The Meiji Restoration was a revolution that returned political power to Emperor Mutsuhito, ended of the shogunate system, and started modern Japan.

Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay with a squadron of 4 vessels on 8 July 1853, alarming the Tokugawa shogunate & leading to the 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa which opened Japan to trade with the US; the shogunate fell & the Meiji Restoration initiated the industrialization Japan in order to preserve Japanese culture, marking a key turning point in Japanese history...

Center sheet of triptych: 1942.270.1 (right), 1942.270.2 (center), 1942.270.3 (left)

The year 2018 has seen many events in Japan marking 150 years since the Meiji Restoration. While the year 1868 was crucial to the fall of the shogunate and the establishment of a new government, understanding the historical context requires a wider focus. This article gives a brisk overview of Japanese history from the arrival of the US Navy’s “black ships” in 1853 to the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution in 1889.

On July 27, 1853, the Tokugawa shogunate was in crisis. Shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi passed away from what today is believed to be heat exhaustion at Edo Castle in the heart of Edo, present-day Tokyo.

Victorian Europe’s influence on Japanese Fashion

Late Meiji-era Tokyo | Yoshiwara brothels, circa 1910.

Under colonial pressure, Japan abandoned its isolationist policies and underwent major radical reforms. This is the era of the Meiji Restoration.