This episode of The Unofficial Seminar features a conversation between Arup K. Chatterjee and Professor Nikhilesh Dholakia about the Meiji Restoration and its wider significance. The discussion begins with an introduction of Nikhilesh Dholakia, a renowned economist, professor at the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) and Professor Emeritus at the University of Rhode Island, besides his work in economics, development studies, and being the founding editor of the esteemed journal, Markets, Globalization, and Development Review, as well as his connection to Chatterjee’s own scholarly interests.
From there the exchange moves to Japan and to the nineteenth century, especially the period from 1853 onwards. Dholakia explains that his interest in Japan grew through repeated visits to the country and through teaching and academic work there. He says that, over time, he came to study Japanese history closely and found the Meiji era especially important. The episode is framed around the idea that this historical moment matters not only for Japan but also for the wider world.
The conversation then turns to Japan before the Meiji Restoration. Dholakia describes Tokugawa Japan as a feudal society that was advanced in certain respects but still lacked industrial development, mechanised production, and modern military and transport systems. He explains that the Tokugawa shogunate closed the country to most outside influence, while allowing a limited Dutch presence at Dejima near Nagasaki. That outpost, in his account, maintained a narrow connection with the outside world through trade, books, and restricted exchange. He also notes that Japan was aware of developments elsewhere in Asia, including imperial expansion, colonialism, and the Opium Wars. The discussion places Japan’s closed system within a wider nineteenth century world shaped by European power and overseas expansion.
A major part of the episode concerns Commodore Matthew Perry’s arrival in Japan and the opening of the country to Western pressure. Dholakia recounts Perry’s voyage from Newport, his arrival with steamships, and the shock these ships caused in Edo, the former name of Tokyo. He describes the warnings Perry delivered and the treaties that followed, which opened Japanese ports to trade and shipping. The conversation then moves to the Iwakura Mission, a Japanese delegation sent to study Europe and America. According to Dholakia, the mission observed industrial methods, military organisation, and institutions abroad, and brought those lessons back to Japan. The episode presents this as the beginning of a rapid transformation in Japanese society.
The discussion gives special attention to the way Japan borrowed from several foreign models at once. Dholakia explains that Japan did not depend on a single external source, but looked to Britain, France, and Germany for different institutional forms. He gives examples such as the postal system, the police system, and the political system, each of which drew from different European precedents. He says that Japan then adapted these systems to local culture rather than importing them unchanged. The episode also refers to the elimination of the old class structure and the continuation of some samurai elements in a softened form. Dholakia links this process to Japan’s later economic rise in the twentieth century, including the period of rapid growth from the 1960s to the 1980s.
The conversation then broadens to the Global South and to India. Chatterjee asks whether the Meiji Restoration has lessons for South Asia, and Dholakia answers that it does. He contrasts Japan’s eclectic borrowing with the dependence that many colonial and postcolonial societies developed toward a single dominant power. In his account, India first looked to Britain and later, like many decolonised countries, to the United States. Japan, by contrast, mixed foreign models from several directions and made them work within its own cultural setting. The episode uses this comparison to discuss development, bureaucracy, and industrial policy. It also refers to India’s adoption of Japanese technology in the bullet train project as an example of contemporary borrowing.
The final part of the episode returns to the theme of cultural adaptation. Dholakia says that imported institutions and technologies fail if they are not made compatible with local habits and values. He argues that Japan’s experience shows how foreign methods can be absorbed without destroying older social forms. Chatterjee responds by pointing to modern firms whose histories also combine British, American, and Japanese influences. The podcast accomplishes a historical conversation about Japan’s transformation, its methods of borrowing, and the possible relevance of that experience for India and the wider Global South.
Arup K. Chatterjee 