Meiji Restoration: The Opening of Japan
Religion
As the Meiji Restoration progressed a campaign started called the "Great Teaching" to produce patriotic and ideologically malleable subjects. The Great Teaching focused its attention on three main instructions:
1.) Revere the Gods or kami and love the country
2.) Clarify heavenly reason and the way of humanity
3.) Revere the Emperor and respect the court
A Great Teaching institute was built to serve as a seminary of training for Evangelists. The preacher's guides focused on paying taxes, complying with re-scripts, education, military build up, and the importation of Western learning and modernization.
1.) Revere the Gods or kami and love the country
2.) Clarify heavenly reason and the way of humanity
3.) Revere the Emperor and respect the court
A Great Teaching institute was built to serve as a seminary of training for Evangelists. The preacher's guides focused on paying taxes, complying with re-scripts, education, military build up, and the importation of Western learning and modernization.
A New National Religion
A Shinto Shrine
After the Meiji Restoration Buddhism started to decline within Japan and Shintoism was stressed. Eventually Emperor Meiji made State Shinto, a sect of Shinto that stressed nationality, Japan's new national religion. In 1873 The ban that was put over Christianity was finally lifted and freedom of religion was allowed in Japan.
Shinto Priest
Japanese Christians being baptised
After freedom of religion was allowed many Western missionaries came to Japan to spread Christianity. Although Shinto was the national religion Christianity quickly grew within Japan.
