1.
Fumimaro Konoe
–
Prince Fumimaro Konoe was a Japanese politician in the Empire of Japan who served as the 34th, 38th and 39th Prime Minister of Japan and founder/leader of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association. He was Prime Minister in the lead-up to Japan entering World War II, Prince Fumimaro Konoe was born into the ancient Fujiwara clan, and was the heir of the Konoe family in Tokyo. His younger brother Hidemaro Konoye was a symphony conductor, Konoes father, Atsumaro, had been politically active, having organized the Anti-Russia Society in 1903. In 1904, Atsumaros death left Konoe, at the age of 12, with the title of Prince, plenty of social standing and he studied Marxian economics at Kyoto Imperial University. In 1916, he became a member of House of Peers according to his hereditary title. Prince Konoe successfully lobbied to be included in the Japanese delegation to the Paris Peace Conference,1919, in 1918, prior to Versailles, he published an essay titled Reject the Anglo-American-Centered Peace. Following a translation by American journalist Thomas Franklin Fairfax Millard, Japanese political advisor Saionji Kinmochi wrote a rebuttal in his journal, in 1925, Konoe gained favorable public attention by supporting a bill extending suffrage to all males aged 25 and over. In 1933, he was elected President of the House of Peers and he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1934. In June 1937, Prince Konoe became Prime Minister, one month later, Japanese troops clashed with Chinese troops near Peking in the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Konoe dispatched three divisions of troops, admonishing the military to be not to escalate the conflict. Within three weeks the army launched a general assault, Konoe and his cabinet feared that Japanese troops would not respect any peace agreement. He was also unsure that Chiang Kai-shek could control his own forces, in August, Chinese sentries killed two Japanese marines who crashed a gate at a Chinese airfield in Shanghai. Konoe agreed with Army Minister General Hajime Sugiyama to send two divisions to defend Japanese honor and his cabinet then issued a declaration, accusing both nationalist and communist Chinese of increasingly provocative and insulting behavior toward Japan. In December, Imperial General Headquarters, a completely autonomous from the elected government, ordered its forces in China to drive toward Nanjing. Nanjing was captured within a few weeks, after which the Japanese Army committed the infamous Nanjing massacre, in January 1938, Konoes government announced that it would no longer deal with Chiang, but would await the development of a new regime. When later asked for clarifications, Konoe said he meant more than just non-recognition of Chiangs regime but rejected it, meanwhile, Konoe and the military pushed a National Mobilization Law through the Diet. This allowed the government to control all manpower and material. Japanese victories continued at Xuzhou, Hankow, Canton, Wuchang, Hanyang –, Konoe, stating that he was tired of being a robot for the military, resigned in January 1939, and was appointed chairman of the Privy Council
2.
Upper house
–
An upper house, sometimes called a Senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the house is usually smaller. Examples of upper houses in countries include the UKs House of Lords, Canadas Senate, Indias Rajya Sabha, Russias Federation Council, Irelands Seanad, Germanys Bundesrat, a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral. An upper house is different from the lower house in at least one of the following respects, Powers, In a parliamentary system. Therefore, in countries the Upper House votes on only limited legislative matters. Cannot vote a motion of no confidence against the government, while the house always can. In a presidential system, It may have equal or nearly equal power with the lower house and it may have specific powers not granted to the lower house. For example, It may give advice and consent to some executive decisions and it may have the sole power to try impeachments against officials of the executive, following enabling resolutions passed by the lower house. Status, In some countries, its members are not popularly elected, membership may be indirect and its members may be elected with a different voting system than that used to elect the lower house. Less populated states, provinces, or administrative divisions may be represented in the upper house than in the lower house. Members terms may be longer than in the house. Members may be elected in portions, for staggered terms, rather than all at one time, in some countries, the upper house cannot be dissolved at all, or can be dissolved only in more limited circumstances than the lower house. It typically has fewer members or seats than the lower house and it has usually a higher age of candidacy than the lower house. In parliamentary systems the upper house is seen as an advisory or revising chamber. Some or all of the restrictions are often placed on upper houses. No absolute veto of proposed legislation, though suspensive vetoes are permitted in some states, in countries where it can veto legislation, it may not be able to amend the proposals. A reduced or even absent role in initiating legislation, additionally, a Government must have the consent of both to remain in office, a position which is known as perfect bicameralism or equal bicameralism. An example is the British House of Lords, bills can only be delayed for up to one year before the Commons can use the Parliament Act, although economic bills can only be delayed for one month
3.
House of Councillors (Japan)
–
The House of Councillors is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house, the House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or designation of the prime minister, in other decisions, the House of Representatives can override a vote of the House of Councillors only by a two-thirds majority of members present. The House of Councillors has 242 members who each serve six-year terms, Councillors must be at least 30 years old, compared with 25 years old in the House of Representatives. The House cannot be dissolved, as half of its membership is elected at each election. Of the 121 members subject to each time,73 are elected from the 47 prefectural districts and 48 are elected from a nationwide list by proportional representation with open lists. For a list of members, see the List of members of the Diet of Japan. The House initially had 250 seats, two seats were added to the House in 1970 after the agreement on the repatriation of Okinawa, increasing the House to a total of 252. Legislation aimed at addressing malapportionment that favoured less-populated prefectures was introduced in 2000, further reforms to address malapportinoment took effect in 2007 and 2016, but did not change the total number of members in the house. From 1947 to 1983, the House had 100 seats allocated to a national block and it was originally intended to give nationally prominent figures a route to the House without going through local electioneering processes. Shintaro Ishihara won a record 3 million votes in the block in the 1968 election. The national block was last seen in the 1980 election and was replaced with a proportional representation block in the 1983 election. The national proportional representation block was reduced to 96 members in the 2000 reforms, List of Speakers of the House of Councillors of Japan List of districts of the House of Councillors of Japan Specific Bibliography Hayes, L. D.2009. ISBN 978-0-7656-2279-2 House of Councillors Website House of Councillors internet TV - Official site
4.
National Diet Building
–
The National Diet Building is the building where both houses of the National Diet of Japan meet. It is located at 1-chome, Nagatachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, sessions of the House of Representatives take place in the left wing and sessions of the House of Councillors in the right wing. The Diet Building was completed in 1936 and is constructed out of purely Japanese materials, with the exception of the glass, door locks. The construction of the building for the old Imperial Diet began in 1920, however, the Diet met in temporary structures for the first fifty years of its existence because there was no agreement over what form its building should take. German architects Wilhelm Böckmann and Hermann Ende were invited to Tokyo in 1886 and 1887 and they drew up two plans for a Diet building. Ende and Böckmanns Diet Building was never built, but their other government ring designs were used for the Tokyo District Court and Ministry of Justice buildings. In 1898, Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi interviewed American Ralph Adams Cram, who proposed a more Oriental design for the building, featuring tiled roofs, the Itō government fell as Cram was en route to the United States, and the project was dropped. With an internal deadline approaching, the government enlisted Ende and Böckmann associate Adolph Stegmueller, the building, a two-story, European-style wooden structure, opened in November 1890 on a site in Hibiya. An electrical fire burned down the first building in January 1891, another Ende and Böckmann associate, Oscar Tietze, joined Yoshii to design its replacement. The second building was larger than the first, but followed a similar design, in 1910, the Finance Ministry started a commission in an attempt to take control over the new Diet Building design from the Home Ministry. Prime Minister Katsura Tarō chaired the commission, which recommended that the new building emulate an Italian Renaissance architectural style and this recommendation was criticized by many who thought that choice to be too arbitrary. The ministry sponsored a design competition in 1918, and 118 designs were submitted for the new building. The first prize winner, Watanabe Fukuzo, produced a similar to Ende. The Diet Building was eventually constructed between 1920 and 1936 with a plan based on Fukuzos entry. C. and the downtown Los Angeles City Hall. The central entrance stands behind the gate and below the central tower. It is characterized by the driveway and the entrance doors that are made of bronze and each measure 3.94 meters in height,1.09 meters in width. These doors for the entrance, the separate entrance doors for each House building. The central entrance is not for use to enter and exit the Diet building and is called “the door that never opens” because of its restricted access
5.
Tokyo
–
Tokyo, officially Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan and one of its 47 prefectures. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government, Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Formerly known as Edo, it has been the de facto seat of government since 1603 when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters. It officially became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from the old capital of Kyoto in 1868, Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. The Tokyo metropolitan government administers the 23 Special Wards of Tokyo, the metropolitan government also administers 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the wards is over 9 million people. The prefecture is part of the worlds most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 37.8 million people, the city hosts 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest number of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked third in the International Financial Centres Development IndexEdit, the city is also home to various television networks such as Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon Television, NHK and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Tokyo ranked first in the Global Economic Power Index and fourth in the Global Cities Index. The city is considered a world city – as listed by the GaWCs 2008 inventory – and in 2014. In 2015, Tokyo was named the Most Liveable City in the world by the magazine Monocle, the Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked first in the world in the Safe Cities Index, the 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Tokyo as the 3rd-best city in the world to be a university student. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1979 G-7 summit, the 1986 G-7 summit, and the 1993 G-7 summit, and will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo was originally known as Edo, which means estuary. During the early Meiji period, the city was also called Tōkei, some surviving official English documents use the spelling Tokei. However, this pronunciation is now obsolete, the name Tokyo was first suggested in 1813 in the book Kondō Hisaku, written by Satō Nobuhiro. When Ōkubo Toshimichi proposed the renaming to the government during the Meiji Restoration, according to Oda Kanshi, Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo, in what was formerly part of the old Musashi Province. Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan, in the twelfth century
6.
Emperor Meiji
–
Emperor Meiji, or Meiji the Great, was the 122nd Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from February 3,1867 until his death on July 30,1912. By the time of his death in 1912, Japan had undergone a political, social, and industrial revolution at home and emerged as one of the great powers on the world stage. The New York Times summed up this transformation at his funeral in 1912, with the words, before it went old Japan, after it came new Japan. Having ruled during the Meiji period, the Emperor is thus known as the Meiji Emperor or simply Emperor Meiji. His personal name, which is not used in any formal or official context, the Tokugawa shogunate had established itself in the early 17th century. Under its rule, the shogun governed Japan, about 180 lords, known as daimyō, ruled autonomous realms under the shogun, who occasionally called upon the daimyō for gifts, but did not tax them. The shogun controlled the daimyō in other ways, only the shogun could approve their marriages, and the shogun could divest a daimyō of his lands. In 1615, the first Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had retired from his position, and his son Tokugawa Hidetada. Under it, the Emperor was required to devote his time to scholarship, the Emperors under the shogunate appear to have closely adhered to this code, studying Confucian classics and devoting time to poetry and calligraphy. They were only taught the rudiments of Japanese and Chinese history, the shogun did not seek the consent or advice of the Emperor for his actions. Emperors almost never left their compound, or Gosho in Kyoto. Few Emperors lived long enough to retire, of the Meiji Emperors five predecessors, only his grandfather lived into his forties, dying aged forty-six. The Imperial Family suffered very high rates of infant mortality, all five of the Emperors brothers and sisters died as infants, soon after taking control in the early seventeenth century, shogunate officials ended much Western trade with Japan, and barred missionaries from the islands. In addition to the substantial Chinese trade, only the Dutch continued trade with Japan, however, by the early 19th century, European and American vessels appeared in the waters around Japan with increasing frequency. Prince Mutsuhito was born on November 3,1852 in a house on his maternal grandfathers property at the north end of the Gosho. At the time, a birth was believed to be polluting, so imperial princes were not born in the Palace, the boys mother, Nakayama Yoshiko, was a concubine to his father Emperor Kōmei, and was the daughter of the acting major counselor, Nakayama Tadayasu. The young prince was given the name Sachinomiya, or Prince Sachi, the young prince was born at a time of change for Japan. This change was symbolized dramatically when Commodore Matthew Perry and his squadron of what the Japanese dubbed the Black Ships, Perry sought to open Japan to trade, and warned the Japanese of military consequences if they did not agree
7.
Ukiyo-e
–
The ukiyo-e genre of art flourished in Japan from the 17th through 19th centuries. The term ukiyo-e translates as picture of the floating world, Edo became the seat of government for the military dictatorship in the early 17th century. The merchant class at the bottom of the social order benefitted most from the rapid economic growth. Many indulged in the entertainments of kabuki theatre, courtesans, the term ukiyo came to describe this hedonistic lifestyle. The earliest success was in the 1670s with Moronobus paintings and monochromatic prints of beautiful women, colour in prints came gradually—at first added by hand for special commissions. By the 1740s, artists such as Masanobu used multiple woodblocks to print areas of colour, from the 1760s the success of Harunobus brocade prints led to full-colour production becoming standard, each print made with numerous blocks. Specialists have prized the portraits of beauties and actors by masters such as Kiyonaga, Utamaro, Following the deaths of these two masters, and against the technological and social modernization that followed the Meiji Restoration of 1868, ukiyo-e production went into steep decline. Some ukiyo-e artists specialized in making paintings, but most works were prints, as printing was done by hand, printers were able to achieve effects impractical with machines, such as the blending or gradation of colours on the printing block. Ukiyo-e was central to forming the Wests perception of Japanese art in the late 19th century–especially the landscapes of Hokusai, Prints since the late 20th century have continued in an individualist vein, often made with techniques imported from the West. The Kanō school of painting incorporated features of both, since antiquity, Japanese art had found patrons in the aristocracy, military governments, and religious authorities. Later works appeared by and for townspeople, including inexpensive monochromatic paintings of female beauties and scenes of the theatre and pleasure districts, the hand-produced nature of these shikomi-e limited the scale of their production, a limit that was soon overcome by genres that turned to mass-produced woodblock printing. During a prolonged period of war in the 16th century. In the early 17th century Tokugawa Ieyasu unified the country and was appointed Shogun with supreme power over Japan and he consolidated his government in the village of Edo, and required the territorial lords to assemble there in alternate years with their entourages. The demands of the growing capital drew many male labourers from the country, the village grew during the Edo period from a population of 1800 to over a million in the 19th century. The centralized shogunate put an end to the power of the machishū and divided the population into four classes, with the ruling samurai class at the top. The experience of the quarters was open to those of sufficient wealth, manners. Woodblock printing in Japan traces back to the Hyakumantō Darani in 770 CE, until the 17th century such printing was reserved for Buddhist seals and images. Movable type appeared around 1600, but as the Japanese writing system required about 100,000 type pieces, in Saga Domain, calligrapher Honami Kōetsu and publisher Suminokura Soan combined printed text and images in an adaptation of The Tales of Ise and other works of literature
8.
Toyohara Chikanobu
–
For other figures with similar names, see Chikanobu. Toyohara Chikanobu, better known to his contemporaries as Yōshū Chikanobu, was a woodblock artist of Japans Meiji period. Chikanobu signed his artwork Yōshū Chikanobu and this was his art name sakuhinmei. The artists real name honmyō was Hashimoto Naoyoshi, and it was published in his obituary, many of his earliest works were signed studio of Yōshū Chikanobu Yōshū-sai Chikanobu, a small number of his early creations were simply signed Yōshū. At least one triptych from 12 Meiji exists signed Yōshū Naoyoshi, the portrait of the Emperor Meiji held by the British Museum is inscribed drawn by Yōshū Chikanobu by special request motome ni ōjite Yōshū Chikanobu hitsu. No works have surfaced that are signed either Toyohara Chikanobu or Hashimoto Chikanobu, Chikanobu was a retainer of the Sakakibara clan of Takada Domain in Echigo Province. After the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate, he joined the Shōgitai and he joined Tokugawa loyalists in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, where he fought in the Battle of Hakodate at the Goryōkaku star fort. He served under the leadership of Enomoto Takeaki and Ōtori Keisuke, following the Shōgitais surrender, he was remanded along with others to the authorities in the Takada domain. In 1875, he decided to try to make a living as an artist and he found work as an artist for the Kaishin Shimbun. In addition, he produced nishiki-e artworks, in his younger days, he had studied the Kanō school of painting, but his interest was drawn to ukiyo-e. He studied with a disciple of Keisai Eisen and then he joined the school of Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi, during this period, after Kuniyoshi’s death, he studied with Kunisada. He also referred to himself as Yōshū, like many ukiyo-e artists, Chikanobu turned his attention towards a great variety of subjects. His work ranged from Japanese mythology to depictions of the battlefields of his lifetime to womens fashions. As well as a number of the artists of this period, he too portrayed kabuki actors in character. Chikanobu was known as a master of bijinga, images of beautiful women, and for illustrating changes in womens fashion, including both traditional and Western clothing. His work illustrated the changes in coiffures and make-up across time, for example, in Chikanobus images in Mirror of Ages, the hair styles of the Tenmei era, 1781-1789 are distinguished from those of the Keiō era, 1865-1867. His works capture the transition from the age of the samurai to Meiji modernity, Chikanobu is a recognizable Meiji period artist, but his subjects were sometimes drawn from earlier historical eras. For example, one print illustrates an incident during the 1855 Ansei Edo earthquake and he created a range of impressions and scenes of the Satsuma Rebellion and Saigō Takamori
9.
National Diet
–
The National Diet is Japans bicameral legislature. It is composed of a house called the House of Representatives. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under parallel voting systems, in addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally responsible for selecting the Prime Minister. The Diet was first convened as the Imperial Diet in 1889 as a result of adopting the Meiji Constitution, the Diet took its current form in 1947 upon the adoption of the post-war constitution and is considered by the Constitution to be the highest organ of state power. The National Diet Building is located in Nagatachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, the houses of the Diet are both elected under parallel voting systems. Voters are also asked to cast two votes, one for a candidate in a constituency, and one for a party list. Any national of Japan at least 18 years of age may vote in these elections, Japans parallel voting system is not to be confused with the Additional Member System used in many other nations. House of Councillors, Of 242 members,146 are elected from 47 prefectural constituencies by means of the Single Non-Transferable Vote, the remaining 96 are elected by open list PR from a single national list. However it does guarantee universal adult suffrage and a secret ballot and it also insists that the electoral law must not discriminate in terms of race, creed, sex, social status, family origin, education, property or income. Generally, the election of Diet members is controlled by statutes passed by the Diet and this is a source of contention concerning re-apportionment of prefectures seats in response to changes of population distribution. For example, the Liberal Democratic Party had controlled Japan for most of its post-war history, in recent elections the malapportionment ratio amounted to 4.8 in the House of Councillors and 2.3 in the House of Representatives. Candidates for the house must be 25 years old or older and 30 years or older for the upper house. All candidates must be Japanese nationals, under Article 49 of Japans Constitution, Diet members are paid about ¥1.3 million a month in salary. Article 41 of the Constitution describes the National Diet as the highest organ of State power and this statement is in forceful contrast to the Meiji Constitution, which described the Emperor as the one who exercised legislative power with the consent of the Diet. The Diets responsibilities include not only the making of laws but also the approval of the national budget that the government submits. It can also initiate draft constitutional amendments, which, if approved, the Diet may conduct investigations in relation to government. The Prime Minister must be designated by Diet resolution, establishing the principle of legislative supremacy over executive government agencies, the government can also be dissolved by the Diet if it passes a motion of no confidence introduced by fifty members of the House of Representatives. Government officials, including the Prime Minister and Cabinet members, are required to appear before Diet investigative committees, the Diet also has the power to impeach judges convicted of criminal or irregular conduct
10.
Meiji Constitution
–
Enacted after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, it provided for a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy, based jointly on the Prussian and British models. Under the Meiji Constitution, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet were not necessarily chosen from the members of the Diet. Through the regular procedure for amendment of the Meiji Constitution, it was revised to become the Postwar Constitution on November 3,1946. The Diet primarily dictated domestic policy matters, the immediate consequence of the Constitution was the opening of the first Parliamentary government in Asia. The Meiji Constitution established clear limits on the power of the executive branch and it also created an independent judiciary. Civil rights and civil liberties were guaranteed, though in many cases they were subject to limitation by law, however, it was ambiguous in wording, and in many places self-contradictory. It was the struggle between these tendencies that dominated the government of the Empire of Japan, the Meiji Constitution was used as a model for the 1931 Ethiopian Constitution by the Ethiopian intellectual Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam. This was one of the reasons why the progressive Ethiopian intelligentsia associated with Tekle Hawariat were known as Japanizers, by the surrender in the World War II on 2 September 1945, the Empire of Japan was deprived of sovereignty by the Allies, and the Meiji Constitution was suspended. During the Occupation of Japan, the Meiji Constitution was replaced by a new document and this document—officially an amendment to the Meiji Constitution—replaced imperial rule with a form of Western-style liberal democracy. Prior to the adoption of the Meiji Constitution, Japan had in practice no written constitution, in theory the last ritsuryō code, the Yōrō Code enacted in 752, was still in force at the time of the Meiji Restoration. The high positions in the system remained as sinecures, and the emperor was de-powered and set aside as a symbolic figure who reigned. The idea of a constitution had been a subject of heated debate within. The conservative Meiji oligarchy viewed anything resembling democracy or republicanism with suspicion and trepidation, the Freedom and Peoples Rights Movement demanded the immediate establishment of an elected national assembly, and the promulgation of a constitution. The United States Constitution was rejected as too liberal, the French and Spanish models were rejected as tending toward despotism. The Reichstag and legal structures of the German Empire, particularly that of Prussia, influence was also drawn from the British Westminster system, although it was considered as being unwieldy and granting too much power to Parliament. He also rejected some notions as unfit for Japan, as they stemmed from European constitutional practice, the Council of State was replaced in 1885 with a cabinet headed by Itō as Prime Minister. The positions of Chancellor, Minister of the Left, and Minister of the Right, in their place, the Privy Council was established in 1888 to evaluate the forthcoming constitution, and to advise Emperor Meiji. After numerous drafts from 1886–1888, the version was submitted to Emperor Meiji in April 1888
11.
Empire of Japan
–
The Empire of Japan was the historical Japanese nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the enactment of the 1947 constitution of modern Japan. Imperial Japans rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei led to its emergence as a world power, after several large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, the Empire also gained notoriety for its war crimes against the peoples it conquered. A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender, Occupation and reconstruction continued well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose full title is the State of Japan or simply rendered Japan in English. The historical state is referred to as the Empire of Japan or the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan in English. In Japanese it is referred to as Dai Nippon Teikoku, which translates to Greater Japanese Empire and this is analogous to Großdeutsches Reich, a term that translates to Greater German Empire in English and Dai Doitsu Teikoku in Japanese. This meaning is significant in terms of geography, encompassing Japan, due to its name in kanji characters and its flag, it was also given the exonym Empire of the Sun. After two centuries, the policy, or Sakoku, under the shoguns of the Edo period came to an end when the country was forced open to trade by the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. The following years saw increased trade and interaction, commercial treaties between the Tokugawa shogunate and Western countries were signed. In large part due to the terms of these Unequal Treaties, the Shogunate soon faced internal hostility, which materialized into a radical, xenophobic movement. In March 1863, the Emperor issued the order to expel barbarians, although the Shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the Shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan. The Namamugi Incident during 1862 led to the murder of an Englishman, Charles Lennox Richardson, the British demanded reparations but were denied. While attempting to exact payment, the Royal Navy was fired on from coastal batteries near the town of Kagoshima and they responded by bombarding the port of Kagoshima in 1863. For Richardsons death, the Tokugawa government agreed to pay an indemnity, shelling of foreign shipping in Shimonoseki and attacks against foreign property led to the Bombardment of Shimonoseki by a multinational force in 1864. The Chōshū clan also launched the coup known as the Kinmon incident. The Satsuma-Chōshū alliance was established in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu, in early 1867, Emperor Kōmei died of smallpox and was replaced by his son, Crown Prince Mutsuhito. On November 9,1867, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned from his post and authorities to the Emperor, however, while Yoshinobus resignation had created a nominal void at the highest level of government, his apparatus of state continued to exist. On January 3,1868, Satsuma-Chōshū forces seized the palace in Kyoto. On January 17,1868, Yoshinobu declared that he would not be bound by the proclamation of the Restoration, on January 24, Yoshinobu decided to prepare an attack on Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Chōshū forces
12.
Social class
–
Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, and social historians. However, there is not a consensus on the best definition of the class, the precise measurements of what determines social class in society has varied over time. According to philosopher Karl Marx, class is determined entirely by ones relationship to the means of production, the term class is etymologically derived from the Latin classis, which was used by census takers to categorize citizens by wealth, in order to determine military service obligations. In the late 18th century, the class began to replace classifications such as estates, rank. Historically social class and behavior was sometimes laid down in law, definitions of social classes reflect a number of sociological perspectives, informed by anthropology, economics, psychology, and sociology. The major perspectives historically have been Marxism and Structural functionalism, the common stratum model of class divides society into a simple hierarchy of working class, middle class and upper class. For Marx, class is a combination of objective and subjective factors, objectively, a class shares a common relationship to the means of production. Subjectively, the members will necessarily have some perception of their similarity, Class consciousness is not simply an awareness of ones own class interest but is also a set of shared views regarding how society should be organized legally, culturally, socially and politically. These class relations are reproduced through time and this is the fundamental economic structure of work and property, a state of inequality that is normalized and reproduced through cultural ideology. Marxists explain the history of civilized societies in terms of a war of classes between those who control production and those who produce the goods or services in society, in the Marxist view of capitalism, this is a conflict between capitalists and wage-workers. Furthermore, in countries where modern civilisation has become fully developed, an industrial army of workmen, under the command of a capitalist, requires, like a real army, officers and sergeants who, while the work is being done, command in the name of the capitalist. This would mark the beginning of a society in which human needs rather than profit would be motive for production. In a society with democratic control and production for use, there would be no class, no state and no need for financial and banking institutions and money. Max Weber formulated a three-component theory of stratification, that saw social class as emerging from an interplay between class, status and power. Weber believed that class position was determined by a relationship to the means of production. Weber derived many of his key concepts on social stratification by examining the structure of many countries. He noted that contrary to Marxs theories, stratification was based on more than simply ownership of capital, Weber pointed out that some members of the aristocracy lack economic wealth yet might nevertheless have political power. Likewise in Europe, many wealthy Jewish families in lack prestige and honor, Class, A persons economic position in a society
13.
Kazoku
–
The Kazoku was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto, at the time, the kuge and former daimyo consisted of a group of 427 families. All members of the kazoku without a government appointment in the provinces were initially obliged to reside in Tokyo. By the end of 1869, a system was adopted. The stipends promised by the government were replaced by government bonds. Thus, the heirs of the five regent houses of the Fujiwara dynasty all became princes, the heads of other kuge houses became marquesses. Also, the head of the Shō family, the royal family of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, was given the title of marquess. When the Korean Empire was annexed in 1910, the House of Yi was mediatized as an incorporated, the head of the Matsudaira branch was raised to the rank of marquess from the rank of count in 1888. In 1902, the former shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu was created a prince, the Mōri and Shimazu clans were both ennobled as princes in 1884 for their role in the Meiji Restoration, the Yamauchi clan was given the rank of marquess. The heads of the main Asano, Ikeda, Kuroda, Satake, Nabeshima, Hachisuka, Hosokawa, the head of the Date-Uwajima clan was raised to the rank of a marquess in 1891. Many of those who had significant roles in the Meiji Restoration, as in the British peerage, only the actual holder of a title and his consort were considered part of the kazoku. The holders of the top two ranks, prince and marquess, automatically became members of the House of Peers in the Diet of Japan upon their succession or upon majority. Counts, viscounts and barons elected up to 150 representatives from their ranks to sit in the House of Peers, a 1904 amendment to the 1889 Imperial Household Law allowed minor princes of the imperial family to renounce their imperial status and become peers or heirs to childless peers. Initially there were 11 non-imperial princes,24 marquesses,76 counts,324 viscounts and 74 barons, by 1928, through promotions and new creations, there were a total of 954 peers,18 non-imperial princes,40 marquesses,108 counts,379 viscounts and 409 barons. The kazoku reached a peak of 1016 families in 1944, the 1946 Constitution of Japan abolished the kazoku and ended the use of all titles of nobility or rank outside the immediate Imperial Family. Nonetheless, many descendants of former kazoku families continue to occupy prominent roles in Japanese society, austrian nobility, which was likewise abolished in the aftermath of World War I Monbatsu Jansen, Marius B. Above the Clouds, Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility, berkeley, California, University of California Press. In Name Only, Imperial Sovereignty in Early Modern Japan, some Information on Nobility, Peerage and Ranks in Ancient and Meiji Japan — Information on Japanese nobility with additional sources
14.
Europe
–
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
15.
Prince
–
A prince is a male ruler, monarch, or member of a monarchs or former monarchs family. Prince is also a title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess, the English word derives, via the French word prince, from the Latin noun princeps, from primus + capio, meaning the chief, most distinguished, ruler, prince. The Latin word prīnceps, became the title of the informal leader of the Roman senate some centuries before the transition to empire. Emperor Augustus established the position of monarch on the basis of principate. The term may be used of persons in various cultures. These titles were borne by courtesy and preserved by tradition, not law, in medieval and Early Modern Europe, there were as many as two hundred such territories, especially in Italy, Germany, and Gaelic Ireland. In this sense, prince is used of any and all rulers and this is the Renaissance use of the term found in Niccolò Machiavellis famous work, Il Principe. Most small territories designated as principalities during feudal eras were allodial and this is attested in some surviving styles for e. g. British earls, marquesses, and dukes are still addressed by the Crown on ceremonial occasions as high, in parts of the Holy Roman Empire in which primogeniture did not prevail, all legitimate agnates had an equal right to the familys hereditary titles. Gradual substitution of the title of Prinz for the title of Fürst occurred. Both Prinz and Fürst are translated into English as prince, but they not only different. This distinction had evolved before the 18th century for dynasties headed by a Fürst in Germany, note that the princely title was used as a prefix to his Christian name, which also became customary. Cadets of Frances other princes étrangers affected similar usage under the Bourbon kings, the post-medieval rank of gefürsteter Graf embraced but elevated the German equivalent of the intermediate French, English and Spanish nobles. By the 19th century, cadets of a Fürst would become known as Prinzen, the husband of a queen regnant is usually titled prince consort or simply prince, whereas the wives of male monarchs take the female equivalent of their husbands title. In Brazil, Portugal and Spain, however, the husband of a monarch was accorded the masculine equivalent of her title. To complicate matters, the style His/Her Highness, a prefix often accompanying the title of a dynastic prince, although the arrangement set out above is the one that is most commonly understood, there are also different systems. Depending on country, epoch, and translation, other usages of prince are possible, foreign-language titles such as Italian principe, French prince, German Fürst and Prinz, Russian knyaz, etc. are usually translated as prince in English
16.
Duke
–
A duke or duchess can either be a monarch ruling over a duchy or a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch. During the Middle Ages the title signified first among the Germanic monarchies, Dukes were the rulers of the provinces and the superiors of the counts in the cities and later, in the feudal monarchies, the highest-ranking peers of the king. During the 19th century many of the smaller German and Italian states were ruled by Dukes or Grand Dukes, but at present, with the exception of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, there are no dukes ruling as monarchs. Duke remains the highest hereditary title in Portugal, Spain, in Sweden, members of the Royal Family are given a personal dukedom at birth. The Pope, as a sovereign, has also, though rarely. In some realms the relative status of duke and prince, as borne by the nobility rather than by members of reigning dynasties, varied—e. g. in Italy. A woman who holds in her own right the title to such duchy or dukedom, Queen Elizabeth II, however, is known by tradition as Duke of Normandy in the Channel Islands and Duke of Lancaster in Lancashire. A duchy is the territory or geopolitical entity ruled by a duke, a dukedom is the title or status of a duke, a rank in the present or past nobility, and is not necessarily attached to a duchy. A few examples exist today, The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a independent state and its head. In Scotland the male heir apparent to the British crown is always the Duke of Rothesay as well, the Channel Islands are two of the three remaining Crown Dependencies, the last vestiges of the lands of the Duchy of Normandy. The Islanders in their loyal toast will say La Reine, notre Duc, however, the Channel Islands, part of the lost Duchy, remained a self-governing possession of the English Crown. While the islands today retain autonomy in government, they owe allegiance to The Queen in her role as Duke of Normandy. During the Middle Ages, after Roman power in Western Europe collapsed, in 1332, Robert of Taranto succeeded his father, Philip. John took the style of Duke of Durazzo, in 1368, Durazzo fell to Karl Thopia, who was recognized by Venice as Prince of Albania. The Visigoths retained the Roman divisions of their kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula and they were the most powerful landowners and, along with the bishops, elected the king, usually from their own midst. They were the commanders and in this capacity often acted independently from the king. The army was structured decimally with the highest unit, the thiufa, the cities were commanded by counts, who were in turn answerable to the dukes, who called up the thiufae when necessary. When the Lombards entered Italy, the Latin chroniclers called their war leaders duces in the old fashion and these leaders eventually became the provincial rulers, each with a recognized seat of government
17.
Marquis
–
A marquess is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is used to translate equivalent Asian styles, as in imperial China. In Great Britain and Ireland, the spelling of the aristocratic title of this rank is marquess. In Scotland the French spelling is sometimes used. In Great Britain and Ireland, the ranks below a duke. A woman with the rank of a marquess, or the wife of a marquess, is called a marchioness /ˌmɑːrʃəˈnɛs/ in Great Britain, the dignity, rank or position of the title is referred to as a marquisate or marquessate. The theoretical distinction between a marquess and other titles has, since the Middle Ages, faded into obscurity. In times past, the distinction between a count and a marquess was that the land of a marquess, called a march, was on the border of the country, while a land, called a county. As a result of this, a marquess was trusted to defend and fortify against potentially hostile neighbours and was more important. The title is ranked below that of a duke, which was restricted to the royal family. In the German lands, a Margrave was a ruler of an immediate Imperial territory, German rulers did not confer the title of marquis, holders of marquisates in Central Europe were largely associated with the Italian and Spanish crowns. The word entered the English language from the Old French marchis in the late 13th or early 14th century, the French word was derived from marche, itself descended from the Middle Latin marca, from which the modern English words march and mark also descend. In Great Britain and Ireland, the spelling for an English aristocrat of this rank is marquess. The word marquess is unusual in English, ending in -ess but referring to a male, a woman with the rank of a marquess, or the wife of a marquess, is called a marchioness in Great Britain and Ireland, or a marquise /mɑːrˈkiːz/ elsewhere in Europe. The dignity, rank or position of the title is referred to as a marquisate or marquessate, the honorific prefix The Most Honourable is a form of address that precedes the name of a marquess or marchioness in the United Kingdom. The rank of marquess was a late introduction to the British peerage, no marcher lords had the rank of marquess. The following list may still be incomplete, feminine forms follow after a slash, many languages have two words, one for the modern marquess and one for the original margrave. Even where neither title was used domestically, such duplication to describe foreign titles can exist
18.
Count
–
Count or countess is a title in European countries for a noble of varying status, but historically deemed to convey an approximate rank intermediate between the highest and lowest titles of nobility. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning “companion”, the adjective form of the word is comital. The British and Irish equivalent is an earl, alternative names for the count rank in the nobility structure are used in other countries, such as Graf in Germany and Hakushaku during the Japanese Imperial era. In the Western Roman Empire, Count came to indicate generically a military commander, in the Eastern Roman Empire, from about the seventh century, count was a specific rank indicating the commander of two centuries. Military counts in the Late Empire and the Germanic successor kingdoms were often appointed by a dux, the position of comes was originally not hereditary. By virtue of their estates, many counts could pass the title to their heirs—but not always. For instance, in Piast Poland, the position of komes was not hereditary, the title had disappeared by the era of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the office had been replaced by others. Only after the Partitions of Poland did the title of count resurface in the title hrabia, in the United Kingdom, the equivalent Earl can also be used as a courtesy title for the eldest son of a duke or marquess. In Italy, by contrast, all the sons of certain counts were counts, in Sweden there is a distinction between counts created before and after 1809. All children in comital families elevated before 1809 are called count/countess, the following lists are originally based on a Glossary on Heraldica. org by Alexander Krischnig. The male form is followed by the female, and when available, apart from all these, a few unusual titles have been of comital rank, not necessarily to remain there. Dauphin was a comital title in southern France, used by the Dauphins of Vienne and Auvergne. The Dauphin was the lord of the province known as the région Dauphiné. Conde-Barão Count-Baron is a title used in Portugal, notably by D. Luís Lobo da Silveira, 7th Baron of Alvito. His palace in Lisbon still exists, located in a named after him. The German Graf and Dutch graaf stems from the Byzantine-Greek grapheus meaning he who calls a meeting together), the Ottoman military title of Serdar was used in Montenegro and Serbia as a lesser noble title with the equivalent rank of a Count. Since Louis VII, the highest precedence amongst the vassals of the French crown was enjoyed by those whose benefice or temporal fief was a pairie, i. e. In the eleventh century, conti like the Count of Savoy or the Norman Count of Apulia, were virtually sovereign lords of broad territories
19.
Viscount
–
A viscount or viscountess is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status, but historically deemed to convey a lower-middling rank. In many countries a viscount, and its equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial position. In the case of French viscounts, it is customary to leave the title untranslated as vicomte, the word viscount comes from Old French visconte, itself from Medieval Latin vicecomitem, accusative of vicecomes, from Late Latin vice- deputy + Latin comes. During the Carolingian Empire, the kings appointed counts to administer provinces and other regions, as governors. Viscounts were appointed to assist the counts in their running of the province, the kings strictly prevented the offices of their counts and viscounts from becoming hereditary, in order to consolidate their position and limit chance of rebellion. The title was in use in Normandy by at least the eleventh century. Similar to the Carolingian use of the title, the Norman viscounts were local administrators and their role was to administer justice and to collect taxes and revenues, often being castellan of the local castle. Under the Normans, the position developed into a hereditary one, the viscount was eventually replaced by bailiffs, and provosts. As a rank in British peerage, it was first recorded in 1440, the word viscount corresponds in the UK to the Anglo-Saxon shire reeve. A viscount is the rank in the British peerage system, standing below an earl. There are approximately 270 viscountcies currently extant in the peerages of the British Isles, an exception exists for Viscounts in the peerage of Scotland, who were traditionally styled The Viscount of, such as the Viscount of Arbuthnott. In practice, however, very few maintain this style, instead using the common version The Viscount in general parlance. A British viscount is addressed in speech as Lord, while his wife is Lady, the children of a viscount are known as The Honourable. A specifically British custom is the use of viscount as a title for the heir of an earl or marquess. The peers heir apparent will sometimes be referred to as a viscount, for example, the eldest son of the Earl Howe is Viscount Curzon, because this is the second most senior title held by the Earl. However, the son of a marquess or an earl can be referred to as a viscount when the title of viscount is not the second most senior if those above it share their name with the substantive title. For example, the second most senior title of the Marquess of Salisbury is the Earl of Salisbury, sometimes the son of a peer can be referred to as a viscount even when he could use a more senior courtesy title which differs in name from the substantive title. Family tradition plays a role in this, for example, the eldest son of the Marquess of Londonderry is Viscount Castlereagh, even though the Marquess is also the Earl Vane
20.
Baron
–
Baron is a title of honour, often hereditary. The word baron comes from the Old French baron, from a Late Latin baro man, servant, soldier, cornutus in the first century already reports a word barones which he took to be of Gaulish origin. During the Ancien Régime, French baronies were very much like Scottish ones, feudal landholders were entitled to style themselves baron if they were nobles, a roturier could only be a seigneur de la baronnie. These baronies could be sold freely until 1789 when feudal law was abolished. The title of baron was assumed as a titre de courtoisie by many nobles, emperor Napoléon created a new empire nobility, in which baron was the second lowest title. The titles followed a line of descent and could not be purchased. In 1815, King Louis XVIII created a new system based on the British model. Baron-peer was the lowest title, but the heirs to pre-1789 barons could remain barons, as could the elder sons of viscount-peers and this peerage system was abolished in 1848. The wife of a Freiherr is called a Freifrau or sometimes Baronin, families which had always held this status were called Uradel, and were heraldically entitled to a three pointed coronet. Families which had been ennobled at a point in time had seven points on their coronet. These families held their fief in vassalage from a suzerain, the holder of an allodial barony was thus called a Free Lord, or Freiherr. Subsequently, sovereigns in Germany conferred the title of Freiherr as a rank in the nobility, today, as of 1919 on, there is no legal privilege associated with hereditary titles in Germany. In modern, republican Germany, Freiherr and Baron remain heritable only as part of the legal surname, as opposed to this, hereditary titles have been banned completely in Austria. Still, in countries, honorary styles like His/her Highness, Serenity, etc. persists in social use as a form of utmost courtesy. As a result, German barons have been more numerous than those of countries where primogeniture with respect to title inheritance prevails as France. In Italy, barone was the lowest rank of feudal nobility except for that of signore or vassallo, the title of baron was most generally introduced into southern Italy by the Normans during the 11th century. Whereas originally a barony might consist of two or more manors, by 1700 we see what were formerly single manors erected into baronies, counties or even marquisates. Since the early 1800s, when feudalism was abolished in the various Italian states, the untitled younger son of a baron is a nobile dei baroni and in informal usage might be called a baron, while certain baronies devolve to heirs male general
21.
Chinese language
–
Chinese is a group of related, but in many cases mutually unintelligible, language varieties, forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese is spoken by the Han majority and many ethnic groups in China. Nearly 1.2 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language, the varieties of Chinese are usually described by native speakers as dialects of a single Chinese language, but linguists note that they are as diverse as a language family. The internal diversity of Chinese has been likened to that of the Romance languages, There are between 7 and 13 main regional groups of Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin, followed by Wu, Min, and Yue. Most of these groups are mutually unintelligible, although some, like Xiang and certain Southwest Mandarin dialects, may share common terms, all varieties of Chinese are tonal and analytic. Standard Chinese is a form of spoken Chinese based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin. It is the language of China and Taiwan, as well as one of four official languages of Singapore. It is one of the six languages of the United Nations. The written form of the language, based on the logograms known as Chinese characters, is shared by literate speakers of otherwise unintelligible dialects. Of the other varieties of Chinese, Cantonese is the spoken language and official in Hong Kong and Macau. It is also influential in Guangdong province and much of Guangxi, dialects of Southern Min, part of the Min group, are widely spoken in southern Fujian, with notable variants also spoken in neighboring Taiwan and in Southeast Asia. Hakka also has a diaspora in Taiwan and southeast Asia. Shanghainese and other Wu varieties are prominent in the lower Yangtze region of eastern China, Chinese can be traced back to a hypothetical Sino-Tibetan proto-language. The first written records appeared over 3,000 years ago during the Shang dynasty, as the language evolved over this period, the various local varieties became mutually unintelligible. In reaction, central governments have sought to promulgate a unified standard. Difficulties have included the great diversity of the languages, the lack of inflection in many of them, in addition, many of the smaller languages are spoken in mountainous areas that are difficult to reach, and are often also sensitive border zones. Without a secure reconstruction of proto-Sino-Tibetan, the structure of the family remains unclear. A top-level branching into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman languages is often assumed, the earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 BCE in the late Shang dynasty
22.
Chinese social structure
–
The social structure of China has an extensive history which begins from the feudal society of Imperial China to the contemporary era. The Chinese social structure of China has four classes as represented in the Chinese flag as the four classes. The first noted person in the relationship was always superior and had to act as a guide and leader/ role model to the noted person. From the Qin Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, the Chinese government divided Chinese people into four classes, landlord, peasant, craftsmen, landlords and peasants constituted the two major classes, while merchant and craftsmen were collected into the two minor. Theoretically, except for the position of the Emperor, nothing was hereditary and they dominated important civilian and military positions of the government, making the positions available to members of their own families and clans. After the Tang dynastys yellow emergence, the government extended the Imperial examination system as an attempt to eradicate this feudalism. In the Qing dynasty, the classes of ordinary people were divided into two categories, one of them the good commoner people, the other the mean people. Prostitutes, entertainers, and low level government employees were the people in the mean class, the mean people were heavily discriminated against, forbidden to take the Imperial Examination, and mean and good people could not marry each other. After 1911, China entered the Warlord Era, the main changes in social structure were military. In 1924, the Soviet Union helped Sun Yat-sen rebuild the Nationalist Kuomintang, GMT, and KMT military force, most notably through the Military Academy, many military leaders of the following decades were Huangpu graduates, including Lin Biao, as well as nationalist Chinese generals. After the allied forces of the Kuomintang and the Communists reunified China, Chiang Kai-shek, with the help of forces such as the Green Gang. This had the effect of suppressing labor unions, after 1949, the revolutionaries became the ruling class. The Communist Party cadres became the new upper class, housing had always been in demand in China, particularly in the larger cities, and cadres were protected from the intense competition for living space. In the countryside, the class was eliminated during the land reform. In 1959, there were ten million state cadres, thirty-five million state workers, Chinese society was typical of agrarian societies because the peasant class composed the majority of the population. Following the implementation of reforms, Mao instituted a process of collectivization in response to the selling of land by peasants to the new generation of rich land owners. Afraid of creating a new class, Mao instituted a system of communes where land was supposed to be worked equally by peasants. His idea was to capitalize on the number of peasants
23.
Meiji period
–
The Meiji period, also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from October 23,1868 through July 30,1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan during which Japanese society moved from being a feudal society to its modern form. Fundamental changes affected its structure, internal politics, economy, military. The period corresponded with the reign of Emperor Meiji after 1868 and it was succeeded by the Taishō period upon the accession of Emperor Taishō to the throne. On February 3,1867, the 14-year-old Prince Mutsuhito succeeded his father, Emperor Kōmei, on November 9,1867, then-Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu tendered his resignation to the Emperor, and formally stepped down ten days later. Imperial restoration occurred the year on January 3,1868. The fall of Edo in the summer of 1868 marked the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, and a new era, Meiji, was proclaimed. The first reform was the promulgation of the Five Charter Oath in 1868, implicit in the Charter Oath was an end to exclusive political rule by the bakufu, and a move toward more democratic participation in government. To implement the Charter Oath, a rather short-lived constitution with eleven articles was drawn up in June 1868, the Meiji government assured the foreign powers that it would follow the old treaties negotiated by the bakufu and announced that it would act in accordance with international law. Mutsuhito, who was to reign until 1912, selected a new reign title—Meiji, to further dramatize the new order, the capital was relocated from Kyoto, where it had been situated since 794, to Tokyo, the new name for Edo. Confirmed in their positions, the daimyo became governors. The han were replaced with prefectures in 1871, and authority continued to flow to the national government, officials from the favored former han, such as Satsuma, Chōshū, Tosa, and Hizen staffed the new ministries. Formerly old court nobles, and lower-ranking but more radical samurai, replaced bakufu appointees, in as much as the Meiji Restoration had sought to return the Emperor to a preeminent position, efforts were made to establish a Shinto-oriented state much like it was 1,000 years earlier. Furthermore, a new State Shinto had to be constructed for the purpose, in 1871, the Office of Shinto Worship was established, ranking even above the Council of State in importance. The kokutai ideas of the Mito school were embraced, and the ancestry of the Imperial House was emphasized. The government supported Shinto teachers, a small but important move, although the Office of Shinto Worship was demoted in 1872, by 1877 the Home Ministry controlled all Shinto shrines and certain Shinto sects were given state recognition. Shinto was released from Buddhist administration and its properties restored, although Buddhism suffered from state sponsorship of Shinto, it had its own resurgence. Christianity also was legalized, and Confucianism remained an important ethical doctrine, increasingly, however, Japanese thinkers identified with Western ideology and methods
24.
United Kingdom
–
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
25.
House of Lords
–
The House of Lords of the United Kingdom, referred to ceremonially as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. Unlike the elected House of Commons, all members of the House of Lords are appointed, the membership of the House of Lords is drawn from the peerage and is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are 26 bishops in the established Church of England, of the Lords Temporal, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. However, they include some hereditary peers including four dukes. Very few of these are female since most hereditary peerages can only be inherited by men, while the House of Commons has a defined 650-seat membership, the number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed. There are currently 805 sitting Lords, the House of Lords is the only upper house of any bicameral parliament to be larger than its respective lower house. The House of Lords scrutinises bills that have approved by the House of Commons. It regularly reviews and amends Bills from the Commons, while it is unable to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions. In this capacity, the House of Lords acts as a check on the House of Commons that is independent from the electoral process, Bills can be introduced into either the House of Lords or the House of Commons. Members of the Lords may also take on roles as government ministers, the House of Lords has its own support services, separate from the Commons, including the House of Lords Library. The Queens Speech is delivered in the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, the House also has a Church of England role, in that Church Measures must be tabled within the House by the Lords Spiritual. This new parliament was, in effect, the continuation of the Parliament of England with the addition of 45 MPs and 16 Peers to represent Scotland, the Parliament of England developed from the Magnum Concilium, the Great Council that advised the King during medieval times. This royal council came to be composed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, the first English Parliament is often considered to be the Model Parliament, which included archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, and representatives of the shires and boroughs of it. The power of Parliament grew slowly, fluctuating as the strength of the monarchy grew or declined, for example, during much of the reign of Edward II, the nobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire and borough representatives entirely powerless. In 1569, the authority of Parliament was for the first time recognised not simply by custom or royal charter, further developments occurred during the reign of Edward IIs successor, Edward III. It was during this Kings reign that Parliament clearly separated into two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The authority of Parliament continued to grow, and, during the fifteenth century
26.
House of Representatives (Japan)
–
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house, the House of Representatives has 475 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these,180 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation,238 seats are required for a majority. The overall voting system used to elect the House of Representatives is a parallel system, under a parallel system the allocation of list seats does not take into account the outcome in the single seat constituencies. Therefore, the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives is not proportional. In contrast, in such as the German Bundestag the election of single-seat members and party list members is linked. The House of Representatives is the powerful of the two houses, able to override vetoes on bills imposed by the House of Councillors with a two-thirds majority. It can be dissolved by the Prime Minister at will, the most recent was by Shinzō Abe on November 21,2014, japanese nationals aged 18 years and older may vote. Japanese nationals aged 25 years and older may run for office in the lower house, the House of Representatives has several powers not given to the House of Councillors. If a bill is passed by the house but is voted down by the upper house the House of Representatives can override the decision of the House of Councillors by a two-thirds vote in the affirmative. However, in the case of treaties, the budget, and the selection of the minister, the House of Councillors can only delay passage. As a result, the House of Representatives is considered the more powerful house. Members of the House of Representatives, who are elected to a maximum of four years, sit for a shorter term than members of the House of Councillors, who are elected to full six-year terms. The lower house can also be dissolved by the Prime Minister or the passage of a nonconfidence motion, thus the House of Representatives is considered to be more sensitive to public opinion, and is termed the lower house. While the legislative term is nominally 4 years, early elections for the house are very common. Parties who vote with the government in the Diet, but are not part of the cabinet are not shaded, the elected House of Representatives served as the lower house of the Imperial Diet. The government and the minister leading it were neither responsible to nor elected by the Imperial Diet. But the right to vote on legislation and more importantly the budget gave the House of Representatives leverage to force the government into negotiations
27.
Japan Academy
–
The Japan Academy is an honorary organization founded in 1879 to bring together leading Japanese scholars with distinguished records of scientific achievements. The Academy is currently attached to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Election to the Academy is considered the highest distinction a scholar can achieve, and members enjoy life tenure, in 1879, Nishi Amane was made the head of what was then called the Tokyo Academy. The Imperial Prize and Japan Academy Prize are awarded to persons who have achieved notable research landmarks or who have authored outstanding academic papers or books, one of the Academys most important functions involves conferring these prizes, which have been awarded annually since 1911. Since 1949, these prize award ceremonies have been graced by the presence of HIM the Emperor of Japan, Japan Academy Prize From 1911 until 1947, the academy annually conferred the Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy. Amongst past winners are Hideyo Noguchi and Tasuku Honjo, after 1947, the name of the award was changed to Japan Academy Prize. In addition to this award, some 75 prizes and medals are associated with The Duke of Edinburgh. Japan Academy Medal Since 2004, the Academy has annually conferred the Japan Academy Medal,1906 Statute of the Imperial Academy promulgated, joined Internationale Assoziation der Akademien. 1911 Imperial Prize and Imperial Academy Prize established, first award ceremony,1912 Proceedings of the Imperial Academy. 1919 Imperial Academy joined Union Académique Internationale,1925 Statute of the Imperial Academy amended. 1942 Transactions of the Imperial Academy,1947 Imperial Academy renamed Japan Academy. 1949 Japan Academy institutionally linked to Science Council of Japan,1956 Law of the Japan Academy promulgated, Japan Academy de-linked from Science Council of Japan. 1971 Exchange program with foreign academies started,1983 Visiting program of Honorary Members started. 1984 First public lecture meeting was held,1987 Duke of Edinburgh Prize was adopted. Dr. Noguchis Journey, A Life of Medical Search and Discovery
28.
Crown prince
–
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a prince is also titled crown princess. The term is now borne as a title mainly in Asia, Scandinavia, and the Middle East, however, heirs apparent to non-imperial and non-royal monarchies, crown prince is not used as a title, although it is sometimes used as a synonym for heir apparent. g. Former Crown Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, compare heir apparent and heir presumptive. In Scandinavian kingdoms, the heir presumptive to the crown may hold a different title than the heir apparent and it is also the title borne by the heir apparent of Liechtenstein, as well as the heir apparent or presumptive of Monaco. It generally requires a specific conferral by the sovereign, which may be withheld, reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran. Paras, Crown Prince of Nepal Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia, Egypt, Prince of the Said, meaning Prince of Upper Egypt Persia, Pahlavi dynasty and Qajar dynasty, the full style was Vala Hazrat-i-Humayun Vali Ahd, Shahzada, i. e. His August Imperial Highness the Heir Apparent, Prince, the above component vali ahd meaning successor by virtue of a covenant was adopted by many oriental monarchies, even some non-Muslim, e. g. g. He was not necessarily the son, wonja. Southeast Asian traditions, Siam Makutrajakuman in Thailand since 1886, krom Phrarajawangboworn Sathanmongkol or Phra Maha Uparaja or commonly called Wang Na in Thailand prior to 1886. Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Anom in Yogyakarta sultanate and Surakarta, Indonesia, raja Muda or Tengku Mahkota in the Malay sultanates of Malaysia. org- here napoleonic section
29.
Emperor of Japan
–
The Emperor of Japan is the head of the Imperial Family and is the ceremonial head of state of Japans system of constitutional monarchy. According to the 1947 constitution, he is the symbol of the State, in Japanese, the Emperor is called Tennō, which means heavenly sovereign. In English, the use of the term Mikado for the Emperor was once common, currently, the Emperor of Japan is the only remaining monarch in the world reigning under the title of Emperor. The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing hereditary monarchy in the world, in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, it is said that Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu. He acceded the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Shōwa, the role of the Emperor of Japan has historically alternated between a largely ceremonial symbolic role and that of an actual imperial ruler. Since the establishment of the first shogunate in 1192, the Emperors of Japan have rarely taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander, Japanese Emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces, to varying degrees. In fact, between 1192 and 1867, the shoguns, or their shikken regents in Kamakura, were the de facto rulers of Japan, although they were nominally appointed by the Emperor. After the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the Emperor was the embodiment of all power in the realm. His current status as a figurehead dates from the 1947 Constitution, since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been called Kyūjō, later Kōkyo, and is located on the former site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo. Earlier, Emperors resided in Kyoto for nearly eleven centuries, the Emperors Birthday is a national holiday. Unlike most constitutional monarchies, the Emperor is not the nominal Chief Executive, article 65 of the Constitution explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the Prime Minister is the leader. The Emperor is also not the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Japan Self-Defense Forces Act of 1954 also explicitly vests this role with the Prime Minister. The Emperors powers are limited only to important ceremonial functions, article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the Emperor shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in the Constitution and he shall not have powers related to government. It also stipulates that the advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state, article 4 also states that these duties can be delegated by the Emperor as provided for by law. Article 6 of the Constitution delegates the Emperor the following ceremonial roles, Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated by the Cabinet. Dissolution of the House of Representatives, proclamation of general election of members of the Diet. Attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State and other officials as provided for by law, attestation of general and special amnesty, commutation of punishment, reprieve, and restoration of rights. Attestation of instruments of ratification and other documents as provided for by law
30.
Privy Council of Japan
–
The Privy Council of Japan was an advisory council to the Emperor of Japan that operated from 1888 to 1947. Generally on the advice of the cabinet, the Privy Council had both judicial functions and certain executive functions. However, the council had no power to initiate legislation, the Privy Council of Japan was established by an imperial ordinance of Emperor Meiji dated 28 April 1888, under the presidency of Ito Hirobumi, to deliberate on the draft constitution. The Privy Council consisted of a chairman, a chairman, twelve councilors, a chief secretary. All privy councilors including the president and the president were appointed by the emperor for life, on the advice of the prime minister. In addition to the twenty-four voting privy counselors, the prime minister, the princes of the imperial household over the age of majority were permitted to attend meetings of the Privy Council and could participate in its proceedings. The president had extraordinary power, as it was he who called and controlled the meetings of the Council, the Council always met in secret at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, with the emperor in attendance on important occasions. The Council was empowered to deliberate on any matters upon which the emperor desired an opinion, the Privy Council was thenceforth largely ignored, and it was not even consulted when Japan decided to declare war on the United States in 1941. The Privy Council was abolished with the enforcement of the current postwar Constitution of Japan on 3 May 1947, lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan Beasley, William G. A Modern History of Japan, From Tokugawa Times to the Present, ISBN9780674003347, OCLC44090600 Takenobu, Yoshitaro. The Japan Yearbook, Complete Cyclopaedia of General Information and Statistics on Japan, Tokyo, The Japan Year Book Office
31.
World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
32.
Constitution of Japan
–
The Constitution of Japan is the fundamental law of Japan. It was enacted on May 3,1947, as a new constitution for a post-war Japan, the constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights. Under its terms the Emperor of Japan is the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people, no amendment has been made to it since its adoption. The Meiji Constitution was the law of the Empire of Japan. It provided for a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy, based on the Prussian, under the Meiji Constitution, the prime minister and his cabinet were not necessarily chosen from the elected members of the Diet. Pursuing the regular amending procedure of the Meiji Constitution, it was revised to become the Post-war Constitution on 3 November 1946. The Post-war Constitution has been in force since 3 May 1947, on 26 July 1945, Allied leaders Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman, and Chiang Kai-shek issued the Potsdam Declaration, which demanded Japans unconditional surrender. Freedom of speech, of religion, and of thought, as well as respect for the human rights shall be established. The Allies sought not merely punishment or reparations from a militaristic foe, in the words of political scientist Robert E. Ward, The occupation was perhaps the single most exhaustively planned operation of massive and externally directed political change in world history. The wording of the Potsdam Declaration—The Japanese Government shall remove all obstacles, instead, they wished to encourage Japans new leaders to initiate democratic reforms on their own. But by early 1946, MacArthurs staff and Japanese officials were at odds over the most fundamental issue, in late 1945, Shidehara appointed Jōji Matsumoto, state minister without portfolio, head of a blue-ribbon committee of Constitutional scholars to suggest revisions. The Matsumoto Commissions recommendations, made public in February 1946, were quite conservative, MacArthur rejected them outright and ordered his staff to draft a completely new document. An additional reason for this was that on January 24,1946, much of the drafting was done by two senior army officers with law degrees, Milo Rowell and Courtney Whitney, although others chosen by MacArthur had a large say in the document. The articles about equality between men and women were written by Beate Sirota, MacArthur gave the authors less than a week to complete the draft, which was presented to surprised Japanese officials on 13 February 1946. On 6 March 1946 the government publicly disclosed an outline of the pending Constitution, on 10 April elections were held for the House of Representatives of the Ninetieth Imperial Diet, which would consider the proposed Constitution. The election law having changed, this was the first general election in Japan in which women were permitted to vote. The MacArthur draft, which proposed a unicameral legislature, was changed at the insistence of the Japanese to allow a bicameral one, in most other important respects, the government adopted the ideas embodied in the 13 February document in its own draft proposal of 6 March. These included the constitutions most distinctive features, the role of the Emperor, the prominence of guarantees of civil and human rights
33.
Hachisuka Mochiaki
–
Marquis Hachisuka Mochiaki was the 14th and final daimyo of Tokushima Domain, Awa Province, and the 2nd President of the House of Peers in Meiji period Japan. Hachisuka was born at the Hachisuka domain residence in Edo, as the eldest son of the 13th daimyo Hachisuka Narihiro, Hachisuka Narihiro was the 22nd child of Shogun Tokugawa Ienari, and was adopted into the Hachisuka clan as the 12th daimyo, Hachisuka Narimasa was childless. Thus, Mochiaki was the grandson of Tokugawa Ienari, however, when his father suddenly died in 1868 and he became heir, Japan was already in the midst of the Boshin War leading to the Meiji Restoration. Quick to see the direction in which the wind was blowing, he pledged loyalty to the Imperial forces and his forces were armed with western rifles and accompanied by British military advisors, giving him a much greater strength than their small numbers might have indicated. In 1869, with the hanseki hokan, he was appointed Governor of Tokushima Prefecture, in 1872, Hachisuka went to Great Britain and attended Oxford University. After returning to Japan, he joined the government as Director of the Customs Bureau director in the Ministry of Finance, in 1882, Hachisuka was envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to France, and received the title of kōshaku under the new kazoku peerage system. After returning to Japan, he served as a member of the House of Peers, Governor of Tokyo Prefecture, President of the House of Peers, Minister of Education and he died in 1918, and his grave is located in Tokushima. He also enjoyed poetry and noh drama and actively promoted these traditional arts. The Japanese Discovery of Victorian Britain, Japanese Students at Cambridge University in the Meiji Era, 1868-1912, Pioneers for the Modernization of Japan. ISBN 1-4116-1256-6 – Biography and Photo in National Diet Library
34.
Konoe Atsumaro
–
Duke Konoe Atsumaro was a Japanese politician and journalist of the Meiji era. He served as the 3rd President of the House of Peers and he was also the father of Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe. Konoe was born in Kyoto as the heir to the highly ranked Konoe family of Court nobility and his father Konoe Tadafusa died when he was young, so he was raised by his grandfather Konoe Tadahiro. His mother was a daughter of Shimazu Nariakira, of fragile health, he had problems staying in university, but managed to teach himself English on his own. After the Meiji Restoration, the Konoe family were devolved from the ranks of the nobility, from 1885 to 1890, Konoe visited Europe, attending the University of Bonn and University of Leipzig in Germany. After returning to Japan, he became a member of the House of Peers, later Konoe served as the 3rd President of the House of Peers, presiding over its 10th through 18th sessions from October 3,1896 to December 4,1903. From 1903 he concurrently served as a Privy Councillor, domestically, Konoe was a strong critic of clan-based politics, which continued to dominate the political scene in Japan. In terms of policy, Konoe was a central figure in the Pan-Asian Movement. The society opened a college in Nanjing called the East Asia Common Cultural College in 1900, the college recruited students from Japan wishing to learn the Chinese language and Chinese culture, and sponsored a school in Tokyo for Chinese students seeking higher education in Japan. The society also published a journal and an 11, 000-page report. Many of its graduates worked for the government of Manchukuo in the 1930s. Konoe personally urged that Japan declare war on Russia, but died before the start of the Russo-Japanese War in late 1904 and his grave is at the Konoe family cemetery at Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. Stanford University Press ISBN 0-8047-4011-9 Duus, Peter, the Abacus and the Sword, The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895-1910. ISBN9780674003347, OCLC44090600 Keene, Donald, emperor of Japan, Meiji and His World, 1852-1912. ISBN 978-0-231-12340-2, OCLC46731178 Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth, ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128 – Bio and Photo in National Diet Library
35.
Tokugawa Iesato
–
Prince Tokugawa Iesato was the first head of the Tokugawa clan after the overthrow of the Tokugawa bakufu, and a figure in Japanese politics during the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japan. Tokugawa Iesato, is commonly known as Iyesato Tokugawa. Tokugawa Iesato was born to the Tayasu branch of the Tokugawa clan, under the name Kamenosuke, he became its 16th head, following the resignation of the last Shogun and his brothers were Tokugawa Satotaka and Tokugawa Takachiyo, who also held the Tayasu headship at different times. Iesato was also briefly the daimyō of the short-lived Shizuoka Domain and his guardian at the time was Matsudaira Naritami, the former lord of the Tsuyama Domain. He was a son of fourteenth shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi and his wife. He returned to Japan in 1882, and was given the title of kōshaku under the kazoku peerage system and he became a member of the House of Peers of the Diet of Japan from its creation in 1890, and served as President of the House of Peers from 1901-1933. When the administration of Prime Minister Yamamoto Gonnohyōe was brought down by the Siemens scandal, following World War I, Iesato served on the Japanese delegation to the Washington Naval Conference. Iesato Tokugawas lifelong efforts to good relations between Japan and America are honored in the historical novel The Emperor and the Spy. Iesato is quoted as once having said about his father, Yoshinobu destroyed the Tokugawa house. His grave is at the Tokugawa family cemetery at the temple of Kanei-ji in Ueno and he was succeeded by his son Tokugawa Iemasa. The Establishment of the Japanese Constitutional System, above the Clouds, Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility. Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868–2000, ISBN 0-312-23915-7 Message of condolences by the British government following the death of Tokugawa, June 11,1940, House of Lords Debates, vol.116 cc508-9
36.
Yorinaga Matsudaira
–
Count Yorinaga Matsudaira was a Japanese political figure of the late Meiji through early Shōwa periods, and served as President of the House of Peers in the Diet of Japan. Yorinaga Matsudaira was the son of Matsudaira Yoritoshi, the former daimyo of Matsuyama Domain in Shikoku. His mother, Chiyoko, was the daughter of Ii Naosuke and his wife was the daughter of Tokugawa Akitake and he attended the Gakushūin Peer’s School, and with the sponsorship of Ōkuma Shigenobu, graduated from the law school of Waseda University. District of Tokyo, as the eldest son of Tokugawa Iesato, in 1909 he became a member of the House of Peers, and continued to serve as a member every year until his death. A strong supporter of education, he donated a large property in downtown Tokyo to create the Hongo Gakuin school. In 1933, he was made Vice-President of the House of Peers, four years later, when Fumimaro Konoe became Prime Minister of Japan, Yorinaga Matsudaira became the President of the House of Peers. He died while in office, and was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun. His grave is at the Yanaka Cemetery in Tokyo, Yorinaga Matsudaira was also a noted collector of miniature bonsai, and served as honorary president of the Kofuku Bonsai Association. His collection eventually reached a thousand specimens, but many were destroyed after his death during World War II, around two hundred specimens were preserved by his widow, who wrote an article for the 1953 Handbook on Dwarf Potted Trees issued by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. In 1975, she published a book in Japanese, Matsudaira Mame Bonsai Collection Album, above the Clouds, Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility. Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868–2000, ISBN 0-312-23915-7 Hongo Gakuin homepage Yanaka Cemetery Phoenix Bonsai Book
37.
Kuniyuki Tokugawa
–
Prince Kuniyuki Tokugawa was the 13th head of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa clan and the President of the House of Peers in the Diet of Japan. Kuniyuki Tokugawa inherited the title of shishaku under the kazoku peerage system on the death of his father, Tokugawa Atsuyoshi in 1898. A scholar, he turned his attention in 1906 to the completion of the Dai Nihonshi, however, in 1910, he was accepted into the 22nd class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, and was commissioned as Second lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army. He resigned his commission in 1914 citing health reasons, and went into the reserves in 1915, from December 1911, Kuniyuki Tokugawa served as a member of the House of Peers of the Diet of Japan. On the completion of the Dai Nihonshi in 1929, he was awarded the title of koshaku, on June 25,1940, he accepted the post of honorary president of Japanese Red Cross Society. From October 11,1944, to June 19,1946, on his death in 1969, he was succeeded as head of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa clan by Kuninari Tokugawa. The Establishment of the Japanese Constitutional System, above the Clouds, Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility. Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868–2000
38.
Iemasa Tokugawa
–
Prince Iemasa Tokugawa was a Japanese political figure of the Taishō and early Shōwa periods. He was the 17th hereditary head of the former branch of the Tokugawa clan. Iemasa Tokugawa was born in what is now the Sendagaya district of Tokyo, as the eldest son of Tokugawa Iesato and his wife, Konoe Hiroko, daughter of Konoe Tadafusa. He graduated from the law school of Tokyo Imperial University in 1909, in 1924, he was appointed Consul-general to the Japanese consulate in Sydney, Australia. In 1929, he was appointed Envoy to Canada and from 1937 to 1939 served as the Japanese ambassador to Turkey. In 1940, on the death of his father, he inherited the title of kōshaku under the kazoku system. He died of disease at his home in Shibuya, Tokyo, on February 18,1963. His grave is located at the Yanaka Cemetery in Tokyo and he was succeeded as head of the Tokugawa clan by Tsunenari Tokugawa, his grandson from Yasuko Tokugawa with Matsudaira Ichiro, son of Tsuneo Matsudaira. The Establishment of the Japanese Constitutional System, above the Clouds, Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility. Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868–2000
39.
Westminster system
–
The Westminster system is a parliamentary system of government modelled after that which developed in the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the British parliament, the system is a series of procedures for operating a legislature. However, some colonies have since adopted either the presidential system or a hybrid system as their form of government. Examples include Queen Elizabeth II, the governors-general in Commonwealth realms, or the presidents of many countries, exceptions to this are Ireland and Israel, whose presidents are de jure and de facto ceremonial, and the latter possesses no reserve powers whatsoever. A head of government, known as the minister, premier. While the head of state appoints the head of government, constitutional convention suggests that a majority of elected Members of Parliament must support the person appointed. If more than half of elected parliamentarians belong to the political party. An exception to this was Israel, in which direct prime-ministerial elections were made in 1996,1999 and 2001, an independent, non-partisan civil service which advises on, and implements, decisions of those ministers. Civil servants hold permanent appointments and can expect merit-based selection processes, a parliamentary opposition with an official Leader of the Opposition. A legislature, often bicameral, with at least one elected house – although unicameral systems also exist, a lower house of parliament with an ability to dismiss a government by withholding Supply, passing a motion of no confidence, or defeating a confidence motion. The Westminster system enables a government to be defeated or forced into a general election independently, a parliament which can be dissolved and snap elections called at any time. Another parallel system of principles also exists known as equity. Exceptions to this include India, Quebec in Canada, and Scotland in the UK amongst others which mix common law with legal systems. Unlike the uncodified British constitution, most countries use the Westminster system have codified the system, at least in part. The pattern of executive functions within a Westminster System is quite complex, in essence, the head of state, usually a monarch or president, is a ceremonial figurehead who is the theoretical, nominal or de jure source of executive power within the system. In practice, such a figure does not actively exercise executive powers, in the United Kingdom, the sovereign theoretically holds executive authority, even though the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Cabinet effectively implement executive powers. In a parliamentary republic like India, the President is the de jure executive, even though executive powers are essentially instituted by the Prime Minister of India and the Council of Ministers. In Israel, however, executive power is vested de jure and de facto in the cabinet, as an example, the Prime Minister and Cabinet generally must seek the permission of the head of state when carrying out executive functions
40.
Agriculture in the Empire of Japan
–
Agriculture in the Empire of Japan was an important component of the pre-war Japanese economy. Although Japan had only 16% of its area under cultivation before the Pacific War. Japanese cultivated land was dedicated to rice, which accounted for 15% of world rice production in 1937. After the end of the Tokugawa bakufu with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, by the end of the Meiji period, over 67% of all peasant families were driven into tenancy, and farm productivity stagnated. As tenants were forced to pay over half their crop as rent, they were forced to send wives. These cooperatives served in areas as credit unions, purchasing cooperatives and assisted in the marketing. The Imperial Agricultural Association was an organization for agricultural cooperatives in the Empire of Japan. It was established in 1910, and provided assistance to cooperatives through transmission of agricultural research. The Imperial Agricultural Association was at the peak of a three tier structure of system of agricultural cooperatives. Increasing tenant farmer disputes and issues with landlordism also led to increasing government regulation, after the Rice Riots of 1918, many peasants came under the influence of the urban labor movement with socialist, communist and/or agrarian ideas, which created a serious political issues. In 1922, the Nihon Nomin Kumiai was formed for collective bargaining for cultivator rights, by the 1930s, the growth of the urban economy and flight of farmers to the cities gradually weakened the hold of the landlords. The interwar years saw the rapid introduction of mechanized agriculture. Another duty of the organization was to secure supply to local markets. It was dissolved after World War II. Farmed land in 1937 was 14,940,000 acres, the proportion of farmed land rose from 11. 8% in 1887 to 13. 7% in 1902, and 14. 4% in 1912 to 15. 7% in 1919. This fell to 15. 4% in 1929, there were 5,374,897 farmers at an average 2.67 acres per family, in comparison with any American farmer family with 155 acres. These were larger in Hokkaidō and Karafuto and reduced by 2 acres in southwest area, the intense culture, fertilizers and scientific development, raised the yield to 43 bushels per acre in 1936. In some parts of southern Japan, the subtropical climate favored a double harvest, other important cereals were wheat, maize, rye, millet barley, with potatoes and some production of soybean
41.
Censorship in the Empire of Japan
–
Censorship in the Empire of Japan was a continuation of a long tradition beginning in the feudal period of Japan. With the Meiji Restoration, the focus of censorship of information shifted to protection of the Emperor. Initially intended to serve as a law, it was quickly adopted as a method of controlling public anti-government criticism. With the establishment of the system of government, the Home Ministry was assigned this task. During the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, the censorship laws were revised again in the Publication Law of 1893, which remained virtually unchanged until 1949. Newspaper regulations followed suit in the Press Law of 1909, which followed the regulations of the 1893 Publication Law, after the end of World War I, the Peace Preservation Law of 1925 increased police powers to prosecute promoters of socialism and of the Korean independence movement. Censorship restrictions were expanded to cover religious groups. In 1928, the penalty was added for certain violations. In 1924, the Publications Monitoring Department of the Home Ministry was created with separate sections for censorship, investigation, penalties for violations increased in severity, and voice recordings also came under official purview. The activities of this committee, a consortium of military, politicians, article 14 prohibited any photographs of atrocities but endorsed reports about the cruelty of the Chinese soldiers and civilians. Giving the example of the Nanjing massacre, Tokushi Kasahara of Tsuru University asserts and they always show some photographs with Nanjing refugees selling some food in the streets or Chinese people smiling in the camps. They are forgetting about Japanese propaganda, the Imperial Army imposed strict censorship. Any photographs with dead bodies couldnt get through, one of the most famous examples of censorship is related to Mugi to heitai, Ashihei Hinos wartime bestseller. A paragraph in which the described the beheading of three Chinese soldiers was cut from the final section of the book despite the authors dedication to the war effort. The new Jōhōkyoku had complete control over all news, advertising and it was headed by a president responsible directly to the Prime minister with a staff of about 600 people including military officers and officials from the Home and Foreign ministries. In February 1941 it distributed among editors a black list of writers whose articles they were advised not to print anymore, the officials spokesmen of the Naikaku Johōkyoku, such as the vice-president Hideo Okumura, Major-General Nakao Nahagi and Captain Hideo Hiraide, became themselves the most popular commentators. These men addressed press conferences, spoke on the radio and wrote in newspapers, the Naikaku Johōkyoku however dealt only with civilian matters. War bulletins were the domain of the Daihonei hōdōbu, the Press Department of the Imperial General Headquarters which was made up of the sections of the Army
42.
Demography of Imperial Japan
–
This article deals with the population of the Empire of Japan. See also demographics of Japan and demographics of Japan before Meiji Restoration and these were comparable to the population of the United Kingdom, France and Austria-Hungary. Meiji government established the uniformed registered system of koseki in 1872, the first national census based on full sampling of inhabitants was conducted in Japan in 1920, and was conducted every five years thereafter. In Japan proper, the population of cities was as follows, In 1937 Japanese demographers projected the Japanese population in 1980 to reach 100,000,000. Japan annexed Taiwan after the First Sino-Japanese War, while victory in the Russo-Japanese War gained Japan the Kwantung Leased Territory, Karafuto and these acquisitions increased the area controlled by Japanese to 262,912 square miles. These numbers included 30,190,000 Chinese,590,760 Japanese, the Chinese numbers included 680,000 ethnic Koreans. This was in addition to the Japanese military garrison of approximately 300,000 men in 1937, between 1938 and 1942 a contingent of young farmers of 200,000 arrived in Manchukuo, joining this group after 1936 were 20,000 complete families. In Shinkyō Japanese made up 25% of the population, by 1940, the total population of Manchukuo was estimated at 36,933,000, which included approximately 1 million Japanese civilian and 500,000 Japanese military personnel. These figures exclude that of the Kwantung Leased Territory and Dalien, taeuber Irene B. and Beal, Edwin G. The Demographic Heritage of the Japanese Empire, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol.237, World Population in Transition, pp
