Deck 7: Social, Economic, Environmental, and Cultural Transformations

Question 1

Which of the following was NOT a characteristic of Japan in the late 1800s?

A) Rapid industrialization
B) Farmers losing land due to debt
C) Concerns over cultural identity
D) Rule by elected officials

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What was one of the reasons Japan's silk industry out-competed Europe's?

A) Japanese silkworms were hardier
B) Japanese silkworms were more productive
C) Japanese silkworms were more numerous
D) Japanese silkworms produced better silk

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following was a reason for the policies which led to the Matsukata Deflation?

A) The loss of customs revenue at treaty ports
B) The high price of importing coal
C) The high costs of paying samurai pensions
D) The expenses associated with the Satsuma Rebellion

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In which two decades did the Meiji economy undergo its most rapid expansion?

A) 1860-1880
B) 1880-1900
C) 1890-1910
D) 1900-1920

Question 5

The Ashio mine and refinery is remembered primarily for what?

A) Pioneering development of new mining technologies
B) Corrupt management and high executive salaries
C) Establishing Japan's steel industry
D) Causing environmental devastation

Question 6

Which of the following arguments is used to explain the rise of the zaibatsu?

A) Japanese culture favours large, cooperative ventures
B) They were intentionally created to mimic the great American monopolies
C) They were effective mechanisms to develop a few key industries
D) Their structure was a result of the challenges faced by 'late' industrializing countries

Question 7

Which of the following was NOT a step taken by the Meiji state to boost industrial development?

A) Creating economic infrastructure
B) Creating tax havens
C) Founding iron and steel mills
D) Providing subsidies

Question 8

Which of the following was a key element of the Meiji economic ideology?

A) Industrialists should work for the benefit of the nation
B) Economic development should be pursued regardless of the social impact
C) Western industry had to be modified to Japanese cultural standards
D) Aggressive pursuit of profit is the key to good management

Question 9

Which of the following factors did NOT contribute to the spread of tuberculosis in the late 19th century?

A) Weak understanding of the causes of the disease
B) The workplace environment
C) Stigma against the disease
D) Smoking

Question 10

How were the careers of early male industrial workers in Japan different from the image of 'lifetime employment' that later became pervasive?

A) They did not receive regular salaries
B) They were unskilled
C) They moved from job to job easily and frequently
D) They were lazy and felt shame in their work

Question 11

How successful were trade union movements in 1890s Japan?

A) Highly successful
B) Moderately successful
C) Ultimately unsuccessful
D) There were no unions in the 1890s

Question 12

From 1899 onwards, every prefecture had to...

A) Have at least one higher school for girls
B) Establish 'normal schools' for teacher-training
C) Allow missionaries to establish schools
D) Create its own First Higher School

Question 13

Which style of visual art did the Meiji government promote in the 1870s and 1880s?

A) Calligraphy
B) Landscape painting
C) Woodblock printing
D) Oil painting

Question 14

Why are the Christian Japanese of the Meiji era notable?

A) They had a disproportionate impact on the economy
B) They had a disproportionate impact on social reform
C) They had a disproportionate impact on scientific research
D) They had a disproportionate impact on foreign relations

Question 15

What became of Buddhism in the Meiji period?

A) It was integrated closely with Shinto
B) It was persecuted and undermined
C) It was banned completely
D) It was spread with the blessing of the state

Question 16

What was the main role of the Meiji emperor in late 19th century Japan?

A) He was an absolute and active ruler
B) He was the chief diplomat of the regime
C) He was completely divorced from politics and public life
D) He was the lynchpin of Japanese identity and political order

Question 17

What impact did the concept of women as 'good wife and wise mother' have on opportunities for girls in the late Meiji period?

A) It afforded them the opportunity to get an education
B) It made their lives even more restrictive than in the Edo period
C) It eliminated any hope of a public role for women
D) It allowed women complete equality with men

Question 18

What was one consequence of the Nobi earthquake of 1891?

A) The Japanese embraced brick and iron structures as found in the West
B) The destruction of pagodas led to the decline of Buddhism
C) The value of traditional Japanese architecture was reaffirmed
D) Tokyo was rebuilt entirely

Question 19

Which of the following groups of ideological dissenters did NOT emerge in Japan during and immediately after the Meiji period?

A) Feminists
B) Socialists
C) Communists
D) Fascists

Question 20

What criticisms were leveled by mid-20th century historians looking back on the Meiji government and society?

A) It was religiously oppressive
B) It was profoundly misogynistic
C) It was authoritarian and elitist
D) It was xenophobic