ABSTRACT
Promulgation of the Meiji constitution and issuance of the imperial rescript on education were watershed events, dividing the Meiji era into early and later periods.
In the early Meiji period, there were persistent questions of how to make the government stable, how to catch up with Western nations, and how to enrich the nation through industrialization. The terms of intellectual debates reflected these concerns as seen in the slogans of "bummei kaika" (civilization and enlightenment), "fukoku kyohei" (rich nation, strong army) and "shokusan kogyo" (encouragement of industries). Industrialization was agreed upon as a necessary goal, but the means of its implementation still remained a big question. The term "encouragement of industries" would suggest that the government continue to extend its benign protection over industries, but no one was certain what form it should take. Laissez-faire as a policy option was never seriously discussed. On the part of industries protected by the government, there was a sense of serving the nation and demanding sacrifice from their employees in return. Most industrial leaders came from the former samurai class. They had to find justification for assuming the new profession that had been the bane of their class in earlier days.
