Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 June 2015
In 1868, Japan embarked on its unique journey to become a modern country that was deemed successful and advanced by Western standards. But what characterized Japanese civilization at the outset of this quest and how did the makers of modern Japan conceptualize their goals? To answer this question, we will look at the long tradition of the Mito School, with special attention for the works of the Later Mito School, and to the thinkers and practitioners of the Bakumatsu and Meiji periods. This shall enable us to determine the aim, the nature and the success of Japan’s quest for its own path to modernization. The dissemination of the paradigm of modernization thereby attained to Korea and China shall be followed through and evaluated.