The Meiji Era and the Modernization of Japan...Part 2

Despite the open relations marking this time period, and the growing international popularity of Japanese art, cultural misunderstanding thrived. Some astute analyses were made about Japan in the West, but for the most part, reports in the media and books by uninformed people perpetuated ignorance and prejudice. Practices such as public bathing and tattooing shocked Westerners, and reports circulated that the Japanese had no business sense (an idea rather amusing to modern readers). The role of Japanese women also suffered an image problem of a different kind. Westerners fell in love with the stereotype of a docile, selfless, beautiful, charming and obedient sex, which failed to address the inner lives of Japanese women or their own views on the role they played in society. This kind of willful misunderstanding later followed Japanese immigrants to America and plagued relations between the two countries for a very long period of time.

As far-reaching and wonderful as the new innovations seemed, they also came at a price. Taxes on farmers rose to pay for urban development and, especially in the countryside, people were often confused and apprehensive about new technology. A very literal correlation was made by the peasants between the new "blood tax," which was actually mandatory service in the military, and the new telegraph wires lining the landscape. Many believed that their blood would be used to coat the wires and mysteriously carry messages. Japan's own industrial revolution brought many of the same problems Britain, America and Europe had faced, with harsh working conditions and exploitation of workers. Resentment also existed as Western styles of clothing and customs became popular. Many worried that this threatened traditional culture.

The infatuation with all things Western reached a zenith, however, and then retreated as Japan came to the realization that the national priority lay in a phrase adopted at the beginning of the Meiji Era: fukoku kyohei, meaning prosperous nation and a strong army. That simple phrase provided the foundation for Japan's modernization and would direct the course of the nation for decades to come. Japan had never forgotten the effectiveness of Western military might in opening up their country, and they had earlier watched in alarm as the Chinese suffered through the Opium Wars. Determined not to suffer the same fate, one of the most influential of the Meiji oligarchs, Fukuzawa Yukichi, wrote in 1885, "We cannot wait for our neighbor countries to become so civilized that

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