Specimen Paper
Focused Study 3: Political and Economic Transitions — The Meiji Restoration (1853–1894)
Inquiry question: To what extent was the influence of the United States the main cause of the Meiji Restoration?
Source A
Context: An extract from the academic book A Military History of Japan: From the Age of the Samurai to the 21st Century by John T. Kuehn (2014), Professor of Military History at the United States Army Command and Staff College.
Content: Japan’s production of silk and manufactured items attracted the attention of Western powers who wanted to export these products and open new Japanese markets for their own goods. In 1853, the U.S. sent Commodore Perry on his famous mission. Perry arrived in July with a draft treaty. The Shogun kept Perry waiting while his advisors consulted with the major daimyo about what to do. There was no consensus, so the Shogun refused to negotiate. Perry left but returned the following year. The Shogun was faced with a dilemma—it seemed clear the Americans might use force as they had over 1,600 men and strange ships loaded with modern cannons. … After delaying, the Shogun finally acted: on March 31, 1854, Japanese envoys signed the Treaty of Kanagawa, guaranteeing safety for shipwrecked Americans, ensuring coal for American ships, and promising future trade. With this event, Japan’s isolation from the West was ended.
Perry had set in motion a chain of events that would overthrow the Tokugawa shoguns. The shogunate’s poor handling of Perry’s visits provided critics with a rallying point around Emperor Komei, who had refused to approve of the treaty. Many lower-ranking samurai began to rally around the idea of a “restoration” of the emperor as the head of the Japanese state.
Source B
Context: An extract from the academic article “Revolution and Reform in Meiji Restoration” by Hideichi Horie (1952), a professor at Kyoto University’s Faculty of Economics.
Content: In 1839, unrest among the ruling military class began to sow divisions within their ranks. A split had appeared between the upper and lower military classes. The upper military class wished to uphold their position, while the lower military class hoped to reform their positions. This led to an alliance between the wealthy farmers and the reformist lower military class. This unrest became the leading factor in political developments which followed.
In 1853, when Commodore Perry forced open the gates of Japan, its self-imposed isolation came to an end. … The opening of the ports caused a rise in prices and brought suffering to the lower classes. In 1866, the silk weavers of Chichibu attacked the homes and properties of the silk merchants. The lower classes, who gained little from the treaty, were opposed to the unfair treaty. The alliance mentioned above served to turn this feeling of dissatisfaction towards the feudal regime, and “exclusion of foreigners” became the slogan which later led to the downfall of the shogunate.
Source C
Context: An extract from the written communication “Proposal for Reforming Japan”, sent by counsellor Yokoi Shōnan to the Tokugawa Shogunate (1862). In the years between Commodore Perry’s first visit in 1853 and the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Yokoi became an influential counsellor to the Tokugawa government. He called for a complete reform of the Tokugawa government and reconciliation between the Imperial court and the Shogunate. He also advocated for Japan to be open to foreign trade, as well as economic and military reform. He was soon removed from his post, stripped of his samurai status and put under house arrest for his radicalism. After the Meiji Restoration, he was freed by the new government but was assassinated in 1869.
Content: Under the system of national seclusion, Japan found safety in isolation, experiencing no wars or defeats. However, the world situation has undergone vast changes. In America three major policies have been set up from Washington’s presidency: first, to stop wars because nothing is worse than violence among nations; second, to broaden enlightened government by learning from all the countries of the world; and third, to work with complete devotion for the welfare of the people by entrusting the power of the president to the wisest. All laws and practices are put into the country’s service and not in the interest of the rulers.
In England the government is based entirely on the popular will, and all government actions are debated by the people. War or peace is decided in this way … The governments are entirely based on moral principles, and work for the benefit of the people. Thus, when countries attempt to open Japan’s doors to international cooperation, who would not call Japan a fool for persisting in old seclusionist views?
Questions:
1.Explain how the content of both Source A and Source B can be used to answer the inquiry question. [6]
2.Analyse how the context of Source C influences how it can be used to answer the inquiry question. [6]
3.Examine how the perspectives in all the sources can be used to answer the inquiry question. [12]
