Meiji Restoration

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Meiji Restoration" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Meiji Restoration

Part of the end of the Edo period
Emperor Meiji in 1873
Native name	明治維新 (Meiji Ishin)
Date	3 January 1868
Location	Japan
Outcome	Overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate Establishment of the Empire of Japan Industrialisation and the abolition of feudalism Dissolution of the domain system and samurai class

Part of a series on the
History of Japan
Prehistoric Paleolithic 35,000–14,000 BC Jōmon 14,000–1000 BC Yayoi 1000 BC–300 AD
Ancient Kofun 300–538 AD
Classical Asuka 538–710 Nara 710–794 Heian Former Nine Years' War Later Three-Year War Genpei War 794–1185
Feudal Kamakura Jōkyū War Mongol invasions Genkō War Kenmu Restoration 1185–1333 Muromachi Nanboku-chō period Sengoku period 1336–1573 Azuchi–Momoyama Nanban trade Imjin War Battle of Sekigahara 1573–1603
Early modern Edo (Tokugawa) Tokugawa shogunate Invasion of Ryukyu Siege of Osaka Sakoku Perry Expedition Convention of Kanagawa Bakumatsu Meiji Restoration Boshin War 1603–1868
Modern Meiji Ryūkyū Disposition Invasion of Taiwan (1874) Satsuma Rebellion First Sino-Japanese War Treaty of Shimonoseki Triple Intervention Invasion of Taiwan (1895) Colonization of Taiwan Boxer Rebellion Russo-Japanese War Treaty of Portsmouth Japan–Korea Treaty Colonization of Korea 1868–1912 Taishō World War I Intervention in Siberia Great Kantō earthquake 1912–1926 Shōwa Militarism Financial crisis Nanking incident Mukden Incident Invasion of Manchuria May 15 incident February 26 incident Anti-Comintern Pact Tripartite Pact Second Sino-Japanese War World War II Attack on Pearl Harbor Pacific War Atomic bombings Soviet–Japanese War Surrender of Japan Occupation of Japan Postwar Japan Anpo protests Economic miracle Asset price bubble 1926–1989 Heisei Lost Decades Great Hanshin earthquake Cool Japan Tōhoku earthquake Imperial transition 1989–2019 Reiwa COVID-19 pandemic Abe assassination Noto earthquake 2019–present
Topics Capital punishment Currency Earthquakes Economy Era names Education Empire Foreign relations Geography Historiography Religion Buddhism Christianity Islam Judaism Shinto Military Naval Politics Post-war Science and technology Sports World Heritage Sites
Glossary History Timeline
v t e

The Meiji Restoration (Japanese: 明治維新, romanized: Meiji Ishin), referred to at the time as the Honorable Restoration (御維新, Goishin), and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ruling emperors before the Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical power to, and consolidated the political system under, the Emperor of Japan.^[a] The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure and spanned both the late Edo period (often called the Bakumatsu) and the beginning of the Meiji era, during which time Japan rapidly industrialised and adopted Western ideas and production methods.

The origins of the Restoration lay in economic and political difficulties faced by the Tokugawa shogunate. These problems were compounded by the encroachment of foreign powers in the region which challenged the Tokugawa policy of sakoku. With the arrival of the Perry Expedition and subsequent unequal treaties, Japan was forced to open to the West, questioning the shōgun's political authority over maintaining Japanese sovereignty. The Emperor's rebuke of shogunal actions led to the emergence of an ideological divide within the samurai class concerned with their feudal obligations to both the shōgun and the Emperor. Many lower and middle-ranking samurai became shishi ("men of spirit") who were committed to the Emperor's proclamations to expel the barbarians. Factional disputes within the domains led some domains to conflict with the Tokugawa. After some initial setbacks, the domains organised into an anti-Tokugawa alliance, and, led by Satsuma and Chōshū, they overthrew the shogunal system.

On 3 January 1868, Emperor Meiji declared political power to be restored to the Imperial House. The goals of the restored government were expressed by the new emperor in the Charter Oath. Subsequent Tokugawa resistance to the new government materialised in the Boshin War and short-lived Ezo Republic, but by the 1870s, the Emperor's authority was practically unquestioned. The new government re-organised whole strata of society, abolishing the old currency, the domain system, and eventually the class position of the samurai. The abolition of the shogunate and industrialisation of society in emulation of foreign imperial powers led to backlash in the Saga Rebellion and the Satsuma Rebellion, but ultimately ended feudalism in Japanese society. The Meiji Restoration was the political process that laid the foundation for the institutions of Imperial Japan, and would have far-reaching consequences in the East Asian region as Japan pursued colonial interests against its neighbours. The Meiji Constitution of 1889 would remain in place until the Allied Occupation of Japan after the end of the Second World War.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).