Bunmei-kaika

The term bunmei-kaika was used as a translation of "civilization" in Fukuzawa Yukichi's book An Outline of a Theory of Civilization (文明論之概略, Bunmei-ron no Gairyaku). Originally, only bunmei (文明) was translated as "civilization" in Japan. However, the word kaika (開化) is now also widely used to mean "civilization". Kaika originally meant "the action of making someone understand reason or principle and guiding them to good direction" in Buddhism. In the Edo period though, the Tokugawa family used the verb akeru (開ける, 'to open') to refer to the development of a nation, so kaika, which shares the kanji 開, gained a meaning like "development". Both bunmei and kaika are kango.[2]

The main impetus for the bunmei-kaika was the Meiji Restoration, a series of huge changes that occurred in Japan in the latter half of the 19 century.

From 1639 to 1854, Japan was closed to other countries under a policy called sakoku. The Tokugawa shogunate implemented foreign policies such as banning the voyage to Christian countries, banning the arrival of Spanish and Portuguese into Japan, and cutting relations with Southeast Asia. Japan was effectively isolated from other countries.

In 1854, Commodore Perry visited Uraga to ask for the opening of the country to the world, which resulted in the Treaty of Peace and Amity between the United States and Japan. This ended the policy of sakoku. As a result, people in Japan became more aware of the need to protect their country, and the idea of sonnō jōi was born.

At the same time, the idea of overthrowing the Shogunate spread. Many people demanded Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the Shogun at the time, to return all powers to the Emperor.[1][3] In an event called the Taisei Hōkan (大政奉還), the Tokugawa Shogunate agreed to give up its powers. After this, a new government was officially established.

In 1868, Tokugawa forces and the new Meiji government's forces, composed of the Satsuma and Chōshū clans, fought in the Boshin War. The Meiji forces defeated the Tokugawa forces, and the new government took power in Japan. The government moved the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo and began to build a centralized state around the Emperor. The Meiji government abolished the han system. Emperor Meiji also announced the Charter Oath. In this way, the Meiji government steadily came to hold greater political power. The feudal system in Japan collapsed at this time. The new government introduced new systems following the example of foreign countries, especially Germany, and established a new governance system.[1][4]

A famous saying that symbolizes this era is: "If you tap a head with hair cropped short (散切り, zangiri), you will hear the sound of civilization." This saying shows that Western hairstyles were a symbol of civilization.[1]

The new Meiji government promoted a series of policies encouraging new industries, increasing wealth and military power, and following Europe, which included the introduction of Western architecture (Giyōfū architecture), haircutting, Western clothing, and Western food. However, it has also been pointed out that this Westernization was limited to urban areas and a few intellectuals. In some rural areas, lights were andon until the Shōwa period. The introduction of a modern mail system and technologies using electricity, such as the telegraph, was very gradual. The traditions and customs of the late Edo period continued for a long time.

Since the opening of Japan to the outside world, Japanese customs were reported from a curious perspective by foreigners who visited Japan. In order for the new Japan to not be misunderstood, the Meiji government called Japan's indigenous customs and beliefs "bad" and "old" and took policies to "enlighten" the "lost mongrel" people.[5] Local governments took the initiative to eliminate folk customs, and many of these customs were reduced or discontinued due to the effects of bunmei-kaika. For example, along with the abandonment of Buddhism, the Ministry of Education disallowed Yamabushi, Shamanism, and other forms of blessing prayer in 1873. In addition, tattoos and Iomante were banned, affecting Ainu culture and Ryukyuan culture. In 1872, the Tokyo Prefecture issued an ordinance (違式詿違條例, ishiki kaii jōrei) which established detailed regulations to discourage a number of behaviors that the government regarded as contrary to public hygiene, safety, order, and decency.

In addition, part of the rapid Westernization was a sense of crisis over the fact that the Western powers were actively managing colonies at the time, siphoning off vast amounts of wealth from Asian countries. In this context, Western military technology was actively introduced as part of the new military policy, and even the rations served in the military were Westernized in order to increase the strength and stamina of the soldiers. However, the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, which had just been established at that time, were a group of second and third generation soldiers from rural areas, and some of them, who had been brought up on cooked rice and Japanese food, showed aversion to the foreign Western cuisine. For this reason, the Navy and other naval forces devised ways to combine rice and curry, and developed eclectic dishes such as nikujaga with soy sauce. The Japanese curry rice later became Yokosuka navy curry. Dishes like nikujaga spread to areas around military ports, and by the time of the Showa era, it was widely accepted as a common family dish.

Japanese people were fascinated by Western culture at this time. However, different classes of people had different attitudes toward bunmei-kaika. For peasants who were of relatively low rank, taxes became a heavy burden, and anti-policy riots called ikki (一揆) occurred.[6]

Westernization changed the way people thought. In Japan, where society was strongly divided, bunmei-kaika led to the abolition of the class system and the spread of the idea that all people were equal. People called eta (穢多, 'abundance of defilement' or 'abundance of filth') and hinin (非人), who were not treated as human beings, came to be recognized as citizens. Although this did not makes the citizens perfectly equal, the idea that people should have democratic government was born.[7]

Many things from the West came into Japan. Imported items included Western umbrellas, shampoo, Western clothing, Western-style buildings, gas lamps, and even schools, newspapers, magazines, and semi-Western-style buildings. These were called kaika-mono (開化物).

By the turn of the century, the bunmei-kaika, as both a goal and a process, had prompted criticism from those within Japanese society who considered the movement not to have brought "civilization and enlightenment" but "civilization disease" (bunmei-byō).[14] Critics such as Miyake Setsurei and his circle derided the movement's negative effects on Japanese culture, namely decadence, materialism, radicalism, the commercialization of values and the decline of cooperation.[15] The introduction of German economic thought in the 1890s influenced the way some Japanese perceived industrialization and its problems, including class conflict, labor strife, and the destruction of the peasant village.[16]

• Japanese civilization
• Meiji Restoration
• Foreign settlement
• Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan
• Orientalism
• Haitō Edict
• Kaika-e
• Self-Strengthening Movement — a similar phenomenon in China during the same time

• Takenori, Oku (1993). Civilization and Enlightenment and People: A Fragment of Modern Japanese Spiritual History. Shinhyoron. ISBN 4794801963.