The Meiji Period
Well-designed overview of the changes Japan underwent, internally and externally, as a
result of the Meiji Restoration.
The Constitution of the Empire
of Japan (1889)
Complete translation of the 1889 constitution
Colin Barker: Origins and Significance
of the Meiji Restoration
Originally handouts for a 1982 series of lectures, this analyzes the transition from
feudalism to Meiji capitalism from a Marxist perspective.
Agricultural and Rural
Welfare in Meiji Japan
Charts and statistics on Meiji land reform and how the changing economy affected
Meiji-era farmers.
The Meiji Restoration
Brief historical overview, along with the human cost of rapid industrialization. This
is part of the syllabus for a history course that is no longer being offered; you can still read it
on the Internet Archive.
Meiji:
Tradition in Transition
Virtual tour of changes in the life of a Meiji family.
Unbeaten Tracks in Japan
In 1878 a remarkable woman named Isabella Bird traveled all over Japan and chronicled
her trip in a series of published letters.
Women in Meiji, Taisho and
Imperial Japan
Course outline and historical timeline with important dates in women’s
history.
Books about Meiji Japan:
Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. Belknap Press, 2000. ISBN 0-674-00334-9
Irokawa, Daikichi. Marius B. Jansen, tr. The Culture of the Meiji Period. Princeton University Press, 1985. ISBN 0-691-00030-1
Benfey, Christopher. The Great Wave: Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics, and the Opening of Old Japan. Random House, 2003. ISBN 0-375-50327-7
Sansom, G. B. The Western World and Japan. Vintage Books, 1973. ISBN 0-394-71867-4.
Hearn, Lafcadio. Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan. Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1977. ISBN 0-8048-1145-8
Chamberlain, Basil Hall. Japanese Things: Being Notes on Various Subjects Connected with Japan. Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1981. ISBN 0-8048-0713-2
Whitney, Clara A. N., M. William Steele and Tamiko Ichimata, eds. Clara’s Diary: An American Girl in Meiji Japan. Kodansha International, 1979. ISBN 0-87011-341-0
Tsurumi, E. Patricia. Factory Girls: Women in the Thread Mills of Meiji Japan. Princeton University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-691-03138-X
Seidensticker, Edward. Low City, High City: Tokyo from Edo to the Earthquake. Alfred A. Knopf, 1983. ISBN 0-394-50730-4
Gluck, Carol. Japan’s Modern Myths: Ideology in the Late Meiji Period. Princeton University Press, 1985. ISBN 0-691-00812-4