2. End of the Shogunate
• After nearly 300 years the Tokugawa Shogunate
was weakened
– High taxes were needed to support Shoguns and
Samurai
– Peasant revolts
– Arrival of Commodore Perry of USA
– Led to a civil war between Tokugawas and those
loyal to the emperor (Boshin War).
3. Meiji Restoration
• In 1867 14-year-old Prince
Mutsuhito became Japan's 122nd
emperor
• A new era called Meiji
("enlightened rule") was
proclaimed
• Shogunate system was replaced
with an Imperial Constitution
– Loss of privileges for Samurai
– Army was modernised along
Western lines
– Equality of all citizens
– Parliament called the Diet formed
• Some felt Japan had lost its soul
and rebelled
4. A growing power…
• Rapid introduction of machinery for making
goods, steam power, and railways helped
Japan become strong in Asia
– Won the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895)
– Won the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)
– Signed an alliance with Britain (1902)
