1868 · The Meiji Restoration
Imperial rule is restored and Edo is renamed Tokyo.
Japan · 1868–1880
Tokyo, 1870s
The shogun is gone, the samurai lose their swords, and the first trains run.
Kobayashi Kiyochika, Shin-Ōhashi Bridge in the Rain, Tokyo, 18761875
Who governs:
1868Drag to move through the moment1880
In 1875, Itō Hirobumi is 34 years old and Higuchi Ichiyō is 3 years old.
The world around · Tokyo, 1870s
- Who governs
- Former samurai rule in the emperor's name. The old feudal domains are abolished in 1871.
- Everyday life
- Most people still farm. From 1873 the land tax is paid in money instead of rice.
- Arts and ideas
- Woodblock prints show trains, gas lamps and brick streets, and Western painting is taught for the first time.
- Meanwhile
- France has just lost a war and become a republic again, and the United States marks its centennial in 1876.
Politics and power2 here in 1875
Arts and ideas2 here in 1875
Everyday life1 here in 1875
Documented in this moment
1872 · Japan's first railway
Japan's first railway line opens between Shinbashi in Tokyo and the port of Yokohama.
1877 · The last samurai revolt
Samurai led by Saigō Takamori rise against the new government in the Satsuma Rebellion, and are defeated.
