Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something to knowledge base
Content stats: 0 posts, 0 articles, 0 media, 0 notes
Members stats: 0 subscribers, 0 contributors, 0 moderators, 0 supporters
Subscribers
Supporters
Contributors
Moderators
Japanization
Japanization or Japanisation is the process by which Japanese culture dominates, assimilates, or influences other cultures. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, "To japanize" means "To make or become Japanese in form, idiom, style, or character". Historically, areas occupied by Japan were subject to long-term colonisation and assimilation with a few (i.e., Hokkaido and Ryukyu Islands, Bonin Islands) remaining Japanized post-World War II.
During the Heian period (794–1185), Chinese cultural influence began to wane and a more distinct Japanese identity began to form. By this time, the Yamato people had also consolidated control over Honshu by dominating the northern Emishi people. External trade also grew with the establishment of nihonmachi abroad.
By the late 16th century, Japan was politically reunified under the leadership of Oda Nobunaga and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. For much of the following Edo period (1600–1868), an isolationst diplomacy was practiced, during which Japan did not expand significantly. This increased political and economic stability and standardized laws and customs across the main Japanese islands. Limited regional expansion north did, however, bring Japan into rivalry with Imperial Russia.
After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the Empire of Japan began to follow the way of western imperialism and expansionism. Victories against Russia and Qing dynasty China saw the focus of expansionism also shift south with the policy of Nanshin-ron ("Southern Expansion Doctrine"). As a result, Japanization began to have a negative meaning because of military conquests and forced introduction of Japanese culture in colonized and conquered areas.
Ezo (蝦夷) (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the people and the islands to the northeast of Honshu. This included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and sometimes included Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The inhabitants of these islands, the Ainu, historically suffered from economic and social discrimination, as both the Japanese government and mainstream population at the time regarded them as primitive and backwards.
The majority of Ainu were assimilated as petty laborers during the Meiji Restoration, which saw the annexation of Hokkaido into the Japanese Empire and the privatization of traditional lands. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Japanese government also denied the rights of the Ainu to their traditional cultural practices, such as hunting, gathering, and speaking their native language.
In 1879, Japan officially annexed the Ryūkyū Kingdom, which was a tributary kingdom of both the Qing dynasty and the Empire of Japan. Prior to this time, however, the kingdom, while technically remaining a Chinese vassal state, had been under the long-term influence of the Satsuma Clan since the invasion of 1609.
Though the Ryukyuan languages belong to the Japonic language family, the Japanese language is not intelligible to monolingual speakers of the Ryukyuan languages. The Japanese government regarded the Ryukyuan languages as dialects of Japanese, and began to promote a language "standardization" program. In schools, "standard" Japanese was promoted, and portraits of the Japanese Emperor and Empress were introduced in classrooms. Many high-ranking Japanese military officers went to inspect Okinawan schools to ensure that the Japanization was functioning well in the education system. This measure did not meet expectations in the beginning, partly because many local children's shares of their heavy family labor impeded their presence in schools, and partly because people of the old Okinawan ruling class received a more Chinese-style education and were not interested in learning "standard" Japanese.
Japanization
Japanization or Japanisation is the process by which Japanese culture dominates, assimilates, or influences other cultures. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, "To japanize" means "To make or become Japanese in form, idiom, style, or character". Historically, areas occupied by Japan were subject to long-term colonisation and assimilation with a few (i.e., Hokkaido and Ryukyu Islands, Bonin Islands) remaining Japanized post-World War II.
During the Heian period (794–1185), Chinese cultural influence began to wane and a more distinct Japanese identity began to form. By this time, the Yamato people had also consolidated control over Honshu by dominating the northern Emishi people. External trade also grew with the establishment of nihonmachi abroad.
By the late 16th century, Japan was politically reunified under the leadership of Oda Nobunaga and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. For much of the following Edo period (1600–1868), an isolationst diplomacy was practiced, during which Japan did not expand significantly. This increased political and economic stability and standardized laws and customs across the main Japanese islands. Limited regional expansion north did, however, bring Japan into rivalry with Imperial Russia.
After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the Empire of Japan began to follow the way of western imperialism and expansionism. Victories against Russia and Qing dynasty China saw the focus of expansionism also shift south with the policy of Nanshin-ron ("Southern Expansion Doctrine"). As a result, Japanization began to have a negative meaning because of military conquests and forced introduction of Japanese culture in colonized and conquered areas.
Ezo (蝦夷) (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the people and the islands to the northeast of Honshu. This included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and sometimes included Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The inhabitants of these islands, the Ainu, historically suffered from economic and social discrimination, as both the Japanese government and mainstream population at the time regarded them as primitive and backwards.
The majority of Ainu were assimilated as petty laborers during the Meiji Restoration, which saw the annexation of Hokkaido into the Japanese Empire and the privatization of traditional lands. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Japanese government also denied the rights of the Ainu to their traditional cultural practices, such as hunting, gathering, and speaking their native language.
In 1879, Japan officially annexed the Ryūkyū Kingdom, which was a tributary kingdom of both the Qing dynasty and the Empire of Japan. Prior to this time, however, the kingdom, while technically remaining a Chinese vassal state, had been under the long-term influence of the Satsuma Clan since the invasion of 1609.
Though the Ryukyuan languages belong to the Japonic language family, the Japanese language is not intelligible to monolingual speakers of the Ryukyuan languages. The Japanese government regarded the Ryukyuan languages as dialects of Japanese, and began to promote a language "standardization" program. In schools, "standard" Japanese was promoted, and portraits of the Japanese Emperor and Empress were introduced in classrooms. Many high-ranking Japanese military officers went to inspect Okinawan schools to ensure that the Japanization was functioning well in the education system. This measure did not meet expectations in the beginning, partly because many local children's shares of their heavy family labor impeded their presence in schools, and partly because people of the old Okinawan ruling class received a more Chinese-style education and were not interested in learning "standard" Japanese.