Hedinger, Globalization of Legal Cultures InterDisciplines 2 (2012) DOI InDi-2012-013 ISSN 2191-6721 135 Globalization of legal cultures in the 19th century. Criminal trials, gender, and the public in Meiji Japan Daniel Hedinger Introduction 1 In history, the rule of law is often seen as a Western product as well as a source of comparative advantage over non-European societies. 2 In these narratives, the globalization of legal cultures—usually understood to have begun in the 19th century—is therefore equated with the enforce- ment of European legal concepts the world over, and thus with wester- nization more generally. 3 Japan serves as a prime example of the transla- tion and enforcement of European legal concepts in non-Western con- texts. 4 The reasons for this are twofold. First, through its rapid adoption of French and German legal principles following the Meiji Revolution of 1868, Japan appears to be a prime example of thorough westernization. The Meiji constitution of 1889 is seen as marking the culmination of this 1 This work was supported by the Academy of Korean Studies Grant funded by the Korean Government (MEST) (AKS-2012-DZZ-3103). I would like to thank Ruth Herz for reading my manuscript and providing valu- able legal advice, and Philipp Ammann for historical and legal informa- tion. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations are my own. 2 On global history, see Bayly 2004: 81–82; on legal history see Costa 2007 or Berman 1983. 3 Osterhammel 2009: 680. For more context on globalization and Western legal concepts see Goldman 2007. On law in the process of European expansion see also Fisch 1992. 4 Haley 2010; Ginsburg 2010: 18–19; Osterhammel 2009: 853; Goodman 2003: 20–23; Tanaka 1976: 194–195; Stevens 1971: 669.