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Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production

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Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly

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Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V.

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Speaker 2: Wilson. I just got bay from Japan, you did, where

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Speaker 2: I was a little longer than planned due to some

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Speaker 2: travel delays, but that's fine.

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Speaker 1: It's a lovely place and we visited some sites. I

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Speaker 1: was there for a Star Wars convention, and then we

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Speaker 1: tacked on additional days to do other things. And I

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Speaker 1: will confess that I did not because I was kind

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Speaker 1: of scrambling to make sure we had enough of this

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Speaker 1: show's episodes and the other shows I work on all

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Speaker 1: in the can. I did very little planning for this trip,

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Speaker 1: so I was like, whatever y'all want to do. I

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Speaker 1: went with my husband and my best friend, and I

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Speaker 1: let them pick the itinerary, which was actually great, and

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Speaker 1: we went to a lot of cool places. Listen, you

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Speaker 1: may recall that when we travel internationally, my husband is

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Speaker 1: ever on the lookout for was a John Wick filmed here,

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Speaker 1: let me go and then we go but in this

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Speaker 1: and we did do that in Japan. But one of

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Speaker 1: the things that my best friend picked was visiting the

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Speaker 1: Meiji Jingu Shrine, which was very, very cool, And it

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Speaker 1: was kind of funny because as we were walking along,

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Speaker 1: there's quite a long walk to get from the city

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Speaker 1: street into the shrine, this beautiful walk. We'll talk about

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Speaker 1: it a little at the end, and we were discussing

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Speaker 1: how old it was or was not, And of course

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Speaker 1: I am ever like, hey, we have magic boxes in

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Speaker 1: our pockets, why don't we look this up? And we

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Speaker 1: were all surprised that it was much newer than we thought,

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Speaker 1: so because it doesn't feel new at all. And I

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Speaker 1: was like, this is fascinating, and I want to talk

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Speaker 1: about the whole story of this, which means that we

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Speaker 1: have to talk about Emperor Meiji, which is also just

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Speaker 1: an interesting story about an important and transitional part of

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Speaker 1: Han's history. Yeah. I'm not a Japanese or Asian studies scholar,

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Speaker 1: but I have sure read a lot of books, and

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Speaker 1: I had a fourteen hour plane ride back to do

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Speaker 1: some of that. So and it's in one case, you.

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Speaker 2: Know, I'm just going to make direct quotes because it

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Speaker 2: involves spiritual things that I would feel uncomfortable trying to parse, right,

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Speaker 2: not having been a part of it in any way ever,

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Speaker 2: accepted this visit to this shrine. So that's what's up,

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Speaker 2: and we're going to talk about this little part of

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Speaker 2: Japan's history. Yeah, So to talk about the Meiji Jingu Shrine,

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Speaker 2: we first need to talk about who Emperor Meiji was.

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Speaker 2: Emperor Meiji's reign began in eighteen sixty seven. Of course,

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Speaker 2: this is going to be an incredibly abbreviated version of

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Speaker 2: that whole reign. We could not talk about the entirety

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Speaker 2: of it in an episode. Meiji is the name he

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Speaker 2: took as emperor. He was born Mutsuhito on No. Eighteen

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Speaker 2: fifty two. He was the second son of the preceding

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Speaker 2: Emperor Kolme. Cole May's first son had died in infancy.

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Speaker 2: During Koleme's reign, the emperor had largely been a figurehead,

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Speaker 2: and Japan was mainly governed by the Tokugawa Shogunate. It

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Speaker 2: was during the time of Coome that Japan, which had

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Speaker 2: been mostly closed to foreigners, particularly foreigners from outside of

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Speaker 2: Asia for about two hundred and fifty years, was opened

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Speaker 2: up more Under Commodore Matthew Perry's arrival and request, he

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Speaker 2: showed up a sort of a famous story at this point,

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Speaker 2: backed up by a show of naval power, so at

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Speaker 2: that point the country opened its ports to the US.

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Speaker 2: The Treaty of Kanagawa was signed on March thirty first

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Speaker 2: of eighteen fifty four, and while it was not a

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Speaker 2: commercial treaty, it was really lopsided in favor of the

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Speaker 2: United States. It made it possible for the US to

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Speaker 2: make more finance strategic moves with Japan.

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Speaker 1: So when Emperor Kome died in eighteen sixty seven, fourteen

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Speaker 1: year old Meiji inherited the throne of a nation that

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Speaker 1: was already in the midst of a great deal of change,

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Speaker 1: both externally on the world stage, but also internally as

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Speaker 1: its identity was evolving as a result of those external

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Speaker 1: changes and exposure to new influences. Kome had not been

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Speaker 1: in favor of modernizing to align with Western ideologies, including

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Speaker 1: the dissolution of the shogunate and feudal ruling structure, but

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Speaker 1: his son Meiji favored modernization and he made a lot

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Speaker 1: of changes to Japan's governmental organization. And though he was

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Speaker 1: emperor from the time his father died, it wasn't until

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Speaker 1: eighteen sixty eight when the last Tokagawa shogun resigned after

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Speaker 1: a bit of a power struggle that the role of

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Speaker 1: emperor was actually seen as head of the country. This

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Speaker 1: this important change and the taking of the name Meiji

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Speaker 1: by the emperor is known as the Meiji Restoration, and

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Speaker 1: it also signaled a lot more massive changes ahead.

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Speaker 2: So there were a lot of reasons that a lot

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Speaker 2: of people in Japan opposed these kinds of changes. And

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Speaker 2: it's pretty easy from our Western perspective to boil this

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Speaker 2: down in such a way that it makes it seem

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Speaker 2: like the like pre modernization age was primitive or backwards,

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Speaker 2: and there are a lot of Western texts that seemed

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Speaker 2: to want to frame it in this way. But Japan

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Speaker 2: had a really complex structure of governance and it was

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Speaker 2: incredibly stable for a long time. Writing for the journal

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Speaker 2: Southeast Asian Studies in nineteen ninety five, Hissaufruukawa explained quote

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Speaker 2: under its seclusionist policy, Japan had achieved a balance among

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Speaker 2: its disparate types of leadership, the imperial court, the nobility,

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Speaker 2: and the shogun. Under the shogunate aland system of shared government,

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Speaker 2: which rested on a rice stipend system, the clans functioned

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Speaker 2: rather like one hundred or more self supporting companies competing

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Speaker 2: economically with each other. A controlling organization of shogunate daimyo

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Speaker 2: and clan executives, samurai village headman and nago servant peasants

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Speaker 2: ran a complicated and subtle administrative organization. Not only commercial capital,

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Speaker 2: but also industrial capital was sufficiently available. So thinking about

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Speaker 2: this stability, it becomes more apparent why there would be

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Speaker 2: some consternation and resistance to adopting practices and ideas from

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Speaker 2: Western culture. In eighteen sixty eight, the young Emperor Meiji

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Speaker 2: made a number of big changes, and one was that

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Speaker 2: Edo was renamed Tokyo, which means Eastern Capital, and the

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Speaker 2: imperial residence was moved there. Kyoto had been the imperial

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Speaker 2: capital up to that point, but the move to Tokyo

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Speaker 2: meant that the capital city, which sits on Tokyo Bay,

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Speaker 2: which opens out into the Pacific Ocean, had a better

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Speaker 2: position as an international shipping port. Another change was that

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Speaker 2: he enacted the Charter Oath of five Principles written by

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Speaker 2: a young group of samurai sometimes called the Meiji Oligarchs,

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Speaker 2: who had fought to overthrow the shogunate, and these principles

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Speaker 2: were designed to westernize and modernize the country and really

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Speaker 2: make it a player on the global stage. This was

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Speaker 2: a short document and it reads in its entirety as follows.

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Speaker 1: Quote. By this oath, we set up as our aim

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Speaker 1: the establishment of the national wheel on a broad basis,

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Speaker 1: and the framing of a constitution and laws. One deliberative

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Speaker 1: assemblies shall be widely established in all matters decided by

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Speaker 1: public discussion. Two, All classes high and low shall unite

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Speaker 1: in vigorously carrying out the administration of affairs of state.

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Speaker 1: The common people, no less than the civil and military

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Speaker 1: officials shall each be allowed to pursue his own calling,

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Speaker 1: so that there may be no discontent. Four evil customs

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Speaker 1: of the past shall be broken off, and everything based

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Speaker 1: upon the just laws of nature. Five Knowledge shall be

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Speaker 1: sought throughout the world so as to strengthen the foundations

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Speaker 1: of imperial rule.

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Speaker 2: So two things. We just mentioned that a group of

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Speaker 2: samurai wrote that document, not the Emperor, not even one

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Speaker 2: of his close advisors, and that's indicative of how his

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Speaker 2: reign played out. He ruled in a sort of indirect way,

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Speaker 2: with a lot of input from various sectors. Second, if

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Speaker 2: that language in the charter sounds kind of nebulous to you.

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Speaker 1: You are not alone.

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Speaker 2: It was two people in Japan at the time as well.

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Speaker 2: It promises freedoms to the people, but it was also

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Speaker 2: carefully crafted to ensure that restrictions could still be laid out,

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Speaker 2: and the fourth point in particular offered some leeway. Quote

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Speaker 2: evil customs of the past are not clearly defined, and

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Speaker 2: neither was what would or would not be considered okay

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Speaker 2: according to the quote just laws of nature, and there

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Speaker 2: were restrictions. Political parties were not allowed, nor was rioting

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Speaker 2: to protest the governments.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I didn't put it in the outline, but that

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Speaker 1: phrase about being according to the just laws of nature

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Speaker 1: falled very much in line with what we'll talk about

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Speaker 1: in a bit, which was making shinto the national religion.

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Speaker 1: And in reaction to the new government, which was seen

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Speaker 1: as being led by a bunch of young upstarts, which

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Speaker 1: it really was compared to the country's prior leadership, there

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Speaker 1: was a conflict which came to be known as the

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Speaker 1: Boshin War or the Boushin Civil War. The name Boshin

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Speaker 1: refers to the year that the war started, and this war,

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Speaker 1: which had a lot of other influences and a long

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Speaker 1: lead up could certainly be its own episode, but in

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Speaker 1: terms of Meijie's rule, the conflict lasted a year and

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Speaker 1: a half, and it reflected the turmoil of the nation

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Speaker 1: and a lot of fear about Japan losing that stability

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Speaker 1: it had enjoyed for centuries. Ultimately, the shogunut was defeated

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Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy one, the feudal system was abolished completely.

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Speaker 1: The massive nature of this shift cannot be overstated. It

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Speaker 1: changed a seven century practice of feudal domains run by

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Speaker 1: local daimyo into a prefecture system that rolled up under

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Speaker 1: the umbrella of the country's central government. But though the

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Speaker 1: Meiji government got rid of the feudal system, it was

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Speaker 1: not as though the entire previous organizational structure and its

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Speaker 1: leadership was just thrown out entirely. In many cases, the

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Speaker 1: feudal lords who had been in power became governors under

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Speaker 1: this new structure, and there were still efforts to create

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Speaker 1: new forces that were hoping to push back on the

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Speaker 1: Meiji government. So there was ongoing conflict and ongoing fails

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Speaker 1: to be like, let's reverse things and go back to

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Speaker 1: the old way, and that led to ongoing concerns about

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Speaker 1: rebellions and possible added civil wars as the transition known

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Speaker 1: as the Meiji Reformation played out.

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Speaker 2: Coming up, we'll talk about some additional changes to life

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Speaker 2: in Japan during the Meiji period, but first we will

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Speaker 2: pause or a sponsor break. The Meiji period, named for

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Speaker 2: its progressive emperor, saw other massive shifts in the way

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Speaker 2: Japan was run. As we mentioned each of these, just

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Speaker 2: know that, just like the transition from the shogunate system,

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Speaker 2: none of these were universally accepted or instantly implemented, and

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Speaker 2: they all have their own very bumpy stories. A new

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Speaker 2: school system was established in eighteen seventy two through the

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Speaker 2: Education System Order, and this plan created a national standardization

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Speaker 2: for education, and it made education universal throughout Japan, so

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Speaker 2: that all children would receive an education in the population

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Speaker 2: overall would see an increase in intellectual understanding and pursuits.

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Speaker 2: In addition to education for all, the government sought to

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Speaker 2: equalize the nation by declaring that the class system that

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Speaker 2: had so long determined the course of the country was

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Speaker 2: no longer in play. All classes were considered equal. The samurai,

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Speaker 2: who had already lost their status in this change, were

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Speaker 2: also banned from carrying their swords. Soon, many men who

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Speaker 2: had been part of the samurai class started seeking out

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Speaker 2: new professions. A national army was established in eighteen seventy two,

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Speaker 2: with a conscription requirement that meant that all men, regardless

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Speaker 2: of class, had to serve for three years. Again, not

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Speaker 2: everyone liked these changes. While a lot of citizens saw

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Speaker 2: an increase in their standing, others lost theirs and an

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Speaker 2: effort to equalize, and samurai in particular felt like the

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Speaker 2: rug had really been pulled out from under them.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a lot of complexity and nuance to that,

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Speaker 1: because there were samurai that wanted the shogunate system changed

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Speaker 1: and eradicated. But it wasn't like they were like, and

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Speaker 1: we'll get rid of all of it. Like, there's more

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Speaker 1: nuance to it.

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Speaker 2: I feel like we have talked about the transition from

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Speaker 2: the samurai class to an army before, and I could

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Speaker 2: not tell you which episode that was in.

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Speaker 1: I don't know either. But another massive reform came in

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Speaker 1: the form of taxation. So taxation was not a new

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Speaker 1: concept in Japan. But as we referenced in the passage

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Speaker 1: that Tracy read earlier prior to Meiji's term as emperor,

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Speaker 1: most of those taxes were paid in rice by the

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Speaker 1: landowners who grew it. Taxation on other items was paid

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Speaker 1: in cash, but an estimated ninety percent of the people

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Speaker 1: of Japan were involved in growing rice in the nineteenth century,

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Speaker 1: so the rice tax was the dominant part of the economy.

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Speaker 1: Rice was and still is incredibly culturally significant and even sacred.

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Speaker 1: So this was an important transition, not just from a

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Speaker 1: logistical sense of providing food for the country, but also

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Speaker 1: as a community gesture, providing for one another with a

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Speaker 1: resource that was cultivated and tended by the people. Rice

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Speaker 1: also had become a signifier of success and wealth. A

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Speaker 1: man with a full grain store was considered rich, and

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Speaker 1: the plant was used beyond its food possibilities. There are

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Speaker 1: parts of it used to create mats, to make paste,

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Speaker 1: et cetera. So people were all in on this whole

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Speaker 1: system that for a very long time had been about

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Speaker 1: how much rice do you have and how much rice

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Speaker 1: do we pay so that everyone in the country eats,

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Speaker 1: and that was all changing. The Land Tax Reform Law

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Speaker 1: of eighteen seventy three changed this entire system by moving

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Speaker 1: it to a cash based system with tax rates based

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Speaker 1: on land holdings. The intention was.

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Speaker 2: That This new system would get rid of inconsistencies that

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Speaker 2: had been part of the feudal system, with different regions

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Speaker 2: having completely different rates and different collection practices, and it

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Speaker 2: was also intended to once again modernize the country. Everyone

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Speaker 2: in the developed world used cash and to make deals

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Speaker 2: with other countries, rice had to be sold or converted.

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Speaker 2: But with cash taxation, money was going directly into the

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Speaker 2: government's holdings and that could be leveraged for national growth

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Speaker 2: and development projects. Unfortunately, this tax was really difficult for

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Speaker 2: the farmers of Japan, and although it was revised to

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Speaker 2: try to help the situation, agricultural communities really continued to struggle.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, if you're using one currency and that has been

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Speaker 1: your currency, and you are essentially making that currency and

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Speaker 1: then people go no, no, we need different currency that

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Speaker 1: you don't necessarily have on hand and have not built

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Speaker 1: up any kind of store of that's a really difficult shift.

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Speaker 1: And we've talked about that shift in other parts of

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Speaker 1: the world too, when when people who didn't generally have

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Speaker 1: access to currency were suddenly expected to pay things in currency. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's like it's like if tomorrow everyone said in the US,

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Speaker 1: by the way, we're only accepting putting as payment. You

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Speaker 1: can get a hold of pudding, but it would just

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Speaker 1: be such an odd and different way of handling it

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Speaker 1: that it would be very, very difficult even if you

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Speaker 1: had access to putting. I know that's a weird comparison,

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Speaker 1: but that's that's the best I can do at the moment.

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Speaker 1: So a cabinet style of government was also adopted under

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Speaker 1: Meiji in eighteen eighty five. This was not the first

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Speaker 1: reorganization of government under Meiji's rule, but it became a

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Speaker 1: significant and more lasting system designed to get rid of

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Speaker 1: many of the inefficiencies of structures. So the cabinet established

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Speaker 1: the role of prime Minister, who reports directly to the Emperor,

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Speaker 1: and multiple ministers of state who report to the Prime minister.

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Speaker 1: This government was further refined in the Meiji Constitution, which

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Speaker 1: was created in eighteen eighty nine, and that new constitution

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Speaker 1: called for the establishment of a bi cameral parliament. In

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Speaker 1: addition to the prime minister and cabinet of ministers, it

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Speaker 1: also gave command of the country's military forces to the emperor.

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Speaker 1: They had not really had huge military forces before this,

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Speaker 1: they were being built up. In eighteen ninety one, the

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Speaker 1: bicameral legislature called for in the Constitution, known as the Diet,

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Speaker 1: was officially established the House of Peers. The upper house

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Speaker 1: consisted of officials who were appointed to their positions, while

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Speaker 1: the lower House of Representatives was made up of elected officials.

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Speaker 2: In addition to all of these and other reforms, Emperor Meiji,

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Speaker 2: using the national arms that was established early in his time,

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Speaker 2: made Japan a significant military presence on the world stage.

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Speaker 2: The first major example of this was the First Sino

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Speaker 2: Japanese War, which started in eighteen ninety four. China had

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Speaker 2: long had a presence in Korea, and Korea was not

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Speaker 2: part of China, but was subordinate to this larger nation.

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Speaker 2: Korea was made dependent on China for a lot in

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Speaker 2: a lot of ways for centuries, but as Japan westernized,

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Speaker 2: it also started to take a more active interest in

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Speaker 2: Korean resources. As Japan industrialized, its leaders started to realize

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Speaker 2: they could get things like coal and iron from Korea,

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Speaker 2: which was nearby, rather than from farther away resources. So

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Speaker 2: from Japan's perspective, Korea offered a lot of economic possibility.

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Speaker 2: Just as the United States had kind of forced Japan's

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Speaker 2: hand in the mid eighteen hundreds move to open Japan's

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Speaker 2: ports to North American trade. Japan made a similar move

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Speaker 2: in Korea, and Japan also urged Korea to kind of

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Speaker 2: get out from under China's shadow when it came to

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Speaker 2: relationships with other countries, specifically its relationship with Japan.

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Speaker 1: The very abbreviated version of what happened next is that

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Speaker 1: Japan's involvement in Korea's status led to a division within Korea,

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Speaker 1: and China supported the groups that wanted Japan to mind

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Speaker 1: its business. In eighteen eighty four, this led to an

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Speaker 1: attempted coup in Korea known as the gaps And Coup,

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Speaker 1: with China stepping in to stop it and ensure the

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Speaker 1: safety of the Korean monarch. The conflict did not escalate

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Speaker 1: to war because China and Japan signed an agreement that

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Speaker 1: they would both get their troops out of Korea. But

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Speaker 1: ten years later, the leader of that eighteen eighty four coup,

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Speaker 1: Kim Akkun, who was still in support of a Korean

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Speaker 1: relationship with Japan, was a assassinated quartered and his body

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Speaker 1: was publicly displayed to deter anyone else from joining the

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Speaker 1: pro Japan movement within Korea. Soon, China had moved troops

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Speaker 1: into Korea again to quell rebellions that sprang up in

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Speaker 1: the wake of this assassination, and Japan, noting that this

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Speaker 1: was a violation of their eighteen eighty four agreement, sent

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Speaker 1: its own troops in response. The war ran from August

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Speaker 1: eighteen ninety four to March eighteen ninety five, and in

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Speaker 1: that time Japanese forces had bested the Chinese forces at

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Speaker 1: sea and had invaded China on land. Chinese leadership finally

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Speaker 1: asked for an end to the war, and in the

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Speaker 1: Treaty of Shimonoseki, gave Korea its independence from China, seated

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Speaker 1: Taiwan and other territory to Japan, opened its ports to

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Speaker 1: Japanese trade, and agreed to pay a steep indemnity to Japan.

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Speaker 1: But after another decade, japan interest in Korea once again

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Speaker 1: led to war, this time with Russia. There's another parallel

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Speaker 1: here as well. Russia had moved into Manchuria following the

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Speaker 1: lease of the modern day Port of Lusha in China,

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Speaker 1: which was called Port Arthur at the time. Japan was

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Speaker 1: not pleased with this, and Russia eventually agreed to withdraw

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Speaker 1: military forces from Manchuria after Japan made it clear that

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Speaker 1: their presence there was perceived as a problem, but Russia

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Speaker 1: did not withdraw troops, so Japan launched a surprise attack

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Speaker 1: of Port Arthur on February eighth, nineteen oh four. This

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Speaker 1: started an eighteen month conflict that overlapped with the nineteen

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Speaker 1: oh five Revolution in Russia, leaving that country stretched really

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Speaker 1: thin not in a good position to engage with Japan. Eventually,

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Speaker 1: President Theodore Roosevelt got involved to negotiate a treaty. That agreement,

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Speaker 1: the Treaty of Portsmouth, was signed on September fifth of

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Speaker 1: nineteen oh five, and Roosevelt would later receive a Nobel

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Speaker 1: Peace Prize for this effort. Emperor Meiji's government was not

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Speaker 1: done with plans for Korea, though, the result of the

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Speaker 1: Russo Japanese War was that Japan got control over the

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Speaker 1: China Sea, which gave the country total access to Korea.

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Speaker 1: In nineteen ten, Japan began colonial rule of Korea after

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Speaker 1: the signing of the Japan Korea Annexation Treaty. This treaty,

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Speaker 1: which was controversial then and has continued to be controversial

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Speaker 1: since even after it has been revoked, begins with a

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Speaker 1: proclamation that makes it sound like Korea is a big mess,

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Speaker 1: and that Japan is somehow doing the country a favor

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Speaker 1: by stepping in. It's a lot to read, but I

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Speaker 1: want to include the whole thing because it's the language

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Speaker 1: is really really to me. Kind of startling quote. Notwithstanding

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Speaker 1: the earnest and laborious work of reforms in the administration

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Speaker 1: of Korea in which the governments of Japan and Korea

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Speaker 1: engaged for more than four years since the conclusion of

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Speaker 1: the Agreement of nineteen oh five, the existing system of

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Speaker 1: government in that country has not proved entirely equal to

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Speaker 1: the duty of preserving public order and tranquility, and in addition,

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Speaker 1: the spirit of suspicion and misgiving dominates the whole peninsula.

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Speaker 1: In order to maintain peace and stability in Korea, to

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Speaker 1: promote the prosperity and welfare of Koreans, and at the

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Speaker 1: same time, to ensure the safety and repose of foreign residents,

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Speaker 1: it has been made abundantly clear that fundamental changes in

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Speaker 1: the actual regime of government are absolutely essential. The governments

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Speaker 1: of Japan and Korea being convinced of the urgent necessity

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Speaker 1: of introducing reforms responsive to the requirements of the situation

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Speaker 1: and a furnishing sufficient guarantee for the future have with

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Speaker 1: the approval of His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan and

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Speaker 1: His Majesty the Emperor of Korea, concluded through their planetpotentiaries

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Speaker 1: a tree providing for complete annexation of Korea to the

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Speaker 1: Empire of Japan. By virtue of that important act, which

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Speaker 1: shall take effect on its promulgation on August twenty ninth,

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Speaker 1: nineteen ten, the Imperial Government of Japan shall undertake the

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Speaker 1: entire government and administration of Korea.

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Speaker 2: The first article of the treaty states, quote, His Majesty

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Speaker 2: the Emperor of Korea makes the complete and permanent session

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Speaker 2: to his Majesty the Emperor of Japan of all rights

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Speaker 2: of sovereignty over the whole of Korea. And then the

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Speaker 2: rest lays out various ways that the Emperor of Japan

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Speaker 2: will govern Korea. There's also one article that reads, quote,

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Speaker 2: the Government of Japan will, so far as circumstances permit,

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Speaker 2: employ in the public service of Japan and Korea, those

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Speaker 2: Koreans who accept the new regime loyally and in good faith,

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Speaker 2: and who are duly qualified for such service. There is

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Speaker 2: obviously a whole history with Japan and Korea, much of

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Speaker 2: it deeply upsetting.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Following this, yes, and in some cases before this too,

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Speaker 2: but like following this especially.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that whole idea of loyalty is going to come

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Speaker 1: up here in a moment, and we're going to get

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Speaker 1: to the shrine soon, but first we will hear from

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Speaker 1: the sponsors that keep the show going. While the Meiji

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Speaker 1: Restoration began with a sort of promise of equality for all,

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Speaker 1: as it evolved in the forty five years of the

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Speaker 1: emperor's reign, the focus started to become one of nationalist

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Speaker 1: pride and the necessity of devotion to the emperor. This

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Speaker 1: shift had started with the reforms of education and taxation

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Speaker 1: that sought to make the people of the country more

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Speaker 1: prepared for a new era in gauging with the rest

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Speaker 1: of the world. But even in those early reforms, it

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Speaker 1: also included a lot of requirements of loyalty to the emperor,

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Speaker 1: and as Japan fought and won in military conflicts with

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Speaker 1: major global powers, that sense of nationalism really crept in.

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Speaker 2: Emperor Meiji died in Tokyo on July thirtieth, nineteen twelve.

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Speaker 2: His consort, Empress Shokun, died two years after that, they

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Speaker 2: were entombed outside of Kyoto, but the diet through a resolution,

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Speaker 2: established a plan to memorialize Meiji and his empress and

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Speaker 2: to enshrine their kami, which is sort of like their

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Speaker 2: spiritual essence in Tokyo. The site was chosen because it

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Speaker 2: was at the time a park that featured an iris

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Speaker 2: garden that the couple really loved. This park was built

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Speaker 2: on land that had been part of a daimyo's holdings

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Speaker 2: in the era prior to the Meiji governmental restructuring, and

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Speaker 2: it was taken by the government in Meiji's time to

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Speaker 2: be turned into the Yoyogi Imperial Garden. It was at

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Speaker 2: Meiji's order that the iris garden be planted in the

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Speaker 2: park to delight Empress Shoken because irises were her favorite flower.

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Speaker 1: Emperor Meiji and Empress shokn are important figures because they

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Speaker 1: were the first modern imperial rulers of Japan, But as

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Speaker 1: we've mentioned, Meiji was not operating as the final word

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Speaker 1: in Japan's government, or even always as the primary decision

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Speaker 1: maker in the changes that the country underwent during his time,

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Speaker 1: but he represents the moment of modernization and a new

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Speaker 1: age of Japanese identity, and though many of the reforms

434
00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:48,119
Speaker 1: enacted during his reign had really problematic consequences later on,

435
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:52,119
Speaker 1: including some of the issues with Korea that Tracy and

436
00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:54,960
Speaker 1: I had referenced just a moment ago, he was still

437
00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:58,600
Speaker 1: recognized as ushering in a lot of significant change and

438
00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:02,480
Speaker 1: bringing Japan out of isolation is thinking and into the

439
00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:03,480
Speaker 1: global community.

440
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:09,680
Speaker 2: Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine, which makes sense as

441
00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:12,960
Speaker 2: Shinto has made the state religion during the Meiji reign.

442
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:18,400
Speaker 2: We would never in any way consider ourselves experts on Shinto,

443
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,320
Speaker 2: so as an explainer we are quoting from the Meiji

444
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:27,919
Speaker 2: Jingu website quote. Shinto is Japan's ancient original religion and

445
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,439
Speaker 2: it is deeply rooted in the way of Japanese life.

446
00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:34,240
Speaker 2: Shinto has no founder, no holy book, and not even

447
00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:38,040
Speaker 2: the concept of religious conversion. But Shinto places value in

448
00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:43,080
Speaker 2: harmony with nature and virtues such as mago koro sincere heart.

449
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:47,680
Speaker 2: In Shinto, something divine is regarded as kami, divine spirit,

450
00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:51,400
Speaker 2: and it is believed that there is an unlimited number

451
00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:55,200
Speaker 2: of kami. Kami can be found in mythology, in nature,

452
00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:59,000
Speaker 2: and in human beings. From ancient times Japanese have felt

453
00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:02,480
Speaker 2: awe and gratitude towards such kami and enshrined them to

454
00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:08,120
Speaker 2: Shinto shrines. Shinto is such a part of Japanese culture

455
00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,320
Speaker 2: that it almost transcends the idea of religion and becomes

456
00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:15,080
Speaker 2: a more cultural practice. Writing for the Yale Forum for

457
00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:19,320
Speaker 2: Religion and Ecology, Rosemary Bernard noted, quote, it is impossible

458
00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:23,240
Speaker 2: to consider the topic of Shinto and ecology without making

459
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:26,800
Speaker 2: reference to the broader issue of Japanese cultural attitudes to

460
00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:31,080
Speaker 2: the natural environment. This is because what one might describe

461
00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:34,680
Speaker 2: as Shinto beliefs are often values that are entrenched in

462
00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:39,320
Speaker 2: Japanese folk culture in general, and which find expression in

463
00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:44,680
Speaker 2: other areas beyond religion, from socio political organization to esthetics

464
00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:45,400
Speaker 2: and so on.

465
00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:50,120
Speaker 1: So the setup of the park and the shrine is

466
00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,640
Speaker 1: really incredible for a number of reasons. So for one,

467
00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:58,840
Speaker 1: it offers this almost surreal complete sense of isolation and serenity,

468
00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:01,080
Speaker 1: even though it is is right in the middle of

469
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:04,360
Speaker 1: the city, just steps from Harajuku Station. It's about a

470
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:06,960
Speaker 1: ten minute walk from the station to the entrance to

471
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:10,040
Speaker 1: the park. Once you enter the park area, which is

472
00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:12,880
Speaker 1: far larger than the original park, it's about one hundred

473
00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:16,600
Speaker 1: and seventy three acres in size. You are completely surrounded

474
00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:19,120
Speaker 1: by trees as you make your way to the shrine's

475
00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:22,400
Speaker 1: try gates, which separate the secular part of the grounds

476
00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:26,600
Speaker 1: from the sacred section, and before you pass through the

477
00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:30,520
Speaker 1: final gate, you pass through a font called the temezuya,

478
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:32,920
Speaker 1: where you wash your hands and rinse your mouth with

479
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:34,280
Speaker 1: water to be purified.

480
00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:38,640
Speaker 2: The trees at the shrine have their own story because

481
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,600
Speaker 2: the Meiji Jingu Shrine is surrounded by a man made forest,

482
00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,600
Speaker 2: and the trees that make up that forest were donated

483
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:48,360
Speaker 2: by the people of Japan from all over the country,

484
00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,920
Speaker 2: with an estimated two hundred and forty five species represented.

485
00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:55,080
Speaker 2: Holli saw several write ups that said there were one

486
00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:59,080
Speaker 2: hundred thousand trees, but a twenty fifteen book on Shinto

487
00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:02,720
Speaker 2: shrines written by Joseph Kelly and John Dougill gave the

488
00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:06,680
Speaker 2: number of trees as one hundred and seventy thousand, so

489
00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,600
Speaker 2: maybe that smaller number was more of the starting point

490
00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:13,360
Speaker 2: when the shrine was completed in nineteen twenty. When you

491
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:15,680
Speaker 2: look at photos of the site from when it was

492
00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:19,680
Speaker 2: first dedicated, you can see how much this forest has grown.

493
00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:23,560
Speaker 2: In old aerial photos you can clearly see all the

494
00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:26,840
Speaker 2: buildings with just the trees planted around them, but in

495
00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:30,120
Speaker 2: photos today it is just a mass of green foliage

496
00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:32,840
Speaker 2: with small glimpses of the structures peeking through.

497
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:38,200
Speaker 1: The shrine was designed by one of Japan's famous architects, Ittochuta,

498
00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,600
Speaker 1: in a traditional Shinto style, and work began on the

499
00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:46,160
Speaker 1: structure in nineteen fifteen. The main materials used were Japanese

500
00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:50,160
Speaker 1: cypress and copper, and the site is really a full complex.

501
00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:53,880
Speaker 1: In addition to the main shrine, there's also an ambulant

502
00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:57,440
Speaker 1: office where visitors can purchase omamori to bring good fortune.

503
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,240
Speaker 1: There's a museum that includes various treasures related to the

504
00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:06,040
Speaker 1: shrine into Emperor Meiji, and a secondary annex of the museum.

505
00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:10,080
Speaker 1: There is also a sacred music hall known as the Kaguradin.

506
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:14,200
Speaker 1: There is a cafe and a martial arts dojo. Not

507
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:16,959
Speaker 1: all of these buildings, of course, were original to the site.

508
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,000
Speaker 1: In fact, none of the current buildings are from the

509
00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:23,680
Speaker 1: original nineteen twenty opening. During World War.

510
00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:28,040
Speaker 2: II, almost all of the buildings at Meiji Jengu burns

511
00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:33,560
Speaker 2: and air raids. Surprisingly, the forests survived, though in nineteen

512
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:37,240
Speaker 2: fifty eight, after a public fundraising effort generated enough money

513
00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:41,680
Speaker 2: to rebuild, the shrine was reconstructed using the original plans.

514
00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:44,680
Speaker 1: There was also a lot of other stuff going on

515
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:48,360
Speaker 1: in Japan in the time between World War two and

516
00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:50,880
Speaker 1: nineteen fifty eight when this rebuilt, but at this point

517
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:54,280
Speaker 1: I just wanted to focus on the shrine. It is

518
00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:58,040
Speaker 1: very very easy to find photos of the Meiji Jingu

519
00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:02,280
Speaker 1: Shrine online and in because it is very beautiful. It

520
00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:05,280
Speaker 1: attracts a lot of tourists in addition to people visiting

521
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:09,360
Speaker 1: for their own spiritual reasons. But there are no photographs

522
00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:11,840
Speaker 1: allowed beyond the outer worship hall, so if you're in

523
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:15,360
Speaker 1: the inner worship hall praying, there are no photographs in there.

524
00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,280
Speaker 2: So this shrine is very easy to visit. The shrine

525
00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:22,360
Speaker 2: grounds are free to enter and are open every day

526
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:26,040
Speaker 2: from sunrise to sunset. Some of the buildings, like the museum,

527
00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:29,640
Speaker 2: have days when they're closed. The inner garden, where the

528
00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:33,120
Speaker 2: Empress's irises were planted, has an entry fee of five

529
00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:37,040
Speaker 2: hundred yen that goes toward upkeep. Visitors to the main

530
00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:41,240
Speaker 2: shrine can make a small offering of a coin bow twice,

531
00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:44,560
Speaker 2: clap their hands twice and bow again to show reverence.

532
00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:49,600
Speaker 2: You can also purchase votive tablets called Emma for five

533
00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:53,640
Speaker 2: hundred yen and write wishes and hopes and just gratitude

534
00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:56,480
Speaker 2: on them. You can hang them around a camphor tree

535
00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:00,440
Speaker 2: at the main shrine. There's also a letter verse of

536
00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:03,640
Speaker 2: this ritual in which you can write your sentiment onto

537
00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:06,640
Speaker 2: it and then tuck money into the letter to place

538
00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:07,920
Speaker 2: it in an offering box.

539
00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:12,840
Speaker 1: These offerings are given each morning by the people of

540
00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:14,840
Speaker 1: the shrine to the spirits.

541
00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:18,640
Speaker 2: It's quite lovely. I really found it a very moving experience.

542
00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:24,839
Speaker 2: But that is, you know, a very abbreviated version of

543
00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:29,560
Speaker 2: the Meiji of Meiji period and the shrine. It's kind

544
00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:32,799
Speaker 2: of interesting because when you're at the shrine, you don't

545
00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:35,319
Speaker 2: get all of unless you go in the museum. You're

546
00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:39,239
Speaker 2: not getting all of the information about Emperor Meiji. Presumably

547
00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:42,040
Speaker 2: to people of Japan the connection is obvious, but to turists,

548
00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:45,239
Speaker 2: I feel like they may not always understand exactly like

549
00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:49,360
Speaker 2: what is going on and why those people were chosen

550
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:53,440
Speaker 2: to have a shrine built to memorialize them. So if

551
00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:56,560
Speaker 2: you go to Japan, highly recommend it. Do you have

552
00:34:56,640 --> 00:34:57,840
Speaker 2: listener mail for us.

553
00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:00,960
Speaker 1: I do. I do because of thank God, my listener

554
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:04,160
Speaker 1: mail is a little bit behind recent episodes, but we'll

555
00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:06,160
Speaker 1: get caught up. But I wanted to read this because

556
00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:08,440
Speaker 1: I loved it, and I really love the pet pictures

557
00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:12,400
Speaker 1: in it. This is from our listener, Anita, who writes,

558
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:14,880
Speaker 1: Dear Tracy and Holly, thank you so much for bringing

559
00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:18,640
Speaker 1: such wonderful history vignettes to life with your delightful personalities,

560
00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:22,880
Speaker 1: thoughtful reflections and contextualization and humor. I've been listening on

561
00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:25,640
Speaker 1: and off for about ten years and always enjoy hearing

562
00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:28,680
Speaker 1: your voices and learning new things. I'm writing to tell

563
00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:32,480
Speaker 1: you about several books I'm reading connected to your topics. First,

564
00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:35,120
Speaker 1: I was completely floored by your recent show about the

565
00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:38,040
Speaker 1: Lost Cause. I had never known that this take on

566
00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:41,200
Speaker 1: the Civil War was a concerted effort to reframe reconstruction

567
00:35:41,719 --> 00:35:44,879
Speaker 1: and motivations for the war, etc. I am from South

568
00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:48,000
Speaker 1: Carolina and distinctly remember being taught in middle school in

569
00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:51,040
Speaker 1: the nineteen nineties that slavery was not, in fact the

570
00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:54,080
Speaker 1: reason for the Civil War, and that the teacher expected

571
00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:56,960
Speaker 1: us to put states' rights as the top motivator on

572
00:35:57,040 --> 00:36:00,920
Speaker 1: our test. I also clearly remember the text books, highlighting

573
00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:05,279
Speaker 1: the vocabulary for carpetbaggers and scallowags in the description of

574
00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:09,560
Speaker 1: Northerners coming to the South during reconstruction to take advantage

575
00:36:09,719 --> 00:36:12,840
Speaker 1: of poor Southerners. I think on some level, I always

576
00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:16,000
Speaker 1: knew that people from other states got different versions of history,

577
00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:18,760
Speaker 1: but your thorough treatment of the Lost Cause was truly

578
00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,640
Speaker 1: the first time this all came together for me. Y'all

579
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:24,080
Speaker 1: suggested books to read that treated the Civil War and

580
00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:28,080
Speaker 1: Reconstruction with richer perspectives. I can't recall if you specifically

581
00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:30,760
Speaker 1: recommended this book, but I was inspired to start reading

582
00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:33,759
Speaker 1: A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

583
00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:36,960
Speaker 1: to get a fresh take on US history. I also

584
00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:40,200
Speaker 1: have been enjoying Baking in the American South by Anne Burn.

585
00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:43,640
Speaker 1: The book is beautifully photographed, and the stories behind the

586
00:36:43,719 --> 00:36:47,880
Speaker 1: recipes are enchanting and informative about their history and local origin.

587
00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:51,200
Speaker 1: I truly enjoyed the episode where you interviewed Anne Burn

588
00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:54,640
Speaker 1: and find the book equally delightful. The chocolate chip cookie

589
00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:58,440
Speaker 1: recipe is amazing, and someday I will master cornbread if

590
00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:00,880
Speaker 1: I can ever remember not to use one percent milk

591
00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:04,279
Speaker 1: instead of whole or buttermilk, just as in Aside. I

592
00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:06,399
Speaker 1: can't get enough of Van Burne. I love her so much,

593
00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:10,560
Speaker 1: and that book is spectacular. I know I've said it before,

594
00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:14,799
Speaker 1: but it bears repeating. I'm now, Anita says on the

595
00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:17,799
Speaker 1: episode about Kurt Vonnegut, which is quite timely because I

596
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:22,560
Speaker 1: just finished Cat's Cradle. She's just tied to our stories

597
00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:26,319
Speaker 1: in her reading as pet tax, I'm attaching photos of

598
00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:29,960
Speaker 1: my rescue pup, Juno, an Australian cattle dog mix who

599
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:32,840
Speaker 1: loves to eat grits, and heard my daughters around the house.

600
00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:35,800
Speaker 1: Thank you again. I love the show. Okay, I'm obsessed

601
00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:39,000
Speaker 1: with Juno. I'm obsessed with this dog.

602
00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:42,719
Speaker 2: This dog is so stick and cute.

603
00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:46,800
Speaker 1: I can't I can't. I can't function in the face

604
00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:50,680
Speaker 1: of this cute puppy face. It's got one of those faces.

605
00:37:50,719 --> 00:37:54,319
Speaker 1: He's a black and tan coat. He has these adorable

606
00:37:54,360 --> 00:38:00,720
Speaker 1: stand up ears. The eyes are gorgeous. Juno, You're a gem.

607
00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:05,440
Speaker 1: We can just tell. I love it. I love it.

608
00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,960
Speaker 1: Although now I realize that Anita did not specify whether

609
00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:12,799
Speaker 1: Juno was boy or a girl, so I called Juno him.

610
00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:16,239
Speaker 1: I don't know. Juno, You're beautiful. Though telling you that

611
00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:18,680
Speaker 1: dog Weaponiz is cute. It's the very best.

612
00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:21,480
Speaker 2: If you would like to write to us, send us

613
00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:24,800
Speaker 2: pictures of your painfully adorable pets.

614
00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:26,359
Speaker 1: And remember I like them all. So have you got

615
00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:30,440
Speaker 1: pet spiders? Send in my way? You can do that

616
00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:35,120
Speaker 1: at History podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. I don't know

617
00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:37,719
Speaker 1: if Tracy wants pictures of spiders. Maybe put spiders in

618
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:40,040
Speaker 1: all caps on any emails that might include them so

619
00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:42,319
Speaker 1: she can make that choice. I'll be looking at him.

620
00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:46,319
Speaker 1: You can also subscribe to the show on the iHeartRadio

621
00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:50,960
Speaker 1: app or wherever it is you listen to your favorite show.

622
00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:57,280
Speaker 2: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio.

623
00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:02,239
Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

624
00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:04,360
Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,