Updated: July 7, 2005



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Historical Analysis of the Japanese Characteristics


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  As current characteristics, consciousness, institutions, customs and social system, etc. of the Japanese people have formed in their history they lived, it is the best way to know Japanese history, especially the process of the shift from the autocracy to the democratic government for overall understanding of this issue.

Currently, Japan is a democratic country in the Free World. However, its history of democratization is relatively new and the circumstance is different from that of western countries as follows.
  1. The Democracy and the Liberalism were brought to Japan by the defeat at the Pacific War in 1945 as a occupation policy of U.S. occupation forces. In western countries, the people have "won" the democracy with their blood, while the Japanese people were "given" the decomracy from the outside of the country.
  1. Japan is an island country and is not bordering with other countries. Comparing with Germany which was democratized in the same period and in the similar process, Germany required to be completely democratized to have good relationship with many bordering countries which used to be the enemy countries, while Japan had not any bordering country.
  1. Even surrounding countries beyond the sea were not democratic countries.
Therefore, the earnestness in the Japanese people for the democracy is differ from that of western people. Western people "won" democracy with their own blood while Japanese people were "given" democracy with Hershey's chocolate and Wrigley's chewing gum by the United States. This may be the reason that their characteristics in the autocracy age is still underlying their current life.

Let us review on the Japanese history in the autocracy age.

Japan had been dictatorially governed by rival federal loads for a long time of period. In the age of feudal warrior rule, each federal lord governed his territory. Each federal lord has his own castle as the headquarter and governed his territory by his own law, and warriors worked under the lord, and the people were at the lowest status. Their pyramid of social rank called "Shi (samurai: warrior) - Nou (farmer) - Koh (manufacturer) - Sho (merchant)" had been formed strictly.
It was the age of absolute monarchy and everything such as every regulation, taxation, conscription etc. even human life were governed by the load. "By the order of the authority" was absolute for everything.
Finally, Ieyasu Tokugawa succeeded to unify the whole country and brought federal lords under his sway, and established Tokugawa regime. However, it was still a dictatorship and Tokugawa governed the country by his own law.

This absolute monarchy continued for long time until the political sovereignty was returned to the Emperor on January 3rd. 1868 by the effort of Ryoma Sakamoto, Takamori Saigo and Kogoro Katsura.
Then, the Emperor system recovered and the Meiji era followed by Taisho era, Showa era, then current Heisei era started. Strict social pyramid has collapsed forming a new system consists of the Emperor, the aristocracy and the common people.
However, their political system was still a dictatorship. The sovereign was the Emperor not the people.

During these ages, a militarism became conspicuous and militarist gradually gained power, and a militaristic government begun to govern Japan taking advantage of the power of the Emperor. They obliged the people to work hard to build economy power, to live humble life to save war funds, and to have the sense of loyalty to fight against China and Soviet Union consequent to the Pacific War in the same way as loads in warrior age who fought against the other loads.

During these very long periods, Japanese political system was consistently a autocracy and the people had to equip their way to survive catering to the authority making group and withdrawing in it.
Current characteristics of Japanese people has been created during these long periods, age of feudal loards and militaristic government.

The time when Japanese people meet the democracy was their defeat in the Pacific War in 1945 when General Head Quarters of U.S. occupation forces brought it in Japan as a part of their occupation policy.

At that time, most of Japanese people were embarrassed with this new ideology of democracy suddenly given to them. Every school taught their students what a democracy and a liberalism are and the Japanese people made their effort to make them their basic ideologies. However there was fundamental difference from western countries as "to win with own blood" and "to listen by ear".

This is one of the reasons why the characteristics of Japanese people could not changed so quickly and still underlying in their life.

Clicking HERE provides more realistic understanding on this issue with actual examples including writer's own experience.