatives of the Tokugawa house, the richest feudal clan in the country, which opposed any progressive reforms. Under such conditions, the specific tasks of the princely samurai movement were formulated: to overthrow the shogunate, restore the power of the emperor and, on his behalf, carry out the necessary reforms. In Japanese official historiography, this period is usually referred to as the "Meiji Restoration" (Meiji is the name of the reign of Emperor Mutsuhito; "Meiji" is "enlightened government").
“The shogun, together with his direct vassals, owned about 1/4 of the country's land. The rest of the land was in the fief use of the princes (daimyo) (approximately 260 principalities in the 18th-19th centuries). Daimyos had their vassals from the lower nobility - samurai, who usually received salaries in the form of rice rations. With the decline of the principalities, many samurai went to the cities and turned into small traders and employees, teachers, etc. ”1

“The Meiji revolution was not the result of a victorious uprising of urban sans-culottes and landless peasants, as was the case in France, but was an agreement reached between one wing of the feudal class - the largest tozama, represented by samurai and goyonin, and the richest urban merchants.” The establishment of an absolute monarchy as a form of state power (with formal constitutional government introduced later), compromise measures with regard to the top of the former feudal class, the creation of a new class of landlords who use to a large extent pre-capitalist forms of exploitation - all this speaks of the half-hearted, unfinished nature of the revolution.

The future monarch-reformer was born on November 3, 1852 at the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. Mutsuhito was the son of Emperor Komei and his concubine Yoshiko. Although she was not the official wife of the emperor, Mutsuhito was considered a prince under Japanese law, and since the rest of the Komei children died in early childhood, Mutsuhito was eventually the only contender for the Chrysanthemum Throne. However, then in Japan, being an emperor did not at all mean ruling the country. Since ancient times, the emperor, who was considered a descendant of the gods, and the court aristocracy were engaged only in the performance of numerous religious rituals designed to provide the country with peace, good rice harvests and protection from earthquakes, while the real power was in the hands of the shoguns - military dictators from the most powerful samurai clans. Since the 17th century, the state was ruled by the Tokugawa shoguns, whose residence was located in Edo (today's Tokyo), and the emperors were isolated in Kyoto and did not even have the right to leave their palace. The Tokugawa, who came to power as a result of a bloody civil war, considered it their duty to ensure peace and tranquility for the country, and they succeeded in this for two and a half centuries. The shogunate stopped endless feudal wars, introduced a strict class system in which everyone knew their place, minimized contact with foreigners, and even forbade the Japanese to leave their native shores. The flip side of stability and peace was stagnation, and in the 19th century Japan had to realize the danger of lagging behind in the field of technological progress.

The future emperor, who received the name Sachi no miya (Prince Sachi) at birth, spent most of his childhood in the Nakayama family in Kyoto, in accordance with the custom of entrusting the upbringing of imperial children to noble families. He was formally adopted by Asako Nyogo (later Empress Dowager Eisho), the chief consort of Emperor Komei on July 11, 1860. At the same time, he received the name Mutsuhito and the title of shinno: (imperial prince, and therefore a possible heir to the throne). Crown Prince Mutsuhito succeeded to the chrysanthemum throne on 3 February 1867 at the age of fifteen. This year was later declared the first year of the Meiji era, which means "enlightened rule". This marked the beginning of the tradition of declaring new era with the ascension to the throne of the new emperor, who after death received the name of the era of his reign. On September 2, 1867, Emperor Meiji married Haruko (May 28, 1849-April 19, 1914), the third daughter of Lord Ichiyo Tadako, who at one time held the position of the left minister. Known later as Empress Shoken, she was the first imperial consort in several hundred years to receive the title of kogo (literally: imperial wife). Although she was the first Japanese empress to play a public role, she had no children. Emperor Meiji had fifteen children from five ladies-in-waiting. Only five of the fifteen survived to adulthood: a prince born to Lady Naruko (1855--1943), daughter of Yanagiwara Mitsunaru, and four princesses born to Lady Sachiko (1867--1947, eldest daughter of Count Sono Motosachi), and had children. The role of the emperor himself during the Meiji era is disputed. "He certainly did not rule Japan, but what kind of influence he had is unknown."

January 3, 1868 The Meiji government was established under the name "sanshoku" ("three departments"). Meiji included two groups of state advisers: 10 seniors (gijo) and 20 juniors (san'yo); it was headed by a chairman (sosai). A member of the imperial family, Prince Arisugawa, was appointed to the post of chairman. Members of the imperial family, kuge and daimyo from the principalities of Satsuma, Tosa, Aki, Owari and Echizen became senior advisers; junior advisers - five kuge and three samurai from each of the above principalities, among which were the main leaders of the movement to overthrow the shogunate - Okubo, Goto, Itagaki, Soejima.

The rulers of the principalities that joined the southwestern coalition or did not actively oppose the new government retained their power. The possessions and cities that belonged directly to the shogunate were subordinated to the new government and reorganized into prefectures (ken) and metropolitan prefectures (fu). At the head of the prefectures were put governors, at the head of cities - town governors appointed by the central government.

The military actions of the government against the Tokugawa troops required the reorganization of the state apparatus. In February 1868, the first partial reorganization of the government was carried out, as a result of which seven administrative departments were formed: for the state religion of Shinto, internal affairs, foreign affairs, army, navy, justice, and legislation.

Each department was headed by a member of the imperial family or kuge, who had previously been senior advisers. Junior advisers took up the posts of officials of the administrative departments. The most prominent figures of the southwestern coalition, Kido, Okubo, Goto, Komatsu and others, entered into the created administration under the head of the government.

“Although the highest posts in the Meiji government were distributed among a narrow circle of people belonging to imperial family, the court aristocracy and the highest nobility (daimyo), in fact, the apparatus of the new power ended up in the hands of mainly representatives of the lower samurai of the southwestern principalities (Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa and Hizen), who acted as leaders of the movement to overthrow the shogunate.

“On April 6, 1868, a meeting of the court aristocracy (kuge) and feudal princes (daimyo) was convened in the palace in Kyoto, in the presence of which the infant emperor Mutsuhito proclaimed the so-called oath promise of the new government, which consisted of the following five points:

1. A wide assembly will be created, and all state affairs will be decided in accordance with public opinion.

2. All men, both rulers and ruled, should unanimously devote themselves to the prosperity of the nation.

3. All military and civilian officials and all the common people will be allowed to pursue their own aspirations and develop their activities.

4. All bad practices of the past will be abolished; justice and impartiality as understood by all will be observed.

5. Knowledge will be borrowed all over the world, and in this way the foundations of the empire will be strengthened.

This was the first declaration of the new government about the basic principles of its policy, announced back in the period when the civil war was going on. The government proclaimed a policy of "modernization of the country". At the same time, the declaration was designed to strengthen national unity, to ensure the support of the government from the nobility and the large commercial and usurious bourgeoisie.

Giving promises to convene a broad meeting, to resolve all state affairs in accordance with public opinion, the new government hoped to secure the support of the samurai and the bourgeoisie in the struggle against the reactionary forces of the old regime. Having won the civil war, it refused to fulfill these promises. The authorities immediately took measures to suppress popular uprisings. Around the time when the imperial "oath" was proclaimed, government orders were announced in cities and villages forbidding the population to unite in defense of their interests, to apply to the authorities with requests to alleviate their lot, etc.

In 1868, an unfinished business took place in Japan. bourgeois revolution. There were two currents within the anti-shogun coalition of the southwestern principalities. Supporters of one stood for the armed overthrow of the shogunate and the creation in its place of an absolutist government headed by the emperor. This trend was called "tobakuha", its main slogan was "tobaku" (the overthrow of the shogunate). Proponents of the other proclaimed “management through open discussion” (“kogiseitai ron”) as the main principle of their policy. They were against the armed overthrow of the shogunate, as they believed that the use of force would inevitably cause a civil war in the country and could unleash revolutionary actions of the masses. The first of them was led by Okubo, it had largest number supporters in Satsuma and Choshu; the second, headed by Goto Shojiro, was represented mainly by Tosa samurai.

Both trends acted under the slogan of the restoration of imperial power, but in tactical terms and in the definition: the nature of the new power, their platforms differed. True, the positions of both the supporters of Okubo and the supporters of Goto were largely determined by factional interests, the struggle of these two currents for a leading role in the anti-shogun movement and, consequently, for a leading position in the new government that was to replace the shogunate. The head of the principality of Tosa - Yamanouchi - and his proxies (Goto and others) put forward a compromise plan to eliminate dual power (the shogunate and the imperial court) without the use of armed force. According to this plan, Shogun Keiki was to voluntarily give up supreme power in favor of the emperor. At the same time, it was assumed that Keiki would still remain the head of the Tokugawa house with the same rights as other major daimyo, and all state affairs would be decided by a noble representative body, the head of which was planned to appoint Keiki, deprived of the shogunal title.

On October 29, 1867, Goto, on behalf of Prince Yamanouchi, handed over to the shogun, who was at that time in Kyoto, an appeal in which he was asked to "return" the supreme power to the emperor. This appeal said: “Since the appearance of foreigners, we have continued to argue among ourselves, causing wide public discussions. East and West have taken up arms against each other, and civil war is continuously going on, as a result of which we are being insulted by foreign powers. The reason for all this is that the government of the country is conducted from two centers and the attention of the empire is bifurcated. The course of events has placed revolution on the order of the day, and the old system can no longer be maintained. Your highness must return sovereignty to the emperor and thus lay the foundation on which Japan can rise as an equal with all other countries. An extensive document signed by the leading figures of the Tosa principality was attached to the appeal. It outlined the basic principles of the policy of the new government, in particular, it was indicated that the government of the country should be transferred to the hands of the emperor; all state affairs, including matters of state structure, the issuance of laws, must be decided by the legislature of the empire. On November 3, 1867, a secret meeting of tobakuha leaders was held in Kyoto with the participation of Okubo, Saigo and Komatsu (from Satsuma), Hirozawa and Shinagawa (from Choshu), Tsuji (from Aki) and others, at which a specific plan was adopted to overthrow the shogunate by armed way.

The meeting participants agreed on the allocation of troops from each principality to the joint army being created and agreed with Mitsui, Konoike and other wealthy merchants of Kyoto and Osaka on the financing of military operations by the latter. After the meeting, Okubo, Saigo and Komatsu, together with representatives of the court nobility adjoining this group, handed over to the young emperor Mutsuhito a plan for the restoration and a draft imperial rescript on the immediate overthrow of the shogunate. On November 8, at the residence of Iwakura, one of the most influential persons at that time at the court, the rescript was presented on behalf of the emperor to the representatives of the principalities of Satsuma and Choshu. At the same time, an imperial decree was announced to pardon Mori, Prince Choshu, and restore him to his former rank and rights.

Approximate shogun kuge Nakayama immediately reported to Keiki about these events. The next day, November 9, Keiki officially announced that he had returned the supreme power to the emperor. This "voluntary renunciation" was clearly calculated to frustrate the planned military action plan of the southwestern coalition. At the same time, Keiki, as the head of the Tokugawa house, sought to preserve his vast land holdings, which accounted for more than one quarter of the entire country. The shogun expected that, having colossal income from his possessions and having the majority of fudai daimyo in his submission, he would be able to retain a leading role in the new government and at court. In the appeal of the shogun regarding his renunciation of power, it was indicated that he was taking this step only on the condition that subsequently a noble legislative assembly would be created, consisting of the highest palace nobility, princes and samurai.

“Shogun Keiki has been advised that his renunciation of supreme power has been accepted in principle by the court, but that the final settlement of the question of power will take place in the near future at an emergency meeting of all daimyo in Kyoto. Until the convocation of the assembly and the creation of a new government, he was asked to continue to carry out all the functions inherent in the head of government.

However, the movement to overthrow the shogunate continued to grow. Tobacco leaders were by no means going to rest on their laurels. The Oyai set themselves the goal of finally destroying the dominance of the Tokugawa house, depriving the shogun not only of political power, but also of its economic basis.

The decisive position of the leaders of the tobakuha was explained, first of all, by the fact that in this wing of the anti-shogun movement there was a strong influence of the bourgeoisie and the lower strata of the nobility, who were hostile not only to the shogunate, but also to the entire higher nobility. They sought not only to transfer the power of the shogun to the emperor, but also to carry out some transformations. These transformations, without significantly infringing on the interests of the nobility, were to a certain extent to satisfy the demands of the big and middle bourgeoisie, the new landowners.

On November 12, 1867, Okubo, Saigoµ, Hirozawa, and other leaders of the southwestern coalition went to their domains to organize the transfer of additional troops to Kyoto. Shortly thereafter, Shimazu arrived in Kyoto at the head of an army of 3,000, and 10,000 more were put on alert. Following the troops of Satsuma, the troops of Choshu, Aki and other principalities began to arrive in Kyoto. From the military units of the five principalities - Satsuma, Aki, Tosa, Etnzep and Owari - a new (anti-shogun) army was formed under the command of Saigo Takamori. On December 3, a meeting of representatives of 40 vassal principalities of the Tokugawa house took place in Kyoto, which approved the decision of the shogunate to renounce supreme power in favor of the emperor.

On the morning of January 3, 1868, on behalf of the emperor, a decree was issued on the removal of the troops of the Tokugawa-kind rulers of the principalities of Aizu and Kuwan from guard duty at the main gate of the imperial palace. The protection of the palace gates was entrusted to Saigoµ's troops. On the same day, at three o'clock in the afternoon, sentries let three members of the imperial family, eight kuge, five daimyo and fifteen samurai into the palace. These were members of the new government, formed in advance by the anti-shogun coalition.

“These persons proceeded to the small hall of the imperial palace (Kogosho), where a meeting was held in the presence of the emperor, at which the main imperial rescripts prepared in advance and stored in the briefcase of Iwakura kuge were read: on the restoration of imperial power, on the abolition of the shogunate, on the establishment of a new government, on the rehabilitation of all kuge who were previously subjected to repression for belonging to the anti-shogun coalition"

At the meeting in Kogosho, sharp disagreements immediately arose between Goto and Iwakura on the issue of their attitude towards the former shogun Keiki. However, the presence of armed force in the hands of the tobakuha decided the outcome of the struggle between Goto and Iwakura. Keiki was stripped of all political power; he was asked to immediately transfer the land holdings and the treasury of the shogunate to the emperor. This dealt a decisive blow to the shogunate. However, the dominance of the Tokugawa house was finally broken only in the course of the ensuing bloody civil war, which engulfed a significant part of the country. The overthrow of the shogunate was the greatest success of the 1868 revolution.

Thus, the defeat of the troops of the shogunate and the victory of the new government were largely the result of the peasant revolutionary struggle. However, immediately after the victory, the new government began to suppress the peasant movement.

The authorities dealt especially cruelly with the inhabitants of the Oki Islands, which were part of the Tokugawa domain. The population of these islands, on the eve of the coup d'état on January 3, 1868, revolted, drove out the representatives of the shogunate and created their own local government, which assisted the troops of the central government in the fight against the Tokugawa forces.

However, soon after the coup, the government sent its representatives to the Oki Islands, who turned out to be largely the same hated officials of the shogunate who had been expelled from the islands shortly before as a result of a popular uprising. After a short resistance, the uprising of the inhabitants was brutally suppressed.

The “Seitasho” government decree issued on May 17, 1868, which is sometimes called the first constitution of the Meiji government, provided for the creation of a state council (dajokan) instead of the former supreme state body (sanshoku), vested with legislative, executive and judicial powers. This decree stated that all responsible positions in the government should be given to the highest court nobility and daimyo; middle and lower positions should be given to samurai "as a sign of respect for their wisdom."

The decree did not provide for the participation of representatives of other classes in the government. He merely pointed out that all persons wishing to advise the government on any matter should be given the opportunity to establish contact with the appropriate authorities in a formal manner. The decree also limited the power of the feudal princes: deprived them of the right to assign titles, mint coins, employ foreigners without the consent of the state council, and under no circumstances allowed them to conclude agreements with foreign states or enter into an alliance with other feudal princes. These measures were aimed at realizing the main task of the new government - the centralization of state administration, the unification of the country under the rule of an absolute monarchy.

The protracted civil war increased the danger of an agrarian revolution, the approach of which was felt in the growing peasant movement. Hence the desire of the new government to end the war as soon as possible, even through a compromise with the representatives of the old regime. The class solidarity of the entire samurai also affected.

“The historical significance of the coup d'état on January 3, 1868 and the civil war that followed it lies not in the formal restoration of the imperial dynasty, but in the liquidation of the Tokugawa shogunate, which was the stronghold of large feudal lords, and the coming to power of the lower nobility, which largely reflected the interests of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie and new landowners.

The change of power took place in conditions of extreme aggravation of the class struggle, the growth of the national and political self-consciousness of the Japanese people, in conditions of a deep crisis of the entire feudal system, and therefore the new government was forced to pursue a policy of "modernization of the country", i.e., bourgeois reforms.

The overthrow of the shogunate ushered in a period of important political and social transformation that paved the way for the establishment of a capitalist mode of production in Japan.

The promise to convene a parliament in 1890, made in the imperial decree of October 12, 1881, noticeably revived the political situation in the country. The emergence of the first bourgeois political party in Japan dates back to 1881. It was called "jiyuto", which means "liberal party". In 1898, the imperial government, wiser from the experience of parliamentary government, decided to turn the jiyuto into a semi-governmental party. In 1900, the party was renamed seiyukai ("association of political friends"). Deputies of parliament, officials of local authorities, heads of chambers of commerce, chairmen of joint-stock companies with a capital of at least 50,000 yen, directors of banks whose capital exceeds 100,000 yen, lawyers, and large taxpayers could become its members. The largest industrial concern "Mitsui" becomes the patron of the party.

The interests of another major concern, Mitsubishi, were expressed by the minseito party (People's Policy Party).

In the shortest possible time were formed political parties - liberal and constitutional reforms. They mainly reflected the interests of the landlords, the middle part of the bourgeoisie, who had little connection with government spheres and hoped to achieve at least a slight, very moderate liberalization of the existing system, in which the government was dominated by a clique of immigrants from the principalities of Satsuma and Teshu. The socialists also tried to organize themselves, creating the Eastern Socialist Party with an anarchist bias. “Unlike European countries, political parties in Japan were formed not after, but before the appearance of the parliament. But even these very timid steps were met with hostility by the authorities.”

In 1882, a law was passed restricting the activities of public organizations and obliging political parties to coordinate all their actions with the authorities. Moreover, as a response, in March 1882, the Party of Constitutional Reforms of an openly monarchist wing was formed from representatives of the highest officials. Nevertheless, radical movements began to grow in the ranks of the opposition, especially among the local branches of the Liberal Party, aiming at a military coup and not excluding the possibility of terrorist acts. All this happened against the backdrop of numerous peasant unrest caused by predatory extortions and taxes. The vigorous activity of the left groups frightened the leaders of the Liberal Party, and in 1884 they decided to dissolve themselves. A year earlier, the Constitutional Reform Party was also dissolved. However, these were purely tactical steps. The middle strata did not give up the idea of achieving favorable shifts in the state structure. The temporality of the respite was also felt in the government. In 1882, a government mission headed by one of the most conservative figures, Ito Hirobumi, was sent abroad to study the constitutional experience of European countries. A year and a half later, Ito, together with his companions, returned to his homeland and, in complete secrecy from the public, began work on the draft Constitution of Japan. As a model, he chose the most reactionary option - the Constitution of Prussia. “But before the project was proposed for consideration by the government and the emperor, some preparatory work had to be carried out in order to exclude the possibility of even the slightest radicalization of the planned parliament. Firstly, it was decided to limit the liberalism of the elected lower chamber from the outset to the conservatism of the upper, appointed one. To this end, in 1884, the institution of peers was created in the country and aristocratic titles (prince, marquis, count, viscount and baron) were established, which were given to former daimyo, court nobility and some of the most zealous supporters of the throne. Secondly, there was a reorganization of the government according to the European model. The first cabinet of ministers of Japan, headed by Ito Hirobumi, consisted of 10 people - the prime minister and 9 ministers (8 of them were from Satsuma and Choshu). In addition, the authorities expelled about six hundred representatives of the opposition from Tokyo. The most radical of them were imprisoned. On the other hand, former prominent members of the Liberal Party and the Constitutional Reform Party, Okuma Shigenobu and Goto Shojiro, who showed a willingness to cooperate, were favored, granted county titles and invited to work in government. The preparation of the Meiji Constitution was completed only by 1888. It was decided not to submit the draft for a wide discussion, as the opposition sought, but to consider it at the Privy Council, created under the emperor and consisting of 12 representatives of the former feudal aristocracy, mainly from the principalities of Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa and Hizen. The Privy Council was headed by the same Ito Hirobumi, who refused the post of prime minister for this. For about six months, the Privy Council was engaged in polishing the text of the Constitution behind closed doors.

Finally, in November 1888, it was read by the emperor in the palace in the presence of members of the government, senior dignitaries and foreign representatives. And only on February 11, 1889 the text of the Constitution was made public. The date for this was not chosen by chance. On February 11, Japan celebrated Kigensetsu - a memorable, but very conditional date of accession to the throne in 660 BC. the legendary Emperor Jimmu. The very appearance in Japan of the Constitution, which provided for the opening of the Parliament, of course, can be regarded as an almost revolutionary event. Although upon closer examination it turned out that if the emperor had sacrificed his rights in favor of the people, then only a little. The person of the emperor was proclaimed sacred and inviolable, having, moreover, unlimited rights of head of state and supreme commander in chief. He possessed all the fullness of the legislative, executive, judicial and military power in the country. But the rights of subjects, such as freedom of speech, correspondence, press, assembly and associations, were spelled out in the Constitution much more modestly, with a constant proviso: "... within the limits established by law"6. Equally curtailed were the opportunities that opened up for future parliamentarians. They could gather for meetings not at their own discretion, but only at the behest of the emperor. The emperor appointed the minister-president (premier) and, on his recommendation, all other ministers. The Cabinet of Ministers was responsible only to the emperor. Neither a vote of no confidence, since the latter was not provided for by the constitution, nor the resignation of individual ministers, since the legislation did not provide for the collegial responsibility of ministers, nor the rejection of the budget by parliament, since the constitution allowed in this case the budget of the previous year, could not overthrow it.

Legislative power belonged to the emperor together with the parliament. Laws passed by parliament could not be promulgated and enforced without imperial approval and signature, and without the sanction of the Privy Council. Between sessions of parliament, the emperor could issue decrees having the force of law. The emperor convened parliament and closed it, postponed the dates of parliamentary meetings, could dissolve the chamber of deputies. The emperor also had the right to amnesty, pardon, commutation of punishment and restoration of rights. The constitution did not abolish the activity of advisory bodies under the emperor. These included: "secret council", "genro" - an extra-constitutional advisory body under the emperor; ministry of the imperial court; council of marshals and admirals, etc. The Privy Council was given the consideration of the most important state affairs. The government consulted with him on all important questions of policy; from him came the approval of imperial decrees on appointments; he had the right to interpret the constitution.

The Constitution of 1889 laid the state-legal foundations for the capitalist development of the country. However, in the future, the development of Japan follows the path of militarization of the state. The positions of the military were very strong in unconstitutional institutions - the Privy Council and Genro. In 1895 the order was confirmed by law, according to which only the ranks of the highest military and naval command were appointed to the posts of military and naval ministers. Thus, the military got an additional opportunity to put pressure on the government and parliament. From the 79s. nineteenth century Japan is embarking on the path of aggressive wars and colonial conquests.

Parliament was not recognized as having the right to investigate or evaluate government responses to parliamentary inquiries. The Emperor could issue binding decrees on any occasion without consulting Parliament. According to its structure, the parliament was determined to be bicameral. The upper house of peers consisted of members of the imperial family, titled aristocracy and financial nobility. Its influence was much higher than that of the lower house of representatives. Under the electoral law, the right to vote in the lower house was granted to men over 25 years of age who paid at least 15 yen in direct tax and lived in their district for at least a year and a half. That is, gender, age, property and settled qualifications were introduced. This opened up access to the ballot box for only one out of every hundred inhabitants of the country.

The constitution also determined the rights of the cabinet of ministers and the Privy Council appointed by the emperor, responsible only to the throne and in no way dependent on parliament. In other words, Japan maintained an autocratic monarchy. “In order to somewhat muffle the enthusiasm of the masses, generated by the Constitution and the increased penetration of Western culture into the country, the emperor published in 1890 a rescript on education. Leadership of schools and others educational institutions was obliged to regularly read to students this document, imbued with the spirit of nationalism, loyalty to the emperor, loyalty and respect for the authorities. The idea was hammered into the minds of schoolchildren that the Constitution and Parliament were bestowed on the people of Japan by the grace and progressive will of Emperor Meiji. Soon every Japanese knew the text of the rescript by heart. At the next reading of the rescript, deep bows were made in front of the portrait of the emperor. And if suddenly the teacher on duty, who was allowed to keep a copy of the rescript only in white ceremonial gloves, got lost in the text, he was faced with an inevitable dismissal and fell into disgrace.

On July 1, 1890, the first parliamentary elections were held in the country. Despite the existence of various qualifications and restrictions, more than half of the 300 deputies elected to the lower house belonged to the anti-government opposition - the Liberal Party and the Constitutional Reform Party, which by that time had actually recovered, although they did not act under their former names. 250 of its permanent and temporary (for a period of 7 years) members were appointed to the Chamber of Peers. Relations between the government and the lower house were tense, even hostile, from the very beginning. Parliamentarians demanded tax cuts, cheaper government apparatus, and cuts in government spending. Particularly sharp clashes arose over appropriations for military needs. By behind-the-scenes maneuvers, the authorities managed to split the parliamentary opposition, the course of arming the country was adopted, although in a somewhat truncated form. The confrontation between these branches of government continued for quite a long time with varying success. Either the opposition announced a vote of no confidence in the government, forcing him to resign, or the cabinet of ministers initiated the dissolution of parliament. However, the opposing sides were unanimous on one point - the need to cancel unequal treaties with Western countries. It was, of course, not only a matter of state prestige and foreigners' lack of jurisdiction under Japanese law. Low import duties, the ceiling of which was again determined by those concluded during

The Cabinet of Ministers was small. In the first period of its existence, it consisted of 10 people: minister-president, minister of foreign affairs, interior, finance, military, maritime, justice, education, agriculture and trade, communications.

Judicial reform.

In the field of domestic innovations, the most important was the reorganization of the judicial system on a European basis. According to the law of 1890. uniform courts throughout the country are being established. Its territory is divided into 298 districts, each of which has a local court. The next instances were 49 provincial courts, 7 courts of appeal and the High Imperial Court, whose competence included the consideration of the most important cases, the highest appeal and clarification of laws. The status of the prosecutor's office was concretized, its powers were expanded. The prosecutor's office was responsible for:

a) directing the preliminary investigation;

b) maintaining the charge in court;

c) challenging sentences and supervising courts.

In 1890, the Code of Criminal Procedure received a new edition.

The judicial investigation was to be based on the principles of publicity, oral, competitiveness. At the beginning of the twentieth century. Jury trial was introduced in Japan.

Since 1872, representatives of the press began to be admitted to courts, torture was prohibited in resolving civil cases, class distinctions were formally abolished, and blood feuds were prohibited. In 1874, torture was limited and then completely prohibited in criminal proceedings.

The law of 1890, in accordance with the constitution, formally enshrines the principle of irremovability and independence of judges, providing for the possibility of dismissal, demotion of a judge only in cases of bringing him to criminal liability or disciplinary punishment. For this purpose, the Law on Disciplinary Liability of Judges was adopted in the same year. The direct leverage of pressure on judges remained with the Minister of Justice, who provides general administrative supervision of Japanese justice, and has the right to nominate judges to the highest judicial and administrative posts. To fill the position of a judge, according to the Law of 1890, legal knowledge and professional experience were required. Persons who passed the relevant examinations and successfully completed a probationary period of service in the judicial and prosecutor's offices for three years became judges.

The 1890 law also provided for the creation of a Higher Public Prosecutor's Office with a staff of local prosecutors subject to strict subordination. Prosecutors were subject to the same qualifications as judges, they were also subject to the control of the Minister of Justice, who had the right to give instructions to prosecutors on certain court cases.

In 1893, the Bar Act was passed. Lawyers began to participate in the work of the court. The lawyer corps was under the strict control of both the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor's Office. Lawyers also fell under the jurisdiction of the disciplinary courts. The right to bring them to disciplinary responsibility belonged to the prosecutors. Despite all these innovations, Japan's "law enforcement" system remained for a long time a repressive appendage of imperial power.

Agricultural transformation

The significance of the agrarian reforms carried out in the first years of the Meiji period is extremely great. They had a comprehensive influence on the subsequent development of the entire Japanese society. The reform of agrarian relations is primarily associated with such government measures as the abolition of the feudal dependence of the peasants, feudal ownership of land, the introduction of freedom of choice of cultivated crops, and, finally, the reform of the land tax. Combined with a change in the class character of power (albeit not a radical one), these transformations alone are enough to recognize the Meiji events as a bourgeois revolution.

“The implementation of these measures led to the establishment of private ownership of land with the right to buy and sell it, which expanded the possibility of land mobilization. The abolition of feudal property and feudal duties, which were legal basis the withdrawal of land rent, which was the main income of the ruling class, required the establishment of a new legal system that corresponded to the capitalist mode of exploitation. The main source of wealth creation in the state was agricultural production, and this gave special importance to agrarian legislation.

The reform of the land tax provided the legal basis for the new agrarian relations.

The immediate reason for the introduction of the land tax was the new government's need for sources of income to support the state budget. The feudal rent-tax in its former form was abolished together with feudal law. The only possible stable source of income for state needs could only be the land tax. However, for its introduction it was necessary legally precise definition ownership of all lands. Moreover, it could only be about private property.

“At the same time, among others, two important issues arose: the registration of land ownership rights and the amount of land tax. Both of these problems were initially resolved through the issuance of certificates of ownership of land (tiken). This event was very great importance. In essence, it consolidated the existing situation in the field of actual land ownership. These measures coincided in time with the measures to eliminate the feudal system of land use.

On December 25, 1871, a decree was issued on the abolition of the category of lands of samurai and feudal lords (bukeji) and the lands of townspeople (choji) in the territory of Tokyo Prefecture, on the issuance of chiken on them and on the payment of land tax from them. Tokyo was chosen as the starting point for issuing chiken. In January 1872, the Ministry of Finance published a regulation regarding the issuance of chiken to specified lands in Tokyo Prefecture and the payment of land tax on them. In the same month, an order was issued regarding the extension of this provision to all other prefectures. On February 15, 1872, the ban on the sale and purchase of cultivated land was abolished by a decree of the dadjokan (government).

Within more than half a year, until July 1872, the issuance of tiken was completed. Tiken became for some time the only evidence of land ownership. Documents for land ownership were issued primarily to "new landowners" ("shinzunushi" or simply "jinushi"). Tiken received the one who was able to prove that he is the actual owner of the land. In other words, those to whom the peasants pledged their land turned out to be the owners of the land, and the peasants who pledged the land turned into its tenants. In addition, even before the reform, various transactions were made for the purchase and sale of land, and the documents certifying these transactions served as evidence of recognition of the right of ownership to it. There were other forms of alienation of peasant land, which turned into rented land.

In April 1873, the Land Tax Reform Regulations were published and became law (chiso kaisei jorei). In accordance with the provision on the reform of the land tax, important changes were introduced not only into the land tax itself (that is, into the existing rent-tax), but also into the entire system of exploitation of the peasantry. Lands for which tiken were issued were subject to taxation. In contrast to the former taxation, which was made on the volume of the rice harvest, the amount of the tax was determined in accordance with the price of the land.

In the course of the reform of the land tax, cadastral books were drawn up, in which the names of landowners, the quality and price of their land were entered.

Beginning in 1873, a nationwide survey of land was carried out and their price was determined. The whole land was divided into 100 million plots. Each owner usually owned several plots. A more or less successful attempt was made to conduct this survey according to a single methodology. However, the government did not have the necessary funds or experience to carry it out at a sufficient level.

The compilation of the cadastre made it possible to set prices for all available land. The lands, according to their quality, were divided into three groups: the highest, the middle and the lowest. The size of the state land tax was set depending not on the crop, but on the price of the land and was determined to be 3% of its value (to this was added the local land tax of 1%). The tax was to be paid not in kind, as was the case before, but only in money. The new land tax was approximately 30-35% of the value of the crop.

In the course of the reform, land was divided into private and public. Before the reform, by virtue of established practice, the peasants as a whole community used the princely meadows and forests. During the reform, a significant part of these lands was recognized as the property of the state or the imperial house, which led to the fact that many peasants lost any opportunity to use them.

Thus, the position of the peasantry as a result of the Meiji revolution changed significantly, although for many it did not become better than it was.

The class structure of the post-reform village was determined by the existence of two main classes: the class of landlords and the class of peasants. The class of landlords, which officially appeared after the first Meiji reforms (in fact, it arose much earlier), was significantly different from the class of feudal lords that dominated in the epoch of feudalism.

Some of the new landowners emerged from the ranks of the upper stratum of the feudal lords, the daimyo, who, although they lost their feudal privileges, nonetheless turned out to be owners of significant sums of money. Former daimyo received bonds in 1876 as a result of the capitalization of their rice pensions. So, 289 former daimyo became owners of bonds at an average of 97 thousand yen, 148 kuge - at 14 thousand yen, and representatives of the lower stratum of bushi got an average of only 415 yen per person. Many bushi lived on these funds, and the former large feudal lords founded banks, invested money in the purchase of land, often increasing their wealth.

The next group of landowners consisted of former gosi. Rural samurai (goshi) differed in their origin. They were half farmers, half landowners. They had the right to carry swords. Those wealthy peasants and merchants who expressed a desire to develop virgin lands also fell into the category of gosi. Thus, through the gosi, the boundaries between the classes were also blurred. Even before the Meiji revolution, the goshi gradually began to play an increasingly important role in the countryside; they were often headmen or held other important village positions. In some principalities (for example, Satsuma), the goshi were small landlords who almost did not participate in the cultivation of the land with their own hands.

“The rank of gosi in a number of cases complained about military merit or to those who had some weight in the village (for example, wealthy peasants). Gosi did not carry military service at the daimyo. They did not receive income from the land of the overlords. The Goxi usually cultivated their own lands. Their military functions were limited to the defense of their province. In some principalities, the gosi also performed some administrative functions as agents of princely governments. In general, goshi were the lowest stratum of the samurai class. As a result of the Meiji reforms, all goshi became landowners, making up a significant part of the new landlords.

A significant part of the landowners were representatives of commercial and usurious capital, who, even under Tokugawa (especially during the period of the disintegration of feudalism), managed to acquire land in one way or another. Having become legal owners of the land during the Meiji years, they continued to engage in trade and usury. Some of the landowners lived in the countryside and ran their households with the help of hired labor. They were thus the capitalist elements in the countryside.

An important caveat should be made regarding the use of the term "landowner" in relation to Japanese conditions. In Japanese, there is no term that is completely adequate to the Russian word "landlord". The word "jinushi", which we often translate as "landlord", in fact, does not quite coincide with the latter in meaning. It is commonly used to refer to a landowner who leases out all or part of his land, regardless of the size of the land.

Not all jinushi were landlords. The number of jinushi significantly exceeded the number of landowners who can be called real landowners, that is, large or medium landowners who lease land. The jinushi included many small and tiny landowners who rented out their small plots of land, while themselves, engaged in subsidiary trades, did not cultivate the land at all or cultivated small patches. In part, these small landowners rented their land to wealthy peasants.

The reform of the land tax, first of all, changed the position of tenants. During the Tokugawa era, there were three main types of leases. The first is an ordinary lease, in which the tenant had no special rights and was entirely dependent on the will of the feudal lord. The second type is a "perpetual" lease based on customary law. In this case, the landowner could not arbitrarily drive the tenant off the land. Usually peasants who had mastered the virgin land with their own hands or improved the conduct of reclamation work had this right. One of the varieties of perpetual lease was a lease recognized by the landowner as perpetual after 20 years of land use by the tenant. The third type of lease was lease on land mortgaged by the owner. In addition, there were many various types combinations of types of lease, which differed depending on the area.

“In carrying out the reform, the government pursued a tough policy of separating land owners from tenants and sought to eliminate transitional forms that could create uncertainty in tax collection. The main purpose of this separation was to strengthen the position of the new class of landowners. As part of these measures, the government eliminated the perpetual lease, limiting its term to twenty years. If it was about the lands cleared by the peasants (or their ancestors), then this land had to be redeemed either by the landowner or the tenant. All this, of course, greatly limited the rights of tenants.

Thus, during these years, the character social structure post-Meiji village. The comparatively large landowners, the upper stratum of which were the landowners, became the dominant force in the countryside. The main form of exploitation of the peasantry, which was used by these landowners, was the leasing of land to small commodity producers-peasants. This type of lease was pre-capitalist in nature: the tenant was a landless or land-poor peasant who rented land for the purpose of supporting his family from the part of the produced products he received. The rise in the price of rice, observed in some periods, brought little to the tenant, since the latter was almost separated from the market, and, on the contrary, brought profit to the landowner.

MEIJI ERA (1867-1912)

In 1867-68 the Tokugawa era ended with the Meiji Restoration. Emperor Meiji left Kyoto and moved to the new capital - Tokyo, his power was restored. Political power had shifted from the Tokugawa shogunate to a small group of noble samurai.

The new Japan decisively began to catch up with the West in economic and military terms. Abrupt reforms took place throughout the country. The new government dreamed of making Japan a democratic country with universal equality. Borders between social classes, introduced by the Tokugawa shogunate, were erased. True, the samurai were unhappy with this reform, because they were losing all their privileges. The reforms also included the introduction of human rights, such as freedom of religion in 1873.

In order to stabilize the new government, all former daimyo feudal lords had to return all their lands to the emperor. This was done already by 1870, and then the country was divided into prefectures.

The education system was reformed first according to the French and then according to the German type. Among these reforms was the introduction of compulsory education. After about 20-30 years of such intensive Westernization, the government listened to conservatives and nationalists: the principles of Confucianism and Shintoism, including the cult of the emperor, were introduced into the programs of educational institutions.

Military growth in the era of European nationalism was a high priority for Japan. Like other Asian states, Japan was forced to sign unfavorable agreements by force. A universal conscription, the new army was built after the Prussian type, and the fleet was built after the British fleet.

To speed up the transformation of Japan from an agricultural to an industrial country, many Japanese students were sent to the West to study sciences and languages. Foreign teachers were also invited to Japan. A lot of money was invested in the development of transport and communications. The government supported the development of business and industry, especially large zaibatsu companies.

Before World War II, light industry grew faster than heavy industry. Working conditions in the factories were poor, and liberal and socialist movements soon emerged to put pressure on the ruling Genro faction.

Japan received its first Constitution in 1889. A parliament appeared, but the Emperor retained his independence: he was at the head of the army, navy, executive and legislative powers. The Genro still had powers and opportunities, and Emperor Meiji agreed with most of their actions. Political parties have not yet had sufficient influence, primarily due to conflicts between their members.

The conflict between China and Japan over Korea led to the Sino-Japanese War in 1894-95. The Japanese defeated and captured Taiwan, but under the influence of the West were forced to return other territories to China. These actions pushed the Japanese army and navy to accelerate rearmament.

A new conflict of interest in China and Manchuria, this time with Russia, led to the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05. Japan also won this war, gaining some territory and international respect in the process. Japan later increased its influence over Korea and annexed it in 1910. In Japan, these military successes led to an unprecedented increase in nationalism, and other Asian countries followed Japan in increasing national pride.

In 1912, Emperor Meiji died, and the era of the Genro ruling group ended.

Main development trends. The incompleteness of the revolution of 1868 complicated the formation of bourgeois culture. Foreign influences burst into the open country after two hundred years of seclusion. The original culture of the urban estates, which developed in the depths of the feudal formation, along with the influence of the fading culture of the feudal class, was strongly influenced by the developed bourgeois culture of Europe and America.

Soon after the events of 1868, the new government began to implement a policy of extensive borrowing of European and American culture, science and technology, which led to the revival of the economy, the development of industry, transport and communications, at the same time, the publication of periodicals began (in the years preceding revolution, a printing house was opened in Nagasaki, using the experience of European typesetting technology). The following newspapers became widely known: the semi-official "Tokyo Niti-Niti", the liberal "Yomiuri"; at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the workers' and socialist press appeared. In 1903, Heimin Shimbun was published in Tokyo by socialists Kotoku Shusui and Sakai Toshihiko.

Along with the technical sciences, the humanities also developed. Historical science experienced, on the one hand, the influence of advanced Western science, on the other hand, the patronage of the new government, which was interested in the "historical justification" of the "legality" of both imperial power and Japan's claims to Korea and other territories bordering it. Evidence of this should have been references to various ancient sources. In 1869, the government created a special department that collects chronicles, annals, and historical documents; in 1898, the publication of historical materials began. The first were the publications of two series of sources: "Materials on the History of Japan" and "Collection of Ancient Japanese Historical Documents". Significant progress was noted at this time in the development of archeology. Public interest in the antiquity of the country, in its prehistoric culture, made it possible to open in 1884 the Anthropological Society, in 1895 - the Archaeological Society. However, the general development of history and, as part of it, archaeological science was hampered by the need to recognize the uniqueness of the ancient period - the special, divine origin of the emperor, the exclusive mission of the Japanese people, the reliability of the myths included in the first written monuments of the Kojiki and Nihongi (VIII century) as the beginning of the actual history of the nation. Scientific criticism of such an interpretation of history was not allowed, scientists trying to reconstruct the true history of their people were subjected to repression.

In seeking the abolition of unequal treaties, the Japanese government tried to give foreigners the impression of actively accepting everything Western, introducing European customs and practices in the country. In 1872, instead of the lunar calendar, a pan-European one was introduced. In the same year, the European dress was introduced as ceremonial dress, and a few years later it became everyday wear for officials. Women's European dress and European hairstyle came into fashion. In the Rokumeikan club - the capital's center of "westernization" - lavish balls were held in the Western style for representatives of the upper strata.

However, the government policy of "Westernization" (and in fact - Europeanization), which assumed mostly half-hearted reforms - borrowing scientific, primarily technical achievements for the modernization of the army and navy, caused dissatisfaction with the progressive-minded nobility and bourgeoisie. The question of charity or destructiveness of the West has been the subject of many years of discussion in the press. Active adherents of the West (Minister of Education Mori Arinori) were ready to abandon everything national, including the language, while those who shared opposite views rejected everything coming from abroad. A group that supports government reforms put forward the need for a compromise - "Japanese spirit, European knowledge." Young Japanese were sent to Western countries, primarily to Germany, England, France and Italy, for training. They studied here the natural and human sciences, art, politics, economics, actively joined the rich European culture. Eagerly absorbing knowledge, almost all of them worked in several fields of science, tried themselves in different types of art.

The formation and development of the bourgeois culture of the post-Meiji period was significantly influenced by the confrontation of two trends - Europeanization and the desire to preserve national identity. Opposition to the governmental planting of everything Western, to the rejection of national traditions, had positive side- Increasing interest in national heritage. But at the same time, the excessive exaggeration of this interest inevitably led to nationalism and chauvinism. However, none of these tendencies could become the main one in the public life of the country.

By the mid-1990s, the discussion of the problems of Europeanization policy began to lose political urgency in the public life of the country. This was due to the decline in general liberal sentiment, with the transition of the opposition to the full support of the expansionist foreign policy and the reactionary domestic policy of the government. At the same time, the fragile organizations of the working class could not lead the struggle for democratic, progressive social development. All this is reflected in the comparative underdevelopment democratic trend in Japanese culture of this time.

Literature. At the end of the XIX century. in Japanese literature, the direction of the so-called political novel is taking shape. This genre provided an opportunity for progressive journalists and politicians to popularize cutting-edge ideas, to influence young people.

There has been a major change in the nature of translated literature. For the first time in 1888, a genuine artistic (and not just a transcription of the text) translation of a part of the “Notes of a Hunter” (the story “Date”) by I. S. Turgenev appeared. The translation was done by Ftabetei Hasegawa. It marked the beginning of the publication in Japan of the works of Russian writers: Pushkin, Turgenev, Goncharov, Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gogol, Gorky, which won great interest and appreciation from Japanese readers.

Acquaintance with Western literature, with its various trends, had a great influence on the young Japanese intelligentsia, who sought to fully join European culture. A wide literary renewal began, the creation of new trends and genres. The romantic upsurge and ideals of the progressive Japanese intelligentsia in the post-revolutionary years were reflected in the emergence of a romantic trend in Japanese literature in the 1990s. Its prominent representative was Ishikawa Takuboku (1886-1912), who published several poetry collections in the spirit of this trend. However, from 1907-1908. begins his transition to the position of realistic poetry. His extensive literary heritage included short stories and critical articles. The main achievement of Ishikawa is the reconstruction of the traditional form of the "tank". The poet introduced into the structure of a short verse social problems and vocabulary that were not characteristic of him, new artistic images. Deeply democratic in spirit, Ishikawa's poetry breathed new life into the traditional poetic form.

Renewal in poetry was also associated with the name of Kitamura Tokoku (1868-1894), a brilliant publicist who published the first anti-war magazine in Japan, Mir (1892). Kitamura Tokoku tried to develop new poetic forms. Shimazaki Toson (1872-1943), Japan's greatest writer, is known for his commitment to romanticism at an early stage of his career. In the 90s he acted as a lyric poet, creator new form free verse. However, since the beginning of the 20th century he becomes one of the most prominent representatives of the realistic novel. His most famous works raise acute social problems: the novel "The Broken Covenant" is dedicated to the fate of Japanese pariahs - this one; "Spring" tells about the collapse of the illusions of the younger generation; "Family" gives a picture of the death of the family under capitalism.

Since late XIX V. in Japanese literature, the tendencies of a realistic depiction of social life are becoming more and more clear. This was facilitated by the influence of European literature and Russian critical realism. In the first decades of the XX century. In Japanese literature, two trends are emerging: naturalistic and realistic, the boundary between which is to a certain extent conditional. A distinctive feature of the first is not so much the elements of naturalism (although they exist), but the principle of strict adherence to the truth of life, the desire to show the phenomenon in all its harsh unvarnished. Japanese literary scholars consider major Japanese writers to be representatives of the naturalistic trend: Kunikida Doppo (1881 -1908) - "Fate", "Special Issue", and Tayama Katai (1871 -1930) - "Life", "Kinship". In reality, the works of these writers (especially Kunikida Doppo), reflecting the conflict of the individual with the social environment, are closer in their acute social themes to the second direction - the realistic novel.

Ftabetei Hasegawa, the first translator of Turgenev and propagandist of Belinsky's ideas, is considered the founder of the realistic novel. He was the initiator of the movement for the creation of a new, more democratic literary language accessible to the masses. His novels criticize the elite that came to power after the revolution and the social orders it established.

For the first time in Japanese literature, a "little man" appeared in the writer's field of vision - a petty official, a city dweller (the novel "Floating Cloud"). The works of Ftabetei Hasegawa reflect the strong influence of Russian literature. His passive, suffering and helpless characters open up a new theme in Japanese literature - the theme of ruthless criticism of the social system through showing the destinies broken by it. Unlike Russian literature, which created images of active fighters, Ftabetei and his followers do not go beyond simple rejection, denial of the world around them - they are far from the ideas of a revolutionary reorganization of society.

The largest writer of this time - Tokutomi Roka (1868-1927) created works on which more than one generation of his compatriots was brought up. He was the first to translate the works of Leo Tolstoy into Japanese. Thanks to him, not only large-scale social problems were raised in Japanese literature, but also for the first time the theme of a deep study of the inner world of a person was revealed. Literary studies of the work of Leo Tolstoy, various essays, stories, novels - "Black Current", showing a negative attitude towards the political and social structure of society, "Better not to live", giving criticism of family foundations - everything that Tokutomi Roka wrote is marked by deep penetration into the essence of the phenomena he depicts.

A special place in Japanese literature is occupied by Natsume Soseki (1867-1916), a humanist writer who wrote sixteen novels in just eleven creative years, many novels and short stories, and essays that made up an entire era in the history of Japanese literature. Soseki's works show Japan in the 20th century, a difficult post-reform period, when various sections of the population, including the intelligentsia, were freed from idyllic ideas about the progressive role of capitalism and beneficial social changes supposedly natural for it. in the society of a woman, the novels “Then”, “Gate”, “Traveler” are devoted. A sharp satire on the writer's contemporary society is presented by the novel "Your Obedient Servant the Cat".

In the beginning. 20th century new literary trends appeared - “neo-romanticism”, which focuses on emotionality as a factor in revealing reality (Nagai Kafu), “neorealism” (perception of the world through a system of intellectual and psychological values (Akutagawa Ryunosuke).

Theater. The Europeanization policy played a significant role in the fate of the Japanese people. With the fall of the shogunate, the privileged position of the Noo theater changed. Without the support of the bakufu, the theater fell into disrepair. The troupe broke up, the actors were engaged in activities that had nothing to do with playing on stage in order to somehow feed themselves. Selling theater props musical instruments, the craftsmanship, which had centuries-old traditions, was lost. The same situation was typical for the Kabuki theater, although, created by the urban class, it was supposed to meet the needs of bourgeois Japan more in terms of themes and less conventionality. The policy of borrowing in theatrical culture led to the creation of buildings for performances, equipped according to the European model, designed to accommodate spectators in the hall on chairs, and not on flat cushions - zabutons, as was the case before.

In 1875, the European-style theater "Simpudza" was opened, in whose repertoire there were historical and everyday dramas - sevamono, created by the talented playwright of that time, Kawatashi Makuami. Unlike the previous "petty-bourgeois" dramas, they were not a detailed cast of modernity, but tried to reflect the emergence of a whole knot of contradictions in society - a natural consequence of the country's entry into the capitalist path of development, the interaction of two cultures opposite in spirit - East and West. Even Kabuki during this period, to win the audience, puts on plays of topical modern themes.

However, the European organization of the performance demanded appropriate European dramaturgy, performing techniques and props. The formation and activity of the theater using European drama is associated with the name of Tsubouchi Shoyo (1859-1935). At first he made free translations of Shakespeare's plays for joruri productions, later he made first-class translations of all Shakespeare's plays, and also tried to create a theoretical program for the transformation of the theater in accordance with the requirements of the time.

The most famous groups that worked at that time were Simpa, which staged modern plays and performances in the style of imitation of Kabuki, as well as the Free Theater, which built its repertoire exclusively on modern Western dramaturgy.

Art and architecture. In the first years after the revolution of 1868, fine arts experienced a period of active interest in everything Western, characteristic of the entire national culture. Works of Japanese painting and applied crafts, works of national jewelers were not in demand among buyers.

However, in the 1980s, the situation changed - against the backdrop of a general economic recovery, interest in the national artistic heritage arose. A movement emerged to renew Japanese national art. In 1888, the Tokyo Art School was established, where artists were trained and trained to work in the traditions national school specializing in painting, lacquer carving, metal art. Gradually, attention is being restored to the traditional types of national art: to the dances of the Noo theater, ancient palace music, the tea ceremony, bonsai (growing bonsai under special conditions), etc. are being revived.

In the 1990s, a trend emerged for the development of Japanese classical art using the methods of Western schools. The initiative in this movement belonged to well-known artists - Yokoyama Taikan, Hashimoto Masakuni and others. A department of Western painting was opened at the Tokyo Art School, artists from Italy, England and other European countries were invited.

Applied art began to develop in a somewhat different way. Directly connected with everyday life, it experienced the most intense Western influence, especially in the first decades after the revolution, new art crafts appeared with Western techniques, methods of aesthetic design.

However, the traditional applied arts of Japan received an unexpected impetus for development during these years in the form of an ever-increasing attention in the West to the artistic culture of the country. The products of the Kyoto craftsmen who make nishiki brocade, ceramics and porcelain, lacquer and enamels, and decorative metalwork using only traditional techniques have gained wide popularity and distribution in the West.

In the last decades of the 19th century, during the period of the accelerated development of capitalism, significant changes took place in the Japanese city - in the formation of its physical structure and architectural appearance.

In contrast to the Middle Ages, the centralization of political power led to the centralization of the system of cities and their transformation into key points for the development of the national economy. Of the 46 capitals of the former provinces, 34 became prefectural centers.

The castle grounds and the surrounding area now became the seat of prefectural and city official offices, institutes, colleges, "headquarters" of the business world. The rest of the urban development until about the beginning of the 30s of the XX century. kept intact the national residential construction of wooden two-story houses) and the intricate network of streets.

Most of the castle towns, even during the years of the so-called industrial revolution (80s XIX years c.), when an active breakdown of the structure of the traditional city begins, it keeps the central part of the building unchanged for a long time - industrial enterprises only in the 90s moved from the outskirts of the city to its middle part. The development of industry and the growing concentration of the working class necessitated the creation of non-traditional structures - factory buildings, residences of firms, etc. They were designed by foreigners. Multi-storey construction using stone and brickwork did not take into account the natural and climatic conditions of Japan

In 1872, after a fire that destroyed most of the center of the capital, the reconstruction of Ginza, the leading shopping district of the city, began. However, the rebuilding of the city center did not take place. The center, called "Brick Ginza", consisted of two lines of five-six-story brick houses on the sides of the main street of the district. Behind them, the quarters of wooden two-story buildings of the feudal city still stretched.

Famous Western architects built in Japan during these years - the Frenchman Bouanville, the British Condor and Waters, the American Bridgens, representatives of the German school. The appearance of the city, and above all the capital, acquired the features of eclecticism, a bizarre mixture of styles. The absence of a unified plan for urban transformations led to the fact that the capitalist city of Japan took shape according to the type of introduction of industrial, civil (bourgeois mansions) and public construction objects into the old feudal buildings. Large buildings of these years include the buildings of the Imperial University of Tokyo (Waters, 1882), the buildings of the Parliament and the Ministry of Justice (1887). Japanese architects who were educated in Europe, Tatsuno Kingo, Katayama Tokuma, Sone Tatsuzo and others, also began to build. Significant works of Tatsuno Kingo are the buildings of the Japanese Bank and Tokyo Station.

After the earthquake of 1901, Japanese and Western architects began to develop the principles of anti-seismic construction, suggesting the use of reinforced concrete structures with a steel frame. Buildings of this type include the Imperial Hotel, built in the center of the capital by the American architect F. Wright. The building withstood the strongest earthquake of 1923 and even kept the water supply and electric lighting systems working. During these years, Japanese architects begin to use new European technology and non-traditional materials in national character buildings - theaters, museums, Buddhist and Shinto temples.

The complex, often contradictory and multifaceted process of establishing wide contacts between the centuries-old original culture of Japan and the advanced bourgeois culture of Western countries had a beneficial effect on its further development.

In January 1868 political power in the country passed to Emperor Mutsuhito, whose reign motto was the concept of "Meiji" ("Light Reign") (starting in 1868, chronology was introduced in Japan according to the mottos of the reign of emperors).

In the 1870s-1880s, the Japanese government began to modernize all spheres of socio-economic and political life. Western states serve as role models. The reforms were ideologically justified as a "restoration" of the emperor's power and a return to native Japanese values.

As a result of the Meiji Renewal, Japan became a westernized state capable of competing with Western powers. The administrative-territorial reform finally abolished the principalities and introduced the prefectural division of the modern model. As part of the agrarian reform, a significant part of the land was transferred to private hands. The state apparatus was reformed along Western lines; in 1885 a government headed by a prime minister was formed. Significant transformations have affected the area of financial and credit relations, education, the army, transport infrastructure and other areas.

In 1889, Japan's first constitution was adopted, which was the logical outcome of the ongoing reforms. Despite the formal separation of the three branches of government, the recognition of the rights and freedoms of citizens, the constitution consolidated the virtually unlimited power of the emperor ("living god"). In practice, the country was ruled by a group of advisers to the emperor genro, which until the mid-1920s concentrated all the levers of power in their hands.

From the mid-1880s, political parties began to form, in 1890, for the first time, general elections were held for the lower house of parliament.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, expansionist sentiments began to grow actively in Japan. First between Japan and China, later between Japan and Russia, a rivalry begins to establish control over Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula. During the successful war with China (1894-1895) and with Russia (1904-1905), Japanese expansion to the continent is carried out. In November 1905, Japan establishes a protectorate over Korea. In August 1910, Korea was completely annexed and turned into a colony. Expansion into China was initially of an economic nature.

The main result of the Meiji period was the emergence of Japan from international isolation and its transformation into a world colonial power. At the same time, the widespread borrowing of Western achievements and active industrial development did not destroy the national identity of Japan.

200 years of shogunate rule Tokugawa ended with restoration Meiji(1868–1889) and the restoration of imperial power.

IN 1869 year, after the final overthrow of the power of the Tokugawa shogunate, the imperial person was proclaimed sacred and inviolable, with the rights of the head of state and government, as well as the supreme commander. The main call of that era was: Rich country- a strong army.

Epoch Meiji- a unique historical period of cardinal reforms and changes, when in a very short period of time a closed feudal country emerged from self-isolation and became a major world power. Japan, through the efforts of the emperor, turned into an "enlightened state" - Meiji (this motto is written in two hieroglyphs - "light" and "rule").

Japan adopted many of the achievements and experience of the West and embarked on the path of such a large-scale modernization, which modern history has not yet known. As a result, the country managed to step over from the Middle Ages to the present in a few decades, change the political, economic structure, make changes in the industrial, military, cultural and social spheres, and fundamentally rebuild traditional Japanese society.

IN 1869 Year Emperor Mutsuhito moved the capital to Edo, renaming it Tokyo ("eastern capital").

Japan began an active struggle for its position in Chinese and Korean lands. After victories in Japanese-Chinese(1894–1895) and Russo-Japanese Wars (1904–1905) The Land of the Rising Sun began to be ranked among the great powers. Japan began to industrialize. Military victories contributed to the penetration of economic and cultural resources into the country. A long period of exporting the national wealth of Korea to Japan began, as well as the active development of trade relations with China.

It is the era Meiji became a period of interpenetration of Japanese and Western cultures. Much has changed, new motives, new techniques have appeared. Artists from other countries drew attention to Japanese culture and introduced elements of the Japanese style into painting, sculpture, and arts and crafts. Japanese motifs were especially pronounced in the new style - Art Nouveau (called "modern" in Russia).

The process of assimilation of Western influence included the emergence of new forms, combining the return to their own traditions and the use of new Western trends. In particular, successful attempts were made to work with new painting techniques that had long been known in Europe. Japanese artists mastered oil painting. Japanese painting of the Meiji era was influenced by such European schools as realism, impressionism, post-impressionism. IN 1887 year in Tokyo, a new school of fine arts of the national direction was established, and in 1907 The first official "Salon of Arts" appeared in the year.

Sculpture as a genre of art was not very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but despite this, experiments were also carried out in this area. The small bronze sculptures of that era show the Japanese sense of line and color, which manifests itself in the use of soft green or warm brown patina. Woodcarving also developed.

An essentially new trend was the new engraving, called the "author's print" of sosaku-hanga, which appeared in the first decade of the 20th century. Hanga- this is any engraving, in literal translation - “printing from the board” ( sosaku- copyright, hanga-engraving).

The artists, strongly influenced by Western painting, realized the importance of their own artistic heritage, and found new opportunities in engraving to express their creative ideals. Traditional engraving was a production of mass printing, in the creation of which there was a clear division of labor of artists, carvers and printers in order to optimize and reduce the cost of production. Engravings of sosaku-hanga were regarded by artists as author's works of art, in which all stages of work - from creative conception to printing - were carried out by one engraving master. When working with sosaku-hanga many modern Western woodcut techniques were used, while at the same time maintaining the highest achievements of traditional Japanese woodcut printing. In particular, experiments with wooden printed boards were continued, which allow creating unique effects of the texture of the printed sheet surface. New themes and plots appeared in the author's engraving.

At the very beginning of their creative path, artists faced significant obstacles associated with the long-established norms for dividing art into genres (until the end of the 19th century, engraving belonged to the “low genres” and was not part of the “Fine Arts”, bijutsu), but in the future this style of work has become very popular.

Meiji Revolution in Japan. Meiji period (1868–1912)

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