The monograph reveals the content of civilizational processes in Japan in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. Westernization is considered as a phenomenon that accelerated reforms and transformations in the country. It intensified the crisis of cultural identity at the individual level and at the same time stimulated the growth of the influence of the national idea. The evolution of the national idea, its influence on the public is investigated in terms of the effectiveness of its use as a state ideology.