Level 23
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The Late 19th Century and WWI

Meiji Japan

Japan's rapid transformation from an isolated feudal shogunate into a modern industrial and imperial power, from the arrival of Perry's "black ships" to victory over Qing China.

Wikimedia Commons · Takagi Haisui · Public domain

60-Second Review

Express review

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

  1. Tokugawa Japan and the crisis of the Bakumatsu era. Two centuries of Tokugawa seclusion under sakoku ended in fiscal crisis and mounting unrest by the mid-1800s.
  2. Perry, the "black ships," and the unequal treaties. Perry's 1853 arrival forced Japan open, leading to treaties that imposed extraterritoriality and external tariffs.
  3. The fall of the shogunate and the Boshin War. The Satcho Alliance and the 1868 palace coup triggered the Boshin War, ending 260 years of Tokugawa rule.
  4. Emperor Meiji and the Charter Oath. The 1868 restoration made Meiji a symbolic sovereign while real power rested with the Satsuma-Choshu genro oligarchs.
  5. Dismantling feudalism: han, prefectures, and the samurai. The 1871 abolition of the han and the 1876 stripping of samurai privileges provoked the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion.
  6. Building the modern state: diplomacy, law, and the 1889 Constitution. The Iwakura Mission studied the West, and the 1889 Meiji Constitution created a Diet under a sovereign emperor.
  7. Economic and educational transformation. Industrial policy built the zaibatsu and heavy industry, while universal schooling pushed literacy above 90%.
  8. Expansion abroad and the legacy of the Restoration. Victory over Qing China in 1895 confirmed Japan as an imperial power, and historians still weigh the Restoration's costs.

This module continues after "Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa" in the syllabus. If you haven't reviewed it yet, it may help set the context.

Key points

Visual module map

1Tokugawa Japan and the crisis of the Bakumatsu era
2The fall of the shogunate and the Boshin War
3Dismantling feudalism: han, prefectures, and the samurai
4Building the modern state: diplomacy, law, and the 1889 Constitution
5Expansion abroad and the legacy of the Restoration

Alternative visual view: a simplified sequence of some of the module's key points, in their order within the syllabus.

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Final test

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Optional mini-games

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Review Flashcards

Review each key point with cards that flip to reveal the summary.

Memory

Match each concept with its definition in as few attempts as possible.

Time Attack

Answer true or false statements before time runs out.

Chronological Order

Put the module's key points back in their original order.

Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • W.G. Beasley, The Meiji Restoration.
  • Marius B. Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan.
  • E.H. Norman, Japan's Emergence as a Modern State: Political and Economic Problems of the Meiji Period.
  • Carol Gluck, Japan's Modern Myths: Ideology in the Late Meiji Period.
  • Kume Kunitake, Beio Kairan Jikki (A True Account of the Tour Through America and Europe).
  • Fukuzawa Yukichi, Gakumon no Susume (An Encouragement of Learning).
  • Ben-Ami Shillony, Enigma of the Emperors: Sacred Subservience in Japanese History.
  • National Diet Library of Japan, Birth of the Constitution of Japan, available at ndl.go.jp.