Japan's Emergence As a Modern State - 60th Anniv. Ed.: Political and Economic Problems of the Meiji Period

Originally published in 1940 by the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR), this classic work by a leading 20th-century Japanologist has an enduring value. Japan's Emergence as a Modern State examines the problems and accomplishments of the Meiji period (1868-1912). This edition includes forewords by: R. Gordon Robertson, a former member of the Canadian Department of External Affairs; Len Edwards, the present Canadian ambassador to Japan; and William L. Holland, former secretary-general of the IPR; as well as a preface and introduction by Lawrence Woods. Also included are 10 short essays by leading Canadian, Japanese, and American scholars of Japanese politics, history, and economics,

Table of Contents:
Forewords / R. Gordon Robertson, Len Edwards, and WilliamL. Holland Editor's Preface Introduction: The Contemporary Relevance of Herbert Norman'sEmergence / Lawrence T. Woods Japan's Emergence as a Modern State Foreword Author's preface I. Introduction II. The background of the Meiji restoration The decay of feudalism The forcing of the closed door III. The restoration Historical background of the feudal-merchant coalition The clan monopoly system and its effects on feudal-merchantrelations Introduction of capitalism into the clans The feudal-merchant alliance and the Meiji restoration Origin of the modern bureaucrat in the movement for clan reform The agrarian movement in the early Meiji period (1868-77) The lower samurai as leaders of the Meiji restoration The split over a Korean expedition Continued opposition to thegovernment ends in civil war Anti-feudal policy of the Meiji government: Its attitudes toward thefeudal daimyo and landlord class Conclusion: Factors which conditioned the establishment of a modernstate in Japan IV. Early industrialization Production and circulation of commodities Division of labour Accumulation of capital European and Japanese mercantilism compared Predominance of banking capital in Japan Role of foreign capital in early Japanese industrialization The history and influence of strategic industries Starting point of Japanese industrialization conditioned by militarynecessity Change in industrial policy and the law for the transfer ofgovernment factories The key industries and the bureaucracy V. The agrarian settlement and its socialconsequences The trend toward private ownership in land Land tax revision of 1873 Dispossession of the peasantry Comparison of peasant dispossession and its effects in Japan andEngland Minute-scale farming in Japan: Its cause and effects Social character of the Japanese tenant farmer The question of a stagnant surplus population and the creation ofthe labor market Creation of a home market and its limitations VI. Parties and politics Agrarian movement of the secondperiod, 1877-83, and rise of the Liberal Party (Jiyuto) Outline of early political societies and parties The government policy toward political parties New shift of agrarian revolt following dissolution of jiyuto in1884 Strengthening of the state: The constitution of 1889 Political parties and the Diet Foreign policy and internationalrelations How the struggle for national independence inevitably led toexpansion The position of a Liberal opposition and the question of"military versus civil" in the Japanese government Conclusion Selected bibliography on Meiji Japan Glossary 1. The Importance of Rereading E.H. Norman / Herbert P.Bix 2. On Norman's Emergence / Roger Bowen 3. The Historian in His Times: E.H. Norman and Japan / John W.Dower 4. E.H. Norman's Emergence and the IPR / Paul F.Hooper 5. Emergence in Context / John F. Howes 6. The State of Japanese Political Studies: Lessons from E.H. Norman/ Patricia Maclachlan 7. Emergence and After / Nagao Ryuichi 8. Emergence as History / George M. Oshiro 9. E.H. Norman and Japan's Emergence as a Neo-Modern State /M. William Steele 10. An Economic Aspect of the Meiji Restoration / TsuruShigeto Contributors Index

About the Author :
E. Herbert Norman (1909-57) joined the CanadianDepartment of External Affairs after his studies and was posted toJapan in 1940-42. In 1946 he returned as part of the Allied occupationteam. Accused of Communist sympathies and hounded by Joseph McCarthy,he committed suicide while posted as ambassador to Egypt.Lawrence T. Woods (editor) teaches internationalstudies at the University of Northern British Columbia.