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But the only people that were really hurt by the rise of the meiji govt were the samurai and the diamyo. They were offered "early retirement" benefits and some were even offered govt jobs.
250yrs of peace and samurai training during the tokugawa period werent enough to stand up to technology...thats why when the samurai first rebelled against the british and french they got obliterated...it was smart for them to say "we'll be your best friends if you teach us how you did that" instead of saying "lets get em" No amount of training or rallying (like when the mongols invaded for the second time.....dispite the battle ending with their ships sinking from a storm) would change the fact that they needed to adapt to a changed world. Them being locked away for so many years was crippling to them...at least they saw what happened to china (opiate wars) and were smart enough to do so.
Personally, I give it up to the meiji restoration...if they hadnt changed their ways they may...no WOULD have ended up like tiawan or vietnam...certainly not the international power that they are today
Feudalism just doesnt work...today
look at it this way:
samurai were like the confederates in a way - way of the old, refusing to change
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