Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why did the Meiji government issue the Imperial Rescript on Education in 1890?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Map showing the territorial expansion of the Japanese Empire from 1870 to 1942 across East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The map uses color codes to indicate the original Japanese territory in 1870, subsequent acquisitions, and the farthest extent of Japanese occupation and conquest by 1942, including parts of China, Korea, Manchuria, Southeast Asia, and numerous Pacific islands. An inset map displays the broader reach of Japanese control at its peak. — Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, 1870–1942.

The Meiji government issued the Imperial Rescript on Education in 1890 primarily to forge a unified national identity and counter the influence of excessive Westernization among the Japanese populace.12

During the 1880s, government leaders observed their citizens increasingly adopting Western ideas and noted the nationalist orientation of European schooling systems. In response, they sought to transform the previously powerless masses into loyal citizens of a centralized state by embedding specific moral content into the national education system.12

The Rescript served as a vehicle for this ideological orientation by:
* Promoting Traditional Values: It laid out the lines of Confucian and Shintō ideology, establishing loyalty to the emperor as the center of public ideology.12
* Preserving Samurai Ideals: The system was utilized to project the ideal of samurai loyalty—a relic of the former ruling class—onto the citizenry at large.12
* Managing Religious Perception: To avoid accusations of state-forced indoctrination or the creation of a state religion, the government framed this ideology as a secular patriotic duty, thereby allowing them to maintain a stance of religious freedom while requiring a form of worship toward the throne.12