Lesson 4: The Meiji Restoration of Japan

Tokugawa Shogunate and the Age of Lock-Up

In the mid-19th century, Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The emperor was the nominal monarch and the shogun held real power. The Tokugawa Shogunate had a lockdown policy and only limited trade with China and the Netherlands. The lockdown policy isolated Japan from the outside world and hindered social and economic development.

From 1853 to 1854, the U.S. Navy fleet forced its way into Japanese ports twice and demanded that Japan open its doors or go to war. Japan was forced to sign the unequal treaty and open its ports. Other Western countries followed, and the Shogunate rule was shaken.

Reverse Shogunate Movement

After the opening of ports and commerce, the Japanese economy suffered a great impact and many handicraft workers closed down. At that time, the price of gold in Japan was lower than the price of gold in the world market, and foreigners used silver to buy gold, causing a large amount of gold outflow from Japan, causing market chaos and soaring prices. The situation of peasants, urban poor and lower class samurai kept deteriorating.

Facing the national crisis and social crisis, the Tokugawa Shogunate was at its wits' end and met with increasing opposition. Some of the lower and middle class samurai joined hands with the powerful clans in the southwest and the court officials to launch the Shogunate movement.

In January 1868, the rebels staged a coup d'état in Kyoto to support the emperor's rule and forced the shogun to "resign from the government and accept the land. In 1869, the emperor and his government were moved to Tokyo.

Meiji Restoration

In 1868, the Meiji government started a series of reforms to transform Japan by following the example of the West, known as the Meiji Restoration.

The main measures of the Meiji Restoration were: politically, the centralization of power was strengthened. On the military front, the Meiji government introduced conscription and built a new army; on the economic front, it introduced land tax reform and vigorously developed the modern economy under the slogan of "breeding and industrialization"; on the social front, it advocated "civilization and enlightenment" and learned from the West to transform Japan's education, culture and way of life. In social life, he advocated "civilization and enlightenment", learning from the West and transforming Japanese education, culture and lifestyle.

The Meiji Restoration became a major turning point in Japanese history. Through the Meiji Restoration, Japan quickly embarked on the development of capitalism and became one of the capitalist powers by enriching the country and strengthening its army. However, the Meiji Restoration retained a lot of remnants of the old system and was strongly militaristic. After Japan became strong, it soon embarked on the path of foreign aggression and expansion.

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