`연속하면서 혁신`

A Revolution Embracing Ancien Regime? - A Search for a New View on Meiji Restoration

The researches on the Meiji Restoration in Japan have drifted for a long time since the grand theory of the Marxism lost its influence around 1990. Most Japanese researchers have been engrossed in fragmented issues and problems without any considerations on their meanings in the larger historical context. How could we rescue the Meiji Restoration from this academic impasse? The Meiji Restoration was a very different revolution from other ‘typical’ revolutions such as French, Russian, or Chinese revolution. First, it was led by a part of the ruling class which kept innovating itself. Second, the restoration accomplished great transformations in all aspects of Japanese society while maintaining public order. These characteristics resulted in the formation of a strong and constant conservative tendency throughout 20th century in Japanese society. I argue that the Meiji Restoration introduces a new type of revolution in which radical changes set the stage for the formation of self-innovating conservatism. This in turn led to the recurring of preemptive efforts and reforms throughout modern Japanese history.