The Meiji period: 44 years (1868-1912) of 'Civilisation and Enlightenment', of steam-trains, long-nosed barbarians, crystal chandeliers, fancy-dress balls and wars fought in Hungarian cavalry uniforms. There is something highly theatrical about the 'modernisation' of Japan, which began with a dazzling (words like 'dazzling' always come to mind when discussing Meiji) crash-course in Western culture and ended in a defensive re-evaluation of traditions that would never be the same again.

LRB 31 March 1988 | PDF Download