Emperor system
Topic: Paths to Modernisation: Japan, China, Korea · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 7 "Paths to Modernisation"
Meaning
The emperor system was the way power was organised in Meiji Japan after 1868. The emperor ruled together with the bureaucracy (state officials) and the military. It was modelled on the monarchies of Europe. The emperor was honoured as a descendant of the Sun Goddess, yet he was also shown as the leader of westernisation. The army and the bureaucracy were under the emperor's direct command and outside the control of the cabinet. This planted the seed of military rule and an aggressive empire.
Example
From 1890 the army and navy had independent command and answered to the emperor, not to the Diet (Japan's parliament). In the 1930s this freedom let the military push Japan into the invasion of China and later the Pacific War (1941–45).
Don't confuse with
- Shogunate: Under the shogunate, the shogun held real power and the emperor was kept in the background. Under the emperor system, the emperor was placed at the centre of the modern state.
Related concepts
- Commodore Perry
- Treaty of Kanagawa
- Unequal treaties
- Meiji restoration
- Charter Oath 1868
- Fukoku kyohei
- Meiji education system
- Imperial Rescript on Education
- Hiragana and katakana
- Satsuma Rebellion 1877