With the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the era of the shogun and samurai ended in Japan. The country got a constitution, civil liberties and a modern education system for the first time. Historians have now examined the consequences of this for social mobility in the society of the time. Their analyzes show that the regime change created a meritocracy for the first time, in which even “simple” citizens could rise to the elite. However, this socially mobile phase did not last long.
From the beginning of the 17th century, a strictly feudal order prevailed in Japan: the country was ruled by a shogun appointed by the emperor, who reported to the princes (daimyos) and to them the noble warrior caste of the samurai. These nobles enjoyed numerous privileges, but they also had to obey a strict code. Although non-nobles such as farmers, craftsmen or traders made up 90 percent of the population, they had almost no rights. They were forbidden to change their place of residence or profession on their own initiative or to marry members of a different class. During this period of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan also pursued a strict policy of isolation: contact or trade with Western countries was prohibited.
With the Meiji Restoration came change
But all this changed in the middle of the 19th century: at the urging of the USA, Japan opened up more to the West and from 1859 also allowed trade with Western countries and trading companies. As a result of this opening, there were protests and revolts by daimyos and samurai, who feared a loss of their power and privileges. In 1868 the civil war broke out, in which the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown and the feudal order was suspended. A new government was formed under the direction of the emperor, under which the privileges of the daimyos and samurai were abolished, a first constitution was adopted and an educational system based on the western model was initiated.
This change in political and social structure, known as the Meiji Restoration, initiated a profound change in Japan. For the first time, the ordinary population was given the freedom to choose their place of residence, profession and partner, and they also had access to regular education for the first time. "The Meiji Restoration was the first time people could choose their future, regardless of the environment into which they were born," explain Tomoko Matsumoto and Tetsuji Okazaki of the University of Tokyo.
Social mobility and meritocracy
But what does this mean for social mobility in this phase of change? "Now that the equality of all Japanese people and the freedom to choose a career were introduced - did this also bring more social mobility?" the scientists said. Many such transitions are known from the history of other states, in which the elites did not change despite profound changes in the political system. "Such a continuity of elites existed, for example, in the socialist revolution in China in 1949," explain Matsumoto and Okazaki. When Poland and Hungary transitioned from a socialist state to a market economy in the 1980s, it was primarily the old communist elites who benefited from the privatization of the economy.
The two historians have now examined whether this was also the case in Japan's Meiji Restoration on the basis of historical records, including a kind of "Who's Who" of the Japanese nobility from this period. Their evaluations revealed that, unlike in China, the Meiji Restoration ushered in a meritocracy that gave members of the common people opportunities for advancement to the elite for the first time. The proportion of people in high-ranking positions whose fathers were farmers, craftsmen or tradesmen increased, especially in the early days after the regime change. "The regime change produced a new system of elite hierarchies," the researchers explain.
...but only at the beginning
Matsumoto and Okazaki see the reason for this above all in the loss of isolation from the West and the drastic restructuring of the education system. This meant that even the formerly privileged samurai and daimyos were no longer able to build on their earlier educational advantage. Just like non-nobles, they were now forced to follow the new curriculae and acquire the appropriate qualifications. However, this phase of social permeability did not last long: just one generation later, the old elites had re-established themselves. "In principle, non-nobles still had the chance to rise to the elite, but it was much more difficult for them to achieve a higher rank than for people whose family had already belonged to the elite in the feudal system," the historians explain.
According to the scientists, this confirms hypotheses according to which social mobility increases during upheavals, but only lasts until the new political system has been consolidated. "The effect of a political regime change on social mobility therefore depends crucially on the respective phase of this change," according to the team.
Source: Tokyo University of Science; Specialist article: British Journal of Sociology, doi: 10.1111/1468-4446.13000