Japan, The Nation-State
Japan, the Nation-State
Japan, an island nation with a history if two thousand years, was one of the first non-European countries to win recognation as a modern nation-state. The example of Japan is particularly interesting because almost all its people have the same history, racial characteristics, and way of life. In Japan people can truly talk about their sate simply as a nation, for the state is constituted by one national group.
Edwin O. Reischauer, former head of the United States Embassy in Japan, has written,
“Japan constitutes what may be the world’s most perfect nation-state: a clear-cut geographic unit containing almost all of the people of distinctive culture and languange and virtually no one else.”
All of the five characteristics ofe the modern state are present in Japan. The first is territory. The Japanese state is located on a group of island. Japan’s territory is easy to define, and its boundaries are easy to show on maps. It has always been isolated, apart from other countries. The water around Japan has made the country easy to defend until modern times.
Japan’s island location has also helped in creation of a single nation. In the beginning, there was no one race of Japanese people. There was no one way of life. These characteristics have appeared slowly over centuries. The first people came to Japan from Korea adn northeast Asia. There were of Mongoloid race. Another group of the people, called the Ainu, also lived in Japan. The Ainu are white-skinned amad blue-eyed. Both groups stopped and stayed on the islands, for they could not travel farther. Over many hundreds of years, various kinds of people have mixedto created the modern Jaoanese people.
The life of the early Japanese was organized around tribes, group of people with family ties. Tribal organization controlled the interactions of people within the tribes. It help to create respect to authority and family traditions. In addition, it helped the Japanese to createa definition of themselves as an independent island of people, with one particular way of life. Finally, the tribal system organized theinterractions among tribes. Some families had more authority than others. The emperors of Japan come from the same ruling family for 1500 years.
The tribal system probably did not help in the creation of a second national characteristic, that of a strong rational goverment. During most of its history, Japan did not have a strong national goverment. The Japanese had an emperor, but the local tribal rulers were really in control. This traditional system of local goverment lasted, with small changes, until 1600.local leaders, called daimyos, fought against each other. The country was in internal disorder.
The Tokugawa family was responsible for bringing both national goverment and internal recognation to Japan.under their control, Japan was brought together into one nation in the seventeehth century. For two centuries, their goverment enforced an internal peace. This was a period of complete isolation as well,for no external trade or travel was allowed. Internally, trade and aducation improved and the nation became stronger. The Tokugawa used religion and history to strengthen a feeling of national unity,so that the Japanese people recognized their new state as legitimate.
Japan’s soveregnty was established, by definition, when it became a state. However, at times stronger states have acted aggresively, or they have interfered in Japan’s internal affairs. Wars with China are part of Japan’s long history. Interferencein Japan’s internal affairs came from another direction in nineteenth century:Western state forced Japan to begin foreign trade once again. Japan opened its doors to the United States in 1854, and made various trade agreement. Its period of isolation ended. Tokugawa control was finished in1868.the new goverment, called the Meiji Restoration, gave the emperor more control then before. The daimyos were forced at last to give their lands to the emperor, and the national goverment became even stronger.
The young leaders of the Meiji goverment decided to make Japan a modern state. They wanted Japan to be safe from foreign interference, and equal with the West. In afew years Japan adopted a modern constitution. Next it won diplomatic recognation and joined the other modern states of the world as a strong nation-state.
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Edwin O. Reischauer, former head of the United States Embassy in Japan, has written,
“Japan constitutes what may be the world’s most perfect nation-state: a clear-cut geographic unit containing almost all of the people of distinctive culture and languange and virtually no one else.”
All of the five characteristics ofe the modern state are present in Japan. The first is territory. The Japanese state is located on a group of island. Japan’s territory is easy to define, and its boundaries are easy to show on maps. It has always been isolated, apart from other countries. The water around Japan has made the country easy to defend until modern times.
Japan’s island location has also helped in creation of a single nation. In the beginning, there was no one race of Japanese people. There was no one way of life. These characteristics have appeared slowly over centuries. The first people came to Japan from Korea adn northeast Asia. There were of Mongoloid race. Another group of the people, called the Ainu, also lived in Japan. The Ainu are white-skinned amad blue-eyed. Both groups stopped and stayed on the islands, for they could not travel farther. Over many hundreds of years, various kinds of people have mixedto created the modern Jaoanese people.
The life of the early Japanese was organized around tribes, group of people with family ties. Tribal organization controlled the interactions of people within the tribes. It help to create respect to authority and family traditions. In addition, it helped the Japanese to createa definition of themselves as an independent island of people, with one particular way of life. Finally, the tribal system organized theinterractions among tribes. Some families had more authority than others. The emperors of Japan come from the same ruling family for 1500 years.
The tribal system probably did not help in the creation of a second national characteristic, that of a strong rational goverment. During most of its history, Japan did not have a strong national goverment. The Japanese had an emperor, but the local tribal rulers were really in control. This traditional system of local goverment lasted, with small changes, until 1600.local leaders, called daimyos, fought against each other. The country was in internal disorder.
The Tokugawa family was responsible for bringing both national goverment and internal recognation to Japan.under their control, Japan was brought together into one nation in the seventeehth century. For two centuries, their goverment enforced an internal peace. This was a period of complete isolation as well,for no external trade or travel was allowed. Internally, trade and aducation improved and the nation became stronger. The Tokugawa used religion and history to strengthen a feeling of national unity,so that the Japanese people recognized their new state as legitimate.
Japan’s soveregnty was established, by definition, when it became a state. However, at times stronger states have acted aggresively, or they have interfered in Japan’s internal affairs. Wars with China are part of Japan’s long history. Interferencein Japan’s internal affairs came from another direction in nineteenth century:Western state forced Japan to begin foreign trade once again. Japan opened its doors to the United States in 1854, and made various trade agreement. Its period of isolation ended. Tokugawa control was finished in1868.the new goverment, called the Meiji Restoration, gave the emperor more control then before. The daimyos were forced at last to give their lands to the emperor, and the national goverment became even stronger.
The young leaders of the Meiji goverment decided to make Japan a modern state. They wanted Japan to be safe from foreign interference, and equal with the West. In afew years Japan adopted a modern constitution. Next it won diplomatic recognation and joined the other modern states of the world as a strong nation-state.
-end-
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