The Significance of the Meiji Restoration

The year 2018 marks the end of the 260-year rule by the Tokugawa Shogunate and the start of a new government headed by the Emperor. The term “Meiji Restoration” is often used narrowly to refer to the political events of 1868, which is why the 150th anniversary is observed this year. More generally, however, the term often refers to the series of changes that occurred after the new government was established, including Japan’s opening to the world, abolition of feudal domains and the samurai class, establishment of the modern Cabinet system in 1885, and proclamation of the Meiji Constitution in 1889 and the opening of the Parliament in 1890. In this article, the author uses the term in this broader sense.