Bunmei-kaika

'civilization and enlightenment') refers to the phenomenon of Westernization in Japan during the Meiji era (1868–1912), which led to major changes in institutions and customs.

The term is generally used for the period in the early Meiji era when customs and manners changed drastically from the feudal society of the past.

Kaika originally meant "the action of making someone understand reason or principle and guiding them to good direction" in Buddhism.

[2] The main impetus for the bunmei-kaika was the Meiji Restoration, a series of huge changes that occurred in Japan in the latter half of the 19th century.

In 1854, Commodore Perry visited Uraga to ask for the opening of the country to the world, which resulted in the Treaty of Peace and Amity between the United States and Japan.

As a result, people in Japan became more aware of the need to protect their country, and the idea of sonnō jōi was born.

[1][4] A famous saying that symbolizes this era is: "If you tap a head with hair cropped short (散切り, zangiri), you will hear the sound of civilization."

For example, along with the abandonment of Buddhism, the Ministry of Education disallowed Yamabushi, Shamanism, and other forms of blessing prayer in 1873.

In 1872, the Tokyo Prefecture issued an ordinance (違式詿違條例, ishiki kaii jōrei) which established detailed regulations to discourage a number of behaviors that the government regarded as contrary to public hygiene, safety, order, and decency.

For this reason, the Navy and other naval forces devised ways to combine rice and curry, and developed eclectic dishes such as nikujaga with soy sauce.

For peasants who were of relatively low rank, taxes became a heavy burden, and anti-policy riots called ikki (一揆) occurred.

In Japan, where society was strongly divided, bunmei-kaika led to the abolition of the class system and the spread of the idea that all people were equal.

There were major changes in Japanese food culture, such as eating sukiyaki as described in Kanagaki Robun's The Beef-eater (安愚楽鍋, Anguraku Nabe).

In addition, the government, which wanted to unify the monetary system following the example of the United States, enacted the Kokuritu Ginkou Jourei (国立銀行条例).

[14] Critics such as Miyake Setsurei and his circle derided the movement's negative effects on Japanese culture, namely decadence, materialism, radicalism, the commercialization of values and the decline of cooperation.

[15] The introduction of German economic thought in the 1890s influenced the way some Japanese perceived industrialization and its problems, including class conflict, labor strife, and the destruction of the peasant village.