Japan's Strength Lies in Its Over-a-Millennium-Long 'Inheritance of Knowledge'

Why was Japan not invaded and colonized by Western powers?

There is no single answer to this question.

The geographical condition of being an island nation.

The military prowess honed during the Warring States period.

The technical capability to mass-produce firearms and master them in actual combat.

The governance system established by the Edo Shogunate.

And the rapid modernization during the Meiji Restoration.

As a result of various overlapping factors, Japan was able to enter the modern era as a unique nation without falling under the control of Western powers.

However, I believe that the foundation of all this was 'education'.

More specifically, Japan has had a culture for over a thousand years that values knowledge, records it in writing, and passes it on to the next generation.

The 'Manyoshu' contains poems not only by emperors and aristocrats but also by border guards and commoners.

Within it lies a spirit that seeks to preserve human thoughts as words, transcending social status.

Conveying emotions through writing, preserving experiences, and passing them on to future generations.

Is this not the origin of the 'inheritance of knowledge' in Japan?

That flow was passed down through the literature and diary culture of the Heian period, learning in temples and shrines, and education in the samurai society.

And when the Edo period arrived, reading, writing, and arithmetic spread to the common people through terakoya (temple schools).

The high literacy rate of the Edo period did not emerge suddenly.

I believe it blossomed as commoner education precisely because there was a foundation of written culture and learning that had been nurtured over more than a thousand years.

That is why, during the Meiji Restoration, Japan was able to absorb Western technology, systems, military, medicine, engineering, and law with astonishing speed.

It was not mere imitation.

Japan took in the civilization that came from outside, incorporated it into its own flesh and blood, and reshaped it into its own form.

Herein lies the strength of the nation of Japan.

I do not think the Japanese are a 'warrior race'.

However, to protect what is precious, they gather wisdom, hone skills, and sometimes even join hands with enemies to face greater crises.

Rather than valuing fighting itself, they learn, change, and survive in order to protect.

Was that not Japan's survival instinct?

During the Warring States period, tactics were honed through actual combat.

Firearms were not just imported; they were improved, mass-produced, and transformed into a force to be wielded.

Accepting what comes from outside, learning, mastering it, and making it one's own.

This attitude also connects to the Meiji Restoration and post-war reconstruction.

After the war, Japan rose from the ashes.

It was education that supported that reconstruction as well.

By raising the intellectual level of the people, honing skills, and passing them on to the next generation, Japan began its journey once again as a country trusted by the world.

No civilization can prosper for long on military power alone.

Is a truly strong civilization not one that values knowledge, nurtures people, and accumulates trust?

I perceive this flow through the symbols of the 'Age of the Dragon' and the 'Age of the Qilin'.

The dragon is a symbol of power, competition, destruction, and rebirth.

The Qilin is a symbol of wisdom, harmony, education, and trust.

History may have progressed with these two forces appearing alternately.

There are times when winning battles is valued.

However, people eventually realize.

A nation cannot endure on power alone.

People cannot be nurtured through fear.

A civilization without trust will eventually crumble from within.

Is the spirit of the Qilin not what is needed for the coming era?

Valuing education, inheriting technology, handling information correctly, and fostering trust between people and society.

That is the true power to survive in the world of the future.

What Japan should learn from the past is not just the history of its victories.

It must also face its history of failure, its mistakes, and the signs of its decline.

Furthermore, I believe it is important to look at the world as a cautionary tale and connect one's own experiences to the future.

Ideology and education.

The philosophy as a nation.

The attitude of nurturing people, inheriting knowledge, and protecting trust.

A country that loses these will eventually lose its credibility, no matter how much power it possesses.

Japan's true strength is not military power.

It lies in having preserved knowledge, inherited learning, and changed with every crisis for over a thousand years.

The written culture that began with the 'Manyoshu'.

Commoner education that spread to the terakoya.

The absorption of civilization during the Meiji Restoration.

The education that supported post-war reconstruction.

These are all connected by a single thread.

Japan is a civilization that inherits knowledge.

I cannot help but feel that way.

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Rather than ruling by force, nurture knowledge, inherit technology, trust people, and make civilization gently and strongly.
That is the essence of the Qilin.

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