Meiji Restoration

In this episode, we break down how the Meiji Restoration turned Japan from a rigid Tokugawa feudal system into a centralized modern state and imperial power in just a few decades. We cover the bakuhan structure, Sakoku isolation, economic inversion between samurai and merchants, the shock of Perry's 'black ships,' and the fall of the shogunate via the Boshin War. We trace how the new Meiji government abolished the han system, dismantled the samurai class, imposed harsh land taxes on peasants, and used silk exports, zaibatsu conglomerates, and foreign experts to fund rapid industrialization and military expansion. Finally, we look at Japan's wars with China and Russia, the creation of its own colonial empire, and the uncomfortable question of whether the Meiji 'revolution' really created social mobility or just swapped one elite for another.