When and why was the samurai class abolished?
score:22
The Charter Oath promulgated at the enthronement of Emperor Meiji of Japan on 7 April 1868 includes several parts that identify the reasons for the radical social restructure that followed the Meiji restoration and an indication of the motivations for the dissolution of the warrior class that had been a defining characteristic of Japanese society.
- Deliberative assemblies shall be widely convoked and all matters of state shall be decided by public discussion;
- All classes, high and low, shall unite in vigorously promoting the economy and welfare of the nation;
- All civil and military officials, and the common people as well, shall be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, so that there may be no discontent among them;
- Base customs of the past shall be abandoned, and all actions shall conform to the principles of international justice;
- Knowledge shall be sought throughout the world, and thus shall be strengthened the foundation of the Imperial polity.
The determination to remove the "base customs" of the past drove the new government to dismantle the old Confucian based social order. This included the removal of the restrictions and privileges that had defined the samurai, peasant, artisan and merchant classes.
During the summer of 1869 Tokyo formally reclassified the population as nobles, former samurai and commoners.
In 1871 the Tokyo government assumed the responsibility for paying stipends to the former samurai. This immediately accounted for almost one-third of the government's expenditure. This massive financial obligation created pressure to abolish the subsidies entirely.
Despite less than universal support amongst the new leaders, in 1873 the DaijΕ-kan (department of state) offered interest-bearing goverment bonds to former samurai who surrendered their stipends. Three years later it made that exchange obligatory.
In 1876 ex-warriors were deprived the right to carry swords.
These steps to dissolve the military estate coincided with the establishment of a conscript army based on the Prussian and French models. Vice minister of military affairs Yamagata had seen the efficacy of these armies first hand in Europe and in 1873 enacted a Conscription Ordinance:
By this innovation the rulers and the ruled will be put on the same basis, the rights of the people will be equal, and the way will be cleared for the unity of soldier and peasant
This landmark measure was a major step in the disfranchising of the samurai estate and vastly strengthened the regime's authority by creating a force capable of dealing with countercoups and providing internal security.
Quotes and references from:
James L. McClain. Japan, a modern history W.W. Norton & Co, 2002
Upvote:4
This appears to have happened roughly around 1873, when Emperor Meiji decided to change his military structure to use a conscripted army. He was attempting to modernize Japan by following the examples he had seen from England and Germany. Most of the Samurai volunteered to become soldiers and many eventually became officers in the new modernized Japanese army. By eliminating the Samurai, the emperor was also attempting to eliminate the feudal domains that had separated the country into different political domains, thereby reinforcing support for his centralized government.
Upvote:7
... and as Steven I think implies, the power of the samurai continued in the Japanese Army. This was one reason why the army had no problem doing all their evil in the name of the 'Emperor', while actually doing everything they could to ensure his opinion was never allowed to interfere. This reflected previous Japanese history when Emperors were puppets of the shogun.
More post
- π What was this a buckle for?
- π What were the Japanese defenses for an allied invasion of Kyushu?
- π Building a house in the middle age in europe (specifically germany)
- π Besides the Hebrews, were there any other ancient cults that used salt in animal sacrifices?
- π Historically, was the War of 1812 ever called by another name?
- π Anyone have a clue what was going on with Biledulgerid?
- π Why did JFK give approval for the CIA to encourage Diem's deposal?
- π Which was the official position of the Catholic Church on the Atlantic Slave Trade?
- π Did Noah Webster ever state why he Americanized spelling?
- π What flags are on display in βScene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United Statesβ?
- π What uniform is the man in this mid to late 19th century photo wearing?
- π How do we know the patricians of Rome?
- π How would a 16-17th Century European Rapier have been made?
- π How were documents written in Plato's time?
- π Were there any Ancient Greek theatres not built on a hill/slope?
- π Was Roman expansion & casus belli as just as they claimed?
- π Why wasn't Monaco unified with France?
- π Why was the first production PzKpfw V (Panther) called the Ausf.D, and the second production version called the Ausf.A?
- π Before the Great War, was the word "Poland" typically used to refer only to the Russian partition of Poland?
- π What is the Holy Roman Empire?
- π Who are all the people in this photo of the signing of the Civil Rights Act, 1964?
- π Which Babylonian tablets contains the list of squares and cubes?
- π How accurate and detailed were geographical maps created and updated by the Romans?
- π When was the property tax introduced in early Mexico? Who paid?
- π Why did the Soviet Union have multiple airplane manufacturers?
- π Did the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki contribute to Japan's surrender?
- π How did pilots know when to release bombs on airplanes during World War2?
- π Why did the Soviet Union take the risk of deploying missiles to Cuba, which precipitated the Cuban Missile Crisis?
- π How was the British invasion into the US successful in the War of 1812?
- π Who ruled India when the Abbasid ruler Harun al-Rashid was the Caliph of Baghdad?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- π When and why was the samurai class abolished?
- π When and why was the Shinkolobwe Mine flooded and re-opened?
- π When and why was the 55th parallel established as an administrative boundary in Quebec?
- π Why did Hitler attack the Soviet Union when he was still busy fighting the United Kingdom?
- π Why did archery not make a comeback when armor was phased out in the 18th century?
- π Why did Britain and France not declare war against the Soviet Union when it invaded Poland in WW2?
- π How and when was the modern company ownership structure invented?
- π Why were the drawings of Colossus burnt after WW2 and why was its very existence "of course" kept secret?
- π When and why did the use of the lifespans of royalty to limit clauses in contracts come about?
- π How and why was the boundary between West and East Berlin decided to be where it was?
- π Why was the US so pro-China and so anti-Japan before WW2?
- π Why was the Red Army successful against the Japanese in 1939 but perform poorly against Finland 1939-40 and early part of WW2?
- π Why was the Cold War carried out over the whole world instead of between Siberia and Alaska?
- π Why was gold so popular and valuable back when it did not have many real world uses?
- π When and why did smiling at strangers and in photos become customary in the United States?
- π When was the change from kalends, ides and nones to numbers
- π Why was the Irish War of Independence in 1918 successful when other revolts failed?
- π Why did Operation Market Garden go ahead when the allies knew German armor was in the area?
- π Why was slavery profitable in the Southern colonies and not New England?
- π Why did Japan not withdraw from China as its pacific front was crumbling and the threat of US invasion imminent?
- π Was slavery abolished in the Kingdom of Hungary, and if so, when?
- π When and where was the first time moveable bridge?
- π When was the concept of the "border wall" between the United States and Mexico first proposed?
- π Why was an SS commander dismissed and charged for the mistreatment of Jewish prisoners?
- π When and why was Seleucia ultimately abandoned?
- π Why was ancient Christianity more successful than the Roman pantheon and Judaism in gaining followers?
- π When was King John of England given the name 'Dollheart', and who first used it?
- π What did the Baltic Fleet do in Reval in 1904 and when was it there?
- π When and what was the maximum extent of Nationalist China?
- π Why was Bulgaria at war with both the Allied and the Axis at the end of WWII?