Variations of State Power and People's Power -- The Spiritual Structure of Meiji Japan

Author: Written by Matsubayashi Sanosuke, Written by Li Dongjun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: The Meiji spirit structure can be said to be a trinity of nationalism, populism, and liberalism. The trajectory of Japan's modernization process is an ellipse, moving in a centripetal motion around the two centers of nationalism and Westernization. Nationalism is rooted in Confucianism, while Westernization runs counter to Confucianism, yet it inspired populism and liberalism in Japan's Meiji era. Meiji-era thinkers integrated these opposing ideologies into a unified spiritual structure of the nation and pushed them to extremes. In Japan's modernization process, nationalism led to militarism, while Westernization led to wholesale Westernization. From the perspective of contemporary civil society, the author offers a profound reflection on this. His reflection provides a historical mirror for us today to understand the ideological roots of Japanese militarism.