Author Topic: Shimabara Rebellion: The Christian Revolt That Isolated Medieval Japan  (Read 6 times)

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Shimabara Rebellion: The [JUDEO]-Christian Revolt That Isolated Medieval Japan DOCUMENTARY
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Kings and Generals animated historical documentary series on the history of Japan continues with an episode episode on the Shimabara rebellion - the Christian revolt that happened in Japan in 1637-1638 and led to the closing of Japan to all foreigners. This video will focus on the battle of Hara Castle


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The Shimabara Rebellion (島原の乱, Shimabara no ran), also known as the Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion (島原・天草の乱, Shimabara-Amakusa no ran) or Shimabara-Amakusa Ikki (島原・天草一揆), was an uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638.

Matsukura Katsuie, the daimyō of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpopular policies set by his father Matsukura Shigemasa that drastically raised taxes to construct the new Shimabara Castle and violently prohibited Christianity. In December 1637, an alliance of local rōnin and mostly Catholic peasants led by Amakusa Shirō rebelled against the Tokugawa shogunate due to discontent over Katsuie's policies. The Tokugawa Shogunate sent a force of over 125,000 troops supported by the Dutch to suppress the rebels and defeated them after a lengthy siege against their stronghold at Hara Castle in Minamishimabara.

Following the successful suppression of the rebellion, Shirō and an estimated 37,000 rebels and sympathizers were executed by beheading, and the Portuguese traders suspected of helping them were expelled from Japan. Katsuie was investigated for misruling, and was eventually beheaded in Edo, becoming the only daimyō to be executed during the Edo period. The Shimabara Domain was given to Kōriki Tadafusa. Japan's policies of national seclusion and persecution of Christianity were tightened until the Bakumatsu in the 1850s.

The Shimabara Rebellion was the largest civil conflict in Japan during the Edo period, and was one of only a handful of instances of serious unrest during the relatively peaceful period of the Tokugawa shogunate's rule.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimabara_Rebellion

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90sRetroFan

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Isolated Medieval Japan

Unfortunately the isolation did not last long. Next thing you know:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/rediscovered-footage-empress-teimei-crown-005259673.html

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Century-old footage of Empress Teimei and Crown Prince Hirohito was recently discovered at a university in Ise, giving modern viewers an ultra-rare glimpse into an early 20th century Japan.
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The footage shows a modernized Japan with horse-drawn carriages and men and women in Western-inspired attire. The men sporting formal suits and top hats and the women in floor-length dresses with plume-adorned hats stand in stark contrast to the traditional buildings of the time period.

Soldiers are also shown marching in the rigidly postured style of British soldiers, moving forward with even steps in a straight file line.






Zhang Caizhi

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When did the current dynasty of Japan get Westernization?

Also, did Emperor Hirohito order the Japanese generals during WW2 or be the figurehead monitored by his generals?

90sRetroFan

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"When did the current dynasty of Japan get Westernization?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakumatsu

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In the morning of July 16, 1863, under sanction by Minister Pruyn, in an apparent swift response to the attack on the Pembroke, the U.S. frigate USS Wyoming under Captain McDougal sailed into the strait and single-handedly engaged the U.S.-built but poorly manned fleet. For almost two hours before withdrawing, McDougal sank one Japanese vessel and severely damaged the other two, along with some forty Japanese casualties, while the Wyoming suffered extensive damage with fourteen crew dead or wounded.

On the heels of McDougal's engagement, two weeks later a French landing force of two warships, the Tancrède and the Dupleix, and 250 men under Captain Benjamin Jaurès swept into Shimonoseki and destroyed a small town, together with at least one artillery emplacement.

In August 1863, the Bombardment of Kagoshima took place, in retaliation for the Namamugi incident and the murder of the English trader Richardson. The Royal Navy bombarded Kagoshima and sunk several ships. Satsuma however later negotiated and paid 25,000 pounds, but did not remit Richardson's killers, and in exchange obtained an agreement by Great Britain to supply steam warships to Satsuma. The conflict actually became the starting point of a close relationship between Satsuma and Great Britain, which became major allies in the ensuing Boshin War. From the start, the Satsuma Province had generally been in favour of the opening and modernization of Japan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_(era)

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Dissatisfied with the pace of reform after having rejoined the Council of State in 1875, Itagaki organized his followers and other democratic proponents into the nationwide Aikokusha (Society of Patriots) to push for representative government in 1878. In 1881, in an action for which he is best known, Itagaki helped found the Jiyūtō (Liberal Party), which favored French political doctrines.

In 1882, Ōkuma Shigenobu established the Rikken Kaishintō (Constitutional Progressive Party), which called for a British-style constitutional democracy.
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Iwakura and other conservatives borrowed heavily from the Prussian constitutional system.
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Five hundred people from the old court nobility, former daimyo, and samurai who had provided valuable service to the Emperor were organized into a new peerage, the Kazoku, consisting of five ranks: prince, marquis, count, viscount, and baron.
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In 1885, noted public intellectual Yukichi Fukuzawa wrote the influential essay "Leaving Asia", arguing that Japan should orient itself at the "civilized countries of the West", leaving behind the "hopelessly backward" Asian neighbors, namely Korea and China.
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The elite class of the Meiji era adapted many aspects of Victorian taste, as seen in the construction of Western-style pavilions and reception rooms called yōkan or yōma in their homes. These parts of Meiji homes were displayed in popular magazines of the time, such as Ladies' Graphic, which portrayed the often empty rooms of the homes of the aristocracy of all levels, including the imperial palaces. Integrating Western cultural forms with an assumed, untouched native Japanese spirit was characteristic of Meiji society, especially at the top levels, and represented Japan's search for a place within a new world power system in which European colonial empires dominated.[9]
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The Emperor issued a proclamation promoting Western dress over the allegedly effeminate Japanese dress.[13] Fukuzawa Yukichi's descriptions of Western clothing and customs were influential.[14] So Western dress became popular in the public sphere: many men adopted Western dress in the workplace
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It inaugurated a new Western-based education system for all young people, sent thousands of students to the United States and Europe, and hired more than 3,000 Westerners to teach modern science, mathematics, technology, and foreign languages in Japan (O-yatoi gaikokujin).

In 1871, a group of Japanese politicians known as the Iwakura Mission toured Europe and the US to learn western ways.
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Domestic commercial activities and limited foreign trade had met the demands for material culture until the Keiō era, but the modernized Meiji era had radically different requirements. From the onset, the Meiji rulers embraced the concept of a market economy and adopted British and North American forms of free enterprise capitalism.
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As Western imports became popular, demand for Japanese art declined within Japan itself.[36]
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The Meiji era saw a renewed interest in lacquer as artists developed new designs and experimented with new textures and finishes. Foremost among these was Shibata Zeshin,[44] who has been called "Japan's greatest lacquerer".[45] The appeal of his highly original style was in the choice of motifs and subject matter rather than embedded gold and silver. He placed lacquer panels in frames, imitating Western oil paintings.[46]
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The career of porcelain artist Makuzu Kōzan is an archetype for the trajectory of Meiji art.[53] He was passionate about preserving traditional influences, but adopted new technologies from the West.[53] He was an entrepreneur as well as an artist, organizing a workshop with many artisans[54] and actively promoting his work at international exhibitions, travelling extensively in Europe.[55] As his career went on, he adopted more Western influences on his decoration[56]
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Gradually, Western music became an integral part of the Japanese culture where the importance of Western music was undertaken as a part of a social project. The military bands played prominent role in the society. That included public concerts of Western music, which were held in a famous Rokumeikan Hall and Hibiya Open-Air stage in Tokyo, performing marches, patriotic music and European composers’ works
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The great impact in the choral music development was made by Ukrainian musicians: conductors Yakov Tikhai (served in the Orthodox mission from 1874 to 1886) and Dmytro Livovsky (served in the Orthodox mission from 1880 to 1921). They organized the first traditional choirs in Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo (known as Nikolai-do), taught music in Tokyo Theological Seminary, completed and published the first musical score collections, educated the first Japanese choir conductors and music teachers.
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The educational field also was a major way for adopting Western-style music.[67] The educational reforms were led by Isawa Shūji (1851-1917) and Luther Whiting Mason (1828-1896). In 1880, the Music Research Institute in Tokyo (Ongaku Torishirabe Gakari), headed by Izawa Shuji, was founded. The Institute had three main tasks: 1) to introduce compulsory music teaching in schools, to introduce Western-style songs;


Zhang Caizhi

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It's rather strange. The Japanese general officers promoted an anti-colonial war, but they still recognized their emperor, Hirohito, as their commander-in-chief.

Was the emperor the real driving force of the war considering his general officers' loyalty to him?