What happened
On January 3, 1868, a coalition led by Satsuma and Choshu proclaimed the restoration of imperial rule (osei fukko) under the fifteen-year-old Emperor Meiji. The last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, had already returned his authority to the court in November 1867 (Taisei Hokan).
The Boshin War (1868–69), from Toba-Fushimi to the last stand at Hakodate’s Goryokaku, crushed shogunate resistance. The Charter Oath of April 1868 promised deliberative assemblies and knowledge sought throughout the world, and Edo became Tokyo, the new capital.
Background
The unequal treaties signed after Perry’s arrival had discredited the shogunate.
Consequences
About 680 years of warrior government came to an end. A crash program of reform built Asia’s first modern nation-state.