Meiji

Meiji refers to a period in Japanese history and to the reign of Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito), from 1868 to 1912, during which the country undertook rapid modernization and centralization of power. The era name means enlightened rule, and it followed the end of the Tokugawa shogunate with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which restored practical imperial authority and began sweeping reforms.

The Meiji government sought to transform Japan into a centralized, modern state. It abolished the feudal han system, replaced it with a prefectural structure, and implemented land tax reforms. A new legal framework established a constitutional model with the 1889 Meiji Constitution and the Imperial Diet (established 1890). Education was expanded with universal, compulsory schooling. The economy was reorganized toward industrial growth, with state-led initiatives that later encouraged private enterprise and the emergence of large zaibatsu conglomerates. Infrastructure such as railways, telegraph, and modern banking supported rapid industrialization and urbanization.

Foreign policy emphasized modernization to resist Western pressure and revise unequal treaties. Military reform created a conscript army and modern navy, enabling Japan to win the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05), and to expand influence in Korea and Taiwan.

Societal change accompanied economic and political shift, including shifts in class structure, increased urban commerce, and evolving education and gender norms, though political rights remained limited to a select elite.

The Meiji era ended with Emperor Meiji’s death in 1912, marking the transition to the Taisho period. The period is widely regarded as a foundational phase in Japan’s modernization and emergence as a major world power.