But okay, so nationalism was a global phenomenon in the 19th century, and we can't talk about it everywhere, so instead we're going to focus on one case study. Japan. You thought I was going to say Germany, didn't you? Nope. You can bite me, Bismarck. Japan had been fragmented and feudal until the late 16th century, when a series of warrior landowners managed to consolidate power. Eventually power came to the Tokugawa family, who created a military government, or bakufu.