gordon liu

D e c e m b e r 3 1 , 1 9 1 2

T h e R i s i n g S u n D i g e s t • 8 8 8 8 S u n S t r e e t • T o k y o , J a p a n • 6 4 5 - S u n - R i s e

Inside This Issue:The End of an Enlightened Period has come! -2

The Samurai Lifestyle Page 2

Japanese ExpansionPage 2

Objection! Page 3

The Plight of the Japanese WomenPage 3

THE RISING SUN NEWSPAPER

S p e c i a l E d i t i o n

By: Gordon Liu, Freelance Reporter

The End of an Enlightened Period has Come!

The end of an enlightened period in Japanese history has come to an end. Emperor Meiji, who oversaw the 44 years that changed the lives of all Japanese, has died. Emperor Meiji has left behind a

legacy to behold, and his life shall be compared to many great leaders of the past, such as Alexander The Great and Ghengis Khan. The streets of Tokyo are filled with mourners of the great Emperor, and his story shall never be forgotten, not by the Japanese, nor by the rest of the

world.Emperor Meiji oversaw all the events that transpired from 1868-1912, from the Charter

Oath, to the Treaty of Portsmouth, Emperor Meiji was there, like a hawk watching over its children.

Emperor Meiji’s first large act as Emperor at the age of 15, was when he issued the Charter Oath, and Imperial Decree that showed Japan’s intention to modernize and not be bullied throughout the world. Of the five articles in the Charter Oath, the most important was

the fifth one, which said that “Knowledge shall be sought throughout the world so as to strengthen the foundations of imperial rule.” the Constitution of 1868 was drawn up to help make this Charter Oath happen, but it was not to be, and was later abandoned.

The Emperor knew that he had to establish his power over the rest of feudal Japan, so he defeated all 260 other feudal domains, uniting all of Japan together. Two years later when this was complete, a central government was really possible.

Continued Page 2

“Knowledge shall be sought throughout the world so as to s trengthen the foundations of imperial rule.”

Emperor Meiji at his finest.

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The Samurai Lifestyle:“Our life is getting worse and worse as the Meiji Restoration continues” said a samurai. “We have become so low on the social hierarchy that we are like peasants” added another. This is what has become of the many samurai that helped put the emperor back into power. They have dropped from a position of low power, to the same respect as a commoner. Their plight has gone relatively unnoticed throughout this frenzied modernization, leaving some trailing behind. Here is a quick summary of the events that transpired:1869: Feudal system was replaced by new classes, samurai were classified as landowners1871: Wearing of swords was optional, and top-knot was not required, although many samurai refused1872: Conscription introduced

Victorious and jubilant Japanese troops celebrate their fantastic victory

Continued from Page 1

Japan knew that they needed to avoid the same fate as China, the Dutch East Indies, and India, as they had been

swallowed up by the West.

1868 was the beginning of the transformation that Japan and its leaders had to reply to the Western threat.

Japan took on Western experts and technology to help them stay away from being taken over. Communications were

modernized, with the introduction of the railway and the

telegraph. The military was put on high priority for defense purposes. Taxes were formed and sponsored the industry,

also endorsing the enterprises. By the 1900s, the Meiji Era had restored Japan to a level of economy that was only

bested by a couple of Western powers.

Although modernizing of the government took place, another modernization was taking place in the form of

Western ideas, fashion, and food. The one thing that did not modernize however was the plight of the women, which

remained more or less the same.

The Meiji Restoration saw the success of two different wars, one with China, and the other with Russia. Japan

gained respect with an alliance with Britain in 1902, and it took over Korea in 1910. After only 50 years, Japan, before a

relatively unknown country shrouded in mystery, had earned

its place among the world powers.

Japanese Expansion into the International world!Japan has taken over much land during the Meiji period, with the taking of Taiwan,

Souther Manchuria, half the island of Sakhalin, and Korea had been taken over. Japan is becoming a great power, and many believe that we are invincible.

Japan is strong, and strong willed, and is soon to become a modern nation and an

imperialist power. Before Japan was seen as “a happy race, and being content with little, are not likely to achieve much.” That newspaper was sadly mistaken, as Japan has achieved a great amount.

Although there is much that Japan has achieved, many of the foreigners never believed that this was possible, because they saw Japan as people who would not go far. And when Japan defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese war, the world was shocked, and

actual appraisal of Japan was finally voiced. This war was however not merely a war with sticks and stones, but a full-out modern war, where Japan defeated an established world power. By: Gordon Liu, Freelance Reporter

L E F T : A Japanese Archer preparing to fireR I G H T : A

Japanese Foot-Soldier

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Objection to Life!I, Ash Ketchum of England set out on

a journey to Japan, as they had asked me to become a yatoi, or a foreign expert. See, I am a factory director turned writer for

Tokyo’s National Newspaper. Life as a yatoi in Japan is not the

greatest job that anyone can have in the

world. In my old line of work, anybody and everybody hated their job. Looking back now, I probably shouldn’t have left my

job back in England for this slum.Here in Japan, the job of a yatoi is

decent, but the worst part of it is trying to understand those workers and what they

do. Really, their weird customs, and their random attitudes. I can’t even believe that they eat with those chopsticks and we just

complain so much about our existences. The one good thing that I get out of

this job, is that I am paid well enough to

earn a level of respect. In truth though, this job just plain sucks.

Ash Ketchum

One of the many factories and infrastructures that the Yatoi helped to build and supervise stands strong in the less than hostile environment of Japan.

The smaller Japan destroying Russia easily, with France watching

nearby and refusing to help Antique Samurai Swords for Sale!

At the very cheap price of 7,000 Yen! Get your very own antique sword now and call toll free 1-800-

Samurai today!

By: Jorden Lieu

The Plight of the Japanese Woman: Revealed For many, many years, Japanese women had been neglected,

and they found themselves always playing a secondary role of

importance to men. As the years went by, the conditions of

their lives slowly declined. We recently talked to Aki

Sukayamatogasaki and asked her about her life. As you can

see, the plight of the Japanese women is terrible.

J.L.: Aki, how has your life been since the beginning of the Meiji Era?

Aki: Well, it has steadily become worse, as the Government refused to let us make

speeches, we were banned from political activities, and then the government had to go and

let the head of the house control the family with absolute authority. Suffice to say that its

not been going well.

J.L.: Well that doesn’t sound too great, but what’s going on with the flesh trade?

Aki: The government made brothels legal, and because of financial issues, my family sold

off my sister to the flesh trade for money to pay for debts. I’ve hated my father ever since.

All of us women thought that the new constitution would give us new rights, but we are all

dissapointed, because our rights got less and less, and now we have almost nothing. We

T h e g r e a t c o u n t r y o f J a p a n s t a n d i n g s t r o n g agains t the o p p r e s s o r s from the west.

Part of the flesh trade.

J a n u a r y 3 1 , 2 0 1 0

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Trenz Pruca

4321 First Street

Anytown, State ZIP

Miocevich, Grant. Investigating Japan: Prehistory to Post-War Reconstruction. Melbourne: Pearson Education Australia, 2005. Print.

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