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Shōnen Sekai ( 少年世界 , "The Youth's World") is one of the first Japanese shōnen magazines. It was published by Hakubunkan from 1895 to 1914 and specializing in children's literature . Shōnen Sekai was created as a part of many magazine created by Hakubunkan that would connect with many different parts of society in Japan. Sazanami Iwaya created the Shōnen Sekai magazine after he wrote Koganemaru a modern piece of children's literature. After Japan had a war with Russia, a female adaptation of Shōnen Sekai was created named Shōjo Sekai . Also some children's books were translated to Japanese and published in Shōnen Sekai . The magazine had many features too, such as sugoroku boards and baseball cards . Shōnen Sekai was mentioned in many American books but no series were actually translated.

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85-488: Japanese publisher Hakubunkan was aiming to create a large variety of magazines that would appeal to many different parts of society: Taiyō , Bungei Club , and Shōnen Sekai were the magazines created and all debuted in 1895 (the Meiji era). On the cover of the first issue of Shōnen Sekai it pictured both Crown Prince Munehito, and the other Empress Jingū who was conquering Sankan (three ancient kingdoms of Korea ). Inside of

170-508: A representative democracy . The samurai lost their status as the only class with military privileges. However, during the Meiji period, most leaders in Japanese society (politics, business and military) were ex-samurai or descendants of samurai. The 1889 Meiji Constitution made relatively small concessions to civil rights and parliamentary mechanisms. Party participation was recognized as part of

255-498: A Chōshū native who has been credited with the founding of the modern Japanese army and was to become the first constitutional Prime Minister . The Supreme War Council developed a German-style general staff system with a chief of staff who had direct access to the Emperor and who could operate independently of the army minister and civilian officials. The Constitution of the Empire of Japan

340-464: A cabinet composed mostly of genrō who wanted to establish a government party to control the House of Representatives. Although not fully realized, the trend toward party politics was well established. On its return, one of the first acts of the government was to establish new ranks for the nobility. Five hundred people from the old court nobility, former daimyo, and samurai who had provided valuable service to

425-456: A constitutional form of government since before 1874, and several proposals for constitutional guarantees had been drafted. While acknowledging the realities of political pressure, however, the oligarchy was determined to keep control. Thus, modest steps were taken. The Osaka Conference in 1875 resulted in the reorganization of government with an independent judiciary and an appointed Chamber of Elders (genrōin) tasked with reviewing proposals for

510-638: A legislature. The Emperor declared that "constitutional government shall be established in gradual stages" as he ordered the Council of Elders to draft a constitution. Three years later, the Conference of Prefectural Governors established elected prefectural assemblies. Although limited in their authority, these assemblies represented a move in the direction of representative government at the national level, and by 1880 assemblies also had been formed in villages and towns. In 1880 delegates from twenty-four prefectures held

595-562: A more readable Korean that would modernize the Korean nation for Social Darwinist competition for world domination. Japan's annexation of Korea in 1910 accelerated the independence movement. Influenced by Social Darwinist theories, Choe urged in numerous articles that the Koreans would have to modernize in order to be strong to survive. In a 1917 article in Hwangsǒng sinmun , Choe wrote: "The modern age

680-555: A national convention to establish the Kokkai Kisei Dōmei . Although the government was not opposed to parliamentary rule, confronted with the drive for "people's rights", it continued to try to control the political situation. New laws in 1875 prohibited press criticism of the government or discussion of national laws. The Public Assembly Law (1880) severely limited public gatherings by disallowing attendance by civil servants and requiring police permission for all meetings. Within

765-505: A new ruling class appeared. Inasmuch 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. Since Shinto and Buddhism had molded into a syncretic belief in the prior thousand years and Buddhism had been closely connected with the shogunate, this involved the separation of Shinto and Buddhism ( shinbutsu bunri ) and

850-422: A new taxation system, and ordered new local administrative rules. 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 , or Enlightened Rule—to mark the beginning of a new era in Japanese history. To further dramatize

935-744: 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. A major proponent of representative government

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1020-474: Is called the Battle of Tabaruzuka. During this eight-day-battle, Saigō's nearly ten thousand strong army battled hand-to-hand the equally matched national army. Both sides suffered nearly four thousand casualties during this engagement. Due to conscription, however, the Japanese army was able to reconstitute its forces, while Saigō's was not. Later, forces loyal to the emperor broke through rebel lines and managed to end

1105-595: Is currently being published by them in London. Shōnen Sekai was one of the most popular children's magazines of its day. Many other children's magazines of that time had very low circulations and were very short lived. Shōnen Sekai was the first of its kind and ran continuously from 1895 to 1914. " Shōnen sekai educated and entertained at least two generations of Japanese children" I have not been able to obtain accurate circulation figures but Shōnen sekai’s longevity alone, compared with that of most other children’s media until

1190-406: Is the age of power in which the powerful survive while the weak perish. This competition continues until death. But why? Because the struggle to be a victor and a survivor never ends. But how? It is a competition of intelligence, physical fitness, material power, economic power, the power of idea and confidence, and of organizational power. Everywhere this competition is underway daily." Since Korea

1275-641: The Japanese pronunciation of his name Sai Nanzen , was a Korean historian, political activist, poet, and publisher who was best remembered as a leading member of the Korean independence movement . He was born into a jungin (class between aristocrats and commoners) family in Seoul , Korea , under the late Joseon Dynasty , and educated in Seoul. In 1904 he went to study in Japan , and

1360-547: The Rikken Kaishintō (Constitutional Progressive Party), which called for a British-style constitutional democracy. In response, government bureaucrats, local government officials, and other conservatives established the Rikken Teiseitō (Imperial Rule Party), a pro-government party, in 1882. Numerous political demonstrations followed, some of them violent, resulting in further government restrictions. The restrictions hindered

1445-548: The Tosa Memorial  [ ja ] in 1874, criticizing the unbridled power of the oligarchy and calling for the immediate establishment of representative government. Between 1871 and 1873, a series of land and tax laws were enacted as the basis for modern fiscal policy. Private ownership was legalized, deeds were issued, and lands were assessed at fair market value with taxes paid in cash rather than in kind as in pre-Meiji days and at slightly lower rates. Dissatisfied with

1530-696: The United States Constitution as "too liberal", and the British system as too unwieldy, and having a parliament with too much control over the monarchy; the French and Spanish models were rejected as tending toward despotism. Ito was put in charge of the new Bureau for Investigation of Constitutional Systems in 1884, and the Council of State was replaced in 1885 with a cabinet headed by Ito as prime minister. The positions of chancellor (or chief-minister), minister of

1615-550: The "civilized countries of the West", leaving behind the "hopelessly backward" Asian neighbors, namely Korea and China . This essay certainly encouraged the economic and technological rise of Japan in the Meiji era, but it also may have laid the intellectual foundations for later Japanese colonialism in the region. The Meiji era saw a flowering of public discourse on the direction of Japan. Works like Nakae Chōmin 's A Discourse by Three Drunkards on Government debated how best to blend

1700-542: The 122nd emperor. This coincided with pressure on the ruling shogunate to modernize Japan, combining modern advances with traditional values. Mutsuhito was sympathetic to these ideas, leading to a call for the restoration of the governing power to the emperor. On November 9, 1867, then- shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu tendered his resignation to the Emperor, and "put his prerogatives at the Emperor’s disposal", formally stepping down ten days later. Imperial restoration occurred

1785-590: The Asian mainland and construction of railroads, shipyards, munitions factories, mines, textile manufacturing facilities, factories, and experimental agriculture stations. Greatly concerned about national security, the leaders made significant efforts at military modernization, which included establishing a small standing army, a large reserve system, and compulsory militia service for all men. Foreign military systems were studied, foreign advisers, especially French ones, were brought in, and Japanese cadets sent abroad to Europe and

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1870-594: The Association of Korea's Glorious Literature in 1910 that sought to encourage ordinary people to read the classics of Korean literature that until then had been mostly read by the elites. Through the work of the Chinese nationalist writer Liang Qichao , Choe learned of the Western theories of Social Darwinism and the idea that history was nothing more than an endless struggle between various people to dominate each other with only

1955-606: The Charter Oath was an end to exclusive political rule by the bakufu (a shōgun ' s direct administration including officers), 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. Besides providing for a new Council of State , legislative bodies, and systems of ranks for nobles and officials, it limited office tenure to four years, allowed public balloting, provided for

2040-553: The Conscription Law of 1873, and all the reforms and progress, the new Japanese army was still untested. That all changed in 1877, when Saigō Takamori led the last rebellion of the samurai in Kyūshū. In February 1877, Saigō left Kagoshima with a small contingent of soldiers on a journey to Tokyo. Kumamoto castle was the site of the first major engagement when garrisoned forces fired on Saigō's army as they attempted to force their way into

2125-571: The Emperor were organized into a new peerage, the Kazoku , consisting of five ranks: prince, marquis , count , viscount , and baron . In the transition between the Edo period and the Meiji era, the Ee ja nai ka movement, a spontaneous outbreak of ecstatic behavior, took place. In 1885, noted public intellectual Yukichi Fukuzawa wrote the influential essay " Leaving Asia ", arguing that Japan should orient itself at

2210-703: The Japanese that might at least preserve some sort of Korean cultural identity. In 1949, Syngman Rhee ’s government arrested Choe for collaboration with the Japanese during the colonial period, but he was released when the trial was suspended. During the Korean War , Choe served on the Naval History Committee; after the war, he served on the Seoul City History Committee. He died in October 1957 after struggles with diabetes and hypertension. Choe remains

2295-516: The Korean alphabet and promoted it as a literary medium through his magazines. The author of the first “new-style” poem, “ From the Ocean to the Youth ” (해(海)에게서 소년에게, 1908), he is widely credited with pioneering modern Korean poetry. Choe sought to create a new style of literary Korean that would be more accessible to ordinary people. But at the same time, he was proud of classical Korean literature and he founded

2380-407: The Koreans were fortunate to be colonized by Japan. Choe also claimed that originally Korean culture had been violent and militaristic much like Japanese culture, but then had gone "soft" under Chinese influence. Furthermore, Choe suggested that his historical research had established that the Japanese were the descendants of immigrants from Korea, and the samurai being of Korean descent had preserved

2465-671: The Mayas all had their origins in the ancient civilization of Korea. In 1937, Choe started to write articles supporting Japan's aggression against China. In 1939 he became a professor at the Manchukuo Jianguo University. In November 1943, Choe attended the Greater East Asia Conference in Tokyo, which was intended by the Japanese government to mobilize support for the war throughout Asia for its Pan-Asian war goals. During

2550-473: 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

2635-726: The Taiping Rebellion to the Vietnam War also mentioned Shōnen Sekai as a popular magazine of that time, with an additional mention to Shōjo Sekai , its female equivalent. Issei: Japanese Immigrants in Hawaii mentioned Shōnen Sekai as just a publication of Hakubunkan. In the book No Sword to Bury: Japanese Americans in Hawai'i During World War II had mention of Shimanuki Hyotayu who writes about immigration matters in Shōnen Sekai . Shōnen Sekai

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2720-687: 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. The result was a deliberate state-led industrialization policy to enable Japan to quickly catch up. Modern industry first appeared in textiles, including cotton and especially silk, which

2805-801: The United States to attend military and naval schools. In 1854, after US Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry forced the signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa , Japanese elites took the position that they needed to modernize the state's military capacities, or risk further coercion from Western powers. In 1868, the Japanese government established the Tokyo Arsenal. The same year, Ōmura Masujirō established Japan's first military academy in Kyoto. Ōmura further proposed military billets be filled by all classes of people including farmers and merchants. The shōgun class, not happy with Ōmura's views on conscription, assassinated him

2890-613: The WWI years, suggests its dominance through the mid-1910s. This was certainly the official position of Hakubunkan as can be seen in Tsubotani Yoshiyoro, Modeled on Shōnen Sekai Choe Nam-seon founded a magazine, Shonen , in Korea in 1908. Meiji period The Meiji era ( 明治時代 , Meiji jidai , [meꜜː(d)ʑi] ) was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era

2975-418: The West. The Industrial Revolution in Japan occurred during the Meiji era. The industrial revolution began around 1870 as Meiji era leaders decided to catch up with the West. The government built railroads, improved roads, and inaugurated a land reform program to prepare the country for further development. It inaugurated a new Western-based education system for all young people, sent thousands of students to

3060-606: The associated destruction of various Buddhist temples and related violence ( haibutsu kishaku ). Furthermore, a new State Shinto had to be constructed for the purpose. In 1871, the Office of Shinto Worship ( ja:神祇省 ) was established, ranking even above the Council of State in importance. The kokutai ideas of the Mito school were embraced, and the divine ancestry of the Imperial House was emphasized. The government supported Shinto teachers,

3145-411: The castle. Rather than leave an enemy behind him, Saigō laid siege to the castle. Two days later, Saigō's rebels, while attempting to block a mountain pass, encountered advanced elements of the national army en route to reinforce Kumamoto castle. After a short battle, both sides withdrew to reconstitute their forces. A few weeks later the national army engaged Saigō's rebels in a frontal assault at what now

3230-637: The center of a vibrant civilization. Choe embarked on a re-examination of Korean history. Choe mostly ignored the Samguk Sagi , and instead chose to draw his history from Samguk Yusa , a collection of folktales, stories, and legends, previously disregarded by historians. A major theme of his scholarship was that Korea was always a major center of Asian civilization, instead being in the periphery. Choe claimed in his 1926 book Treatise on Dangun (단군논, Dangunnon ) that ancient Korea had outshone both Japan and China. The status of legendary Emperor Dangun as one of

3315-536: The central figures of Korean history was largely due to Choe. Choe did not accept the Tan'gun legend as written, but he argued that the Tan'gun story reflected the shamanistic religion of ancient Korea , and that Dangun was a legendary figure based on a real shaman-ruler who lived sometime in the very distant past. In addition, Choe claimed that civilizations of ancient India, Greece, the Middle East, Italy, northern Europe, and

3400-532: The change in Choe was caused by the fact that Japan had occupied Korea in 1904 during the Russian-Japanese War and by the early 1940s, the "permanence" of Japanese rule was assumed by most Koreans as every attempt to win independence had always ended in failure. Given this situation, Koreans like Choe had lost their youthful idealism and abandoned their dreams of freedom, simply hoping to reach an accommodation with

3485-548: The changes to Japan were profound, and affected its social structure, internal politics, economy, military, and foreign relations. The period corresponded to the reign of Emperor Meiji . It was preceded by the Keiō era and was succeeded by the Taishō era , upon the accession of Emperor Taishō . The rapid modernization during the Meiji era was not without its opponents, as the rapid changes to society caused many disaffected traditionalists from

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3570-508: The conference, Choe delivered a speech to a group of Korean students studying in Japan calling the "Anglo-Saxon" powers Britain and America the most deadly enemies of Asians everywhere, and urged the students to do everything in their power to support the war against the "Anglo-Saxons", saying that there was no higher honor for a Korean than to die fighting for Japan's efforts to create the " Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere ". During his speech, Choe praised Japanese imperialism and stated that

3655-445: The daimyo became governors, and the central government assumed their administrative expenses and paid samurai stipends. 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 samurai, replaced bakufu appointees and daimyo as

3740-556: The establishment of a national assembly in 1890 and dismissing Okuma. Rejecting the British model, Iwakura and other conservatives borrowed heavily from the Prussian constitutional system . One of the Meiji oligarchy, Itō Hirobumi (1841–1909), a Chōshū native long involved in government affairs, was charged with drafting Japan's constitution. He led a constitutional study mission abroad in 1882, spending most of his time in Germany. He rejected

3825-475: The final engagement with Imperial forces which resulted in the deaths of the remaining forty samurai including Saigō, who, having suffered a fatal bullet wound in the abdomen, was honorably beheaded by his retainer. The national army's victory validated the current course of the modernization of the Japanese army as well as ended the era of the samurai. Choe Nam-seon Choe Nam-seon ( Korean :  최남선 ; April 26, 1890 – October 10, 1957), also known by

3910-434: The fittest surviving. Choe believed that this competition would only end with Korea ruling the world. In a 1906 essay he wrote: "How long will it take us to accomplish the goal of flying our sacred national flag above the world and having people of the five continents kneeling down before it? Exert yourselves, our youth!" Choe's magazine Sonyeon was intended to popularize Western ideas about science and technology though

3995-580: The following year. In 1870, Japan expanded its military production base by opening another arsenal in Osaka. The Osaka Arsenal was responsible for the production of machine guns and ammunition. Also, four gunpowder facilities were opened at this site. Japan's production capacity gradually expanded. In 1872, Yamagata Aritomo and Saigō Jūdō , both new field marshals, founded the Corps of the Imperial Guards. Also, in

4080-542: The former samurai class to rebel against the Meiji government during the 1870s, most famously Saigō Takamori , who led the Satsuma Rebellion . However, there were also former samurai who remained loyal while serving in the Meiji government, such as Itō Hirobumi and Itagaki Taisuke . On February 3, 1867, the 14-year-old Prince Mutsuhito succeeded his father, Emperor Kōmei , to the Chrysanthemum Throne as

4165-412: The genrō made decisions reserved for the Emperor, and the genrō, not the Emperor, controlled the government politically. Throughout the period, however, political problems usually were solved through compromise, and political parties gradually increased their power over the government and held an ever-larger role in the political process as a result. Between 1891 and 1895, Ito served as Prime Minister with

4250-464: The government included the creation of a unified modern currency based on the yen, banking, commercial and tax laws, stock exchanges, and a communications network. Establishment of a modern institutional framework conductive to an advanced capitalist economy took time, but was completed by the 1890s, by which time the government had largely relinquished direct control of the modernization process, primarily for budgetary reasons. The Land Tax Reform of 1873

4335-438: The issue were stories about these matters and Toyotomi Hideyoshi 's raid on Korea in 1590. The pioneer of modern Japanese children's media Sazanami Iwaya wrote the first modern children's story Koganemaru in 1891 and also started Shōnen Sekai in 1895. Shunrō Oshikawa invented the "adventure novel" genre, with his works being published many times in both Shōnen Sekai and Shōnen Club and compiled into tankōbon format. In

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4420-582: The left , and minister of the right , which had existed since the seventh century as advisory positions to the Emperor, were all abolished. In their place, the Privy Council was established in 1888 to evaluate the forthcoming constitution and to advise the Emperor. To further strengthen the authority of the State, the Supreme War Council was established under the leadership of Yamagata Aritomo (1838–1922),

4505-600: The middle of the Sino-Japanese War Shōnen Sekai featured many stories based on war, or acts of bravery upon war. After the Sino-Japanese War, Shōjo Sekai was created as a sister magazine geared towards the female audience. Even before Shōnen Sekai debuted, Hakubunkan created special magazine issue that would focus on the Sino-Japanese War. The Shōnen Sekai magazine had many add-ins such as sugoroku boards. The sugoroku Shōnen Sekai Kyōso Sugoroku

4590-401: The new business environment. The industrial economy continued to expand rapidly, until about 1920, due to inputs of advanced Western technology and large private investments. By World War I, Japan had become a major industrial nation. Undeterred by opposition, the Meiji leaders continued to modernize the nation through government-sponsored telegraph cable links to all major Japanese cities and

4675-490: The new influences coming from the West with local Japanese culture. Grassroots movements like the Freedom and People's Rights Movement called for the establishment of a formal legislature, civil rights, and greater pluralism in the Japanese political system. Journalists, politicians, and writers actively participated in the movement, which attracted an array of interest groups, including women's rights activists. The elite class of

4760-495: The new order, the capital was relocated from Kyoto , where it had been situated since 794, to Tokyo (Eastern Capital), the new name for Edo . In a move critical for the consolidation of the new regime, most daimyōs voluntarily surrendered their land and census records to the Emperor in the abolition of the Han system , symbolizing that the land and people were under the Emperor's jurisdiction. Confirmed in their hereditary positions,

4845-557: The next year on January 3, 1868, with the formation of the new government . 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, a general statement of the aims of the Meiji leaders to boost morale and win financial support for the new government . Its five provisions consisted of: Implicit in

4930-466: 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

5015-487: The political parties and led to divisions within and among them. The Jiyūtō, which had opposed the Kaishinto, was disbanded in 1884 and Ōkuma resigned as Kaishintō president. Government leaders, long preoccupied with violent threats to stability and the serious leadership split over the Korean affair, generally agreed that constitutional government should someday be established. The Chōshū leader Kido Takayoshi had favored

5100-512: The political process. The Emperor shared his authority and gave rights and liberties to his subjects. It provided for the Imperial Diet (Teikoku Gikai), composed of a popularly elected House of Representatives with a very limited franchise of male citizens who were over twenty-five years of age and paid fifteen yen in national taxes (approximately 1% of the population). The House of Peers was composed of nobility and imperial appointees. A cabinet

5185-463: The ruling circle, however, and despite the conservative approach of the leadership, Okuma continued as a lone advocate of British-style government, a government with political parties and a cabinet organized by the majority party, answerable to the national assembly. He called for elections to be held by 1882 and for a national assembly to be convened by 1883; in doing so, he precipitated a political crisis that ended with an 1881 imperial rescript declaring

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5270-508: The same design. Another trend in the Meiji era was for women's under-kimono made by combining pieces of different fabric, sometimes of radically different colors and designs. For men, the trend was for highly decorative under-kimono that would be covered by outer kimono that were plain or very simply designed. Even the clothing of infants and young children used bold colors, intricate designs, and materials common to adult fashions. Japanese exports led to kimono becoming an object of fascination in

5355-451: The same year, the hyobusho (war office) was replaced with a War Department and a Naval Department. The samurai class suffered great disappointment the following years, when in January the Conscription Law of 1873 was passed. This monumental law, signifying the beginning of the end for the samurai class, initially met resistance from both the peasant and warrior alike. The peasant class interpreted

5440-406: The siege on Kumamoto Castle after fifty-four days. Saigō's troops fled north and were pursued by the national army. The national army caught up with Saigō at Mt. Enodake . Saigō's army was outnumbered seven-to-one, prompting a mass surrender of many samurai. The remaining five hundred samurai loyal to Saigō escaped, travelling south to Kagoshima. The rebellion ended on September 24, 1877, following

5525-442: The speed of Japan's modernization: the employment of more than 3,000 foreign experts (called o-yatoi gaikokujin or 'hired foreigners') in a variety of specialist fields such as teaching foreign languages, science, engineering, the army and navy, among others; and the dispatch of many Japanese students overseas to Europe and America, based on the fifth and last article of the Charter Oath of 1868: 'Knowledge shall be sought throughout

5610-773: The term for military service, ketsu-eki (blood tax) literally, and attempted to avoid service by any means necessary. Avoidance methods included maiming, self-mutilation, and local uprisings. In conjunction with the new conscription law, the Japanese government began modeling their ground forces after the French military. Indeed, the new Japanese army used the same rank structure as the French. The enlisted corps ranks were: private, noncommissioned officers, and officers. The private classes were: jōtō-hei or upper soldier, ittō-sotsu or first-class soldier, and nitō-sotsu or second-class soldier. The noncommissioned officer class ranks were: gochō or corporal, gunsō or sergeant, sōchō or sergeant major, and tokumu-sōchō or special sergeant major. Despite

5695-571: The true, violent essence of ancient Korean culture. The South Korean historian Kyung Moon Hwang wrote that there is a striking contrast between Choe, the passionate patriot who penned the Declaration of Independence in 1919 vs. Choe, the Chinilpa collaborator of 1943 urging Korean university students to enlist in the Imperial Japanese Army and die for the Emperor of Japan. Kyung suggested that

5780-443: The wealthy elite, could be owned by anyone. Faster and cheaper manufacture allowed more people to afford silk kimono, and enabled designers to create new patterns. The Emperor issued a proclamation promoting Western dress over the allegedly effeminate Japanese dress. Fukuzawa Yukichi 's descriptions of Western clothing and customs were influential. Western dress became popular in the public sphere: many men adopted Western dress in

5865-421: The workplace, although kimono were still the norm for men at home and for women. In the 1890s the kimono reasserted itself, with people wearing bolder and brighter styles. A new type called the hōmongi bridged the gap between formal dress and everyday dress. The technology of the time allowed for subtle color gradients rather than abrupt changes of color. Another trend was for outer and inner garments of

5950-706: The world so as to strengthen the foundations of Imperial rule.' The process of modernization was closely monitored and heavily subsidized by the Meiji government, enhancing the power of the great zaibatsu firms such as Mitsui and Mitsubishi . Hand in hand, the zaibatsu and government led Japan through the process of industrialization, borrowing technology and economic policy from the West. Japan gradually took control of much of Asia's market for manufactured goods, beginning with textiles. The economic structure became very mercantilistic , importing raw materials and exporting finished products—a reflection of Japan's relative poverty in raw materials. Other economic reforms passed by

6035-433: Was Itagaki Taisuke (1837–1919), a powerful Tosa leader who had resigned from the Council of State over the Korean affair in 1873. Itagaki sought peaceful, rather than rebellious, means to gain a voice in government. He started a school and a movement aimed at establishing a constitutional monarchy and a legislative assembly . Such movements were called The Freedom and People's Rights Movement . Itagaki and others wrote

6120-608: Was Iwaya Sazanami (the creator of Shōnen Sekai )'s Shin Hakken-den which had the concept of rewarding the good and punishing the evil a common theme to children's fiction in the 20th century. Shin Hakken-den was based on Nansō Satomi Hakkenden from the Edo period by Takizawa Bakin . Shōnen Sekai carried many stories based on war, and acts of bravery upon war written by Hyōtayu Shimanuki [Hyōdayu -]. In Shōnen Sekai some titles were also translated from other languages, for example: Deux ans de vacances (a novel by Jules Verne )

6205-533: Was also mentioned in both The Similitude of Blossoms: A Critical Biography of Izumi Kyōka (1873–1939), Japanese Novelist and Playwright and Japan's Modern Myths: Ideology in the Late Meiji Period . The closest thing to an actual series published in English was The Jungle Book which was originally in the English language. The Jungle Book was published in the United States by Macmillan Publishers in 1894 and

6290-538: Was annexed by Japan in 1910, for Choe the best way of preserving Korea was giving the Koreans a glorious history that would ensure that the Koreans are at least had the necessary mentality to survive in a harsh world. In 1919, Choe, together with Choe Rin, organized the March 1st Movement , a non-violent movement to regain Korean sovereignty and independence. For his drafting of the Korean Declaration of Independence , he

6375-471: Was another significant fiscal reform by the Meiji government, establishing the right of private land ownership for the first time in Japan's history. Many of the former daimyo, whose pensions had been paid in a lump sum, benefited greatly through investments they made in emerging industries. Those who had been informally involved in foreign trade before the Meiji Restoration also flourished. Old bakufu -serving firms that clung to their traditional ways failed in

6460-560: Was arrested by authorities and imprisoned until 1921. In 1928 he joined the Korean History Compilation Committee , which was established by the Governor-General of Korea and commissioned to compile the history of Korea. Here he sought to refute the Japanese imperialist interpretations of ancient Korean history by arguing that ancient Korea was not an impoverished backwater existing in the shadow of Japan, but rather

6545-450: Was based in home workshops in rural areas. Due to the importing of new textile manufacturing technology from Europe, between 1886 and 1897, Japan's total value of yarn output rose from 12 million to 176 million yen. In 1886, 62% of yarn in Japan was imported; by 1902, most yarn was produced locally. By 1913, Japan was producing 672 million pounds of yarn per year, becoming the world's fourth-largest exporter of cotton yarn. The first railway

6630-524: 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. The production of kimono started to use Western technologies such as synthetic dye , and decoration was sometimes influenced by Western motifs. The textile industry modernized rapidly and silk from Tokyo's factories became Japan's principal export. Cheap synthetic dyes meant that bold purples and reds, previously restricted to

6715-534: Was enacted on November 29, 1890. It was a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy . The Emperor of Japan was legally the supreme leader, and the Cabinet were his followers. The Prime Minister would be elected by a Privy Council . In reality, the Emperor was head of state but the Prime Minister was the actual head of government. Class distinctions were mostly eliminated during modernization to create

6800-537: Was greatly impressed by the Meiji Restoration reforms. Upon his return to Korea, Choe became active in the Patriotic Enlightenment Movement, which sought to modernize Korea. Choe published Korea's first successful modern magazine, Sonyeon ( 소년 ; lit.  Youth), through which he sought to bring modern knowledge about the world to Korea's youth. He coined the term hangul for

6885-524: Was opened between Tokyo and Yokohama in 1872. The rail system was rapidly developed throughout Japan well into the twentieth century. The introduction of railway transportation led to more efficient production due to the decrease in transport costs, allowing manufacturing firms to move into more populated interior regions of Japan in search for labor input. The railway also enabled newfound access to raw materials that had previously been too difficult or too costly to transport. There were at least two reasons for

6970-505: Was originally produced as a supplement to the Shōnen Sekai magazine and is currently seen at the Tsukiji Sugoroku Museum in Japan. Also packs of baseball cards were featured in the magazine in a February 1915 issue of Shōnen Sekai . Players that were included into the pack were Fumio Fujimura , Makoto Kozuru, Shigeru Chiba and Hideo Fujimoto . Many works of children's literature were featured in Shōnen Sekai . An example of this

7055-630: Was responsible to the Emperor and independent of the legislature. The Diet could approve government legislation and initiate laws, make representations to the government, and submit petitions to the Emperor. The Meiji Constitution lasted as the fundamental law until 1947. In the early years of constitutional government, the strengths and weaknesses of the Meiji Constitution were revealed. A small clique of Satsuma and Chōshū elite continued to rule Japan, becoming institutionalized as an extra-constitutional body of genrō (elder statesmen). Collectively,

7140-472: Was the first half of the Empire of Japan , when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization by Western powers to the new paradigm of a modern, industrialized nation state and emergent great power , influenced by Western scientific, technological, philosophical, political, legal, and aesthetic ideas. As a result of such wholesale adoption of radically different ideas,

7225-602: Was translated to Japanese by Morita Shiken under the title Jūgo Shōnen ( 十五少年 ) and The Jungle Book was also published in Shōnen Sekai . Shōnen Sekai was mentioned various times in many English books. In the book The New Japanese Women: Modernity, Media, and Women in Interwar Japan mentioned Shōnen Sekai in the notes to chapter 3 as one of many magazines that Hakubunkan made to relate to different parts of society. Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Asia: From

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