Japan's Meiji Revolution: Restoration and Reform in a Global Context (The University of Tokyo Studies on Asia)

This open access book is a readable and thought-provoking exploration of the significance of the Meiji Restoration within a global historical context of other modern revolutions.It argues that the events of Meiji were not a mere “restoration” of the emperor, but indeed a revolution, by situating this story in the context of nineteenth century Euro-American and East Asian revolutionary history.It also addresses why the death toll in Japan was so comparatively low despite this revolution, which resulted in the abolition of the ruling class.It simultaneously highlights the important flourishing of “public discussion and public debate” in Japan of the 1860s and 1870s.Where traditional interpretations of the early Meiji period have tended to focus almost exclusively on the series of radical reforms modeled on the contemporary West, this book, in contrast, stresses the threat from the local armies that had contributed to the establishment of the new government.The author also situates the Me