Suggested Activities
In this challenge, students learn about the shift from cultural isolation in the Edo period to rapid adaptation in the Meiji period by examining a collection of images and key events on a time line in order to rank the importance of the political, social and economic changes that dramatically affected Japanese society.
A. Determine the impact of political, economic or social changes in the Edo and the Meiji periods.
Prepare a time line
Before starting this challenge, prepare an annotated and illustrated time line that covers key political, economic and social changes during these two time periods. As suggested below, some changes may be assigned particular dates and other changes span a period of time.
Alternatively, provide students with a skeleton time line or with broad categories of change and direct them to prepare an annotated time line using their textbook and other sources (see References).
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Edo Period (1603–1867) |
1603 |
Tokotomi Hideyoshi establishes a feudal hierarchy. |
1612 |
Christianity is banned. |
1616 |
Foreign trade is restricted to Nagasaki and Hirado. |
1635 |
Japanese are forbidden to travel outside Japan or to return if they leave the country. |
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Urbanization, shipping, domestic and foreign trade and industries flourish. |
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Music, Kabuki theatre, bunraku (puppet theatre), poetry, literature and art develop. |
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Meiji Period (1868–1912) |
1868–68 |
Emperor Mutsuhito creates the Five Charter Oath that ends exclusive rule by the bakufu and introduces a more democratic government. |
1870 |
A family register system identifies the Ainu as being Japanese, no longer recognizing them as a distinct people. |
1885 |
Yukichi Fukuzawa writes an essay "Leaving Asia"arguing that Japan should become one of the civilized countries of the world. His writing influences many economic and technological developments. |
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During this period, Japan employs over 3000 foreign experts and sends many Japanese students overseas to seek new knowledge. |
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Japan takes control of much of Asia’s market for manufactured goods, especially textiles. |
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Ainu people are forced to farm government plots or work in the fishing industry and their language is outlawed. |
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Government-sponsored telegraph cable links are established in all major Japanese cities. |
1889 |
The Constitution of the Empire of Japan creates the Imperial Diet, elected House of Representatives and the House of Peers. |
Look for patterns in historical events
Invite students to work in pairs to look for patterns in the historical events on the time line. You may need to model this activity for the class. Invite students to focus on the following patterns:
- Common features of the changes: Generally what kinds of changes occurred politically, economically and socially within each period? For example, the changes in the Edo period are inward looking or isolationist; the changes in the Meiji period are outward looking.
- Commonality across the periods: What aspects remained the same between the two periods? For example, despite changes in the structure of the governments, the daimyo and samurai continued to hold positions of power.
- Effects of the changes: How did the changes affect the respective societies both positively and negatively? For example, imperial control during the Edo period resulted in political and economic stability; the international search for knowledge in the Meiji period meant Japan borrowed ideas from many countries to strengthen and modernize the country.
B. Rank the three most important changes in the Edo and the Meiji periods that dramatically affected Japanese society.
Assess the impact of changes
After partners have completed their identification of patterns, invite the class to determine criteria for dramatic change:
- greatly impacts well-being of the society
- affects many people in society
- represents a radical or novel departure from the prevailing mindset.
Ask students to consider whether the effects of each change were dramatic, moderate or insignificant using the criteria generated.
You may wish to adapt one of the charts and strategies in Rating Options (Support Material) to structure and assess this activity.
Identify and rank the three most dramatic changes
After rating the changes, ask students to rank, individually, the three most significant changes that dramatically affected Japan’s cultural isolation in the Edo period and the three changes that dramatically affected rapid adaptation in the Meiji period. Encourage students to use the identified criteria to justify their rankings of changes in each period. Arrange for students to share their final assessments in a class discussion.
You may wish to adapt one of the charts and strategies in Ranking Options (Support Material) to structure and assess this activity.
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