Specimen Paper
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]
Revision Notes for the Meiji Restoration
Sources to consider for Paper 1
Official Record
Dynastic history
Scholarly writings
Popular literature
Religious Literature
Introduction:
Different societies have evolved their distinctive modernities. The Japanese and Chinese cases are very instructive in this regard. Japan succeeded in remaining free of colonial control and achieved fairly rapid economic and industrial progress throughout the twentieth century. The Chinese resisted colonial exploitation and their own bureaucratic landed elite through a combination of peasant rebellion, reform and revolution. Both these countries are situated in far East Asia, yet, they present a marked physical contrast.
JAPAN
Physical Features
Japan is a string of islands, the four largest being Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku and Hokkaido.
There is no major river system.
More than 50 per cent of the land area of the main islands is mountainous and Japan is situated in a very active earthquake zone.
There are various homogenous ethnic group, like there are a small Ainu minority and Koreans who were forcibly brought as labour when Korea was a Japanese colony.
Language spoken in mostly Japanese.
Japan lacks a tradition of animal rearing.
Rice is the staple crop and fish the major source of protein.
Raw fish (sashimi or sushi) has now become a widely popular dish around the world as it is considered very healthy.
Political System
Japan became a modern country from the days of petty daimyo of Japan.
In the twelfth century the imperial court lost power to shoguns, who in theory ruled in the name of the emperor, with the help of samurais (the warrior class) and daimyo with their capital in Edo (modern Tokyo).
In the sixteenth century, Samurai insured peace and order.
Japan was divided into more than 250 domains under the rule of lords called daimyo.
In the late sixteenth century, three changes laid the pattern for future development.
The peasantry was disarmed and only the samurai could carry swords. This ensured peace and order, ending the frequent wars of the previous century.
The daimyo were ordered to live in the capitals of their domains, each with a large degree of autonomy.
The land surveys identified owners and taxpayers and graded land productivity to ensure a stable revenue base.-
By the mid-seventeenth century, Japan had the most populated city in the world, Edo, but also had two other large cities- Osaka and Kyoto.
Growth of a commercial economy and a vibrant culture blossomed in the towns, where the fast growing class of merchants patronised theatre and the arts.
Increased use of money and creation of stock market led the economy in new ways.
Social and intellectual changes took place, such as the study of ancient Japanese literature, led people to question the degree of Chinese influence and study of ancient Japanese literature promoted.
The Meiji Restoration
The Meiji restoration is termed as one of the most momentous events in the Japanese history.
There was demands for trade and diplomatic relations. In 1853, the USA demanded Japan that the government sign a treaty that would permit trade and open diplomatic relations.
Japan lay on the route to China which the USA saw as a major market. At that time, there was only one Western country that traded with Japan, Holland.
In 1868, a movement removed Shogun and brought Emperor to Edo. This was made the capital and renamed Tokyo, which means ‘eastern capital’.
British dominance in Asia alerted Japan, and scholars there wanted to learn European modern ideas. Many scholars and leaders wanted to learn from the new ideas in Europe; others sought to exclude the Europeans even while being ready to adopt the new technologies they offered. Some argued for a gradual and limited ‘opening’ to the outer world.
To develop their economy and build a strong army, the government with the slogan slogan ‘fukoku kyohei’ (rich country, strong army), created a sense of nationhood among the people and transform subjects into citizens.
The government also built the ’emperor system’, a system, where emperor along with the bureaucracy and the military, exercised power. The Emperor was treated with reverence as he was considered a direct descendant of the Sun Goddess but he was also shown as the leader of westernisation. His birthday became a national holiday, he wore Western-style military uniforms.
Meiji Reforms
Administrative Reforms: The Meiji government imposed a new administrative structure by altering old village and domain boundaries to integrate the nation. In 1871, feudalism was abolished under the Meiji rule.
Economic Reforms: Another Meiji reforms was the modernising of the economy. Japan’s first railway line, between Tokyo and the port of Yokohama, was built in 1870-72. In 1872, modern banking institutions were launched. Zaibatsu (business families) dominated the economy.
Industrial Reforms: Textile machinery was imported from Europe, and foreign technicians were employed to train workers, as well as to teach in universities and schools, and Japanese students were sent abroad. The number of people in manufacturing increased. Over half of those employed in modern factories were women. The size of factories also began to increase.
Agricultural Reforms: Funds were raised by levying an agricultural tax.
Constitutional Reforms: In 1889, Japan adopted the a new constitution. The Meiji Constitution had created a Diet and declared emperor as the commander of the forces, it was based on a restricted franchise.
Educational Reforms: A new school system began to be built from the 1870s. Schooling was compulsory for boys and girls and by 1910 almost universal. Tuition fees were minimal. Tokyo University was established in 1877.
Military Reforms: All young men over twenty had to do a period of military service. A modern military force was developed. The military and the bureaucracy were put under the direct command of the emperor.
Revision Notes Focused Study 3 The Meiji Restoration 1853 to 1894
I've structured my revision notes according to the grounding content prescribed for Focused Study 3 Political and economic transitions under the new IBDP History syllabus. This should be enough to serve as the historical context required to effectively explain analyse and examine sources in the three static questions of Paper 1.
Inquiry Question 1: What caused the transition to take place?
Decline of the Tokugawa Shogunate
The Tokugawa Shogunate (bakufu) governed through a rigid social hierarchy with the Shogun at the top and subdivisions of samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants below.
Internal Stagnation: The system of "feudal autonomy" meant the Shogun granted extensive control to daimyo over their domains, but by the 19th century, the social bonds of this system weakened.
Samurai Poverty: Many samurai were constantly in debt to merchants because their fixed rice stipends were vulnerable to market fluctuations and coinage debasement.
Class Tension: A profound tension emerged between the state ideology of meritocratic rule and a rigid class structure that prevented talented lower and middle-ranking samurai from advancing.
Stagnation and demands for rapid modernisation
Intellectual Shifts: The Mito School and Kokugaku (national learning) scholars began to turn away from Chinese centers of thought toward a Shinto revival, focusing attention on the Emperor as the symbol of national purity.
Proposals for Change: Scholars like Sakuma Shozan coined the phrase "Eastern ethics, Western science," advocating for the adoption of foreign technology and scientific methods to defend the nation.
Fukoku Kyohei: The slogan "rich country, strong army" was developed as a solution to domestic stagnation and the growing foreign threat.
Influence of the USA, Britain and European countries
The External Shock (1853): Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Tokyo Bay with American "black ships," handing over documents demanding an end to two centuries of Japanese isolation (sakoku).
Unequal Treaties: The Convention of Kanagawa (1854) and the Harris Treaty (1858) forced Japan to open treaty ports, grant extraterritoriality, and tolerate Christianity.
Fear of Colonisation: The Japanese took China's defeat in the Opium Wars as a severe warning; they believed they had to modernise or face the same fate as the Qing Dynasty.
Inquiry Question 2: How was the transition achieved?
Roles of the Meiji oligarchy and Emperor Mutsuhito
The 1868 Movement: A movement led by the Satcho Alliance (Satsuma and Choshu domains) removed the Shogun and brought the young Emperor Mutsuhito (Meiji) to power in Edo, which was renamed Tokyo ("eastern capital").
Meiji Oligarchy (Genro): While rule was consolidated under the Emperor, actual power was exercised by a small group of leaders known as the Meiji oligarchy.
The Emperor System: The government established a system where the Emperor was treated with religious reverence as a descendant of the Sun Goddess but also presented as a modern leader of westernisation, wearing Western-style military uniforms.
Land reform, industrialisation and trade
Abolition of Feudalism (1871): The government imposed a new administrative structure, altering old village and domain boundaries to integrate the nation.
Economic Modernisation: Japan's first railway line (Tokyo-Yokohama) was built in 1870-72, and modern banking institutions were launched in 1872.
Industrial Growth: The state imported textile machinery from Europe and employed foreign technicians to train Japanese workers and teach in universities.
Silk and Coal: Raw silk became the primary export used to fund the purchase of industrial equipment. Coal production surged from 0.6 million metric tons in 1875 to 21.3 million by 1913.
Zaibatsu: Massive business families, such as Mitsubishi and Mitsui, came to dominate the industrial economy.
Constitution of 1889
The Meiji Constitution transformed Japan into a constitutional monarchy, but it was based on a restricted franchise.
The Emperor was declared "sacred and inviolable" and held direct command over the military and bureaucracy.
Inquiry Question 3: What challenges did society face after the transition?
Peasant unrest
Taxation Burdens: To fund modernisation, the government levied a land tax of approximately 30% of harvests. This was significantly higher than the 2% rate in Qing China.
Blood Tax Riots: Violent revolts broke out among peasants and samurai who were angry at the revocation of traditional social statuses.
Erosion of Rural Life: Land reforms legitimised a tenancy system that exacerbated wealth disparities in the countryside.
Satsuma Rebellion (1877)
Loss of Samurai Privilege: Samurai were prohibited from wearing swords and their stipends were converted into government bonds, essentially ending their class position.
The Rebellion: Former samurai, led by Saigo Takamori, launched a major revolt against the new administration.
Defeat of the Warrior Class: The rebellion was swiftly crushed by the newly formed Imperial Japanese Army, which was trained in Western tactics and used modern weaponry, signaling that the era of the samurai was over.
Foreign relations and imperialism
Military Modernisation: The government instituted nationwide conscription in 1873, requiring all young men over twenty to perform military service.
Rise as a World Power: Japan became the first Asian state to modernise on the Western model, replacing the traditional Confucian order with one based on modernity.
Imperial Expansion: Emboldened by military success, Japan defeated China in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and later annexed Korea in 1910, beginning its pursuit of colonial interests in East Asia.
REVISION NOTES: Focused Study 3 -- The Russian Federation (1985-1999)
Inquiry Question 1: What caused the transition to take place?
Role of the Communist Party
The CPSU maintained a one-party state where the state apparatus was paralleled by party structures holding the true power of direction.
By the early 1980s, the leadership had become a "gerontocracy" (a government of the elderly). The system prioritised "stability of cadres," rewarding conformity and producing faceless bureaucrats incapable of independent thought.
Widespread corruption undermined the Party's legitimacy; regional chiefs, particularly in Central Asia, became millionaires who maintained private harem-style arrangements and torture chambers.
Impact of stagnation and failed economic reform
The "Era of Stagnation" (Brezhnev era) saw zero economic growth as the flow of petrodollars from the 1970s oil crisis slowed.
Previous reforms, such as the 1960s Kosygin reforms or Khrushchev's sovnarkhozy (local economic councils), failed because meaningful decentralisation was seen as a threat to the political power of the Party.
Stagnation resulted in social decay: rising alcoholism (the "long-standing curse"), increased absenteeism, and falling male life expectancy, which dropped to just 58 years by 1995.
The USSR suffered from chronic technological backwardness, failing to move from labour-intensive to capital-intensive growth.
Challenges to communism in Eastern Europe
The Brezhnev Doctrine had long mandated military intervention to preserve communist monopolies (e.g. Czechoslovakia 1968), but by the 1980s, maintaining this "outer empire" became an unsustainable economic drain.
Popular resistance, most notably the Solidarity movement in Poland, demonstrated that these regimes lacked internal legitimacy.
Gorbachev eventually concluded that Soviet security could only be achieved by rejoining "world civilisation," which meant relinquishing imperial diktat over Eastern Europe.
Inquiry Question 2: How was the transition achieved?
Roles of Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin
Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-1991): A "Westerniser" who introduced perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness) to reform communism from within. He introduced competitive elections in 1989 for the Congress of People's Deputies, allowing the public to choose between platforms for the first time since 1917.
Boris Yeltsin (1991-1999): Emerged as the populist standard-bearer of the reformists. After his June 1991 election as President of the Russian Republic, he outmanoeuvred Gorbachev following the failed August coup, banning the Communist Party and leading the formal dissolution of the USSR in December 1991.
Constitution of 1993
Adopted in December 1993 following the bombardment of the parliament.
It transformed Russia into a "presidential republic," decisively shifting the balance of power from the Duma to the President and granting the office enormous powers to rule by decree.
Privatisation, market liberalisation and tax reforms
"Shock Therapy": Introduced in 1992 by Yegor Gaidar, this policy aimed to instantly destroy the old regime and implement unrestricted capitalism.
Market Liberalisation: The freeing of prices led to sudden hyperinflation-2600% within one year-effectively eliminating the savings of the population, especially pensioners.
Privatisation: The government issued vouchers (worth 10,000 rubles) to make citizens property owners, but the process was rife with criminality. Under the "loans for shares" scheme (1995-96), the state handed control of massive enterprises to oligarchs in exchange for political support and campaign financing.
Inquiry Question 3: What challenges did society face after the transition?
Soviet coup attempt (1991) and the constitutional crisis (1993)
1991 Coup: In August, hardline appointees of Gorbachev (the "State Committee on the State of Emergency") staged a coup to prevent the devolution of power to the republics; its failure led to the collapse of the CPSU and accelerated the end of the Soviet era.
1993 Crisis: A bloody struggle for supremacy between Yeltsin and the Supreme Soviet. Yeltsin unconstitutionally dissolved the parliament, leading to an armed standoff; the crisis ended when the army bombarded the "White House" (the parliament building), resulting in several hundred deaths.
Labour strikes, protests and organised crime
Economic Collapse: Russian GDP fell by almost half during the 1990s-a peacetime decline with no parallel in history.
Social Misery: At least a million people lost their jobs; workers often received wages months late or in kind (e.g. receiving toilet paper instead of a salary).
Organised Crime: Flourished due to the state's inability to pay the police and judiciary; the country came to be ruled by a combination of crime syndicates, corrupt bureaucrats, and oligarchs.
First Chechen War (1994-1996)
Triggered by Dzhokhar Dudaev declaring Chechnya's independence in 1991.
Yeltsin ordered an invasion in 1994, which proved a military disaster; the Russian army was demoralised, ill-disciplined, and incompetently led.
Atrocities: Russian soldiers committed abominable acts, such as the Shamashki massacre (1995) where 250 men, women, and children were killed by grenades thrown into basements.
The war ended in a Russian withdrawal in defeat, leaving Chechnya a "corner of hell" defined by banditry and radical Islam<
The best source I know for this unit is the seven-part BBC documentary television series created by Adam Curtis- Russia 1985–1999: TraumaZone.
Using stock footage shot by the BBC, the series chronicles the collapse
of the Soviet Union, the rise of capitalist Russia and its oligarchs,
and the effects of this on Russian people of all levels of society,
leading to the rise to power of Vladimir Putin. In a departure from his
usual style, Curtis opted not to use voiceovers, with the only
commentary made via on-screen captions; Curtis explained
this choice was because the footage was "so strong that I didn’t want
to intrude pointlessly, but rather let viewers simply experience what
was happening".
| 1 | "Part One: 1985–1989" | 60 min |
|---|---|---|
| Perestroika aspires to save communism, but many don't believe in anything anymore. Includes footage from the AvtoVAZ factory in Tolyatti, the funeral of Kim Philby, Soviet soldiers returning from the invasion and war in Afghanistan and the April 9 tragedy anti-Soviet demonstrations in Tbilisi. | ||
| 2 | "Part Two: 1989–1991" | 60 min |
| Moscow and other places suffer shortages of potatoes and other foodstuffs. Among failing attempts by the government to fix this, the first McDonald's opens in Moscow. | ||
| 3 | "Part Three: 1991" | 60 min |
| Soviet hardliners attempt a coup, but fail. Russian oligarchs publish a manifest with ideas, as ideology gives way to money. Boris Yeltsin becomes the President of Russia. | ||
| 4 | "Part Four: 1992–1994" | 60 min |
| Russia is thrust into a state of chaotic dreams, where nothing is stable. Some dream of restoring former imperial glory. Many cannot afford food. | ||
| 5 | "Part Five: 1993–1996" | 60 min |
| Russian society is divided and millions live below the poverty line. Many live underground or in the woods. Yeltsin attacks the parliament with tanks, while arguing that it's done to save democracy. | ||
| 6 | "Part Six: 1994–1998" | 60 min |
| Yeltsin believes a war in Chechnya will save him. Meanwhile, the oligarchs seize control over almost everything. Includes footage of the Battle of Grozny, the electoral campaign of Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and the trial of gangster Sergei Shashurin in Kazan. | ||
| 7 | "Part Seven: 1995–1999" | 60 min |
| Western banks leave Russia. Oligarchs, after seizing power, look for a new president who would become their puppet, choosing Vladimir Putin. Russians rebel against what they call "the curse of democracy". | ||
