Peters,+Zack.+The+Bundan.

=__The Meiji Empire and its limited effect on Literature__= ==== The Meiji Restoration was a political and cultural change that occurred in Japan between 1868 and 1912. The change signaled the return of the rule of Empire in Japan. It brought an end to the rule of the Tokugawa (bakufu) feudal dictators and the Shogunate. The empire brought great change in art, culture, and literature through a rebirth of traditional Japanese values and customs. ====

**__T__****__he Start of the Reformation__**
Before the Restoration took place, writers were scarce in Japan. There was a fixed limit to the production of literature that could occur within the island nation. This was because only merchants could trade the writings and thier ability to trade Japaneese writing within Japan was not strong at the time, because art was not valued. (Jansen, vii-11)

The Meiji Restoration can be dated with the edict of January 3rd, 1868. This edict was the first that showed the desire for the Japaneese to move on from the Tokugawa. The guards were replaced with western military and the development of new politics began.The fifteen years following the overthrow of the bakufu, the leaders of Japan decided to bring "order and unity" out of the divided Japan (Jansen 335). Before the Meiji Restoration Japan's political system was fractured, yet they emered as one of the most centralized states with success in the modern world. Japan wanted to be considered a power in the modern world, and while China served as a potential model, the Japaneese decided to use their centralization to their advantage. There were no wars for geographic and economic advantage. The country could use it's isolation to become the power it wanted to be. The speed at which the nation transformed was great. In a few short years their government was rebuilt and their nation was on a track towards sucess.

__**The Reformation Continues**__
The reformation continued as the political system worked itself out. There was economic growth as Japan became centralized with the goal of global prosperity. The govermnet did encounter some differences. Much like political parties in the United States, politicians were debating on what the future should be for the new Japan. Their founding fathers were Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa, and Hizen. They developed their system in which each district would have a governor that would report to their council. They would represent their constituents in front of a council that would determine the outcomes of topics. This was the first step towards centralization that began the fast development for the country.

**__You Want a Revolution?__**
While many expect a great revoltuion from this political change, it did not come. A vast majority of the country was still illiterate and teh development of the arts took time to follow. While the country fought to become a force in the modern world, the citizens went back to focusing on the traditional attitudes of their ancestors. The citizens began to look into nature as a guide to their lives. Zen regained its foothold as the predominant religion in the nation and affected literature. When it did come back around to literature, the Meiji era contributed to a variety of works that show the strenth of Japaneese Tradition. The most important aspect of Meiji Literature is that European and American texts brought a new type of free prose and fiction to the land that was not yet there. As these young authors began to read into these works they developed a writing style that created a special Japaneese Literature. There is a long list of works that came out during this period that lasted a few hundred years. As more and more literary styles were brought in by the new trade oriented government new literatuer found it's way into the country.

**__"I Novel"[[image:soseki_I_am_cat.png width="311" height="297" align="right" caption="Soseki as a kitty"]]__**
The "I Novel" is a style of Japaneese fiction that developed in the Meiji Reformation. The "I Novel" was made famous by Natsume Soeseki with his work //Wagahai wa Neko dearu//, in English//, I am the Cat//. The novels were designed to show the author as an imperfect individual. The author must be the same as the protagonist, as well as the hero of the text (Suzuki, 52). This allows the author to be at one with the text. Bein at one with the text allows for a more personal reflection on the work than traditional fiction. This was the greatest form of literature to arise from this era.

//**Sources:**//

Jansen, Marius B. __The Emergence of Meiji Japan__. New York City: University of Cambridge, 1995. . __The Making of Modern Japan__. Harvard: Harvard Press, 2000. Suzuki, Tomi. __Narrating the Self - Fictions of Japanese Modernity__. Stanford: Stanford Press, 1996.