Society
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 the emperor were organized in five ranks: prince, marquis, count, viscount, and baron.
It was at this time that the Ee ja nai ka movement, a spontaneous outbreak of ecstatic behaviour, took place.
In 1885 an 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. This essay certainly contributed to the economic and technological rise of Japan in the Meiji period, but it also may have laid the foundations for later Japanese colonialism in the region.
Read more about this topic: Meiji Period
Famous quotes containing the word society:
“I am not what is called a civilized man, professor. I have done with society for reasons that seem good to me. Therefore I do not obey its laws.”
—Earl Felton, and Richard Fleischer. Captain Nemo (James Mason)
“I came along at a time when there was a demand to give men greater visibility and opportunity. In white society they were saying, “Women can’t do it.” In black society, they were saying, “Women do too much.” It’s a diabolical situation.”
—Yvonne Braithwaite Burke (b. 1932)
“Our society distributes itself into Barbarians, Philistines and Populace; and America is just ourselves with the Barbarians quite left out, and the Populace nearly.”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)