Due to the Meiji Restoration, Japanese society achieved economic, military and political changes and lost the possibility of achieving religious and social equality. I chose this topic because I was interested in the transformation of Japan from a backward country to a modern world economic and military power, since it all happened in 40 years. The Meiji Restoration forced Western civilizations to respect the new modern Japan. Why the need for change, the Japanese people must have wondered? Like the first delegation from Japan who wore the traditional Shogun Samurai dress, shaved pate and long hair tied in a bun and carried swords unlike their counterparts who wore military clothes or uniforms. Western observance of the Japanese must have regarded them as ignorant barbarians. Because of the impression Japan made on Western civilizations, it was treated with little to no respect. The West would show its disrespect in treaties and trade agreements that favor Western nations. Western assumptions that they had cultural superiority and that the Japanese were not even close to equal. This necessitated a change from ancient secular cultures to be seen as more civilized by the West. The Japanese believed that they would not be treated as equals until they possessed not only modern technology, education, manufacturing, and the legal system, but also all the superficial aspects of Western culture. The Japanese initially attempted to change all aspects of their culture by hiring Western experts called “Yatoi,” the live page 308 machine. These teachers were to assist in reorganizing the military, industry, and education system to train good recruits for the the army, the factory and the farm. So, as the G......middle of paper......Christianity could have been an adoption that would have brought a very favorable gain to the West. However, like women's rights, it had some impact on Japanese intellectuals, but the prejudices ran deep. At the end of the movement only a quarter of one percent of the population adhered to Christianity, instead the traditional Shinto religion thrived in the culture. The Meiji Restoration gave Japanese society advantages in terms of economic, military and political changes, however it lost the possibility of acquiring religiosity. and the social equality that other countries already enjoyed. The Restoration set Japan on a path that would lead it to have a military, economy, and education system among the best in the world. By the time of World War II, it would have surprised the West how much the nation had improved. The gains made by the Japanese people would soon surpass what had been lost.