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.

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Example Sentences

Twice before in modern history—the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and again the long boom after World War II—Japan has achieved rapid transformations and almost-miraculous levels of growth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025

After the Meiji Restoration, where did industrialization begin?

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

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

Rich Smith, an East Asia scholar at Rice University, said,  “There were no samurai in Japan after WWI; the samurai class was effectively abolished in 1876, after the Meiji Restoration in 1868.”

From Slate • Jan. 16, 2014