After the Meiji Restoration in Japan, the entire country and society entered the capitalist system. Its rapid success created a high organizational and power imbalance in East Asia, which eventually led to the Pacific War. All countries affected, including Japan, have paid a considerable price. The lessons of history make us feel that being arrogant about racial superiority or giving people a sense of inferiority for no reason is both in danger of leading to war disasters. Moreover, judging from the historical facts of Japan's entry into the capitalist system, the three developments mentioned in the above paragraph all tend to provide favorable conditions for this movement. It is an achievement of the Japanese people to be able to truly grasp such favorable conditions and carry them forward. But this is not enough to support the theory of racial superiority. Rather than praising the physical strengths of the Japanese, we should attribute them to Japan's geographical environment. This book takes this position when reviewing Japan's entry into the capitalist system.
The year 1868 can be regarded as a watershed when Japan entered the capitalist system. But the factors that formed modern capitalism emerged hundreds of years ago. The original organization of Japan's Mitsui Financial Department began in the early 17th century, at the end of the Ming Dynasty in China. It initially started with brewing, started the "Wu Fu Shop" (silk shop) in the Tokugawa era, and started operating banking in 1680, earlier than The Bank of England was founded (1694) about 10 years ago. From then on, he worked exclusively as a cashier and remittance for the shogunate. During the Restoration, he participated in the overthrow movement and lent money to the new government of the empire. Together with Mitsubishi, Sumitomo and Yasuda, he became a pillar of the "zaibatsu". If we believe that capitalism allows private capital to occupy a special proportion in public undertakings, then Japanese chaebols have fully exerted this characteristic before and after the Meiji Restoration; and it has a long history and has already established itself in history for a long time without waiting for external demonstrations. If we think of capitalism as an organization and a movement, it cannot be said that Japanese consortiums such as the Mitsui Group did not play a diversionary role behind the scenes, and the best among the reformers, such as Ito Hirobumi and Inoue Kaoru, both came from Choshu. Fan, was later accused of representing Mitsui's interests. In this way, if capitalism can "germinate", the ideal hothouse for cultivating young seedlings is not in Western Europe, especially not in China, which is full of bureaucracy, but only in Japan, which was "locked" in the Edo period. .
Japan’s feudal era passed through three stages: the Kamakura period, the Muromachi period and the Edo period. There is also a transition period between these three paragraphs. In each paragraph, a family inherits the title of "General of the Conquest of Barbarians". The "shogunate" under its jurisdiction is the actual central government. The organization of the shogunate was similar in each century, but there were great differences in Japanese society during these three stages. Each stage lasted about two and a half centuries, similar to Chinese dynasties. At this time, the Japanese emperor was stationed in Kyoto. Not only did he have no real power, but he also lived as hard as his ministers. A modern scholar once pointed out: "The emperor is really a poor and weak daimyo." (The meaning of the daimyo is detailed below.) When the Ming Dynasty of China accepted tribute from the Muromachi shogunate, its general Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was called the "King of Japan." Later, when Emperor Wanli planned to make peace with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he also planned to call him the "King of Japan" (but Hideyoshi only called him "Guanbai", which meant regent, but did not assume the general position) because he was the actual political leader. .
Edo is today’s Tokyo, and the founder and first shogun of its shogunate was Tokugawa Ieyasu. Following Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he unified Japan by force. In 1603, he was appointed as the general to conquer barbarians. During the Meiji Restoration, the 15th general celebrated the "return of great power". The Tokugawa family ruled Japan for 265 years. .
The feudal organization of the Tokugawa clan directly controlled the center of Japan with the shogunate, accounting for about 1/5 of the country. It was called "Ten Ling", including all important cities such as Edo, Kyoto, Daimon, Nagasaki. Other areas were divided into "vassals" and allotted to feudal princes. Their rank and salary were based on the rice produced within the territory. Anyone with more than 10,000 koku was called a "daimyo". The largest daimyo, the Maeda clan, had a territory of more than 1 million koku. When the Edo shogunate was founded, there were 295 daimyo in Japan (later reduced to 265), and the positions of each daimyo were hereditary. Within the scope of its capabilities, the shogunate can reduce vassals, add new daimyo, increase or decrease territories, and can also order daimyo to move, but this situation only applies to the central vassals.
When Tokugawa Ieyasu unified the country, some daimyo already existed. They were forced by circumstances to claim vassal status and pay tribute, but their attitude was still alienated. These feudal lords who had a wait-and-see attitude were considered to be hostile and were mostly located far away from the border areas. When the overthrow movement began in the future, the feudal lords that contributed the most were Choshu, Satsuma, Hizen, and Tosa, all in the southwest.
The Edo Shogunate’s greatest contribution to Japanese history was its maintenance of long-term peace. Since the "isolation policy" was implemented in 1636, Japanese were not allowed to sail overseas, and Japanese overseas were not allowed to return to the country. Violators were sentenced to death. Foreign ships were limited to Chinese and Dutch nationalities (Japan banned Christianity at this time, and the Dutch promised not to do missionary work). Trading was limited to Nagasaki. The Japanese built a man-made island in the harbor, called "Deshima", and the Dutch were only allowed to stay. island. The Portuguese twice sent people to negotiate with the shogunate, hoping to get a slightly leniency. However, 61 people in the mission were immediately detained and beheaded, and only a few were repatriated to report their experiences.
After the shogunate was established, each vassal was not allowed to build a city without authorization. The so-called "participation and duty assignment" has been implemented since 1635. All feudal lords were required to come to Edo in person, participate in various ceremonies near the shogun, and perform nominal defense duties. Basically, each daimyo is divided into two groups. They take turns stationed in Edo every year and provide their own residences. There are extremely detailed regulations on the personnel, routes, equipment and equipment. When the feudal lord returns to the domain after the term is over, his family members will still be there. They stayed in Edo, so some historians refer to it as a hostage system. In addition, there are also a group of daimyo who are assigned to take turns for half a year. However, there are slight exceptions for the distant feudal lords, whose turns are less frequent. From an economic perspective, the attendance transfer system will create a large-scale consumer market in Tokyo in the future, concentrate wealth, and stimulate the development of the financial economy. In addition, the shogunate stipulated that the surplus rice of each domain could only be sold in Edo and Ogi, which further contributed to the prosperity of the city.
Since the Edo regime was a feudal system, the vassals were financially self-sufficient. In addition to irregular and irregular "donations", each daimyo did not pay taxes to the shogunate, and its internal expenditures were also made by The vassals take care of themselves. When the shogunate conducted military operations or carried out large-scale construction projects, the vassals provided personnel and served as logistics. In normal times, each vassal takes care of its own domestic security and litigation matters. The Tokugawa shogunate only promulgated general principles of rule of law, such as "the laws of the samurai family". Each domain promulgated its own "household law", probably imitating the orders of Edo. The law has the flavor of Confucian ethics, such as rewarding students and strictly prohibiting arrogance and extravagance. Obscenity and so on.
The "relationship between the shogunate and feudal lords" has not yet been concluded. In theory there is a high degree of centralization, but in fact there is a considerable degree of decentralization. There are no similar examples in world history that can mutually confirm it. Another example is the internal management of Dufan, which is not uniform across the country. Generally speaking, feudalism has "subinfeudation". Under the daimyo, each real vassal should be controlled at all levels, and each has its own fief (fi6f, which the Japanese call "knowledge"), and the land is also Without the ability to buy or sell, feudalism and the manorial system were both internal and external to each other. When Japan's feudal system was first established, it generally maintained this form. Samurai are called "Servants" (the Chinese word for "Servants" is pronounced samurai, and the Japanese also try to equate it with the word "Shi" for "scholars, farmers, industry and merchants"). According to traditional customs, their combs are different from others, and they carry two swords with long swords. Fighting with swords, daggers prepare to commit suicide after defeat, from the general's subordinate daimyo and "elders" (prime ministers and deputy prime ministers), "nianji" (senior advisers), various "executives" (special managers), down to "royal family members" "(Junior Officers) are all under the same rank and are not allowed to marry ordinary civilians. They have unlimited authority over ordinary civilians. They can "kirisute gomun" (kirisute gomun). Civilians who resist orders can be slaughtered, but they are not guilty of murder. They are also all assigned land. .
However, as times change, this immutable system is difficult to maintain. That is to say, before the Tokugawa clan unified the country, the feudal system had actually deteriorated and gradually contained elements of bureaucratic organization. The Edo shogunate transplanted various famous names. Each daimyo led the retainers under their jurisdiction to take up their new duties. The domain where they were located often had retainers left over from the previous generation. Due to the overlap of samurai class members, the ratio of the members of the retainers to the entire population varied. Just like Longmo and Tosa, the number of their attendants is extremely high. Therefore, managers cannot adopt the same approach and can only adapt to the customary laws of various places.
The trend in the 17th century was for the famous generals to abolish the fiefs of their vassals, transfer them to the lord's defense, pay them salaries, and assign them mobile tasks. By 1800, 90% of the feudal lords had abolished all their subordinate fiefs. However, this is not a comprehensive modernization and a fluid society. Many warrior classes since the Middle Ages appeared as "rural warriors". They were both large landowners and special local authorities. Perhaps through inheritance, they controlled the political and economic power of the countryside for centuries.
It is particularly worth noting that the Japanese land tax is completely different from the Chinese tax system. Neither the shogunate nor the daimyo levied taxes directly on the entire population. The tax amount was collectively levied on each village, so the power of local authority could not be ignored. The high amount of land tax in Japan is often mentioned by historians. The formal land tax ("annual tribute") is usually 40% to 50% of the harvest ("four publics and six citizens" or "five publics and five citizens"), and there are other additional and miscellaneous taxes ("kou rice", "arrears of rice", "Small things made", "helping rural servants"), and in the mid-Tokugawa period, land sovereignty was concentrated, and most small farmers had become tenant farmers, paying rent to landlords. How can farmers bear such a heavy burden directly and indirectly?
The actual situation may be slightly different from the superficial description above. In the 17th century, the cultivated land in Japan increased by about 80%, and the rice production increased from 18 million koku (each koku is usually the consumption of one person per year, which is larger than the koku in China) to 25 million koku, which is also about 40%. However, the general tax amount has not been increased in this proportion. After 1700, regular land surveys were no longer held. Agricultural technology is improving day by day. However, the hardships and sufferings of ordinary peasant life seem to have become unbearable. In addition, natural disasters and famines were common in the Tokugawa period. During this period, 1,600 peasant riots ("people's riots") occurred. The total population of Japan, for example, in 1721, was nearly 30 million. Nearly a century and a half later, on the eve of the Meiji Restoration, the number was still around 32 million. Some scholars believe that taxes and land rents are excessive, and the difficulty of livelihood of the lower class people is related to the increase and decrease of the total population. Therefore, in the process of Japan entering the capitalist system, the ordinary people have paid a huge price.
With the above background, we can imagine that before the Meiji Restoration, the accumulation of commercial capital and the development of commercial organizations were inevitable. The Tokugawa shogunate had created a huge consumer market and arranged a huge production force. Its political and social system leaves room for activity in an extremely compact organization, making the transfer of materials between the two not only rational but also compulsory. The remaining problem is distribution, that is, collection, exchange and transportation. Among them, it has to go through the areas directly under the shogunate, and it involves more than 200 local units that appear to cooperate but actually compete, and can only be handled by businessmen. After the organizations it handles are established, they will inevitably make internal adjustments to improve efficiency. As a result, funds are circulated, the remaining profits are invested in production, and service businesses are also utilized. Japan had no interference from outside forces and had convenient sea transportation, so it grew bigger and bigger.
The feudal system of Edo arranged all people in the order of agriculture, industry and business. Inequality in the legal system plays a negative role in the growth and development of capitalism. A servant may default on his debts, and a businessman may be punished for his lavish behavior. There are also a few cases where businessmen were sentenced to death if they could not repay their debts when due. But on the other hand, these harsh treatments also force businessmen to work hard and become an indispensable service in society. The success of the Mitsui family includes the following factors, which can be mentioned by the way:
The Mitsui family comes from the Fujiwara family, and Fujiwara is Japan's leading aristocrat. By the end of the 16th century, the Mitsui family still appeared as a small feudal lord near Kyoto, but because they resisted Oda Nobunaga's unification movement, they were defeated and settled in Ise to make wine. In Japan's early days, capital accumulation could only start from agricultural products. The two main commodities at first were Japanese sake and soy sauce. The family business was passed down to Mitsui Hachirobei, who was a master of management and a business genius. He extensively used the Mitsui trademark, used advertising, and advocated no bargaining, no credit, only pragmatism. He also warned his disciples not to lend money to servants, thus avoiding political disputes caused by usury.
The relationship between the Mitsui brothers also opened a new door for Japan's capitalist system in the future. The strong blood relationship and family traditions were regarded as the law and purpose of the heirs. A hired manager is as loyal and obedient as a retainer.
The "Wu Fu Store" opened by Hachirobei mainly sells silk and cotton fabrics, catering to the trend of specialization in Japanese agricultural products. Its second store in Edo, Kyoto, was the first of its kind to open a modern department store. The most important thing is the "two houses" he set up to operate exchange banking business. The cash collected by Mitsui's stores in Edo was often shipped to Kyoto and Osaka to purchase goods, while the Edo shogunate collected taxes in the west and shipped them eastward, in vain. So Mitsui Hachirobei suggested to the shogunate that he could accept the money at Daigo and guarantee that the gold and silver would be delivered in Edo within 60 days. In fact, the goods in his store only need to be shipped from the west to the east from the 15th to the 20th. Because of his reputation, the shogunate allowed Mitsui to remit money within 60 days to 150 days. At this point, he can still selectively lend the circulating funds, and the agency he organized to deliver information delivers documents for the official. Such success was largely due to Hachirobei's precision and prudence in doing things, and he lived to be 73 years old, giving him the opportunity to systematize his career.
The integrated cooperation between enterprises and the government also makes them in an invincible position. Before the development of modern legal systems, European royal families often defaulted on their debts to merchants. Japan's feudal regime used to write off the loans of servants from merchants in the name of "virtuous government". However, during the Edo period, various businesses were already inseparable from the government and were indispensable to the system. Therefore, the shogunate did not want business to suffer a blow for its own benefit. Therefore, the "moral policy" order was only issued twice during the Tokugawa era, and the scope was extremely narrow. Otherwise, the accumulation of initial capital will be frustrated.
The above-mentioned Mitsui Enterprise is just a unique and obvious example. Of course, the development of its business requires mutual support from customers, merchants, friend stores, agents, shops, and wholesale and retail organizations to form a movement. In fact, this kind of organization has also been organized during the development process of Mitsui's business. When the census was first held in 1721, the population of Edo exceeded 500,000. Adding the families of the major shogunate mansions and other servants, the total number should have exceeded 800,000. By the end of the 18th century, the population may have even exceeded the 1 million mark. In this unmodernized city, which has no industrial base, is not a seaport itself, and lacks the support of international trade, how can it survive? Therefore, there must be a huge operating organization behind it, which is involved in national political and economic factors and is responsible for logistics operations.
The Edo period has lasted for a long time, and the daimyo have actually become the leaders of agricultural production in each region. They usually assign business managers in Osaka, called "Zangyuan", and their warehouses are called "Kurayashiki". At its peak, there were more than 500 Kurayashiki, and 4 million koku of rice and grain were sold every year. Other local products such as wood, The same goes for paper, sugar, and linen. In addition to supplying the needs of Edo and Kyoto, part of the products are also sent to Nagasaki to supply foreign trade. Generally speaking, Japan has become a large national market.
The stores opened by wholesalers are called "wenwu" and are usually owned by one family and run by themselves. Initially, Wenwu only sold items on behalf of the seller and took a commission. Since they have been in business for a long time, they have also purchased large quantities of goods and taken the initiative to operate. The organization of the trade association is called "Zhongjian", also known as "Zhuzhongjian", because each member unit is a "zhu", and this kind of rights and interests are owned by the family, can be hereditary, and cannot be transferred privately. Zhu Zhongjian is different from the traditional "seat". The zodiac is a semi-official organization and is involved in important businesses, such as Jinzuo and Ginzuo. When the shogunate banned patents, the nakama system was organized in the form of a secret society. There were also nakama groups in bathhouses and street vendors. Later, the official gradually recognized its existence, and they paid the annual records ("Ming plus gold") to the shogunate as a price. In addition to performing the functions of ordinary trade associations, Zhuzhongzhong also has the obligation to cooperate. Commercial intermediaries can authorize members to make pre-purchases and pre-sales among members, and mediate disputes between them. The shogunate even made Wenwu and Nakama form a "group". There are ten groups of houses in Edo, and there are twenty-four groups of houses in Daban.
Banking business did not start with Mitsui. Konochi Shinroku, a businessman from Daiki, also started his career as a brewer, and later became the shogunate's agent in Daito, managing the finances of 32 daimyo at the same time.
When Konoike was assigned by the shogunate to control Osaka's "Ten-Biyo" in 1663, there were already 22 banks in his group, operating gold and silver exchange and loan businesses, and bills of exchange had long been circulated among each other. About 20 years later, when Mitsui began to accept the shogunate's public funds from a distance, the shogunate formed a "three-person team" for him. The products of various daimyo have been stored in Kurayashiki, and tax rice is constantly flowing in and out. Zanggen himself is a businessman, and he has dealings with bankers, so he buys and sells short. Speculation is strictly prohibited by the shogunate, but it still operates as usual. It is common for merchants to lend money to daimyo and their attendants. Therefore, in addition to the immediate consumption of the loan, it is also an inevitable trend for its funds to enter each domain and expand production. Hongchi Xinliu invested in colonizing land. In addition, commercial capital invested in fisheries, industry, mining, handicrafts and household industries, all of which promoted the gradual diversification of the Japanese economy.
Japan's road transportation network is called the "Five Streets", including the mountain roads between Kyoto and Edo, and coastal roads, reaching Sendai and Aomori in the north, with branch lines reaching Kofu and Nikko, and is the main feudal lord. Observe the passages of worship and pay homage to the gods. It's just that the shogunate focused on military affairs and did not want to place strategic points on a wide network of roads extending in all directions, but deliberately extended its route to a place where the cliff Jindu was easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, the cost of land transportation is high, so it is difficult to carry out truck transportation in Japan. Generally, small quantities of goods are transported by baggage, and bulk goods are transported by sea. As early as 1624, Hishigaki returned to the ship and carried out regular commercial transportation between Edo and Osaka. However, due to the losses caused by drifting at sea, the efficiency is not high. After 1694, houses in Osaka and Edo that needed shipping were organized into "groups", chartered ships were implemented, and losses from drifting were shared among the group members, which was a kind of marine insurance. In the 17th century, the carrying capacity of ships also increased from 200 to 400 stones to 1,000 stones. In 1772, Hishigaki Huishan merged with its competitor Tahuishan (specialized in carrying wine bottles). The company now has 266 ships, and its standard fares are announced every year. At this point, formal maritime transportation has a history of nearly 150 years. As for the "Eastern Return Route" to Arahama and Hiragata, the "Western Return Route" to Zhou Shimonoseki, including most of the north coast, was planned by Kawamura Zuiken in the late 17th century under the guidance of the shogunate. This man was born as a coolie and eventually became one of the few transportation experts in Japanese history.
The "Genroku Era" (1688-1703) in Japanese history roughly overlaps with the period when William III was the king of England (1689-1702). During this period, the above-mentioned commercial organizations have matured, and the shogunate also minted gold and silver coins, Mining minerals. People's living standards have improved significantly. However, in terms of the process of entering capitalism, Japan is facing an embarrassing situation. From a modern Western perspective, the above performance is undoubtedly a great success, but Japan does not have the ideological system of European individualism and liberalism to complement the progress of material life in spiritual life. There is no legal concept that private property rights and personal freedom are equally inviolable. There is also a lack of opportunities to contact Western countries, and it is impossible to realize that a compact economic structure can immediately increase national strength. From a Confucian perspective, living a luxurious life will lead to corruption. The importance of businessmen over farmers and the importance of monks over officials are also putting the cart before the horse. With such a bizarre background, they could not see the coming of the new system. They only believed that the existing organizations were corrupt and the policies were out of control. They could not completely replace the lack of legal system in the financial economy with the moral concepts of feudal society. At this time, Edo's biggest weakness was the lack of comprehensive foreign trade. Relying exclusively on the consumer market of the shogunate daimyo and his retainers, production technology could not achieve breakthrough improvements, and development could not continue.
For the next 150 years, Japan under the Edo shogunate was in a tug of war between its political system and economic development. The daimyo and his attendants were in debt to merchants, which shook the foundation of the feudal system. The rise and fall of prices also affects the lives of ordinary people. Those who are bent on restoring ancient times cannot completely overthrow commercial activities and restore an ideal and stable society. On the other hand, although commercial capital has gained power, it has no ambition to "replace" it. So we can only go back and forth between the two extremes. Traditional historians, writing based on Confucianism, usually say that "civil governance" was followed by "bad governance". Probably the so-called civil governance is inseparable from praising traditional morals, advocating thrift, and enforcing fiscal and deflation to cause prices to fall, while bad governance usually does the opposite. New Age historians have a contrary view.
They pointed out that the so-called civil governance cannot solve the current problems; while the so-called bad governance may be beneficial to the development of Japan's national economy in the long term. There is a difference in the length of historical perspective, and it also represents two different political philosophies.
Etsuji Tanuma, who presided over the "bad government" from 1769 to 1786, has been studied by many scholars. His life and policies reflect the state of the Edo shogunate in the late 18th century (equivalent to the Qianlong period in China). Tanuma did not abandon the traditional agrarian policy, and he also presided over the reclamation of new land. However, his plan focused on expanding the shogunate's industrial and commercial income. Under his leadership, government-controlled mining expanded greatly. He particularly focused on increasing copper production in order to enhance international trade with China along with seafood production. He issued new silver coins and minted a large number of copper coins and iron coins, which contributed to the devaluation of the currency. Under his supervision, Zhu Zhongjian was recognized by the government as long as the annual records were submitted to the shogunate. Tanuma also approved merchant patents on a large scale. He hoped to use merchants' capital to lend money through the shogunate to daimyo who were short of cash.
Tanuma's experience shows that the social class of "waiter" still has great mobility. He became a great name as a low-level servant (600 stones), was promoted to Laozhong, and achieved the status of prime minister. However, he failed in political situations and lost almost everything. It can be seen that the feudalism of the Edo period itself can no longer maintain its unchanged attitude. The reach of Tanuma's policies also shows that he is full of activity in dealing with the urban economy, which is no longer comparable to the traditional Chinese economy. The Qing government in China also had no control over the financial tools available to the shogunate. However, as long as the feudal system is eliminated, various things cannot be exchanged fairly and freely in lower-level institutions. Private property rights cannot be guaranteed. Moreover, private capital occupies a special proportion in public undertakings, but it is only looming and lacks the support of the legal system. This long-term situation of ignorance is unique in world history.
As of the 19th century, this contradiction still could not be eliminated. The urban economy continued to develop, which only made the status of the shogunate and daimyo more difficult. Organizations based on rural areas and rice were financially unable to cope with the financial economy. controlled society. From 1830 to 1843, China had experienced the Opium War and the Treaty of Nanjing, which was called the "Tenbao Era" in Japan. Natural disasters occur one after another, hunger is prevalent, not only rural residents are rioting, but the poor in cities are also destroying the warehouses of local merchants. In addition to repression, the government is also seeking economic countermeasures. First of all, it consolidates its own financial position. This series of policies , known as "Tianbao Reform" in the world.
An obvious phenomenon is that during the Tenpo reform, the attitudes of the "maku" and the "vassal" were completely different. In Edo, Mizuno Tadakuni was appointed as the "chief old man", and the reforms he presided over were basically the same. The traditional "civilization" style, such as rewarding diligence and thrift, repatriating farmers who entered the city, banning luxury goods and entertainment, forcing price reductions, limiting wages, determining the exchange rate of deposits and copper coins, implementing currency reform, and disbanding Zhuzhongjian. The policies promulgated by the daimyo in each domain, also known as the Tenpo Reform, took more positive steps. Some policies followed the natural trend of economic development and did not go against the trend, such as implementing land equalization, reducing taxes, sorting out debts, etc. Expand public sales. Changzhou made fairer adjustments to taxes and arranged for long-term borrowings of the feudal lord's debts. Mito changed some monopoly businesses to be operated by the feudal association. Satsuma cultivated sugar cane extensively and used the sugar inventory as a guarantee to issue bills to borrow money for trading. The feudal debt was changed to a 250-year uninterested debt, and additional reserves were raised to pay the debt. interest. As a result, its policies were out of date and the organization lacked flexibility, resulting in a lack of effectiveness in the reform of the "curtain". The reforms in each domain were generally successful. After this reform, Japan's central government became weaker and "the lordship rose". The need for restructuring of the political system is even more urgent.
The above developments may easily cause readers to wonder, what would be the future of Japan without external pressure? Will there be another long-term civil war, like before the emergence of Oda and Toyotomi in the 16th century, and finally a military government that is both internal and external to the urban economy? Or, as in China, a Ming Taizu-style leader emerges from among the peasants and pushes the organization of the national economy backward to fit his political system? Although such conjecture is interesting, it is not the right way to study history.
The development of the facts on that day was that China’s failure in the Opium War taught Japan a great lesson. The so-called imperial vassal was already advocating "enriching the country and strengthening the army." Moreover, before Commodore Matthew Perry requested the founding of the country, the British and French fleets had already sailed to Ryukyu, and the Dutch ships had entered Nagasaki. To the north, as early as the era of Tanuma Yiji, he had proposed trade with Russia. The development of world history has required the convergence of Japanese history and Western culture.
Describing the Meiji Restoration as a Marxist class struggle has been a controversial topic in Japanese history. This book does not intend to speculate on ideology. It only looks at the principles of Japan's capitalist system in the late Tokugawa shogunate period from a technical perspective, such as capital circulation, manager employment, and factors that support the service nature of enterprises. They are all roughly present. Moreover, the continued development of the urban economy will help to make the above principles more concrete and enable the entire country to be managed numerically. The biggest flaw at this time is the lack of a legal system to reasonably support such organizations and movements. Since the shogunate was unwilling to give up the value of its own existence and was unable to make a 180-degree change, it would be an ideal solution to push the emperor to preside over such an organization and movement. The royal family had no power in the past, but it was able to be unfettered and meet the needs of the new system. What's more, the emperor also has dormant authority. ("Emperor" was originally the title of the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Gao Zong, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian were called the Emperor and the Empress.) Therefore, it is also called "Restore the Royal Government", "Meiji Restoration", or "Respect the King and Reject the Barbarians", which all have the effect of promoting such a change. .
The Meiji Restoration can be regarded as a turning point in Japan's entry into capitalism, because liquid private property rights became increasingly consolidated.
Today we recall the success of the reforms of the Meiji era more than 100 years ago. This is indeed to simplify history and make a difficult situation easier. In 1860 and 1870, the problems faced by the reformers were to abolish the privileges of the privileged class, which accounted for 6% of the country's population, including themselves, to abolish more than 200 local governments, to abandon traditional habits, and to create a modern, centralized state. system. But the work has not yet begun, and the new country is already bound by unequal treaties with foreign powers. In addition to coal and copper, Japan also lacked industrial raw materials, resulting in huge foreign trade imports after the founding of the country. The chaebols mentioned repeatedly above did not have strong financial resources from the beginning and could immediately meet the needs of the new government. Mitsui was on the verge of bankruptcy in the late Tokugawa period, and it was a desperate move to take part in the overthrow movement. Mitsubishi's founder, Yataro Iwasaki, only began to appear in Tosa on the eve of the Restoration. Therefore, Japan entered the capitalist system not because the chaebols held the government hostage, but because the government tried its best to support private capital. The new government was unwilling to accept outside investment, so it had to step up its demands on rural areas. The heavy burden on farmers at that time caused several historians to emphasize that the land tax they paid provided the government's national capital; the land rent they paid also provided entrepreneurs' private capital.
When we say that Japan has entered the capitalist system more easily, it is because compared with other countries, there are many factors in its historical background that are conducive to the development of this system. Even if its functions may not necessarily be consistent with the needs of the new era, the general principles of its organization can still be adapted and applied. That is to say, the reason why rural areas can bear the burden of "original accumulated capital" is because the reform followed the long-term feudal system. Ordinary farmers were also coerced and did not feel that the transformation from the top should bring drastic changes to their lives. Even external pressure has had a positive effect. Unequal treaties are nothing more than the lack of autonomy in tariffs and the fetters of extraterritoriality. In trying to break away from these constraints, Japan only tried its best to modernize its civil and criminal laws, thus accelerating its acceptance of Western legal concepts and court procedures. With the organization of these new systems and the addition of traditional habits and disciplines, the Meiji Restoration created a miracle in history.
Japan entered the capitalist period, which was also the day when external militarism and social Darwinism became popular. The new system was born due to external pressure, and since then it has been unable to avoid the influence of strong utilitarianism and statism. Many people involved cannot see the causal relationship in history and always believe that the achievements of the Meiji Restoration were due to the superior behavior and noble morals of the leaders. Moreover, the efficiency of capitalism can easily be confused with the traditional strengths of the Japanese people.
Therefore, many people always believe that if Japan's leadership ability is applied to neighboring countries, it will not be difficult to create a situation of survival and prosperity for Japan. This is the motivation behind various assumptions about Greater East Asiaism and the Greater East Asia Prosperity Sphere. Therefore, in the long run, the opening of Edo, the Meiji Restoration, the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War, and the Pacific War are all closely related.