A Watanabe, Hiroshi creator Noble, David text First English edition monographic jpn xiv, 543 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm In 1853 a flotilla of U.S. Navy warships led by Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrived in Japan. A scant fourteen years later the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, which had lasted two and a half centuries, was at an end. What lay behind the sudden collapse of samurai rule? Watanabe Hiroshi traces the quiet changes in political thought that culminated in the dramatic events of the Meiji Revolution in 1868. Confucian ideals such as a universal Way and benevolent government under a virtuous ruler possessing the mandate of heaven were taught by successive Japanese Confucians and came to permeate the country, posing an implicit threat to military rule. Over time the development of a national consciousness, the rising prestige of the imperial court in Kyoto, and increased knowledge of the Western world created the conditions for a national debate over opening up to the West and for radical political change Originally published in Japanese as: Nihon seiji shis¿‍shi : 17-20 seiki. Tokyo : University of Tokyo Press, 2010 Political science Political science Political science Political scientists 320 INT 2012 A010 Or. 9784924971325 4924971324