Eferred To at The Time As The

eferred to at the time as the Honorable Restoration (御一新, Goisshin), and also known as
the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Reform, or Renewal, was an event that restored practical

imperial rule to the Empire of Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ruling
Emperors before the Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical abilities and consolidated the
political system under the Emperor of Japan.[2] The goals of the restored government were
expressed by the new Emperor in the Charter Oath.
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 the
Restoration, Japan rapidly industrialized and adopted western ideas and production methods.
Contents
 1Foreign influence
 2Imperial restoration
 3End of the shogunate
 4Military reform
 5Centralization
o 5.1Industrial growth
 6See also
 7Notes
 8References
 9Further reading
 10External links
Foreign influence[edit]
The Japanese knew they were behind the great Western powers when US Commodore Matthew C.
Perry came to Japan in 1853 in large warships with armaments and technology that far outclassed
those of Japan with the intent to conclude a treaty that would open up Japanese ports to trade.
[1]
Figures like Shimazu Nariakira concluded that "if we take the initiative, we can dominate; if we do
not, we will be dominated", leading Japan to "throw open its doors to foreign technology." Observing
Japan's response to the Western powers, Chinese general Li Hongzhang considered Japan to be
China's "principal security threat" as early as 1863, five years before the Meiji Restoration. [2]
The leaders of the Meiji Restoration, as this revolution came to be known, acted in the name of
restoring imperial rule to strengthen Japan against the threat of being colonized represented by the
colonial powers of the day, bringing to an end the era known as sakoku (the foreign relations policy,
lasting about 250 years, prescribing the death penalty for foreigners entering or Japanese nationals
leaving the country). The word "Meiji" means "enlightened rule" and the goal was to combine
"modern advances" with traditional "eastern" values. [3] The main leaders of this were Itō
Hirobumi, Matsukata Masayoshi, Kido Takayoshi, Itagaki Taisuke, Yamagata Aritomo, Mori
Arinori, Ōkubo Toshimichi, and Yamaguchi Naoyoshi.
Imperial restoration[edit]
The foundation of the Meiji Restoration was the 1866 Satsuma-Chōshū Alliance between Saigō
Takamori and Kido Takayoshi, leaders of the reformist elements in the Satsuma
Domain and Chōshū Domain. These two leaders supported the Emperor Kōmei (Emperor Meiji's
father) and were brought together by Sakamoto Ryōma for the purpose of challenging the
ruling Tokugawa shogunate (bakufu) and restoring the Emperor to power. After Kōmei's death on
January 30, 1867, Meiji ascended the throne on February 3. This period also saw Japan change
from being a feudal society to having a market economy and left the Japanese with a lingering
influence of Modernity.[4]
In the same year, the koban was discontinued.
End of the shogunate[edit]

Main article: Bakumatsu
The Tokugawa government had been founded in the 17th century and initially focused on
reestablishing order in social, political and international affairs after a century of warfare. The political
structure, established by Ieyasu and solidified under his two immediate successors, his son
Hidetada (who ruled from 1616–23) and grandson Iemitsu (1623–51), bound all daimyōs to the
shogunate and limited any individual daimyō from acquiring too much land or power. [5] The
Tokugawa shogunate came to its official end on November 9, 1867, when Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the
15th Tokugawa shōgun, "put his prerogatives at the Emperor's disposal" and resigned 10 days later.
[6]
This was effectively the "restoration" (Taisei Hōkan) of imperial rule – although Yoshinobu still had
significant influence and it was not until January 3, the following year, with the young Emperor's
edict, that the restoration fully occurred.[7]
Shortly thereafter in January 1868, the Boshin War (War of the Year of the Dragon) started with
the Battle of Toba–Fushimi in which Chōshū and Satsuma's forces defeated the ex-shōgun's army.
This forced (or allowed) the Emperor to strip Yoshinobu of all power, setting the stage for official
restoration. On January 3, 1868, the Emperor made a formal declaration of the restoration of his
power:
The Emperor of Japan announces to the sovereigns of all foreign countries and to their subjects that
permission has been granted to the Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu to return the governing power in
accordance with his own request. We shall henceforward exercise supreme authority in all the
internal and external affairs of the country. Consequently, the title of Emperor must be substituted for
that of Taikun, in which the treaties have been made. Officers are being appointed by us to the
conduct of foreign affairs. It is desirable that the representatives of the treaty powers recognize this
announcement.
— Mutsuhito, January 3, 1868[8]

All Tokugawa lands were seized and placed under "imperial control", thus placing them under the
prerogative of the new Meiji government. With Fuhanken sanchisei, the areas were split into three
types: urban prefectures (府, fu), rural prefectures (県, ken) and the already existing domains.
In 1869, the daimyōs of the Tosa, Hizen, Satsuma and Chōshū Domains, who were pushing most
fiercely against the shogunate, were persuaded to "return their domains to the Emperor". Other
daimyō were subsequently persuaded to do so, thus creating, arguably for the first time, a central
government in Japan which exercised direct power through the entire "realm". [3]
Some shogunate forces escaped to Hokkaidō, where they attempted to set up a
breakaway Republic of Ezo; however, forces loyal to the Emperor ended this attempt in May 1869
with the Battle of Hakodate in Hokkaidō. The defeat of the armies of the former shōgun (led
by Enomoto Takeaki and Hijikata Toshizō) marked the final end of the Tokugawa shogunate, with
the Emperor's power fully restored. [citation needed]
Finally, by 1872, the daimyōs, past and present, were summoned before the Emperor, where it was
declared that all domains were now to be returned to the Emperor. The roughly 280 domains were
turned into 72 prefectures, each under the control of a state-appointed governor. If
the daimyōs peacefully complied, they were given a prominent voice in the new Meiji government.
[9]
Later, their debts and payments of samurai stipends were either taxed heavily or turned into bonds
which resulted in a large loss of wealth among former samurai. [10]
Military reform[edit]
Main articles: Meiji period, Government of Meiji Japan, Meiji Constitution, and Abolition of the han
system
Emperor Meiji announced in his 1868 Charter Oath that "Knowledge shall be sought all over the
world, and thereby the foundations of imperial rule shall be strengthened." [2]
Under the leadership of Mori Arinori, a group of prominent Japanese intellectuals went on to form
the Meiji Six Society in 1873 to continue to "promote civilization and enlightenment" through modern
ethics and ideas. However, during the restoration, political power simply moved from the Tokugawa
shogunate to an oligarchy consisting of these leaders, mostly from Satsuma Province (Ōkubo
Toshimichi and Saigō Takamori), and Chōshū Province (Itō Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo, and Kido
Takayoshi). This reflected their belief in the more traditional practice of imperial rule, whereby
the Emperor of Japan serves solely as the spiritual authority of the nation and his ministers govern
the nation in his name.[citation needed]
The Meiji oligarchy that formed the government under the rule of the Emperor first introduced
measures to consolidate their power against the remnants of the Edo period government, the
shogunate, daimyōs, and the samurai class. The oligarchs also endeavored to abolish the four
divisions of society.[citation needed]
The Tokyo Koishikawa Arsenal was established in 1871.

Throughout Japan at the time, the samurai numbered 1.9 million. (For comparison, this was more
than 10 times the size of the French privileged class before the 1789 French Revolution. Moreover,
the samurai in Japan were not merely the lords, but also their higher retainers—people who actually
worked.) With each samurai being paid fixed stipends, their upkeep presented a tremendous
financial burden, which may have prompted the oligarchs to action.
Whatever their true intentions, the oligarchs embarked on another slow and deliberate process to
abolish the samurai class. First, in 1873, it was announced that the samurai stipends were to be
taxed on a rolling basis. Later, in 1874, the samurai were given the option to convert their stipends
into government bonds. Finally, in 1876, this commutation was made compulsory.[citation needed]
To reform the military, the government instituted nationwide conscription in 1873, mandating that
every male would serve for four years in the armed forces upon turning 21 years old, followed by
three more years in the reserves. One of the primary differences between the samurai and peasant
classes was the right to bear arms; this ancient privilege was suddenly extended to every male in the
nation. Furthermore, samurai were no longer allowed to walk about town bearing a sword or weapon
to show their status.
This led to a series of riots from disgruntled samurai. One of the major riots was the one led by
Saigō Takamori, the Satsuma Rebellion, which eventually turned into a civil war. This rebellion was,
however, put down swiftly by the newly formed Imperial Japanese Army, trained in Western tactics
and weapons, even though the core of the new army was the Tokyo police force, which was largely
composed of former samurai. This sent a strong message to the dissenting samurai that their time
was indeed over. There were fewer subsequent samurai uprisings and the distinction became all but
a name as the samurai joined the new society. The ideal of samurai military spirit lived on in
romanticized form and was often used as propaganda during the early 20th-century wars of
the Empire of Japan.[citation needed]
However, it is equally true that the majority of samurai were content despite having their status
abolished. Many found employment in the government bureaucracy, which resembled an elite class
in its own right. The samurai, being better educated than most of the population, became teachers,
gun makers, government officials, and/or military officers. While the formal title of samurai was
abolished, the elitist spirit that characterized the samurai class lived on.
The oligarchs also embarked on a series of land reforms. In particular, they legitimized the tenancy
system which had been going on during the Tokugawa period. Despite the bakufu's best efforts to
freeze the four classes of society in place, during their rule villagers had begun to lease land out to
other farmers, becoming rich in the process. This greatly disrupted the clearly defined class system
which the bakufu had envisaged, partly leading to their eventual downfall. [citation needed]
The military of Japan, strengthened by nationwide conscription and emboldened by military success
in both the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, began to view themselves as a
growing world power.
Centralization[edit]
Besides drastic changes to the social structure of Japan, in an attempt to create a strong centralized
state defining its national identity, the government established a dominant national dialect, called
"standard language" (標準語, hyōjungo), that replaced local and regional dialects and was based on
the patterns of Tokyo's samurai classes. This dialect eventually became the norm in the realms of
education, media, government, and business.[11]
The Meiji Restoration, and the resultant modernization of Japan, also influenced Japanese self-
identity with respect to its Asian neighbours, as Japan became the first Asian state to modernize
based on the Western model, replacing the traditional Confucian hierarchical order that had
persisted previously under a dominant China with one based on modernity.
[12]
Adopting enlightenment ideals of popular education, the Japanese government established a
national system of public schools.[13] These free schools taught students reading, writing, and
mathematics. Students also attended courses in "moral training" which reinforced their duty to the
Emperor and to the Japanese state. By the end of the Meiji period, attendance of public schools was
widespread, increasing the availability of skilled workers and contributing to the industrial growth of
Japan.

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eferred to at the time as the Honorable Restoration (御一新, Goisshin), and also known as

the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Reform, or Renewal, was an event that restored practical

End of the shogunate[edit]

— Mutsuhito, January 3, 1868[8]

The Tokyo Koishikawa Arsenal was established in 1871.

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