Formation of Japanese national self-consciousness in the Meiji era

Abstract
The article is devoted to the analysis of the process of the formation of Japanese national identity in the Meiji era. Comprehensive reforms were based on the experience of the European states of the 19th century, while the Japanese elite acted “like in a supermarket,” selecting those ideas and institutions that suited them. In particular, in the course of the Iwakura mission, the Prussian statehood, in which the institution of the state church was inseparable from the monarchy, attracted special attention from the entourage of Emperor Meiji. This was used to create the state Shinto cult. The institutions of the school and the army were used to construct the national identity of the entire Japanese nation. Under the conditions of political pressure from the outside, basic concepts of the unity and uniqueness of the Japanese nation, its differences from other powers and the role of the chosen country are beginning to actively form.

Keywords: history of Japan, Meiji era, national identity, kokutai.

For citation: Martynov D.E., Martynova Yu.A., Philippenko D.A. Formation of Japanese national self-consciousness in the Meiji era. Modern Oriental Studies. 2021; 3(3).