In 1869 The Emperor was restored to nominal supreme power, and the imperial family moved to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo (“eastern capital”). However, the most powerful men in the government were former samurai from Chōshū and Satsuma rather than the Emperor, who was fifteen in 1868. These men, known as the Meiji oligarchs, oversaw the dramatic changes Japan would experience during this period. The leaders of the Meiji government, who are regarded as some of the most successful statesmen in human history, desired Japan to become a modern nation-state that could stand equal to the Western imperialist powers.
The Meiji government abolished the Neo-Confucian class structure, and replaced the feudal domains of the daimyōs with prefectures. It instituted comprehensive tax reform and lifted the ban on Christianity. Major government priorities included the introduction of railways, telegraph lines, and a universal education system. The Meiji government promoted widespread Westernization and hired hundreds of advisers from Western nations with expertise in such fields as education, mining, banking, law, military affairs, and transportation to remodel Japan’s institutions. The Japanese adopted the Gregorian calendar, Western clothing, and Western hairstyles.
Imaichi road in Nikko, ca. 1880
Iris garden, Horikiri in Tokyo, ca. 1870
Kasuga-taisha shrine in Nara, ca. 1880
Mount Fuji from Kawaibashi, ca. 1870
Mount Fuji seen from Otome pass, ca. 1890
Mount Fuji, ca. 1870
Narabi-jizo statues of Kan-man path near Nikko, ca. 1880
Noge hill in Yokohama, ca. 1870
A greengrocer, ca. 1880
Omotemon (Nioh) Gate in Nikko, ca. 1880
Children playing kotoro, ca. 1890
Sacred Bridge at Nikko, ca. 1880
Shinkyo, sacred bridge of the Futarasan jinja, ca. 1870
Shinto shrine of Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, ca. 1880
Stone lantern in Kasuga shrine, Nara, ca. 1880
Three young dancers, ca. 1870
Threshing rice, ca. 1880
Toshogu shrine in Nikko, ca. 1870
Transplanting rice, ca. 1880
Fuji Shiraito Falls, ca. 1880
Women spinning cotton, ca. 1870
Young man and two women at Enoshima Caves, ca. 1880
Fujiyama seen from Kashiwabara, ca. 1880
Geishas playing music in a tea house, ca. 1890
Gojo-zaka bamboo forest, Kyoto, Japan, ca. 1870
Horikiri’s Iris Garden in Tokyo, ca. 1880
