What was the Meiji Restoration?

The Meiji Restoration (1868) ended the rule of the Tokugawa shoguns and restored the power of the imperial family.

What was the reason for the Meiji Restoration?

There were three main reasons for the Meiji Restoration: the bakuhan system introduced by the Tokugawa, foreign threats and demands for opening the country by industrialised nations, and the rise of imperial loyalism.

Why was the Meiji Restoration significant?

The Meiji Restoration is almost universally regarded as the dividing line between traditional and modern Japan because it brought a new government that introduced radical policies that fundamentally altered Japanese society.

Meiji Restoration

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Definition

The Meiji Restoration was a political event that took place in Japan in 1868. In it, the Tokugawa family, a warrior clan that had ruled Japan for more than 260 years, was overthrown by a group of political activists who proclaimed that their goal was to restore the imperial family to power.

More about: Meiji Restoration

Timeline

1603 - 1868
Edo period. The Tokugawa Shogunate rules Japan.
1868 - 1912
Meiji period in Japan.
1868
The Meiji Restoration eliminates the position of shogun in Japan, Edo is renamed Tokyo, and Edo Castle becomes the Imperial Palace.