Empire of Japan

===Background===
{{Main|Bakumatsu}}

After two centuries, the seclusion policy, or ''[[sakoku]]'', under the ''[[shōgun]]s'' of the [[Edo period]] came to an end when the country was forced open to trade by the [[Convention of Kanagawa]] which came when [[Matthew C. Perry]] arrived in Japan in 1854. Thus, the period known as [[Bakumatsu]] began.

The following years saw increased foreign trade and interaction; commercial treaties between the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] and Western countries were signed. In large part due to the humiliating terms of these [[unequal treaties]], the shogunate soon faced internal hostility, which materialized into a radical, [[xenophobic]] movement, the ''[[sonnō jōi]]'' (literally "Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians").{{sfn|Hagiwara|2004|p=34}}

In March 1863, the Emperor issued the "[[order to expel barbarians]]." Although the shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan. The [[Namamugi Incident]] during 1862 led to the murder of an Englishman, [[Charles Lennox Richardson]], by a party of [[samurai]] from [[Satsuma Province|Satsuma]]. The British demanded reparations but were denied. While attempting to exact payment, the [[Royal Navy]] was fired on from coastal batteries near the town of [[Kagoshima]]. They responded by [[Bombardment of Kagoshima|bombarding the port of Kagoshima]] in 1863. The Tokugawa government agreed to pay an indemnity for Richardson's death.{{sfn|Jansen|2002|pp=314–315}} Shelling of foreign shipping in [[Shimonoseki]] and attacks against foreign property led to the [[bombardment of Shimonoseki]] by a multinational force in 1864.{{sfn|Hagiwara|2004|p=35}} The Chōshū clan also launched the failed coup known as the [[Kinmon incident]]. The [[Satchō Alliance|Satsuma-Chōshū alliance]] was established in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa ''bakufu''. In early 1867, [[Emperor Kōmei]] died of smallpox and was replaced by his son, [[Emperor Meiji|Crown Prince Mutsuhito (Meiji)]].

On November 9, 1867, [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] resigned from his post and authorities to the emperor, agreeing to "be the instrument for carrying out" imperial orders,{{sfn|Satow|1921|p=282}} leading to the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.{{sfn|Keene|2002|p=116}}{{sfn|Jansen|2002|pp=310–311}} However, while Yoshinobu's resignation had created a nominal void at the highest level of government, his apparatus of state continued to exist. Moreover, the shogunal government, the Tokugawa family in particular, remained a prominent force in the evolving political order and retained many executive powers,<ref>{{harvnb|Keene|2002|pp=120–121}}, and {{harvnb|Satow|1921|p=283}}. Moreover, {{harvtxt|Satow|1921|p=285}} speculates that Yoshinobu had agreed to an assembly of ''daimyōs'' in the hope that such a body would reinstate him.</ref> a prospect hard-liners from Satsuma and Chōshū found intolerable.{{sfn|Satow|1921|p=286}}

On January 3, 1868, Satsuma-Chōshū forces seized the [[Kyoto Imperial Palace|imperial palace]] in [[Kyoto]], and the following day had the fifteen-year-old Emperor Meiji declare his own restoration to full power. Although the majority of the imperial consultative assembly was happy with the formal declaration of direct rule by the court and tended to support a continued collaboration with the Tokugawa, [[Saigō Takamori]], leader of the Satsuma clan, threatened the assembly into abolishing the title ''shōgun'' and ordered the confiscation of Yoshinobu's lands.{{efn|1=During a recess, Saigō, who had his troops outside, "remarked that it would take only one short sword to settle the discussion".<ref>{{harvnb|Keene|2002|p=122}}. Original quotation (Japanese): "短刀一本あればかたづくことだ." in {{harvnb|Hagiwara|2004|p=42}}.</ref> The word used for "dagger" was ''tantō''.}}

On January 17, 1868, Yoshinobu declared "that he would not be bound by the proclamation of the Restoration and called on the court to rescind it".<!-- Why is this quoted? -->{{sfn|Keene|2002|p=124}} On January 24, Yoshinobu decided to prepare an attack on Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Chōshū forces. This decision was prompted by his learning of a series of [[arson]] attacks in Edo, starting with the burning of the outworks of [[Edo Castle]], the main Tokugawa residence.

====Boshin War====
{{Main|Boshin War}}
[[File:Naval Battle of Hakodate.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Naval Battle of Hakodate]], May 1869; in the foreground, {{ship|Japanese warship|Kasuga||2}} and {{ship|Japanese ironclad|Kōtetsu||2}} of the Imperial Japanese Navy]]

The {{nihongo|Boshin War|戊辰戦争|Boshin Sensō}} was fought between January 1868 and May 1869. The alliance of samurai from southern and western domains and court officials had now secured the cooperation of the young Emperor Meiji, who ordered the dissolution of the two-hundred-year-old Tokugawa shogunate. Tokugawa Yoshinobu launched a military campaign to seize the emperor's court in Kyoto. However, the tide rapidly turned in favor of the smaller but relatively modernized imperial faction and resulted in defections of many ''daimyōs'' to the Imperial side. The [[Battle of Toba–Fushimi]] was a decisive victory in which a combined army from Chōshū, Tosa, and Satsuma domains defeated the Tokugawa army.{{sfn|Jansen|2002|p=312}} A series of battles were then fought in pursuit of supporters of the Shogunate; Edo surrendered to the Imperial forces and afterward, Yoshinobu personally surrendered. Yoshinobu was stripped of all his power by Emperor Meiji and most of Japan accepted the emperor's rule.

Pro-Tokugawa remnants retreated to northern Honshū ([[Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei]]) and later to Ezo (present-day [[Hokkaidō]]), where they established the breakaway [[Republic of Ezo]]. An expeditionary force was dispatched by the new government and the Ezo Republic forces were overwhelmed. The [[Battle of Hakodate|siege of Hakodate]] came to an end in May 1869 and the remaining forces surrendered.{{sfn|Jansen|2002|p=312}}