Japan’s transition to an industrialized society took another route. In the middle of the 19th century Japan did not appear poised to embrace industrialization. Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan had been virtually isolated from most foreign influence since the early 17th century and did not fully comprehend the significant changes that were sweeping across the Western states. In 1720 a long prohibition against Western knowledge was partially lifted. Dutch merchants entering Japan found a small group of Japanese interested in gaining more information about Western science and technology. This so-called Dutch School of Learning was an important vehicle for keeping channels of knowledge alive for future use. Japan also did not possess abundant resources. Coal and copper were in short supply, and textiles had to be imported. Finally, the traditionalists in Japan clung tightly to their belief that maintenance of the status quo was the only option for retaining the purity of Japanese society and culture.
Japan, like Russia in the Crimean War, had to experience the brunt of Western military power before making the decision to change. In 1852 Commodore Matthew Perry, commanding the U. S. East India squadron, had instructions from President Milliard Fillmore and the Secretary of the Navy ‘‘to open commercial intercourse with the Japanese government’’ for the purpose of engaging in trade and having Japanese ports available for obtaining coal and other supplies for its whaling fleet. On July 8, 1853 four black ships under his command sailed into Tokyo (Edo) Bay and amazed Japanese onlookers who had never before seen steamboats or such a sizeable number of guns. He demanded to see high ranking members of the Japanese government. Although he was unsuccessful in 1853, he returned in 1854 and the Japanese realized their weak position. After weeks of negotiations, the Treaty of Kanagawa was signed on March 31, 1854. The provisions declared friendship between the two nations, opened several ports for American vessels, obtained the promise of Japanese aid to shipwrecked sailors, guaranteed U. S. purchase of supplies in Japanese ports, and got approval for a permanent U. S. consul. Commodore Perry presented a large number of gifts to the emperor (see Documents 10 and 11).
Other Western powers soon entered Japan and forced the nation to sign treaties that gave them great advantages.7
The Perry mission and the subsequent arrival of a number of European powers created a crisis in the government that rapidly caused the ultimate collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The result was the restoration of the traditional power of the imperial dignity in 1868, a historical event known as the Meiji Restoration. In reality a small number of nobles controlled the machinery of government in the name of the emperor and made the decision to imitate Western ways but to do so within Japanese societal norms in order to maintain independence from Western influence. According to an ancient Japanese saying, ‘‘What the upper likes, the lower learns to like still more.’’8 In the 1870s the imperial government soon took a direct hand in promoting change. (see Document 8). The marriage of politics and capital was the key component to instituting the growth of mass production. Thus, Japan initially emphasized the development of technology over scientific research and development, as had the United States in the early stages.9 A prime example of this thrust can be found in the growth of the Japanese cotton textile industry. In 1880 Japan had only two mills with 20,000 spindles each. In 1900 the number of spindles had grown to 1.3 million, and by 1913 that number of spindles was 2.2 million.10 In time foreign capital and later Japanese private investors played the major role in the nation’s efforts to industrialize and modernize. The first major initiative was the creation of a national railroad system to unify the country and provide a conduit for rapid economic growth. It was a difficult prospect at first, as it cost virtually the same to ship an item 50 miles by rail as it did to transport it to Europe. However, the situation soon changed dramatically. In two decades the Japanese had constructed nearly 2,000 miles of track with only 550 miles funded by the government. Soon the government and private capital poured their energies into coal, lead, copper, gold, and silver mining enterprises supported by procuring modern technical machinery from the West. Shipbuilding and shipping companies also garnered assistance in order to break the Western grip on trade and commerce. In this industry initiative and dedication led to the creation of such colossus enterprises as the Mitsubishi Company, which had as its initial enterprise the ferrying of passengers and freight items along the Japanese coast. Eventually, this company diversified and entered insurance, banking, and mining businesses. This approach set the standard for later industrial and business ventures known as the zabaitsu or large industrial companies that secured foreign banking loans and established important political ties within the government in order to gain and maintain advantage. The Japanese government also fostered the growth of textiles but preferred an emphasis on heavy versus light industry. The push for heavy industry had distinct military overtones and proved its success with victories in conflicts with Taiwan in the 1880s and China in the 1890s.
These great strides in creating an industrial base took place despite the inability of Japan to impose any tariffs on Western goods until the early 20th century. The continued pressure of Western nations forced Japan to cope with this inequitable situation. Government policies and support, the cultural unity of the Japanese people, and the industrious nature of the Japanese workers all contributed to a successful transition. One example was the productivity of the Japanese farmer. Once feudalism was abolished in the 19th century more free trade opportunities emerged. Many farmers obtained titles to their land, and even if they worked for landlords they often got access to modern farm equipment and a new batch of fertilizers to increase crop yields. Output for agricultural products, particularly rice, soared. Japan’s population growth also accelerated from thirty million in 1868 to forty-five million in 1900. Like the British and later continental experience, the increased productivity of a smaller number of farmers allowed for a portion of the agrarian labor force to move to urban areas and factories.
The Japanese natural penchant for adoption and adaptation had other characteristics. Beginning with the Iwakura mission in 1871, the government sponsored agents to travel to the West and see firsthand how their societies were organized to support industrialization. Currency reform and the establishment of the Bank of Japan also occurred during this period. An important area of emphasis was universal education, one that did not have a gender bias. By 1890, 64% of boys and 31% of girls attended primary schools. By the early 20th century, 98% of all children between the ages of 6 and 13 received a primary education, and a healthy percentage of older children pursued additional formal learning opportunities. The reverence for education played an important role in maintaining a highly skilled workforce and a cohesive society. Japan also sent students abroad to study modern ideas in Western colleges and universities and specifically to learn languages, science, and technology. In addition, Japan created the Imperial University and Schools of Mechanical Engineering and Agriculture. Military officers studied the German and French armies and British navy, and the government adopted the Western model of universal conscription. In 1889, Japan introduced its version of a constitutional monarchy with the creation of a parliament or diet, although the ruling clique behind the scenes maintained the responsibility for the actual day-to-day exercise of power.11
Japanese industry also initially depended heavily on raw materials, technology, and machine parts from the West in order to produce goods for sale abroad. The shift from rural to urban took place at a moderate pace. Factories changed these work approaches for good, even though the vast majority of them were small enterprises. This situation seemed to mirror the same dilemma that faced other areas of the world that attempted to industrialize. To offset a trade imbalance, one answer was silk exports, which increased from 2.3 million pounds in 1870 to ten million pounds by 1900. Furthermore, Japan took a different approach by moving quickly to develop its own industrial infrastructure and break the hold of Western powers. This transition to an industrialized society occurred gradually and ultimately redefined work roles in Japan. Agrarian workers, which made up 80% of the Japanese workforce in 1870, still constituted a healthy 67% of the total at the turn of the 20th century. But the skill of the Japanese also impressed the West. According to one account, at the 1876 U. S. Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, ‘‘It is especially the tools of the Japanese workmen which attracts the most attention,’’ as their implements are ‘‘handled with much ease and produce the most admirable results.’’12 At a later worldwide technical exhibition, Japanese construction workers were praised for their ‘‘nimbleness and neatness’’ and the quality of their labor.13
The lot of the Japanese workers, like their European and Russian counterparts, was initially difficult. In the pre-industrial world, agrarian workers had a tempo of work and leisure, and artisans in urban areas belonged to regulatory guilds and had sufficient time for worldly pursuits. Conditions were generally poor, especially in the mining industry, as workers often toiled under extreme temperatures and the fear of corporal punishment. Workdays averaged twelve hours or longer. The low level of wages exacerbated this situation and also led to worker migration from job to job. Long hours and low pay also cut into leisure time, and workers had a monotonous cycle of working, eating, and sleeping. The Japanese workforce also had a larger percentage of women than that of Western nations, although the majority was found in smaller enterprises. By comparison, in 1900 women comprised just over 10% of the workforce in Great Britain, about 30% in France, and 62% in Japan. Women workers in Japan also faced more hardships than their Western counterparts. Often their wages were lower than men, and at times they were not paid on a timely basis by their employers to ensure their appearance on the job. Health conditions were frequently horrid and many women got sick because of the poor conditions.14
Child labor was another matter. The Japanese government drafted a factory law in 1887 that resembled Germany’s legislation. This act would have placed constraints on the ages and hours that children could work in industrial enterprises. High ranking political and business leaders, however, resisted its implementation, arguing that it would slow industrial growth. The legislation languished for several decades until Japan’s first factory law was passed in 1911. This act also had limitations but did provide for inspectors to ensure that children under the age of sixteen did not work more than twelve hours a day and that their employment could not occur between the hours of 10 i;m. and 4 a. m. The call for such reform came primarily from liberal politicians and humanitarians in higher education, who pushed for changes in an effort to blunt the power of highly influential industrialists. In reality, after 1900 the Japanese government had become convinced that a reduction in child labor would lead to higher employment of adult males and thus reduce potential labor unrest.15
Although industrialization created some initial stress as men left home to find employment and a large number of women entered the labor force, Japan had a remarkably rapid and successful transition from an isolated, agrarian society to a modern industrial state. After the arrival of Commodore Perry, the nation made a decision to embrace Western political and economic techniques. But the Japanese approach to industrialization did not undermine its ancient values and customs and fit nicely with its long-held belief in paternalism. The fabric of Japanese society remained tightly woven and characterized by strict obedience and respect given to government officials and employers. It should be emphasized that Japan at the turn of the 20th century was only one-twentieth the size of the United States but possessed a robust population of forty-five million people. Japan was an ancient country with long-held traditions, whereas the United States was new and growing. Yet Japan made the most of its resources and potential, a fact that can be measured by its expanding influence in the Pacific by 1900 and the admiration and awe of its accomplishments expressed by the Western powers.16
World History
