II KAMON NO KAMI

This quotation illustrates the disorganization of the Japanese Government at the time that the United States was attempting to force Japan to open the nation to trade. The Bakufu was a type of parallel government of the military. (It literally means “city of tents” and soldiers lived in tents.) The “Barbarians” were the Americans. The struggle between the civilian and military for governmental control has been ongoing in Japan for centuries until after the debacle of WWII with the Japanese militaristic government, Japan relegated the military to a minor role. But Japan’s Asian neighbors, who are familiar with Japanese History still worry about Japanese militarism.

This quotation illustrates the disorganization of the Japanese Government at the time that the United States was attempting to force Japan to open the nation to trade. The Bakufu was a type of parallel government of the military. (It literally means “city of tents” and soldiers lived in tents.) The “Barbarians” were the Americans. The struggle between the civilian and military for governmental control has been ongoing in Japan for centuries until after the debacle of WWII with the Japanese militaristic government, Japan relegated the military to a minor role. But Japan’s Asian neighbors, who are familiar with Japanese History still worry about Japanese militarism.