AD 1868-1912 Meiji

Acting on widespread dissatisfaction, economic problems and the threat of foreign dominance, an alliance of south-western clans brought down the Tokugawa shogunate in AD 1867. The official goal of this coup d’état was to reclaim power for the emperor Meiji, so it is known as the Meiji Restoration.

A whole new set of men swept to power at the highest levels of government, quite a number of whom had spent time abroad. In an effort to gain parity with the European nations and the United States, the new government set about a thorough-going programme of modernisation. One major goal of this project to make Japan an equally civilised, modern nation-state was the revision of the ‘unequal treaties,’ which gave the Western nations trading advantages. Opportunities for export markets were sought by participation in many of the late-19th-century international expositions.

Within just a few decades the urban landscape of Japan, and the lifestyles of its people had undergone many profound changes. The rapid pace caused concern to many, however, and there was a reaction against Westernisation in the late 1880s. People demonstrated a desire to reassert traditional values, and to hold onto fast-disappearing facets of culture. The wars against China (1894-95) and Russia (1904-05) only increased this nationalistic direction.