Foundations; Compare Meiji Restoration Founding German Reich.

¶ … Foundations; Compare Meiji Restoration founding German Reich. Identify similarities differences origin nature events. Refer social groups involved nature wrought social political structures created.

The Meiji Restoration and the German Reich

The Meiji Restoration Period is relatively similar to the founding of the German Reich when considering the fact that both eras brought significant reform in these countries and made it possible for them to experience great technological advancements as a consequence. The two nations were going through difficult times at the moment when restructuring took place. Japan had little military resources in 1868, was focused on agriculture, and had almost no technological development. Similarly, Germany was predominantly rural in 1871, possessed a weakened military system, and was largely underdeveloped in comparison to some of the greatest powers at the time. Even with that, Germany was already experiencing progress by the time when the empire was founded, as its industry and its economy had ascended during the previous two decades.

Germany and Japan went through important revolution events during the nineteenth century with the purpose of removing feudal systems in favor of adopting capitalist attitudes. The Germans saw Otto von Bismarck, a Prussian chancellor, as he led several wars lasting from 1864 until 1871 and influencing the country's communities in uniting under the Hohenzollern monarchy. The country's structure experienced significant restructuring as a result of this episode. Violence was also important in changing conditions in Japan, as the individuals responsible for assisting the state in achieving progress belonged to an old warrior social group. This community promoted the image of the Meiji Emperor and succeeded in removing the feudal regime in the 1867-1868 time periods. Japan reinforced its military consequent to this and was enabled to defend itself in the face of Western powers. Its success also led to the emergence of a Japanese bourgeoisie focused on the industrial aspect of the reformation. By the start of the twentieth century, Germany became the most powerful capitalist nation in Europe and Japan was the only industrial capitalist power on the Asian continent.

In spite of the fact that he managed to stay in power across more than half of the nineteenth century, the Tokugawa shogun in Japan lost influence over the country in 1868 and allowed the emperor to return to his position as supreme leader over his country. Feudal lords were in control of the country's communities at the time and they exercised a type of semi-independence over their territories. Considering overall conditions in Japan at the time, it appears that the Japanese were not necessarily prepared to experience reform. While they did not enjoy their lifestyle, most of them considered that they did not have enough power to turn against the feudal system. In contrast to the Japanese, the Germans were determined to found a German Empire for several decades before this actually happened. Germany's series of defeats in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries severely fractured the German state. People started to rebel at the half of the nineteenth century with the purpose of replacing their kings with an individual that would control all German territories, but did not manage to experience success in their enterprises until 1871, when Wilhelm I was appointed as the first German Kaiser. Germany's series of victories in conflicts with France played an essential role in bringing its communities together. German kings did not necessarily support the unification of Germany, but had little influence over conditions in 1871, given that the masses were more and more determined to have the country's communities unite under a single German state.

The masses were expressing nationalist thinking at the time of German unification, but this was not necessarily the decisive factor leading to the foundation of the German Empire. State leaders in German states eventually agreed that it was better for them and for their people to agree to unite. Prussia had an influential power over state leaders across Germany and persuaded them in joining the Empire. The fact that the country's economic and industrial systems had already growing rapidly before the union took place contributed to having German leaders consider that it would be beneficial for them to unite under a single power.

Whereas Germany's states came to unite as a result of undergoing several victories against other European countries, Japan united as a consequence of being persecuted by Western states. Europe and the U.S. imposed their power over the Japanese and forced them to sign a series of treaties meant to reduce Japanese influence over its own foreign dealings and demanded that foreigners who performed crimes in Japan should be put before a Western court instead of being tried by Japanese courts. The Meiji Restoration's main ambition was related to recovering Japan's power as an independent state capable of being actively involved in international affairs.

Bismarck was an essential actor when considering Germany's unification, considering that he is mainly responsible for influencing German state leaders in accepting Wilhelm I, the Prussian King, as Germany's Emperor. Seeing that it was beneficial for them to be a part of a greater state, German leaders gradually started to put across their support in regard to the formation of a stronger German power. Having won three wars against Austria, France, and, respectively, Denmark, the Germans felt confident concerning their power as a nation and felt that it was essential for them to agree to have German states unite under the Prussian king. Aristocrats enjoyed the fact that they were about to become even more powerful as a consequence of having a single power controlling national affairs and the lower classes were supportive in regard to a system that would also address their problems through supporting an industrial revolution that assisted the agrarian organism. People generally began to develop nationalist thinking and started to believe that the unification virtually resolved all of their problems. It is certainly intriguing that Bismarck was not initially interested in a greater German state, as he was primarily focused on helping Prussia anyway that he possibly could. His role as a chancellor made it possible for Germans to acknowledge the importance of a single state and assisted him in being able to appoint his king, Wilhelm I, as leader of the greater German state.

The Japanese accountable for assisting the Meiji Emperor in coming in control of the country who were also especially patriotic, as their efforts were made with the intention of reinforcing Japan as a whole. The new political system in the country was represented by several young capable and patriotic individuals who were determined to have their country change its policies concerning its international role. It became obvious that traditional powers were no longer in charge of conditions in the country as samurais abandoned their customs and enrolled in performing Western capitalist activities related to business and similar professions. Reform encouraged individuals to become concerned in how their country would experience progress and modernization and emphasized that it was unproductive for them to engage in activities considered to be conventional. German state leaders did not actually attempted to refuse becoming a part of the larger German state through fighting Bismarck's powers. Instead, the ones who were not supportive in having Germany unified reluctantly accepted the union because they were aware that they and their subjects would eventually profit from the enterprise. In contrast, Japanese samurai communities rose against the newly established Empire and attempted to regain their influence in the country. They experienced little to no success however because the government's army was superior to theirs as a result of adopting Western fighting techniques.