The aim of the paper is to clarify the reasons why feudal Japan adopted modern western education and in what ways, from where it introduced this knowledge into its schools and what was the ultimate goal that they introduced western knowledge and did not continue with their traditional education. The purpose is to become more aware that even today there are many shortcomings in education and that in the future we are probably awaiting many educational reforms, which have some objective. We saw all the phases Japan went through and how it adopted Western knowledge and fought with hardened conservatism and tradition, in order to succeed in creating a system of education, morality and upbringing, which corresponds to rapid progress, the well-being of the country and love for the homeland and the emperor. In the Tokugawa era, education, upbringing and the entire society were Confucian and very conservative. Society was divided into castes, and only samurai had access to a good education. Education was used to control the people and maintain the current system. Only very talented commoners could rise to the class of samurai through education, which, as we have seen, happened very rarely. However, at the end of the Tokugawa era, this changed due to the lack of skilful people, so they increasingly sought talented people for administrative jobs from the lower social classes. The samurai had various institutions for education and all were based mainly on Confucianism. In the Tokugawa era and the beginning of Meiji, in samurai schools, they learned to read by heart, without thinking, only when they knew how to read would the teacher explain the meaning. Such a way of learning made it easier for teachers to instill in the students the attitudes that the leaders of the country wanted, that is, to follow orders without thinking and questioning, which suited the government. Samurai were educated and raised to be rulers and their education was a sign of higher social status. Commoners on the other hand attended the terakoya, which were their main educational institutions. Unlike samurai schools, both boys and girls attended the terakoya. They were taught the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, and the girls additionally learned sewing. At the end of the Tokugawa era, the status difference between samurai and commoners in education was slowly erased, because capable people were needed in administrative positions and Western subjects that were considered useful for Japanese society were gradually introduced. The western sciences that were most quickly accepted were medicine and military sciences. When the modernization of education started at the end of the Tokugawa period, the results of the previous reforms were well seen in the Meiji period, because everything organizationally progressed smoothly, so the base that was made in the Tokugawa era helped a lot. Reforms in education were based on Western models. After the Meiji Restoration, new Japanese advocates of Western science moved quickly to modernize Japanese education, seeing its utility and noticed the importance of an educated people. Education was compulsory for everyone, but it also brought some problems with it (such as untrained teachers, peasant resistance, etc). The kokugaku movement also appeared, with which nationalism also strengthened, which would later have a strong impact on education. The end of the Tokugawa era was a just a preparation for major changes in the Meiji era. With the Meiji Restoration, there were many new changes in the sphere of education, upbringing and society. By strengthening the influence of Western sciences, Japan moved away from Chinese teachings (Chinese poetry, etc.), which dominated Japanese education until the 19th century. Japan carefully chose the Western teachings that suited him best and adapted them to his needs. The previous mysticism was replaced by scientific explanations. One of the first great promoters of Western science was Fukuzawa Yukichi, because he wanted to popularize science, individualism and fought for liberal society. Japan also began to learn from Western countries by importing many Western teachers and at the same time sending its own people abroad to learn from them and modernize the education system, establish diplomatic relations, etc. This was due to the Iwakura missions, in which Japanese people around the world gathered knowledge and returned with it to Japan to modernize him. One of the first steps of improvement was the introduction of equal education regardless of everything, that is, everyone can and must be educated regardless of wealth and social class. Everything has been modernized, from textbooks, teacher training, to teaching methods. A big step towards modernization was the more equal education for women, who received more and more rights like men. However, several conservative views appeared there, which prevented equality. One of the problems of women's education was the parents of rural girls, who withdrew their daughters from school to look after their brothers at home, do housework, etc. and did not understand modern Western education. The knowledge that was acquired and learned in schools was not useful in the countryside, so women's education suffered. Education underwent major changes after the restoration, which could be divided into four parts. The first step towards Western education was the "Gakusei" or "First National Plan for Education". "Gakusei" focused on elementary school education that advocated individualism, the practicality of knowledge and social equality. The goal was equal education for all and to make the Japanese people literate, regardless of status and gender. However, there were still many problems, the biggest of which was which morality should be taught in schools, Western or Confucian. Then follows the "Second National Plan for Education", which focuses on higher education as well. The first modern universities were also founded where Western sciences were taught. Regarding primary school education, Emperor Meiji and his teacher Motoda advocated Confucian morality as the basis of education. They believed that Confucian morals were more important than knowledge. A conflict arises between advocates of tradition and modernization. This is followed by the "Third National Plan for Education". Conservative educational reforms were implemented and Confucian morality was placed as the foundation of the primary school curriculum centered on the imperial tradition. Confucian morals and loyalty to the emperor were taught in schools. However, a new educational influence from the West appeared from Germany and Japanese nationalism began to grow. It was desired to create a loyal and educated (literate) society that serves the welfare of the country. This leads to the "Fourth National Plan for Education". Modernization as the Western (German) model is being carried out. Confucian morals in schools were replaced by Western sciences. Due to the dissatisfaction of the Emperor and Motoda, a compromise was made between Western sciences, Confucian morality, imperial tradition and nationalism in the form of the document "The Imperial Rescript on Education". Finally, we turn to the Chinese script, which, due to its complexity, was tried to be replaced by the Latin transcription. It is important because education was used to eliminate illiteracy. In the Tokugawa era, the more Chinese characters were known, the better the education, and in the modern Meiji period, everyone was supposed to be literate for faster transmission of information and knowledge. Chinese writing was impractical due to the large number of letters. However, due to the influence of tradition, they kept the Chinese script, but reduced the number of letters for easier use and to enable greater literacy among the people. We could observe that Japan adopted useful models from the west and combined it with its own traditions, creating a unique country.