Meji Restoration

1. Changes in Education

1.1. 1872- National System of elementary, middle schools, and university education had been established.It required 4 years of elementary.

1.2. School was used for practical and independent learning. The school system taught the peers how to be patriotic to the emperor.

1.3. 1885- 46% of school attendance

1.4. 1900- 90% of school attendance

1.5. 1905- 98% of school attendance

2. Cultural Changes

2.1. 1870- There was fashion for anything western from ball room dancing

2.2. The cause for cultural change was the publishing industry. Books, essays and novels al talked about the western world.

2.3. 1871- First Newpaper published! (Yokohama Mainichi)

2.4. 1872- Western clothing was mandatory in the royal court

2.5. Shintoism- was minimized as the state religion and embody the emperor. A new Shinto was builtin Tokyo.

2.6. Bushido- was reinvented as the "soul of japan."

2.7. The new Japanese culture was built off by western ideas and Japanese traditions was embodied by the emperor himself.

2.8. The emperor became the one unifying the new nationalism. He came to represent the social and national representation of Meji Japan.

2.9. 1889 constitution-Patriotic school through the Shinto religion.

3. Economic Changes

3.1. 1873- National land tax, for the first time the government requested cash payments instead of rice. The government used the money to build new industries and model factories for the business community to imitate.

3.2. Shipping lines, telegraph and telephone lines, ship yards, minds and more were built.

3.3. 1880- There was a lack of funds so the government had to sell the industries to private businesses, the businesses would get a "special privilege."

4. The end of the Samurai

4.1. 1869-Samurai ranks reduced to just two.(Upper Shizoko, Lower Samurai (Sotsu))

4.2. 1872- A large population of the Lower samurai, were reclassfied as commoners, but the amount they go paid stayed the same.

4.3. 1873- for the first time their money were taxed.

4.4. 1873- Mass conscription to regal army was introduced. All the men over 20 had to serve for 20 years. The Samurai's completely loss purpose.

4.5. 1874- When giving the government a loan a bond was created. Bonds promised 5-15 years of 5-7% of interest.

4.6. 1876- The samurai's income dropped by 10-75%. Samurai's banned were banned from carrying weapons - only for police and for the army.

4.7. 1877- There was a Samurai rebellion led by Saigo Takamori, and were defeated by the government.

5. Other Social Changes

5.1. 1870- Tokugawa restrictions on models of travel, dress, hairstyle and occupation all ended.

5.2. 1870- Discrimination against lower class groups ended, they begin calling them village people.