About Japanese language reinvention.

Before modernization, Japanese language our ancestors used is different from  ours.So , it is difficult for us  to  read books written before 130 years.

Around 130 years ago, in Meiji era , the new government which toppled down feudal Tokugawa dynasty(Until then , Samurai tycoon of Tokugawa family governed Japan through feudal systems for 300 years) reinvented Japanese language so as to integrate many semi-independent regions into one state through language standardization. Until the end of Tokugawa dynasty , Japanese language was tremendously complicated. The Meiji government simplified it.

 For instance ,  hira-gana corresponding to alphabet in western language had a hundred kinds of letter for only one sound. Now , we use one hira-gana letter for one sound , but our ancestors used a hundred of letters for one sound in the past.
Today, these hundreds of letters are called 'hentai-gana'( The meaning of hentai is not a pervert).
Adding to this problem , old Japanese language had different grammar and words usage.
And without knowledge of thousands of ancient Japanese poems  (waka) , we can not understand what authors said correctly. Many of old Japanese literature  were written for persons who had read volumes of ancient poem anthologies.

Recently , I began to study French and  search for intriguing writings . Finally I found 'La Belle et la Bete ' and was astonished.
Oh , this novel is written in French I have learned. Incredible! This novel was written 250 years ago !
I envy French people. They can read their ancestors writings. They can understand their ancestors words . We (Japanese people) can not do it easily.

In truth , numerous parts of old Japanese cultures , spirits  and tradition were discarded after Japanese modernization. We are isolated from ancestors' world which had accumulated cultural treasures collected over 1000 years(The oldest Japanese anthology of poems 'Manyou-shu' was edited in 7 or 8 century A.D.).

By the way...
I dislike recent self-appointed traditionalists or alleged right-wing people in Japan.
They emphasize 'Japanese tradition'  , but what does this mean?
Their assertions:
(1)The poor commoners should keep on working , working and working for low wages. Do not complain!
(2)Any barriers preventing rich people from be more richer should be removed off .Rich people should pay less taxes. The all laws protecting small business and workers should be abandoned. Equality is not Japanese tradition. 
(3)Politicians should limited for persons of political lineage.(If your father is not a senator , you should not be elected for a senator.)
(4)China is our enemy.
(5)Calling immigrants into Japan and make them work for low wages.

Is this really Japanese tradition?
Ridiculous.

Surely , in Japanese history , there was great gap between the rich and the poor before the modernization in particular , but  is it tradition? I can not imagine there is a country regarding economical gap as traditional values proudly on earth, but it exists! Japan! (If self-appointed traditionalists were right , though.)

Even in the age of feudalism or old class systems, the political leaders were selected among competent persons in Japan. They are often from the lower class or sometimes obliged to be frugal. Lineage was less important , but competence was more important than anything.
Many past rulers managed to establish political succession system by lineage , but most of them ended up in miserable failure. There were some exceptions , but rare.
Generally , rulers and lords had given away actual political power to competent vassals from generation to generation. These vassals in charge of actual politics had came and left the political stage according to competence from generation to generation. Same families could not get hold of their powers because of their defeat in competition.
This is the real Japanese political tradition because this principle is applicable to any periods in Japanese history.It is not our tradition that particular families continued to get hold of actual political powers through generation(senator grandfather , senator son , senator grandson:It's not our tradition).

Our ancestors had had great respect for China over several hundreds years , but recent traditionalists in Japan have disdainful behaviours for China. On the other hand , right-winged people insist on the values derived from Chinese Confucianism.
There were scholars of Confucianism historically , but sometimes they were hated.Their assertions were ctitisized because  they cringed to rulers and upper class people , also were egoistical. Today's traditionalists acclaim the too-cringed-to-rulers theories based on Confucianism and say  'China is our enemy'.
I can not come up with absurd things more than that. 

And immigrants ? Is immigrant policy our tradition? Probably , they mistake Japan for the United States. I can not imagine this mistake really occur.

Adding to these points , traditionally , those in power in Japan had been excellent  poets. For example , Takeda Shingen ,the great Samurai , or feudal lord (He was revered in Yamanashi prefecture even today. He lived 400 years ago.) composed poems. Tokugawa Ieyasu ,  the Samurai tycoon  who established Tokugawa dynasty also composed  poems , too. I don't know  any today's politicians(involving alleged traditionalists) who can compose traditional poems.

Well , What makes these hapless right-winged self-appointed traditionalists have such crazy credos? What have brought about such kind of tragedy(or comedy)?

I think it can attribute to Japanese language reinvention. We can not read wise ancestors' writing without arduous effort.

We do not have enough knowledge about lost cultural treasures. We have lost the key enable us to access these treasures:old Japanese language.