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Shogun Loses Power
In 1868, the Tokugawa Shogun who had ruled Japan in the feudal period, lost their power. Which was then restored to the emperor as the supreme position -
Meiji Restoration
The Meiji Restoration Started in 1868 and ended in 1912 when the emperor had died. However, some things were still being affected by it until circa 1950. -
The Charter Oath
The Charter Oath was a short but very important public document issued in April 1868. Issued in the
name of Emperor Meiji, the text was written by a group of the young samurai, mainly from domains in southwestern Japan, who had led the overthrow of the Tokugawa and the
“restoration” of imperial rule. The Charter Oath appeared at a time of considerable uncertainty in Japanese society, as
people throughout the country were unsure of the intentions and priorities of the new regime governing Japan. -
Satsuma Rebellion
The Satsuma Rebellion was when the government's newly drafted army, trained in European infantry techniques and armed with modern western guns, defeated the last resistance of the traditional samurai warriors. -
Massive Protests Against the Government
When a financial scandal prompted massive protests against the government in 1881, the officials responded in part by promising that a constitution would be granted within a decade. And when Japan’s first political parties were created in response to that promise, the government seriously set about the task of drafting that constitution. -
Rise of Nationalism
The rise of nationalism-often called the most important feature of the late 1880s and early 1890s-showed up in many ways: in the widely heralded pride over the constitution, in the issuance in 1890 of the Imperial Re-script on Education, a stirring document in which school students regularly recited their loyalty to country and emperor, and in the increasing public discussions by young writers of Japan's greatness. -
Meiji Constitution is Made
The Japanese Constitution of 1889, also known as the Meiji Constitution, was the constitution that provided a mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy, based on the Prussian and British models. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan’s leader sought to create a constitution that would define Japan as a capable, modern nation deserving of Western respect while preserving their own power. -
Sino-Japanese War
In 1894, Japan launched its first major foreign war, thrashing China in the Sino-Japanese War and beginning its experience with empire by securing Taiwan as a colony -
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War happened 113 year ago on February 8, 1904. This war lasted eighteen months before a US-Brokered truce mercifully put it to rest. The war sharply limited Russian influence in Northeast Asia. Japan gained control of Korea, and gained a long-term foothold for influencing events in Manchuria and China. -
Meiji Emperor Dies
The Meiji Restoration ended(?) in 1912 when Emperor Meiji Ishin died. Even though the emperor died, the Meiji influence was still there -
WW1 Starts
the end is the cause of economic depression -
Economic Depression
At the end of World War I, Japan entered a severe economic depression. The bright, optimistic atmosphere of the Taishô period gradually disappeared. Political party government was marred by corruption. The government and military, consequently, grew stronger, the parliament weaker, and the advanced industrial sector became increasingly controlled by a few giant businesses, the zaibatsu. -
Japan Becomes A Constitutional Monarchy
Japan had become a constitutional monarchy with a democratically elected parliament. It had a modern military that had won two major wars overseas. Japan was an active member of the international community. It participated in the League of Nations and ruled colonies of its own. Despite these successes Japanese leaders were frustrated. They saw signs that other world powers did not regard them as equals They were also concerned about rising nationalism in the colonies and popular protests at home -
The Rape of Nanking
The population of Nanking was subjected to an uncontrolled butchery that came to be known as “the Rape of Nanking”. Thousands of suspected members of the Chinese Army who had shed their uniforms for civilian clothing, were apprehended, their hands tied behind their backs and led en mass to killing fields where they were shot, beheaded, used for bayonet practice or killed in some other gruesome manner before being dumped into mass graves. Thousands of others were buried while still alive. -
Bombing Pearl Harbor
Japan's need for natural resources and the repeated rebuffs from the West caused Japan's attempts to expand its power in Asia. This paved the way for militarists to rise to power. Insecurity in international relations allowed a right-wing militaristic faction to control first foreign, then domestic, policy. With the military greatly influencing the government, Japan began an aggressive military campaign throughout Asia, and then, in 1941, bombed Pearl Harbor.
