Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
EMERGENCE FROM ISOLATION
With the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the seat of Japanese national political power was re-
stored to Kyoto, but the following year the capital was transferred to Edo along with the
imperial court. Political power now resided in Edo and many great merchants and scholars
of the era followed the emperor. After more than a millennium as capital, the sudden
changes came as a major blow to Kyoto as the population dropped dramatically and the
city entered a state of bitter depression.
Kyoto quickly set its sights on revival, taking steps to secure autonomy and rebuild its
infrastructure. It again flourished as a cultural, religious and economic centre, with pro-
gressive industrial development. By the late 1800s Kyoto led the country in education re-
forms, establishing Japan's first kindergarten, primary and junior high schools, and a public
library. In 1871 the first Kyoto Exhibition was launched, in which the Maiko and
school, the Kyoto Prefecture Art School (now the Kyoto City University of Arts) was
opened. In the same period the city introduced Japan's first electricity system, water system
and fully functioning transport network. In 1885 work began on the monumental Lake Bi-
wa Canal, which made Kyoto the first Japanese city to harness hydroelectric power.
In 1889 a proper city government was finally formed, which helped create an atmo-
sphere in which industry could flourish. As traditional industry pushed on, research deve-
loped in the sciences, in particular physics and chemistry. Modern industries such as preci-
sion machinery also grew, as did the introduction of foreign technologies such as the auto-
mated weaving loom, which bolstered the struggling Nishijin textile industry. To celebrate
the 1100th anniversary of the city's founding, Kyoto hosted the 4th National Industrial Ex-
hibition Fair in 1895 and established the country's first streetcar system (fuelled by the
Keage Hydroelectric Plant). The same year saw the construction of Heian-jingū (actually a
birth of the Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Ages).
Despite the apparent industrial boom, the initial stages of Kyoto's restoration were un-
dermined by a state of virtual civil war. The abolition of the shōgunate was followed by the
surrender of the
daimyō,
whose lands were divided into the prefectures that exist today.
With the transfer of the capital to Edo, now renamed Tokyo (Eastern Capital), the govern-
ment was recentralised and European-style ministries were appointed for specific tasks. A
series of revolts by the samurai against the erosion of their status culminated in the Saigō
Uprising, when they were finally beaten and stripped of their power.
