ABSTRACT
IN THE BROAD sense of the word ‘revolution’, meaning a complete change in the polity of a country, Meiji Ishin (The Meiji Restoration of 1868) may be called a revolution which was staged by an internal initiative, though it was led by a dissatisfied samurai class and eventually conducted under the slogan of ‘wa-kon yo-sai’ rejecting Western values. On the other hand the post-surrender change in Japan was a ‘revolution’ in that sovereignty was shifted from the Tennō (Emperor) to the people and traditional values were drastically modified, even though it was brought about by a strong external initiative. It is true that the democratisation of Japan was not entirely imposed on the Japanese people by the US Occupation. It meant the removal of militarist dictatorship, the formidable obstacle to liberation for the liberal and progressive elements, who had been ferociously persecuted by the secret police up to the Japanese surrender.
