But the natural death of the elderly shogun hastened the events. Perry sailed back to Uraga Bay exactly six months later. What for the Japanese to do again?
The head of the Bakufu, Abe Masahiro, did not dare to assume a responsible role and called an All-Japanese Meeting. Abe Masahiro soberly assessed the situation resistance was impossible. Representatives of the emperor, Bakufu, regional nobility daimyo, on the contrary, were conservative. The agreement with the Americans, then with the Russians was, of course, signed. With the help of the Dutch, Abe Masahiro immediately began to modernize the fleet, began to cast new guns and even founded an intelligence agency in order to study new technologies and information from abroad. But Abe Masahiro didnt have enough time. His compromise with the Americans, Russians, and British was a signal for other representatives of the opposition nobility. He signed a humiliating contract! After the British shelled Kagoshima with cannons in 1863 everything became evident to everyone. Because the British are usually not enough for one trade agreement, they needed a bonded contract of the same type as the Chinese one, which they signed with the conquered China in 1860.
If the samurai power could not protect the homeland, this mean the shogun and his people have lost divine mercy.
Thats how the salvo of Matthew Perrys squadron became the signal for a new era in the history of Japan. Those samurai and daimyo who felt humiliated did agree to change the old course of self-isolation. Everyone already knew what had happened to China, that China had lost its independence and something had to be done. The invaders will soon come to Japan.
Who will save? Of course, the emperor.
The emperor is the son of the sun, which means hope, so in the spirituality of his emperor, there was a new way out for the new Japan. A group formed around the emperor against the shogun and Bakufu. It took another thirteen years for the shogun to agree and proclaim the transfer of power to the emperor.
So, the emperor is a sacred figure. The Japanese, of course, first found spiritual reserves for the new government this is a distinctive feature of the spirited Japanese. After all, when necessary, they always find a way out. Also, the Japanese have never closed their doors to talented people. Power is of course important for everyone but not for the Japanese. Power itself was not an end in itself for the Japanese thanks to the synthesis of Shintoism and Buddhism.
Thus ended the two-hundred-and-fifty-year era of the shoguns. The executive power was returned power to the son of the sun Emperor Mutsuhito. An era called Meiji was born. So, the warriors were replaced by pundits. Isnt this an indicator of Japanese adequacy and efficiency? In order for the government to be adequate to external and internal challenges, the level of traditional power is very important. The level of the elite is important, hence morality, what kind of people, and such is the power.
Chapter 7
Always on the right track
Japanese morality does not encourage the appearance of outstanding personalities. She, like a hammer, immediately hits a nail, the head of which sticks out too much from the board. For all their apparent entrepreneurial spirit, the Japanese are weakly endowed with a sense of personal initiative. And this lack of creativity is largely due to their innate desire not to step over the boundaries of a proper place.
The concept of a proper place requires dont take for not your work. This deprives people of independence in many practical details.
Sakura branch. Vsevolod Ovchinnikov
When I found out how disciplined the Japanese are in all matters, I immediately realized where this quality came from. For me, a Kazakh, the author of the theory of self-reflection, it was not difficult. I automatically attributed the reflection of warriors to the Japanese. Yes, the first stage of reflection -it is the self-reflection of Zerefs has no semitones. This is the lowest reflection when it is impossible for to warriors show pity to enemies. It is when you have to follow orders.
However, after a minute, all my logic came to a dead end because the simple Japanese immediately show outstanding qualities when they dont do other peoples business. If talents do not allow, they do not try to take someone elses place. Natural modesty is always too obvious in Japanese etiquette. If you are an aristocrat, if you are a well-deserved person, and finally, if you are a guest in the house of a Japanese, you are always in the first place, you should sit in the most honorable place. If you dont, because of your shyness now, the Japanese dont know what to do in their own home. What is it? After all, the Japanese automatically follow the main motto of the Revcon give in, skip ahead of the best. Even if this outstanding quality is a manifestation of upbringing, that is, conditioned reflexes: the Japanese allegedly did not think of it himself, but he was inspired to respect his elders. Actually, in the East, old people are respected everywhere. Whats the matter here?
What is the uniqueness of Japanese intuition?
Since the Heiyang 7941185, Japan has been structured into five hundred subclasses. There is no country in the world where people do not know someone elses superiority, at least in something, in the smallest detail. Official status, noble origin, occupation, and even seniority are the most obvious things that every nation has. The Japanese can manage to distinguish not at the level of intuition, which of them is higher and which is lower even if someone was born a minute earlier, he deserves more respect. Such a dictatorship of an almost eternal hierarchy brought up the Japanese. The whole history of the Japanese was taught discipline.
So, why didnt stagnation happen in Japan?
Why didnt happen the triumph of stupidity? After all, the elder in any form of seniority, even in social status, even in the form of a stupid older brother, must dictate his will to submissive people.
The culture of etiquette is pressing on the Japanese this is indisputable. This culture of respect is felt even in the XXI century, although Japan can be considered the most urbanized nation in Asia. The Japanese will always smile at you but its not exactly a Chinese smile absolutely. It also does not puzzle that a Japanese is obliged to smile at any stupidity and every ignoramus. The Japanese will start hinting from afar, so as not to offend. If he gets bored and sees who is in front of him, he will say goodbye culturally.
So who is a Japanese a Zeref or a Zelot?
This question and the confusion in my theory of reflection is because the Japanese deny everything by their behavior my whole theory. Overly tactful and friendly Japanese tell you about the long historical compulsion to be like this. It really is. During the two hundred and fifty years of the Tokugawa dictatorship, the Japanese were taught not to even touch each other to avoid being insulted. Has anyone seen Japanese people holding out their hands for a handshake? No, the Japanese fold their palms and make bows. So, is it an innate affability then, or is it the fear of many generations hidden in this way?
And who said that children who love their father are friendly from fear?
The friendliness of the nation is just an indicator of its high self-reflection. They sort of say why should we waste time on trifles? What needs to be realized does not always come from the heart. High self-reflection manifests itself precisely in the search and finding of the best option, this is the search for Zen, that is, the best way. In the VI century, Buddhism penetrated Japan. The Japanese liked it so much that they always make the right choice. The Japanese have very few fools in the administrative apparatus so far. A fool would not dare to take the place of a talented person, so as not to look like a laughingstock. They always make the right choice, and always find the right path. With all the dictatorship of the shoguns administrators, they would not be able to influence the freedom of choice. Yes, the Shoguns have accustomed the Japanese to over-discipline. They brought the intuition of the Japanese to cosmic heights, but few of the Japanese turned into holy prophets, of which there are many in the West. The dictatorship of the shoguns influenced the growth of reflection. Even the most recent Japanese tries not to do stupid things, so as not to have clowned over him. In this regard, the Japanese are very dependent on the opinions of others. But it is dependence on the opinions of others that is the first step to perfection.