Japan's history, social structure and socio-cultural background, compared to Europe, seen and experienced through the eyes of a Daimyo Lord family for more than 2,650+ years
Meiji Revolution, Genro, Meiji Nyadel – the transition from the Middle Ages to Western modernism
The coat of arms of the Yamana-Itotani Daimyo Lord family for 2,650+ years
Kamons are the Japanese tradition of the corresponding heraldic tradition in Europe. Kamons or heraldry are originally the coats of arms of noble families, so it was easy to tell the difference for everyone. Both the Japanese and European heraldic coat of arms traditions were very similar until the 16th century – simple and easily recognizable from a distance, regardless of whether it was on the battlefield or during a festive banquet. After that they went in separate directions. The European one became very complicated, ostentatious and was only for the initiates who were trained in making and interpreting coats of arms. The titled nobility's coat of arms received noble crowns, orders of knighthood and up to 16 noble ancestors in the coat of arms and in addition also a motto. The Japanese continued with their modest traditional simplicity. In Europe until the 1900s, coats of arms were mainly reserved for the nobility or you had to have regulatory permission to do so. In Japan it was normal for everyone to have an insignia, but it was punishable to use the kamon coat of arms of noble families.
Knight of the Garter coat of arms examples;
Emperor of Japan, England and Spain King Philip II.
In Europe it was normal to have one coat of arms, which told everything about the wearer. In Japan it was normal for you to have one or more, depending on your social status. Lower ranking soldiers of samurai status had one kamon. Gokenin samurai officers of low rank, usually had up to two kamons. It was normal for titled high nobility to have three or more kamon coats of arms. The older the family, the more kamon coats of arms they had, as it could change in connection with the family's career success or failure in Japanese history. This also went hand in hand with Daimyo lords being able to reward loyal lords with script characters from their own name or the highest honor, which was the permission for the additional use of one of the Daimyo Lord family's secondary or tertiary coats of arms.
There were two degrees of this honor and conferment of power; the additional use of kamon coat of arms and so the highest; the additional use of Daimyo lord family additional names. For the Yamana-Itotani family, this came from both the emperor and the shoguns; Minamoto, Ashikaga and Tokugawa. With Tokugawa, it was with the name Matsudaira and the Matsudaira kamon coat of arms, which thus says that you are "Extended family", which the families are. In 300 years there were 52 families who received this from the Tokugawa shoguns. It was the same with Ashikaga and the Emperor of Japan. The Coat of Arms of the Emperor of Japan, is the Emperor's secondary family and rank 1+ status coat of arms, and is today the symbol of the office of the Japanese Prime Minister. In 1,000 years, there are less than ten living family lines that have achieved this. Today, everyone in the world can use a coat of arms, as nobility today is mostly titular, as all privileges have been abolished.
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The Imperial Family
The coat of arms of the imperial family until approx. year 960
Seiwa Minamoto
Seiwa Minamoto from approx. 960 to approx. 1160+
Pile for Honke Nitta
Family-wise Bunke for Honke Nitta from approx. 1160 to 1333
Yamana first coat of arms
First independent Yamana coat of arms from 1185-1363+;
Yamana main coat of arms
Yamana Main Coat of Arms Decree of the Emperor, Rank 1+ from 1363+
Seiwa no Minamoto no Yamana
Seiwa no Minamoto no Yamana pedigree coat of arms from 1441+
Yamana-Itotani
Yamana-Itotani coat of arms from 1581
Seiwa no Minamoto no Yamana
Seiwa no Minamoto no Yamana from 1590
Yamana-Itotani
From 1600; Two Honke;
Independent Honking Line Yamana-Itotani Inaba-Hoki
Yamana-Shimizu (1711)
From 1600; Two Honke;
Independent Honke line – Yamana-Shimizu Tajima (from about 1711).
The last nail in the coffin did not make any sense to the Japanese people that the county princes the Daimyos, as for centuries or millennia, were generally given lower Shin Meiji titles of nobility in 1884, when the Daimyo county prince function for the 261 county areas, had been the closest bosses of the Japanese people , role models and contact.
However, the lower Shin Meiji nobility titles did not apply to the "outlying Daimyo county princes", who were originally Genro's original top bosses in the local county, who as previously mentioned had absolutely not been "inside the heat" in the last 250+ years under the Tokugawa Shogunate .
But here it was just the other way around in terms of revolution!
The Shin Meiji nobility titles lasted from 1884-1947, 63 years and was considered a "political footnote" as 70 % of the appointments were Shin - new high political nobles who had never been high nobles before or no one knew who they were (Kuge).
Everyone, on the other hand, knew who the shogun and the Daimyo lords were for 30, 70 or 126 generations, and therefore all Japanese today regard these as the creators of Japan's history.
The Kuge noble families are considered the emperor's officials, and therefore have a secondary role in Japan's history for the last 1200 years.
The Shin Meiji nobles are passed over in silence and no one really knows who they are.
They also keep a very low profile themselves, as they do not consider themselves "real nobles", despite fine Shin Meiji titles such as Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount and Baron, studies have shown.
It is normal in Japan for a Shin Meiji Duke to be perceived as having a lower status and rank than a Daimyo Count with a Shin Meiji title, e.g. Viscount.
This especially if the Daimyo County Prince was originally the Daimyo of the Shin Meiji Duke's family before 1868, then it is down to "seiza and hands on the floor, trembling and submission!".
There is a very big difference between having a long family history that has contributed to Japan's history versus the opposite. The newly titled Shin Meiji nobility know this - after all, there is a difference between 16 years, 63 years, 500 years, 800 years, 1200 years or up to 2600+ years of history.
The Meiji Constitution
In addition, the Meiji "age of enlightenment" (1868-1912) was actually a democratic step backwards in many areas. It was misogynistic and condescending and deprived women of the "right to vote", and the free elections from 1890-1920 actually amounted to between 1-6 % of the Japanese population entitled to vote according to annual earnings, of which up to 25 % were the former Shizoku - samurai class.
This was now also the case in many European and Western countries, but the new power elite in the name of the "Meiji Emperor" distributed itself and ruled Japan through the Emperor's Council of Ministers Genro of 9 members. They were 4 from the Choshu Sheriff Domain from the southernmost province on Honshu, 4 from the Satsuma Sheriff Domain on Kyushu and Emperor Meiji's childhood friend from Kuge, court nobility.
Both fiefdoms were "neglected" fiefdoms, as they were on the wrong side during the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, which brought about the Tokugawa shogunate (1601-1868). So for a good 260 years they were very angry at the Tokugawa Shogunate and because they chose the wrong side. The Tokugawa Shogunate didn't really care about this, as you can hardly get further from the central government than these two fiefdoms - it was fringe Japan. It was a major misjudgment by the Tokugawa Shogunate.
So after 260 years of bitterness and independence, these came to power and revenge was sweet. It primarily meant "heaven and hell" over the Tokugawa clan and all of its Daimyo lord vassals mainly in the first decades of the Meiji era, including large parts of the Yamana-Itotani lord family.
But Genro actually ruled Japan from 1868-1912, which means throughout the reign of Emperor Meiji. Fortunately, Emperor Meiji often intervened when the pre-distribution or vested interests became too problematic for Japan internally and externally.
But Genro quickly considered himself the "Japan Founding Fathers", causing the Emperor to appoint almost everyone as Dukes, which included their former employers; The Satsuma and Choshu Daimyo County princes, some became generals and admirals and made the emperor blue stamp that after democratic elections, Genro decided the next prime minister, regardless of the result of the election!
This often meant that they themselves appointed themselves prime minister if the democratically elected did not want as they wanted. It was like that right up to 1940, when the last Genro died.
It was a messy time with "Trial and Error" methods. All of the Genro had no national or local county high management experience, but were exclusively selected by the Daimyo county princes as representatives in the beginning because they had studied in the west - and because the emperor liked them.
Their function in the local county principality had been at the lowest, or at best, middle management level. And now their function was to lead Japan from a medieval society to a modern one - at least that is what they have taken credit for and been given credit for by Emperor Meiji.
It is indeed with great modifications, but in Japan you do not contradict the emperor, especially not when it can cost you "Power, honor, finances or your head".
But the truth is that after a few years, statesmen with far greater national and local top management experience came along, who increasingly came to lead more and more autonomously.
