Meiji Restoration

Cultural  

1. A turning point in Japanese history in 1868 when the last shogun was overthrown and the emperor assumed direct control over the nation. The following Meiji Period (1868–1912) was marked by Japan's opening to the West and the establishment of a strong centralized government.

---

Example Sentences

Europe today faces the same choices Japan did before the Meiji Restoration in 1868.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

What changes were made to Japan’s traditional social structure as a result of the Meiji Restoration?

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

The truth is that Japan and the West have been busily emulating and exoticizing each other at least since the 1868 Meiji Restoration.

From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2022

After the Meiji Restoration in 1863, the samurai as a class were destroyed and aristocratic fashion shifted to Western styles.

From Slate • Aug. 28, 2021

Thus the overthrow of the Shogun was portrayed less as a revolution and was characterized instead as the Meiji Restoration, a title that gave moral justification to a successful armed insurrection.

From Time • Aug. 14, 2015