Meiji Government

            The Meiji government during the 1880's created both an .
             institutional and constitution structure that allowed Japan in the.
             coming decades to be a stabile and industrializing country. Two major .
             policies and strategies that reinforced stability and power.
             Japan is a society whose culture is steeped in the traditions and symbols of the past: Mt. Fuji, .
             the tea ceremony, and .
             the sacred objects of nature revered in Shintoism. Two of the most important traditions and symbols in .
             Japan; the Emperor .
             and Confucianism have endured through Shogunates, restorations of imperial rule, and up to present day. .
             The leaders of the .
             Meiji Restoration used these traditions to gain control over Japan and further their goals of .
             modernization. The Meiji leaders .
             used the symbolism of the Emperor to add legitimacy to their government, by claiming that they were .
             ruling under the .
             "Imperial Will." They also used Confucianism to maintain order and force the Japanese people to passively .
             accept their rule. .
             Japanese rulers historically have used the symbolism of the Imperial Institution to justify .
             their rule. The symbolism of .
             the Japanese Emperor is very powerful and is wrapped up in a mix of religion (Shintoism) and myths. .
             According to Shintoism .
             the current Emperor is the direct descendent of the Sun Goddess who formed the islands of Japan out of .
             the Ocean in .
             ancient times.Footnote1 According to these myths the Japanese Emperor unlike a King is a living .
             descendent of the Gods .
             and even today he is thought of as the High Priest of Shinto. Despite the powerful myths surrounding .
             Japan's imperial .
             institution the Emperor has enjoyed only figure head status from 1176 on. At some points during this time .
             the Emperor was .
             reduced to selling calligraphy on the streets of Kyoto to support the imperial household, but usually the .
             Emperor received .
             money based on the kindness of the Shogunate.Footnote2 But despite this obvious power imbalance even the .