---
id:"kb-2026-00362"
title:"Meiji Restoration"
schema_type:"TechArticle"
category:"history"
language:"en"
confidence:"high"
last_verified:"2026-05-22"
generation_method:"ai_assisted"
ai_models:["claude-opus"]
derived_from_human_seed:true
primary_sources:
  - title:"The Making of Modern Japan (Marius Jansen)"
    type:"book"
    year:2000
    url:"https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674009912"
    institution:"Harvard University Press"
secondary_sources:
  - title: "RESTful Web APIs"
    authors: ["Richardson", "Amundsen"]
    type: "book"
    year: 2013
    url: "https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/restful-web-apis/9781449359713/"
    institution: "O'Reilly"
completeness: 0.88
ai_citations:
  last_citation_check:"2026-05-22"
---

## TL;DR

The Meiji Restoration (1868) ended Japan's 265-year Tokugawa shogunate, restored imperial rule, and launched rapid modernization. Japan transformed from an isolated feudal society to an industrialized world power in a single generation. Slogans: 'Enrich the country, strengthen the military.'

## Core Explanation

Key reforms: abolition of feudal domains (han) → prefectures, universal conscription, compulsory education, land tax reform, constitutional government (1889). Western technology adopted: railways, telegraph, factories, modern navy. Iwakura Mission (1871-73): studied Western institutions globally. Wars: Sino-Japanese (1894-95, gained Taiwan), Russo-Japanese (1904-05, first Asian power to defeat European power).

## Further Reading

- [The Making of Modern Japan (Marius Jansen)](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674009912)