Last Samurai Describes Final Days of Old Japan
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
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Extracts taken from Marquis Ito´s Experience, translated by Teizo Kuramata: archive.org/de...
Edited and Image Curation by Manuel Rubio - check out his amazing channel for more: @ArtandContext
Narrated and Script Edited by David Kelly
Music from Epidemic Sound and Artlist
Thumbnail Art by Ettore Mazza
If you’re struggling, consider therapy with BetterHelp #ad. Click
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Betterhelp? Really? They've been exposed as a scam 6 years ago!
Betterhelp is a scam that sells your personal data, including information that is normally protected by HIPAA. They have been exposed for this, and should absolutely not be used. They are pouring money into content creators to collect people in need to prey on. There are better, professional, genuine sources of therapy available. Betterhelp is exploitation.
now Japan is a colony of the USA 🎉
Wasn’t this shit a scam?
@@pete8276 many young Japanese are ending their lives because of how difficult Japanese jobs are
Japan speed running from medieval to an industrial age is one of the most endlessly fascinating occurrences in history
Heck yeah History Dose
The Imperial government managed to consolidate power pretty quickly after the country was forcibly reopened, and looking at what had happened to China and their other neighbors they were highly motivated to not suffer the same fate at the hands of foreign interference and conquest.
Then from expansionist imperial rule to pacifist constitutional democracy all in about 100 years. They went from medieval warfare with no navy to defeating the industrialized Russian navy outright in like 60 years. People talk about Germans being efficient but they got nothing on the Japanese
Adapt or be colonised, that's what they saw and luckily they chose the latter.@@atomic_wait
Their long isolation and whiplash into modernity continues to be fascinating, in my opinion.
Especially when you compare it to how first contacts between less advanced natives and explorers have so often gone (and gone badly for the natives).
The rapid transition from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution in Japan is one of the most enthralling events in human history.
Did you just basically reword one of the top comments? lol
@@zzerutanwas about to comment that lol
bro got caught red handed in the replies 💀
@@princejaxisblack8789hahahahahaha
@@princejaxisblack8789i get them though. The need to rewrite it shows how impressed they are. It's a human thing.
Love your work.
Once history is lost, it's gone forever.
I recommend you to make a video of Sengoku era.
It’s so dense and crazy.
Rivalry between many iconic warlords.
Also Meiji Ishin (revolution against shogunation)
Very sad how Western culture eradicates pretty much everything it comes into contact with. The world is a more interesting place when local culture and clothing is preserved. An entire world full of people wearing suits is boring, and there is nothing inherently better about suits over kimonos. Luckily Japan has done a very good job of preserving it's culture on the whole. Much much more than other Asian nations.
Cultures eradicate other cultures and there's no one specific culture that elimates the latter ones. Enjoy whatever garnment you want to but suits are fashionable and still cool.
🇰🇵
Lol. This is pretty stupid take.
@@mukkaar Never worn a kimono I take it lol
That’s just how culture works. Tribes will conquer others and the losers will assimilate and become part of their conquerors. It happened to the indigenous North Africans, it happened to several European peoples, it even happened in ancient Japan. It’s just human nature.
To that last part about a "A Constitutional and representative form of government". Sounds sweet but we in the modern west have no such thing. Today we are to become political prisoners for demanding our corrupt institutions oblige that standard and the argument against us is that those very institutions are the foundation and not us peasant folk as that demeans them. This message has been received loud and clear.
Extremely good
The Englishman named "Girl" was probably actually named Joe. The character for girl (女) is pronounced じょ (or Jo). Got a good laugh from that one.
Džo would make much more sense than girl.
Aren't you supposed to use katakana when writing a name of a foreigner in Japanese?
My suggestion is that the Englishman's name was spelled as "ガー ル" in katakana which could be both "girl" or "Gull" converted back to English.
@@mastersafari5349 "Aren't you supposed to use katakana when writing a name of a foreigner in Japanese?" You are. Heres my name グンタース・ミエリシュ.
"My suggestion is that the Englishman's name was spelled as "ガー ル" in katakana which could be both "girl" or "Gull" converted back to English." Its quite likely that the japanese did not know his name properly as their writing is not one in which you confuse anything.
that satisfying moment when you've studied enough japanese to recognize that character and know it's on'yomi pronunciation. i know it's a kinda basic one, but it feels rewarding to be able to fully understand the funniness of this 😂
Joe Joe want to have an adventure
I then realized the one recounting this is none other than Japan's first Prime Minister
Same here. In the description, I saw "Marqis Ito." Then, after about five minutes of listening further, I was like, "This sounds an awful lot like Ito Hirobumi."
you're
@@somedesertdude1308 "You're" what?
@@somedesertdude1308nobody even said “your”
@@SlimbTheSlime seethe
The author of this, Itoh Hirobumi, was Japan’s first prime minister and longest serving prime minister. He modeled Japan’s government on that of Prussia.
Edit: he served in the capacity as a prime minister in the Meiji government before the title “prime minister” existed. Hence why he’s the longest serving, above Abe Shinzo.
The military sure, it incorporated a lot of German systems and ideas. It's government however seemed to be much more influenced by the United Kingdom, not Prussia or Germany.
Ito Hirobumi was both a samurai and a leading member of the genro. Unfortunately, he was assassinated by gunshots. 🤔
yeah he got assassinated by korean independence activists
@@riowhi7 The peerage system and bicameral legislature (house of commons and House of Lords) was based on the UK. But the constitution and absolute monarchy was based on Prussia.
@@ferretyluv Was Prussia during that time really an absolute monarchy?
12:22 "Someone's planning on assassinating us? Better kill ourselves!"
That seems to be the one-size-fits-all solution to most problems Samurai had.
"Ah! But who is stupider? The man trying to kill himself, or the man trying to kill the man trying to kill himself!"
I mean, if it ain't broke...
You can’t assassinate someone who’s already dead.
It has something to do with their culture I guess. Perhaps the afterlife or reincarnation
@@DieNibelungenliad It's death before dishonor. It's better to die by your own hand than suffer whatever torture/death/humiliation the enemy will do to you; it also denies the enemy their trophy. It's similar to burning your own fields so the enemy can't use them.
Hirobumi Ito was a former samurai, but as a politician he was far more moderate and prudent than his fellow Samurai. Unlike Saigo, who wanted to restore the samurai way of life, and the militarist Aritomo Yamagata, Ito hoped to solve problems through international cooperation and diplomacy, Especially opposed to war with Russia. He wanted Korea to remain a buffer state with Russia rather than annex by force, but he was assassinated by a nationalistic Korean, his death ironically aided Japan's annexation of Korea.
rather than annex by force... how so?
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itō_Hirobumi
Sadly he got assasinated on 26 october 1909... :(
@@LuigiCotocea It said here he changed his mind and advocated for annexation but despite this, he was forced to resign and shortly there after killed which only accelerated Koreas annexation process
Through international cooperation and diplomacy?
But it's written he's the one who oversee the Sino-Japanese war?
What the heck did the assassin hope to achieve?
Japan transitioned to modern times in a blink of an eye. The emperor, after the decision was made to open the country up, said to his nation (paraphrasing here) on the lines of: "Go to all the world and learn everything there is to know about everything, bring it back an apply it here"
Then they fooked with America and got sent back a 100years 😅😅😅😅
@@Dncsuxadic No they didn't Japanese economy thrived post-war
@@Dncsuxadicbro forgot about the post-war economic miracle
@@haha-lj5sq Because America built them back. Read your history 😂🤣😅
@@Dncsuxadic so you’re admitting they didn’t get sent back? Okay
"If you don't let us on the ship, we'll disembowel ourselves where we stand"
"Erm, ok. I guess you can go then"
the Dupont approach
Used to be so easy to get a visa. 😅
@@TaxEvader08This man is actually Roy’s ancestor. They moved to the U.S. in search of better uncles. Read that again
''So, how's your determination to get on this ship?''
*Puts knife on own belly*
''Hum, ok sirs right this way!''
This was only possible because of the Christian compassion of English who valued the life of people. Unlike Japan where life was not valued and self-suicide was seen as the right thing to do.
BetterHelp is not a reputable sponsor. They have a long history of shady and misleading marketing and customer service.
This one is absolutely crazy. Its beautifull that these accounts still exist, wow. What a wild trip for these gentleman and what impact that they may had in turning the final tide.
The narration was by the first PM of Japan
The difference between America or Europe in 1824 and America or Europe now are stark, but to think of what Japan was like in 1824 versus what it is like only 200 years later is just astounding.
The US. America is a continent.
@@ijansk North America is the continent. America is shorthand for the USA. Everybody in the world knows what country is meant when someone says "America."
@@ijansk Ameica is the reduced form of United States of America. Just like Latvija is the reduced form of Latvijas Republika.
After talking to myself about it for an hour, including sheddint tiers when I said that a latvietis from 1824 would not care that with our cars he can cross the country in 6 hours hed rather walk for a week with everyone on the road saying hello, you underestiamate how much Europe has changed. It wasnt depressing in the olden days, you think northern europians are cold now it wasnt at all like this 200 years ago.
@@ijanskI’m sorry, is Europe a country then?
These videos are a unique delight for someone fascinated by the history of more ordinary people and how they experienced it, like myself.
I mean, this guy was a member of the samurai ruling class pre-restoration and later became part of the ruling aristocracy post-restoration as the country's first Prime Minister. I would be hard pressed to call him an ordinary person, but I agree that these videos are very fascinating.
“If you don’t let me go on your ship I’m gonna kms”
funny to imagine the man was not expecting to hear that and was like damn bro ok
Betterhelp are scammers. Find a better sponsor.
How?
@@TheBlackzman they sell a lot of user info
He didn't find them, they found him and asked him to promote them in exchange for money
That's how youtubers make money if you didn't know
Also they have been found to not have good therapists, one person said that one of their therapists were on the toilet and was very unprofessional. A lot of other people have said their therapist made their mental health worse.
If you want therapy go in person, if you need to save money, try a group session.
Not all of life's problems can be solved by an app.
Hearing him talk about america was so wholesome and flattering
Have you read or listened to the diary entry if the first samurai group to go to America? It was when america first forced them to open up.
They were blown away by ice cubes for drinks, in the summer.
Also that we had enough wealth to buy enough fabric, to walk on, carpet lol
But that we are wasteful, iron and steel just laying around rusting
@@410cultivarJapan doesn’t or at least didn’t have much iron or steel in those days. But America being so big has more than enough to tear it out of the ground and leave it to rust.
Hardly hear that today...
@@410cultivar i have listened to that one, pretty comical at times. Dude lit his sleeve on fire with a cigarette cherry.
@@cpt.honklerof3rdkekistania400 Yeah till this day japan is still obsessed with American culture. They often dress up as cowboys and read American comics, they are kinda like the reverse weeabo right now🤣🤣
They threatened to commit suicide like an abusive ex boyfriend to get onto the ship lol.
Sounds oddly specific, but the points they made to the sailor were valid tbh.
The real dark side to America's role in modernizing Japan isn't told enough. Once Japan started adapting to western styles, America and the rest of the west started patting them on the back and calling them the "civilized" Asian country, and they all thought by building them up they'd help "civilize" the rest of Asia. Teddy Roosevelt even said he thought having the Japanese take over Korea and China was "the best thing" for those countries. The truth is, we Americans helped enable everything the Japanese did in WWII.
Then why did they bomb us?
Americans need to learn about the Revolutionaries who emerged in America and still spread evil throughout the world today.
Daily reminder that Betterhelp is unethical.
Thank you
How?
AAAAA your Quilava PFP is sooooo cute!
Why?
Better help validates emotions over actually helping you thru your issues. Validation is not the responsibility or job of said therapist to do. Validation simply furthers the issue
Please don’t support better help. They are not a good company
Why are they bad?
Agree. I signed up just to try it and their therapy session was barely 20min long and the therapist blamed me for the trauma caused by others. I was so shocked I demanded my money back. I’ve seen traditional therapists and felt more respected. Oh and the therapist can cut you off mid session for whatever reasons and blame it on tech glitch.
@SCBlahBLah irl therapist have done that to my friend as well, they threw him out when he complained
If TH-camrs are pushing it it is a scam
I looked at the comments right when the sponsor segment started and saw this.
Political leaders willing to sacrifice their lives for their country...those daya are long, long gone.
That was never a thing.
@@mirzaahmed6589 Ever heard of Leo Ryan? Dude was a legend. I wish every politician was more like him
Zelenksy's "don't need a ride, need more bullets" comes to mind
Not really. Personal sacrifice and heroism still very much exist among the ruling class today.
Whether leftist ideologues like Cuba's Fidel Castro, Venezuela's president Nicholas Maduro, etc, or "Liberal reformists" like Soviet premier Gorbachev, China's Deng Xiaoping, or "religious fundamentalists" like Egypt's former president Mursi, ISIS caliph Al-Baghdadi, Tibet's Dalai Lama, etc, basically those with strong conviction and idealism, those are the type who are willing to sacrifice their lives for their "country" (well, more like to their ideology and idealism).
Anyone who are running for the highest office in the land is opening themselves to relentless attack by their opponents and by the public. So they already make quite a personal sacrifice even before they get elected.
@@Pickledsundae
All his Ukrainian men die while he's taking all the cash from military defense contractors...
The narrating is articulate. Thank you for giving us all such a gift
Thank you for giving thanks
@@derekstaroba Thank you for thanking my thanks
_Goes to get milk for tea_
>>>
_Discovers we ran out of milk_
>>>
_Begins to unsheathe wakizashi_
Japan was the type of country who feared the unknown but was greatly willing to learn it.
An upload from Voices of the Past is like a correspondence from a long lost friend.
One thing I didn’t understand was the part where they had $8.300 dollars and it “was very little, but enough to cover the expenses which the journey necessitated”
$8300 which would be about $280.000 today. Sounds like that would cover a lot.
Right! I was like HUH???
He might have meant "yen" (or whatever they used then) and simply called them "dollars". This happens a lot in writing where an author will use terms for currency interchangeably, even today.
He said that they got that money, but the amount they carried in their pockets wasn't a big one. As in, they weren't flashy with the money and used only what was necessary
@@RogerTheil"Yen" was not the currency then. He was describing how he excanged Ryō, which were those large gold pieces used as currency and a store of wealth, into that amount of dollars, as he said.
I think he meant that they only kept small amounts in their pockets, and put the rest somewhere safer.
Absolutely incredible video. It's fascinating to me that the Japanese perceived the US in the exact same manner pre-WW2 as they do today.
Really great work man, awesome piece of history.
The fact that I've watched about 5 videos today that all have better help ads in them concerns me
Brilliant storytelling and enjoyed the illustration's and photograph's of Japan. Thanks for sharing 🙏
Damn they really just threatened to kill themselves if they couldn't go and it worked lol
hari kari is real amigo
They didn't yet know that's a big red flag. 😜
After Sengoku Japan ended. Samurai were no longer Samurai. They werent warriors anymore. They were entitled little aristocrats. Some of them played at being duelists for a time. But what it was to be a true samurai died with the age of conflict. The men who were around for the "Final days" of the samurai were roleplaying larpers not warriors.
better help is a scam. dont use it go to an actual therapist office.
Or go to Canada- they’ll just help you “unalive” yourself.
facts
A magnificent narration. The aesthetics of the animation are commendable.
Japan still has clans just they aren’t as powerful as they once were. The clans have some say in local governments but not much. After the Meiji restoration the clans pretty much went into trade or anything to gain wealth. Some companies were started by clans like Toyota and Honda. Modern day clan titles are purely ceremonial mostly to figure out the line of succession and who runs what in the family. The person has to earn the title through hard work too. Also marriages tend to be arranged already in these clans although these can be held off if the person has found someone that is a good match. I have a friend who is part of a major Japanese Clan and yeah your future is pretty much laid out for you and yeah you get married usually right out of college working hard in a office and rising through the ranks and by your 5th year you are a section manager or floor manager and by year 7 you’re working at HQ as a major contributor. It’s a very rough life as you constantly work to get higher with the clan head as the CEO or president.
There have been Prime Ministers, some rather recent tied to Samurai bloodlines, one was the only assasinated in the last few years, Dude was still pretty hardcore against SK and China and was full of controversial matters. They truly believe in maintaining their history.
full of lies
Show me the evidence.
I'm not going to lie, I was really hoping to see something like '2:00:00' in the lower left corner 😂
There's something enchanting about Japan before the Meiji Restoration, a bit like Medieval Europe or even anytime in Europe before the First World War wrecked much of her
If you’re a gamer, like a dragon Ishin takes place during this time. It’s a fun little game.
It’s perfectly natural to feel scared or confused when your society transforms from a medieval, pre-industrial backwater to an Empire taking on the world’s great powers. That’s why there’s Better Help.
LOL 😂
*unthinkingly listens to ad read
Man, samurais say all sorts of things...
Next video: “last cowboy describes his finale days in old America”
Wait, aren’t cowboys still around in the usa?
I was gonna say 😅@@coolkidsman.
@@coolkidsman. Catle herders yes, frontiersmen no.
@@coolkidsman.yeah the 1800s train robbing dueling “cowboys” didn’t really exist the old cowboys have just been romanticized. Cowboys had a bad reputation kinda like sailors used to before the “modern era” and the extreme examples fascinated the rich people… right as movies were first being made. Guys like Clint Eastwood weren’t really a thing cowboys were just people on the fringes of society looking for work
@darrenvillanueva3068 No. The 13 colonies where settled by frontiersmen and the USA pushed west for many generations.
Us _Blackadder_ fans appreciate hearing of a Custom House gentleman whose name is Mr. Girl, since we'll never tire of Capt Darling.
Crazy that Better Help was around in 1863
I love Gurl's very human reaction to "Please let us on your ship or we'll kill ourselves RIGHT NOW."
Jokes aside, it's fascinating listening to an "expel the barbarians", monarchist/conservative write so reasonably about western countries.
And now the entire world has access to anime. Thanks to that man's efforts.
Skip to 3:50 to avoid the sponser
Maybe Better Help has massively and dramatically improved, but they are not a good company to work with.
What did they improve on?
1860s yup my grandpappy was in the Civil War lol he lost and ended up poor with his house burned down an having to rely on the generosity of family and friends, but the fact we are still alive means our story continues on today.
I hate the New world. Maybe it’s better than the old one though. But at least then people were alive, now we’re slaves in our safe little prison.
They actually got to live.
19:45 flawless photo retouching, replacing whatever was originally there with those totally accurate hand drawn leaves, no one noticed a thing!
Regardless of the need for Industrialization, its so sad that the japanese had to strip themselves of their culture for a society that judged them regardless. Especially knowing how uncomfortable it made said japanese people ):
Fascinating! Thanks for uploading!
Hi! Great video. As a viewer I’d like to say I prefer to look at human made art, even if it doesn’t fully match up with the subject matter, then the ai scenes used :]
You ought to do some videos about contact and conflicts between Japan and Russia from the early 18th to mid 19th century. No channel covers this.
By the way better help is under scrutiny right now so you don't want to be associated with a scam, I'm guessing.
*Sam Hyde voice* "I just need bEtTeR hElP!"
its been under scrutiny for years i dunno why its back of all a suddenn.
@@ManCheat2 probably the pressures of lack of mental health help for a world in crisis.
PLEASE MORE ASIAN HISTORY CONTENT ❤️
Voices of the Past, shame on you! BetterHelp sells their customers' private information without consent. why would you deal with such an awful company?
Dudes gotta pay his bills
@@shigglezz684 He could get a real job or take better sponsorships that aren't shady AF
@@Onoesmahpieah yes, "he can just not work on youtube"
14:00 This will never not infuriate me. They insisted in fighting a civil war just to... immediately adopt all the losers policies that they complained so much and fought against.
so they didn't street race back then?
Pretty disappointing that you’re accepting sponsorship from BetterHelp.
Please don't support BetterHelp, it is very shady and has given out customers personal data in the past
Japan’s quick rise to the industrial era is what is able to happen when your civilization isn’t broke down before included in the trade of technology and resources if they were more accessible to foreign invasion. We wouldn’t have that beautiful country today the way it is.❤
Wow, it's simply amazing. It's like time traveling.
A video on Sassanid dynasty Persia and Tang dynasty China interacting would be absolutely insane. Love your videos man. I've been binge watching all of them. ❤
I love how all the depictions of “foreigners” being expelled match the same description. Big noses, beards, curly hair…😅
Those of the jew race
Difficult to watch without personal bias, sadly. My uncle was a pilot POW of the Japanese in WWII. And, although just surviving was a miracle, he was a broken man. But personal bias in an enemy we must battle daily. Thus I could not help but deeply admire this brilliant and dedicated man, caught to such a degree between two eras and two cultures that he nearly ended his own life...twice.
I've participated in performances and other events recounting the story of POWs forced to build The Thai-Burma Railway and have visited several areas on many occasions, watched many interviews and documentaries, and read books about what was endured. I've had descendants of POWs approach me after performances to say how moved they were. May I ask, if you know, where your uncle was held? Did he work on the railway, or was he held in another location?
Dont know what this has anything to do with ww2. This was more than 70 years BEFORE the events of ww2. About the same time span from the end of ww2 to present day.
@@kn2549 WWII represents an endpoint to the post-feudal progress of Japan that would no doubt have appalled Marquis Ito whose account is translated and narrated here. The events he recounts contributed to WWII. Not intentionally by any means. That's the poignant part.
It's amazing that Tom Cruise said all this
Funny actually that the guy who said this was the short little non samurai dressed US army simp in that film. He went on to be the 1st prime minister.
Fascinating to see how Japan had barely any technological advances made for hundreds of years, just to catch up to and even surpass many western countries, with access to global trade for much, much longer, in such a short time.
While I know it’s earlier in history, it’s good timing that you posted this with the new show from Hulu shogun coming out.
Excellently made, thank you for your efforts.
- Hmmmm we’re gonna die
- better now than later
- Yep let’s go
* ends up not dying
Accounts like this about the end of Tokugawa are fascinating!
Just like one piece
THATS WHAT I WAS THINKING
East Asian cultures can all adapt quickly and achieve superiority. Look at South Korea and modern China, Singapore, Taiwan.
Korea didnt adapt quickly, nor did modern china lol. Korea had the longest chain of unbroken slavery ever... China was literally isolationist af till the british came in and kicked their butts.
@@ManCheat2 East Asia suffered through ww2 and yet broke out in less than 50 years, China was even more impressive in only 30 years since the 90s. While most of Africa, Latin America, Middle East are still in perpetual poverty since age of colonialism 500 years ago being unable to adapt to the modern western economic imperialism. China is most adaptive country on the planet and at that size and population nobody else can compare. Only tiny city states like Singapore that are much easier to manage could accomplish what China did in just 2 decades.
Thanks!
It’s such a shame that a channel of this caliber would send people in need to BetterHelp
Stop the better help ads
Great resets are a real thing and it happens every single time Babylon gets involved
Rev 2:9
@@stonedwalljack9276 every single time. The usual suspects.
@@DeepDarkSamuraiYeah, sure 😂
The worst part was the Westerners introducing underwear and separating the men and women’s baths because it’s considered “not civil and perverted”
Have heard that the samurai class looked more like White Europeans in the past...crazy to hear an actual account stating that
Samurai, current day Yaks.😊
Facially?
Where did he say that?
Not really its just that beards were associated with foreigners and the ainu(barbarians) so the samurai were forbidden of having beards before that they often had them grow you can see that in paintings
@@xtr.7662 Foreigners were called barbarians aswell, Nanban aka southern barbarian.
Better help is a scam please get a real therapist if you need help not better help.
This was very insightful; thank you kindly for it.
Its still mind boggling how what took other countries 200+ years to do, Japan did in less than 50 years. Hence how this Samurai was able to witness it before his very eyes.
Great work 👏
I often think about what it must have been like for the Samurai and Daimyo to have witnessed the phenomenal change that happened from 1860 to 1900! I ❤️ 🗾!
I like how this is the latest video uploaded after I start watching the Shogun 😂
Hahaha at first when the narrator mentioned the Tokugawa regency I was like you mean Toronaga? Then I was like wait… I’m getting reality and the show mixed up 😂
So the imperial forces went to war with the shogunal forces because the shogun allowed trade with foreigners and then the imperialists hated foreigners, but then after the imperialists won, they were like "you know what? These foreign barbarians are pretty cool" and then they rapidly adapted the foreign technology and policy?
"didnt realize he was chill like that"
I mean, when these foreigners are showing all cool sorts of tech, like steamships, massive fkin cannons and rifles, trains to transport mass amounts of cargo and people, why wouldnt yo want more of their sht?
This was so beautiful that it gave me shivers.
what? sounds terrible.
A Japanese man long ago:
"Respect to Washington, Hamilton, and the US Constitution. We need to catch up with the rest of the world, and I think adopting a constitutional democracy like the Americans is the way to do it."
My actual reaction as an American 200 years later:
「かわいい！すごい！」
I’m no scholar of Japanese history, but I wonder if the sudden leap from a strictly isolationist and deeply conservative society into a much more global, industrial, and burgeoning multi-cultural one was in fact a major cause in Japan’s return to those ideas after WW1. I’m told their treatment at the Versailles conference was also a contributing factor.
Don't project our modern era into the idea of modernisation.
Multiculturalism is a 21st century concept, Japan in the Meiji and Taishou periods was no more multicultural than it is today, which is to say VERY not.
That aside, I would argue that the speed of transition probably had little to do with this percieved flip flop on values.
Japan remained simping for and emulating the west the whole time. First they emulated the west's liberalism, then they emulated the west's colonialism.
It was the military not being under civilian control. The military went out of control and decided to kill anyone they didn’t like. The army and navy also hated each other and were at odds on everything. The outcome of the Russo-Japanese War also made them cocky and assumed that as long as they just kept throwing soldiers at the problem that it’ll solve itself.
To think that Japan has not always been multicultural is strange. It was Yamato consolidation during edo that gave the affect of xenophobia. Okinawa and Hokkaido weren't conquered until the twilight of the edo period. Also the boshin war was an internal struggle more than an external one. Kyushu had much more contact with foreign powers than history books report.
@@jasonbrown8155 And there was Tsushima, who were nominally Korean vassals so they could have diplomatic contact with China and Korea.
WW1 and WW2 bled into each other from the japanese perspective.
What ultimately lead to the japanese imperialism was an addiction to colonialism, and the military taking over the government and using the samurai mythos to create loyalty and recruits.
Oof... Better help sponser
Silence
If it were up to Japan, they would still be on horses and carts.
Beautiful! I love hearing the writings of the Japanese in these videos the most. They’re so eloquent and humble in how they write.
Thank you Voices of the Past! This was worth the wait.
I have complicated feelings toward these heroic figures of Meji restoraton, these were honorable men who truly wanted the best for the future of their country. they were willing to face ridicules from their fellow contrymen and was ready to give up their lives at a moment's notice for their cause. in the end they succeeded, but they also created the prefect condition for Japan to become an empire hellbent on militirary expansion.
wow, gave me the chills. i LOVE Japan
Very well done indeed. But later Tojo and his like had other perspectives...and plans.