Introduction

This week we're going to talk about the early Meiji period from 1868 until 1895. During this period of 27 short years Japan transitioned into a modern nation state and one of the major powers in Asia. In future episodes we'll discuss some theories about how and why Japan was able to do this, but for now I'm just going to tackle the what of it. The victorious coalition of Satsuma, Cho-Shu, and the minor domains of Saga and Tosa had three orders of business once they finished defeating the Bakafu: To defeat the remaining forces of the Bakafus; regain control of Edo; and build up an economy that could compete with Western Europe