Illuminating the Meiji Restoration: Nation-state and proto-nationalism in Late Edo Japan

Abstract

It has become generally understood among scholars that the Japanese nationalist ideology was developed by the Meiji government during the Meji Restoration of 1868, who used it to foster a sense patriotism and national unity. During the Restoration, Western ideas and advancements were incorporated to rapidly modernize and industrialize Japan in order to be able to contend with the Western powers on an equal level: it was the process of strengthening Japan and restoring practical imperial rule.1 This stance on the development of Japanese nationalism implies that it would not have developed in Japan had Commodore Matthew C. Perry not arrived in 1853. It also portrays it in the modernist view as an ideological construction, where its development was made possible through the creation of a industrial economy, a central supreme authority and a central language during the Meiji Restoration, implying in turn there had been no Japanese national consciousness before that time. However, the existence of various national movements and national modes of thought led to the growth of a Japanese national consciousness during the latter decades of Tokugawa era of Japan (1800-1868), better known as the Edo period, showing that there had been at least some form of a singular national identity in Japan at this time. In this regard, it is my aim in this paper to research to what extent a national consciousness existed before the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and how this was developed and expressed. Given the above observations, I will, for example, discuss to what extent Edo Japan can be considered a modern nation-state before the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and to what degree proto-nationalist sentiments had been institutionalized in Edo society. For the purpose of this paper, the focus of my research will be on the samurai class, where literacy ratings were by far the highest in all of Japan at the time and the most likely place where a “Japanese” conciousness started to develop. Part of this research will be based on the sayings and teachings in the works of various intellectuals of Edo Japan written between 1760 and 1825: Volume 6 of Motoori Norinaga's complete works (the True Tradition of the Sun Goddess), Volume 1 of Hirata Atsutane's complete works (The True Meaning of the Ancient Way) and Aizawa Seishisai's Shinron. I chose these works and intellectuals because they are the most viable concerning my research. As the historical context of these works is central to this research, my analysis will focus on the historical influences on the writer as well as determining the goal of these works. As primary sources outside the intellectual climate of Edo Japan are hard to come by, my research will mainly be based on secondary literature written by contemporary scholars and experts: on more than one occasion some form of overview needs to be provided. Additionally, I will also discuss two known theories on nationalism. The first chapter takes a closer look at what exactly constitutes the Japanese identity at that particular time, where the focus will lie on the social structure, and the influences of China and the West. The second chapter discusses the possibilty of Edo Japan as a (premodern) nation-state. The third chapter will look at the intellectual climate and influences. Lastly, in chapter four an attempt will be made to explain premodern nationalism in Edo Japan. The findings in this paper will show that by the end of the 1860's a national consciousness had pervaded much of Edo Japan and provided the basis for the revolutionary road towards the Meiji-Restoration of 1868, where Japan officially entered the age of default modernity.