Charter Oath 1868
Topic: Paths to Modernisation: Japan, China, Korea · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Charter Oath was a five-point statement issued in the name of the young Meiji Emperor in April 1868, just after the shogun fell. It promised that deliberative assemblies would be set up and that important matters would be decided by public discussion. It also promised that all classes would work together, that the evil customs of the past would be ended, and that knowledge would be sought from all over the world. It set out the new government's plan to modernise Japan.
Example
The promise to "seek knowledge throughout the world" showed in Meiji policy. Japan sent missions and students abroad and studied European models for its army, schools and constitution. The promise of assemblies was later used to argue for the Meiji Constitution of 1889.
Don't confuse with
- Imperial Rescript on Education (1890): The Charter Oath (1868) was a broad statement of how Japan would be governed. The Rescript was a later decree about learning, the public good and loyal citizenship in schools.
Related concepts
- Commodore Perry
- Treaty of Kanagawa
- Unequal treaties
- Meiji restoration
- Fukoku kyohei
- Emperor system
- Meiji education system
- Imperial Rescript on Education
- Hiragana and katakana
- Satsuma Rebellion 1877