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Japan's Long Isolation

You might think ghosting someone is a modern invention, but Japan practically wrote the manual on it back in the 1600s.

When Europeans first began arriving in the 1600s, Japan was surprisingly open to these newcomers. Rather than a primitive land, the Europeans found a sophisticated society. Japan had a larger population than any European country, impressive Buddhist universities, and a cleanliness obsession that made the once-a-week-bathers from Europe seem, well, pretty gross.

But things got complicated in the 1600s. The Japanese rulers started getting nervous about all these changes, especially when Japanese Christians began pledging their loyalty to Jesus instead of their emperor. The solution? A complete shutdown. Japan slammed its doors shut for 200 years, executing any persistent Europeans who didn't get the message.

Fast forward to the 1850s, and the world had changed dramatically. While Japan was enjoying its self-imposed timeout, Western powers were busy carving up Asia into their personal trading playgrounds. The Americans, fresh from expanding coast-to-coast, had their eyes on the Pacific trade routes. They particularly needed safe ports for their whaling ships - whale oil being the 1850s equivalent of today's petroleum industry.

Enter Commodore Matthew Perry, who showed up in 1853 with four steam-powered warships in Tokyo Bay. It was a classic "made them an offer they couldn't refuse" situation. The Japanese, who'd never seen ships belching smoke before, quickly did the math: their traditional defenses were no match for 72 American guns. When Perry returned the next year, Japan signed a treaty opening its ports to American ships.

The whole episode perfectly captures a pivotal moment in history: the collision between isolation and industrialization, tradition and modernization.

Perry's Black Ship's arrive outside of Tokyo Harbor

Commodore Matthew Perry & a Japanese drawing of Commodore Perry. The resemblance is eerie.

The Meiji Restoration

When American warships showed up demanding trade. Japanese leaders realized they had two choices: modernize or get colonized like the rest of Asia. A group of forward-thinking samurai from domains like Satsuma and Chōshū decided the old feudal system under the Tokugawa shogunate had to go. They managed to convince other powerful lords that the shogunate was too weak to protect Japan from foreign threats, and in 1868, they restored the young Emperor Meiji to power - though really they were the ones calling the shots behind the scenes.

These samurai reformers then dismantled the entire feudal system with shocking speed. They abolished the old class structure, ended samurai privileges (including their right to carry swords), created a modern military, and sent dozens of missions abroad to learn everything they could about Western technology and government systems. The whole thing was driven by a simple but powerful slogan: "Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Military" (fukoku kyōhei). They weren't just switching out who was in charge - they were completely rebuilding Japan from the ground up to survive in a world dominated by Western powers. It worked so well that within a few decades, Japan went from worrying about being colonized to becoming a colonial power itself.

Emperor Meiji, ruled Japan from 1867 to 1912 and ushered in most of the reforms that made Japan an industrialized nation

Japan Plays Catch Up

The Meiji government had to rebuild Japan from scratch, and they weren't messing around. In 1871, they sent a group of top officials called the Iwakura Mission on a two-year world tour to figure out how modern countries actually worked. Meanwhile, they hired over 2,000 foreign experts to come to Japan and teach them everything from building telegraphs to running factories. These foreign advisers cost Japan a fortune - about a third of the national budget - but that's the price of catching up to 200 years of industrial revolution in a couple of decades.

The government changes came first. They scrapped the old feudal system and divided Japan into modern prefectures that answered directly to Tokyo. In 1889, they created Japan's first constitution, borrowing ideas from Germany's strong executive power and Britain's parliament. They called their new legislature the Imperial Diet, and while it wasn't exactly a full democracy, it was a huge change from rule by samurai. They also completely rebuilt the legal system, largely copying the French and German models, right down to how judges dressed in court.

The military got a complete makeover too. They brought in French officers to show their army how to fight with modern weapons and British officers to help build a real navy. Factories started popping up everywhere, first owned by the government as examples, then sold off to businesses. Within a generation, Japan went from having basically zero industry to having 2.4 million factory workers, modern steel mills, and shipyards.

On the technology front, Japan moved at breakneck speed. They built their first railway in 1872 between Tokyo and Yokohama; by 1900, they had almost 8,000 kilometers of track connecting major cities. The government set up model factories to show businesses how modern industry worked - everything from silk-spinning mills to shipyards. They brought in British engineers to build telegraph lines, French experts to design mines, and German specialists to set up steel mills. The military got a complete overhaul too, with French officers training the army and British naval experts helping build a modern fleet. By 1900, Japan had gone from zero industry to having modern shipyards, arsenals, and the beginnings of an automotive industry. It was basically an industrial revolution speedrun, and Japan managed to pull it off in a single generation.

meiji restoration-Japanese painting of industrialization.webp

Traditional Japanese woodblock painting showing the changes taking place during the Meiji Restoration.

A Cultural Revolution

But here's where it gets really interesting - Japan didn't just copy Western technology, they adapted it to fit their own cultural context. Take education, for instance. They created a hybrid system that combined Western scientific knowledge with traditional Japanese values. Students might learn calculus in the morning and practice calligraphy in the afternoon. Japan’s attempt at creating a national public school system got 90% of Japanese kids reading and writing - better than most European countries at the time.

The cultural changes that swept through Japan were just as dramatic. Take the 1872 edict that banned traditional topknots and swords - symbols that had defined samurai status for centuries. Elite Japanese men who'd once strutted around with their elaborate hairstyles and dual swords suddenly found themselves sporting Western-style cropped hair and business suits. The Emperor Meiji himself set the example, cutting off his traditional topknot and being photographed in military uniforms inspired by European designs.

The transformation went way deeper than fashion. The government dismantled the entire social hierarchy that had organized Japanese society for centuries. The four-tier class system of samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants? Gone. The samurai lost their hereditary stipends and had to find new ways to make a living. Many became teachers, bureaucrats, or businessmen, bringing their values of loyalty and discipline into these new roles. Former samurai like Iwasaki Yatarō, who founded the Mitsubishi company, transformed their warrior ethic into corporate philosophy - creating the famous Japanese salaryman culture where company loyalty was as sacred as feudal obligations had once been.

Even Japanese homes started to change. Wealthy families built houses with Western-style receiving rooms complete with chairs and tables, while keeping traditional tatami rooms for family life. Department stores like Mitsukoshi, which had been around since 1673 selling kimonos, started carrying Western clothing and hosting fashion shows featuring the latest Paris styles. By the 1890s, you might see a Japanese businessman wearing a bowler hat and carrying a Western umbrella while his wife still dressed in a traditional kimono - a walking symbol of Japan's cultural balancing act.

By the 1890s, Japan had pulled off what seemed impossible - they'd built a modern industrial state while maintaining their distinct cultural identity. But here's the catch: all this industrialization required resources Japan didn't have. They needed oil, iron, coal - the building blocks of industrial power. Looking around at their European role models, they saw a simple solution: imperialism.

Japan's imperial expansion started with Taiwan in 1895, then Korea became a protectorate in 1905. But the real shocker came when they defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) - the first time an Asian power had defeated a European one in modern times. This victory announced to the world that Japan had arrived as a global power.

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This image shows a traditional Japanese rickshaw walking down the street lined with western style houses.

Japan’s Military-Industrial Complex

The 1920s and 30s saw Japan double down on militarization. They'd learned from the Western powers that military might and industrial strength went hand in hand. Their economy became increasingly focused on heavy industry and military production. They developed their own unique form of industrial capitalism, where huge family-owned conglomerates called zaibatsu worked hand-in-hand with the government.

Japan's economic system was built around massive family-owned companies called zaibatsu. These weren't regular corporations - they controlled entire sectors of the economy. The biggest ones were Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Sumitomo. Each zaibatsu owned their own banks, mines, factories, shipping companies, and trading houses. This meant they could handle every step of production and distribution themselves.

The government and these big companies worked together closely, especially when it came to military production. If the navy needed warships, they'd contract Mitsubishi to build them. Mitsubishi's banks would provide the money, their mines would supply the raw materials, their factories would build the parts, and their ships would transport everything. This made production really efficient, but it also meant these companies had enormous influence over government decisions.

When Japan started expanding into places like Manchuria in the 1930s, the zaibatsu were right there to profit from it. As soon as the army took control, these companies moved in. Nissan built car factories, Mitsui opened mines, and Sumitomo built power plants. The zaibatsu got rich from Japan's expansion, which meant they supported the military's aggressive policies.

The companies also created a new kind of workplace culture. Workers typically stayed with one company their whole life, lived in company housing, and shopped at company stores. This system was good at producing military goods and developing conquered territories, but it had serious downsides. Workers had few rights, conquered peoples were exploited, and anyone who opposed military expansion faced serious pressure to keep quiet.

By the late 1930s, just eight zaibatsu controlled most of Japan's economy. This concentration of power helped drive Japan toward war, since the people making money from military expansion were the same ones with political influence. The system was incredibly effective at building Japan's industrial and military power, but it also made it harder for anyone to oppose the path toward war.

This image could be any textile factory in Britain or the United States. But look closely at the woman working the machines.

The inside of a Japanese car manufacturing plant in the 1920s. Notice how the car styles are copies of Ford's Model T.

The Rise of the Japanese Empire

Japan's imperial ambitions reached their peak in the 1930s. Their invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the expansion into China marked the beginning of what they called the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere - essentially their version of European colonialism, but with a twist. They presented themselves as liberators, freeing Asia from Western imperialism (while conveniently replacing it with their own).

The speed of Japan's transformation from isolated feudal state to industrial empire is unprecedented in world history. In less than 80 years, they went from fighting with swords to building battleships. But this rapid change came with costs - social disruption, political tensions, and ultimately, a militaristic nationalism that would lead to their role in World War II. It's a testament to both the power of determined modernization and the dangers of trying to catch up too quickly with the world's great powers.