WSTC21H3 Lecture Notes - Iwakura Mission, Sahachiro Hata, Meiji Period
Document Summary
Important to observe modern nations and states= found that there was a lot of investment in enriching science and medicine and also strengthening the military for modern development. Before the iwakura mission dutch physicians would come in and teach in japan on human anatomy and curb epidemic disease: taught in remote area of nagasaki, late nineteenth century after the iwakura mission. Invite german scientists to teach japanese students and also study racial origins of japanese people. Wilhelm= thought about japanese racial origins and hypothesized the effects of mixing two japanese races and if it would strengthen the race. Baelz= german medical doctor; study origins of japanese race particularly yamato blood: refers to bloodline of imperial families and see if it remained pure blood for centuries. Important for the japanese to establish a sense of racial/ ethnic superiority over other asian groups and also to overcome a sense of inferiority when compared to euro-
