Meiji Period Beginnings 1868-1911
During the final days of the Tokugawa shogunate, the perceived threat of foreign encroachment, especially since the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry and the signing of the Kanagawa Accord led to increased prominence to the development of nationalist ideologies. Some prominent daimyo promoted the concept of fukko (a return to the past), while others promoted osei (the Emperor's supreme authority). The terms were not mutually exclusive, merging into the sonno joi (Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians) concept, which in turn was a major driving force in starting the Meiji Restoration.
The Meiji Constitution of 1889 defined allegiance to the State as the citizen's highest duty. While the Constitution itself contained a mix of political Western practices and traditional Japanese political ideas, government philosophy increasingly centered on promoting social harmony and a sense of the uniqueness of the Japanese people (kokutai).
Read more about this topic: Japanese Nationalism
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