Download The Meiji Empire

The Meiji Empire
By: Adam Robison
Gretchen Stewart
Janessa Young
Morgan Leasure
Meiji Reign
 Meiji Reign means enlightened rule.
 Dramatically changed Japan into a more
Westernized country.
 This was a major period of change for the
Japanese.
 Tokyo (Edo) was the new capital of Japan.
The Emperor
 The Emperor did not have a lot of
control because he was highly
influenced by a group of government
cabinet members.
 He also did not directly rule.
 In the movie, The Last Samurai, he
was 24 years old.
 In the movie he was depicted as very
soft, although very powerful. He
seemed unsure of his decisions. We
feel that in real life he was a very
strong and powerful leader that knew
what he was doing at all times.
Communication
 The emperor at the time would not have
had the communication with the
Westerners as he did in the movie.
 Japan was too isolated during the time
period to be able to have this type of
communication.
 Many Westerners would also have not
been allowed to enter Japan that easily.
Trade
 The movie depicts that Japan has the
upper hand in the trade negotiation.
 Japan would not have been able to have
the upper hand due to the many unequal
treaties that the United States created.
 The United States would have forced the
Japanese to sign the treaty.
Captain Algren
 In the scene where Algren presents
Katsumoto’s sword to the Meiji Empire,
we felt it was reasonable because he
owed it back to the empire.
 In the movie, he criticized the emperor
for losing sight and integrity of the
Japanese culture. We feel that it was
insightful because it showed the
emperor that he was forgetting about the
people of his land. In real life it would
have not been a Westerner reminding
the emperor if this.
Influence
 If we did not have any prior knowledge
about the Meiji Empire, this movie could
have easily influenced us to believe that
the Meiji Empire was stronger than it
really was and that the United States had
less control over Japan.